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.
Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.
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
Your brief
You tell us what you need in a few short steps: your business, what you want, where enquiries come from and how they are handled.
After the brief
A conversation and a written scope
We read it, then talk with whoever handles your enquiries. If you want our help, the scope, the fee and the reporting come in writing, and nothing starts before you have read them.
Before work starts
Baseline recorded
The numbers this work is meant to move, such as enquiries, quotations, orders, visits or renewals, written down so every later report has an honest comparison.
After the baseline
The first fix goes live
The fix we agreed to start with is put in place and measured against the baseline, whether that is a reply, a follow-up, a page, a listing or the handover between marketing and sales.
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.
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 your brief and a conversation.
Option 1
The conversation on its own
A call after you send your brief. 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 that matters most, 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.
Your brief
Tell us what you need, and we will read it before we call.
Eight short steps about your business, what you want and who decides. Most questions are a tap, and you can skip any you would rather answer on the call.
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
- How to decide your marketing budgetDecide your marketing budget by working backwards from the orders you want: average order value, close rate, enquiries needed and what an enquiry costs you.
- How to read an advertising rate card before you payWhat to ask under each line of a rate card, what impressions and footfall figures can and cannot show, and which assumptions to get in writing before you pay a media seller.
- What an 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.
Your next practical step
Tell us what you are trying to grow, and we will read it before we call.
Eight short steps, mostly taps. Skip anything you would rather answer on the call.