Owners of small and medium-sized businesses often ask the same question: how much should go to television, how much to radio and how much to the internet? There is no universal ratio, but there is a clear logic for finding one. This article covers the roles of the channels, a simple budget estimation formula, three typical allocation scenarios and the metrics to judge results by.
Why mix channels at all
A balanced media mix solves two tasks at once: it makes the brand known and it brings in leads or sales. Each channel has its own strengths, and together they should accompany the customer from first encountering the brand to the purchase decision.
The roles of the main channels
- Television. The widest reach and a high level of trust. Suited to building awareness and launching large-scale promotions. It requires producing a commercial and planning around the broadcast schedule. With medium and large budgets, TV becomes the backbone of the whole mix.
- Radio. Frequent contacts at a reasonable price. Good for reminding people about the brand and promoting short offers. Quick to launch, and frequency is easy to adjust.
- Digital. Precise segments and transparent numbers: search, YouTube, social media, programmatic. This is the easiest place to scale up the performance side and test creatives.
- Outdoor advertising. Keeps the brand present on the streets and amplifies other channels. Handy for establishing a foothold in specific districts, residential areas and near points of sale.
A budget estimation formula
As a first approximation, a media plan is calculated from three values — reach, frequency and cost per thousand contacts:
- Impressions = Reach × Frequency
- Cost = (Impressions / 1000) × CPM
- Budget ≈ (Reach × Frequency × CPM) / 1000
CPM is the price of 1,000 impressions or contacts in the chosen channel. Prices and target frequency are best taken from your own past campaigns and local research: surveys, panels, brand lift measurements.
A hypothetical example. Suppose you want to get your message to 200,000 Dushanbe residents in a month, and each of them should see it three times. If you take the average CPM for reach-oriented digital placements as 35 TJS, the calculation is: 200,000 × 3 × 35 / 1000 = 21,000 TJS. TV, radio and outdoor are then added to this amount, depending on the goals and the inventory available.
Three allocation scenarios
The shares below are indicative. The actual ratio depends on the season, placement prices and the objectives of a particular campaign. It is finalised when developing the media strategy.
“Start” scenario: a small budget focused on results
| Channel | Share | Goal | What to aim for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digital: search, social media, YouTube | 80% | leads and sales, rapid hypothesis testing | frequency of 2–3, retargeting, A/B testing of creatives |
| Radio | 10% | reminders, frequency | 15–20 airings a week, a short offer |
| Outdoor advertising | 10% | presence close to the customer | 2–4 sites where the audience lives or spends time |
“Balance” scenario: equal focus on reach and leads
| Channel | Share | Goal | What to aim for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Television | 25–35% | broad reach, trust | 1–2 commercials, flights of 2–3 weeks |
| Radio | 10–15% | frequency, support for promotions | 20–30 airings a week |
| Digital | 45–55% | performance and video reach | search and social media plus YouTube video formats |
| Outdoor advertising | 5–10% | geographic reinforcement | main roads and key districts |
“Scale” scenario: building the brand and accumulating high GRPs
| Channel | Share | Goal | What to aim for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Television | 40–50% | core reach | regular flights, frequency of 3+ |
| Radio | 10–15% | frequency at a low cost per contact | daily airings in prime time |
| Digital | 30–40% | incremental reach, segments, performance | a combination of YouTube, OTT and programmatic |
| Outdoor advertising | 5–10% | consolidating presence in the city | targeted site packages and special formats, such as bus shelters |
Tip: even if your main goal is leads, keep part of the budget for reach-oriented video and display formats. People who have already seen the brand are more willing to click in search and remarketing. Find out more in the digital marketing section.
How to evaluate the results
- Reach and frequency: GRP and TRP for TV and radio, Reach and Impressions for digital and outdoor, CPM.
- Engagement: video view-through rate (VTR), banner CTR.
- Leads and sales: CPC, CPA, CAC, landing page conversion, growth in branded searches.
- Brand health: awareness, preference and purchase intent based on surveys or brand lift.
The minimum toolkit for monitoring: a dashboard with reach, CPM and frequency for each channel; end-to-end lead analytics via UTM tags and a CRM; and a pre- and post-campaign survey if the goal is awareness. If you need help setting this up, get in touch.
Mistakes that eat up the budget
- One goal for every channel. TV and outdoor work on awareness, search works on leads. Their KPIs should differ.
- Insufficient frequency. A single contact is rarely remembered. Plan for a frequency of at least 2–3 for the core audience.
- Untested creatives. Online, hypotheses are worth testing weekly — our digital team can help with this.
- A weak landing page. Even large reach won’t turn into sales if the website isn’t convincing.
- No brand measurement. Judging reach-oriented advertising on CPA alone is misleading; bring in research.
- “Equal shares for everyone”. Proportions should follow from the goal and the cost per contact, not from a wish not to offend anyone.
Frequently asked questions
How much should go to digital on a modest budget?
At the testing stage, the bulk of it — roughly 70–85% — with the rest split between radio and outdoor. After a few weeks the shares are reviewed based on results. A detailed plan is drawn up as part of the media strategy.
What frequency delivers an effect?
For awareness, the usual benchmark is 2–3 or more contacts per flight among the core audience; for short promotions, higher. Exact values are calculated in the media plan.
Where do CPM and reach figures come from?
From past campaigns, rate cards, test buys and local measurements. Media research can help gather the inputs.
Can you do without television?
Yes — with a narrow audience and a limited budget, a combination of digital, radio and outdoor is enough. As the business grows, TV helps build awareness faster.
Next step
If you need a media plan for your budget, SKY Central Asia will prepare the calculations after a brief — submit a request. Examples of our work are collected in our portfolio, and airtime planning and buying are described in the media section.
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