Media planning and buying · Marketing
Buy advertising space at a fair rate instead of accepting the first quote.
Media rates are rarely fixed in practice. The first quote from a publication, hoarding owner or digital platform is often negotiable, especially for a business without a media buying agency to push back. Left unmanaged, this means paying more than necessary for the same placement.
A 90-minute audit call and a written, scored report. Turnaround, reporting and term are agreed in writing after the audit.
In one paragraph
Media planning and buying decides which specific print, outdoor, digital and broadcast placements are worth paying for. It then negotiates the rate and books the space, rather than accepting a media owner's rate card as fixed. GullySales compares options on the same basis before recommending where to spend, and negotiates on your behalf.
We compare options, print, outdoor, digital display and broadcast, on a common basis of reach and cost, then negotiate rates directly with media owners before any booking is confirmed.
This differs from Google Ads or Meta advertising, which are self-serve platforms with published bidding systems. Media planning and buying covers placements that are typically negotiated directly, such as print space, outdoor hoardings and sponsorships.
The problem
Does this sound like your business?
What owners tell us on the first call, in their words.
“The same ad slot is bought at different rates depending on who negotiates”
A media owner's published rate is treated as fixed, when in practice a properly negotiated deal is often available for the same placement.
“Print, outdoor and digital are never compared on the same basis”
Each option is quoted in its own terms, impressions for digital, footfall estimates for outdoor, circulation for print, making it hard to judge which is actually the better spend.
“A booking is made without checking the claimed reach”
A hoarding or publication's stated audience numbers are taken at face value rather than checked against independent or historical data.
“Space is booked with no creative ready to fill it”
A placement is confirmed and paid for before the actual ad, banner or spot has been created, sometimes leading to a rushed or wasted slot.
What we do
Everything that is included.
Each deliverable, and what it gets you. Nothing here is an extra.
Media option comparison
Print, outdoor, digital and broadcast options compared on cost per reach, so choices are made on a fair basis.
Rate negotiation
Direct negotiation with media owners on your behalf, rather than accepting the first quoted rate.
Reach verification
A check on claimed audience or circulation numbers against available independent data before committing spend.
Production cost per option
Broadcast takes a film delivered in a professional format, not an export off a phone. Print needs CMYK at print resolution, and an outdoor flex is built on the media owner's template with bleed. Each of those is a production cost sitting outside the space, and it is costed before anything is booked.
Booking and scheduling
Placements booked with enough lead time to have creative ready before the slot goes live.
Post-campaign reconciliation
A check that the placement ran as booked, at the rate agreed, with proof where the media owner can provide it.
How the result is measured
- Rate negotiated against the original quote
- Cost per reach across compared options
- Placements confirmed with creative ready on time
- Enquiries traced to media campaigns where trackable
Recorded as a baseline before work starts, so every later report has an honest comparison.
Who it is for
This is written for you if these sound familiar.
- Businesses considering print, outdoor or broadcast advertising alongside digital channels
- Companies that have booked media space before without comparing rates or negotiating
- Local businesses evaluating a hoarding, bus shelter or local publication placement
- Businesses sponsoring a local event or publication and unsure if the asking rate is fair
- Owners who receive media rate cards directly and are unsure how much room exists to negotiate
Not for
It is not the right fit if.
- Businesses only using self-serve digital platforms with published, non-negotiable bidding
- Very small, one-off local bookings where the negotiation effort outweighs the potential saving
- Companies that need a placement booked tomorrow, with no time to negotiate a better rate
- Election and political campaigns, which we do not plan or buy for any party or candidate
How it works
From your first message to the first report.
No open-ended retainer. Every step gives you something in writing.
First
Free audit call
90 minutes with whoever handles your enquiries: how they arrive, how fast they are answered, where they are lost.
After the call
Written, scored report
Six areas scored, fixes ranked by return and cost. If you want our help, the scope, the fee and the reporting come with it, in writing.
Before work starts
Baseline recorded
Enquiries by source, reply time, conversion and cost per order, written down so every later report has an honest comparison.
After the baseline
The first fix goes live
Usually the cheapest one on the report: reply time, a follow-up sequence or the marketing-to-sales handover.
As agreed
Report against the baseline
What moved, what did not, and what changes next, in plain words. How often you get it is set in writing before work starts.
At renewal
Renew on the numbers
The term ends and you decide whether to continue from the results. The length is agreed in writing before anything starts.
How the media planning and buying work runs
- 1
Understand the objective
We agree what this media spend needs to achieve and the realistic budget available.
- 2
Audit available options
We identify and compare the relevant print, outdoor, digital and broadcast options for your target audience.
- 3
Negotiate rates
We negotiate directly with media owners rather than accepting rate cards at face value.
- 4
Book and prepare creative
Placements are confirmed with enough time to have the creative ready before the slot begins.
