/ Guide
How to choose the right advertising channels
Choose channels by the role they can play in the customer journey, not by popularity.
Quick facts
- What affects cost
- Do not choose six channels because six are available.
- Measurement
- Use metrics appropriate to the medium and avoid forcing all channels into one simplified metric.
01
Create demand versus capture demand
Search can capture existing intent; broad-reach video, audio or OOH can help create or refresh demand. Many campaigns need both jobs.
02
Reach versus precision
Very precise targeting is not automatically more effective if it excludes future customers or creates insufficient scale. Broad reach is not automatically efficient if much of it falls outside the commercial market.
03
Context matters
A message can behave differently on a large public screen, in audio, during a search, in a social feed or before a cinema film. Creative and objective should match the environment.
04
Budget matters
Do not choose six channels because six are available. Each selected medium needs enough investment to do its assigned job.
05
Measurement matters
Use metrics appropriate to the medium and avoid forcing all channels into one simplified metric.
Sources and review
- Route — Audience
- Barb — What is Barb and how do we measure total viewing?
- RAJAR — About RAJAR and listenership measures
Last reviewed 28 September 2026. Figures affected by current inventory, supplier data or regulation should be checked at the point of planning.
Next step
Not sure where to advertise your business? Tell us what you sell, who your customers are and roughly what you want to spend.