“Help people near our new store find the opening this Saturday” creates a different brief from “build awareness across a region for the next month”. Both may use outdoor media, but they need different locations, schedules and evidence.
1. Define the action and the audience
Choose a main action or information goal. It may be an event visit, a property enquiry, a store visit, a membership enquiry or awareness of an approved public-information message. Identify the destination where someone can act: an address, landing page, booking route or information service.
Then describe the relevant audience in practical terms. Where are they likely to encounter the message, and at what point will it be useful? Avoid treating a city’s total population as the audience delivered by a specific campaign.
2. Turn geography into a usable brief
For mobile activity, list the priority areas, operating windows and any essential positions. For fixed media, describe the catchment or routes you want the sites to serve. For transport media, discuss the available network or fleet package and what can be guaranteed about its operating area.
Mark each requested location as essential or preferred. This makes it easier to evaluate alternatives when a position, site or date is unavailable.
For several cities, use a schedule rather than a paragraph:
On a small screen, scroll the table sideways to compare every column.
| Location | Date and operating window | Message/version | Essential position or site | Local requirement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First area | Confirmed date or acceptable range | Approved creative identifier | Address or defined target area | Access, handover or contact arrangement |
| Next area | Fixed time or flexible sequence | Same message or local version | Separate priority location | Transfer or overnight requirement |
This is a planning template, not a description of a pre-booked package.
3. Choose the media role
An ad bike or human billboard can support a short local activation. A digital ad van needs a road route and suitable positions. A billboard provides a fixed placement for its booked period. A digital screen or transport package has an inventory and scheduling basis that needs to be understood.
When combining formats, give each one a task. For example, a fixed site can maintain a message while staff direct visitors during an opening period. Do not add formats simply to make the plan look larger. Compare the outdoor options.
4. Build the schedule backwards
Start with the campaign date, then identify the deadlines for inventory confirmation, artwork, approval, production, fitting and delivery. Digital creative still needs approval and scheduling; it is not automatically a last-minute fallback.
Name the person who approves the message and the person who can make an operational decision during the campaign. They may be different people. If an agency is involved, make the route from advertiser approval to supplier instruction explicit.
5. Agree responsibilities before booking
On a small screen, scroll the table sideways to compare every column.
| Responsibility | Decision needed |
|---|---|
| Artwork | Who supplies files, checks factual content and signs off the proof? |
| Production | Who prints, adapts, fits or schedules the approved version? |
| Operations | Who supplies staff, vehicles or media inventory and coordinates delivery? |
| Materials | Who provides leaflets or other items, and where are they handed over? |
| Changes | Who can authorise revised timings, locations or additional cost? |
| Reporting | What evidence is supplied, by whom and by which date? |
The Bike Ads coordinates the agreed campaign, working with specialist operators and media owners where required. The proposal should make the delivery arrangement understandable to the advertiser and the people executing it.
6. Plan for changes without losing the objective
Weather, access, late materials or an event change can affect an outdoor campaign. Discuss feasible alternatives and the commercial terms before booking. A substitute location should still serve the brief, not merely keep a vehicle moving.
Keep a record of material changes and their approval. The report should describe the activity that actually took place, rather than reproducing the original schedule unchanged.
7. Decide how you will review the work
Agree delivery evidence first: operating times, locations, posting or playback confirmation and photographs as appropriate. If you want to assess response, prepare the tracking destination or enquiry process before launch.
Keep delivery, estimated audience and commercial results separate. A street photograph demonstrates something different from a website session or a completed booking. Read the measurement guide.
Ready to brief the campaign?
Send the objective, audience, locations, dates, preferred formats and budget range. Add any fixed deadlines and tell us what creative or materials you already have. You can then assess a proposal that connects the plan, price, responsibilities and reporting.