- 5
Measure and reconcile
We check the placement ran as agreed and report its likely contribution to enquiries.
Proof
What happened when owners fixed this.
Real clients, the work we did, and the result as it was recorded. Where no number was recorded, none is claimed.
SB Engineering
- Situation
- Buyers searching for laser cutting and sheet metal work in Bengaluru were finding other suppliers first, because the company did not rank for the terms its own customers type.
- What we did
- The site redesigned for mobile
- Search work on the buyer's terms
- Content that shows the work
- Social channels managed
- Result
- Website traffic rose 60% within six months, against a target of 50%.
- High-quality leads rose 45%, with a rise in conversion rates alongside them.
- Fifteen target keywords moved up the rankings, five of them into the top three positions.
Hotel Felicity Inn
- Situation
- A traveller compares three hotels on a phone and books one. The website was not built for that.
- What we did
- The site rebuilt around booking
- Photography and one look
- Search work for destination searches
- Content a traveller reads
- Result
- Online bookings increased 35%
- Organic traffic increased 50% within six months
- Positive reviews on Google and TripAdvisor increased 30%
Chord Road Hospital
- Situation
- Patients who knew the hospital trusted it. Patients who searched for a department or a treatment in the area did not find it.
- What we did
- Website rebuilt around patient needs
- Search visibility
- Social media on a schedule
- Review management
- Result
- Organic traffic increased 60% within six months
- Online appointment bookings increased 40%
- Social following grew 45%, and engagement on it rose 70%
Also worked with
Curtain Label · Difesa Security Services · Hands On CSR · Implevista · Kambar Group · Kalessi · Kerur Pain Clinic · LL Trust · Lucky Deals · Natural Gases · NavaShakthi Souhardha · NewCom Logistics · Proton Technical Services · Shakthi Foundation · Shakthi Group · Urbanest · Insyde Studio · Venkateshwara Laser Tech · Vivara Studios
Why us
Why owners pick GullySales over an agency.
Marketing and sales, as one job
Most agencies stop at the enquiry. We also fix what happens after it: the reply, the follow-up, the quote and the CRM.
The person on the first call does the work
No account managers in between. You are never handed to someone you have not met.
A baseline before anything starts
Your numbers are written down on day one, so every later report compares against something honest.
The fee in writing, split three ways
Our time, your media spend and production on separate lines. You always see what goes to us.
No guarantees we cannot keep
The term is agreed in writing and never a default twelve months. We never promise a ranking or a lead count, because nobody controls those.
One office, and we say so
Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru. We work across India by call and WhatsApp and travel when a session needs to be in person.
#257, 3rd floor, Sri Nanjundeshwara Complex, Nagarbhavi 8th Block, Outer Ring Road. How we work.
Engagement options
Ways to work with us.
Pick the size of commitment that fits. Every option starts with the free audit.
Option 1
The audit on its own
A 90-minute call and a written, scored report. It says honestly whether you need outside help, and many fixes are ones your own team can make.
Option 2
One fix, scoped
Start with the fix the audit ranks first, such as reply time or follow-up. The fee is in writing before anything starts.
Option 3
An ongoing programme
We run the work, report against the baseline, and you renew on the numbers. The term and the reporting are agreed in writing first.
Option 4
Guidance for your own team or agency
We plan, brief and check the work of your in-house team or current agency, instead of replacing them.
The offer
Start with a free audit of how you sell.
It is useful on its own, whether or not you hire us.
What you receive
- A 90-minute call with the person who will do the work
- A written, scored report on the six places orders leak
- Every fix ranked by what it returns and what it costs
- The one thing to do first, and why
- An honest line on whether you need outside help at all
- If you do, the scope and the fee in writing
No invoice. No obligation. No sales script.
FAQ
Questions owners ask before they call.
Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.
Can media rates really be negotiated?
How do you verify a media owner's claimed reach?
Does this cover digital advertising too?
How far ahead does each medium have to be booked?
How does GullySales charge for this?
How long is the contract?
How soon will we see results?
Who will actually do the work?
What do you need from us?
What if we are not happy with the work?
By industry
Media planning and buying, written for your industry.
Related services
Often bought with this, or instead of it.
Read before you buy
- What a monthly advertising report should containOne page at the front: what was spent, what came in, what each enquiry and order cost, what changed, and what changes next. The forty slides behind it are an appendix.
- What a media proof of execution should containBefore you argue about whether a campaign worked, establish that it ran. Photographs, tear sheets, broadcast logs and screening reports, medium by medium.
- TV advertising vs OTT advertising: what are you actually buying?Television sells slots against ratings and prices the wastage in. OTT sells impressions to chosen people and charges for the choosing. Same film, two shops.
Your next practical step
Get a free audit of how you sell, and a scored report of where the work is.
90 minutes. A written, scored report. No invoice and no obligation.