Guide · Planning
How to make an OOH media plan
A practical walk-through for agency teams: what goes into a plan your client can say yes to, and the mistakes that cost you a round of revisions.
Updated
1. Pin down the brief
Before picking a single site, get answers to five questions:
- Which cities and areas matter, and why (stores, launches, audience)?
- What dates, and how flexible are they?
- Static, digital, malls, or a mix?
- What's the budget, and does it include printing and mounting?
- Who approves the plan, and in what format do they want it?
2. Shortlist sites
Start wider than you need: a client who cuts two sites from ten feels in control; one asked to add sites starts doubting the plan. For each site, check:
- Facing: which traffic sees it, and whether that traffic matches the brief.
- Visibility: distance, angle, trees, other boards. A recent photo settles most debates.
- Availability: confirm dates with the owner, especially for partner sites.
3. Get the specs right
Every site needs the same details, spelt the same way: location, area, city, facing, media type, lit type, width and height, and square feet. For digital screens add resolution, loop, slot and hours on. Inconsistent spellings are the most common reason a plan looks careless.
4. Price it fully
| Line | How it's usually worked out |
|---|---|
| Media | Monthly rate, prorated for the days booked (watch for minimum booking days) |
| Printing | Square feet × printing rate for the material, static sites only |
| Mounting | Square feet × mounting rate, static sites only |
| Discounts | Package deals on groups of sites, shown as their own line |
| GST | State whether prices include GST, or add “GST extra as applicable” |
If you sell a partner's sites, know your buy price before you send anything, so you know how far you can negotiate.
5. Present it
Most clients expect two things:
- A deck: a title slide, one slide per site with a photo and specs, and a summary.
- A rate sheet: one row per site or screen, grouped by city, with totals that add up.
Our free templates give you both, laid out the way clients expect.
6. Expect revisions
Plans rarely survive the first meeting. Number every version you send, note what changed (sites removed, rates changed, discounts added) and keep the old ones. When a client asks “what did you quote last week?”, you want the answer in seconds.
7. After the yes
Collect artwork early, confirm mounting dates with vendors, and track each site until it's live. Then collect a start photo of every site, a long shot and a close-up, and an end photo when it comes down. Problems found on day one are cheap; problems the client finds are not.