Specifying a Media Plan

Google offers a variety of products and audiences you can use to build campaigns, though you might not know how to formulate a plan. To help with this, ReachPlanService provides discovery methods you can use to generate a curve.

Audience targeting

The first component of a media plan is audience targeting, which can include the following target criteria:

Audiences
Reference AudienceTargeting.
Age Ranges
Reference the ReachPlanAgeRange enum.
Genders
Reference the GenderInfo criterion.
Devices
Reference the DeviceInfo criterion.
Locations
Use the ListPlannableLocations method to find supported location IDs.
Networks
Use the ListPlannableLocations method to find applicable networks, which may vary by product and region.

Product mix

In addition to the targeting information, you must specify a product mix in order to generate a curve.

The ListPlannableProducts method on ReachPlanService shows the latest available formats for a given location ID, represented by the plannable_product_code and plannable_product_name fields of ProductMetadata. Keep in mind that these values change periodically, so it is best to provide your users with live results rather than persisting responses offline.

Here is a code example of how to get the product mix for some target criteria:

Java

private void showPlannableProducts(
    ReachPlanServiceClient reachPlanServiceClient, String locationId) {
  ListPlannableProductsRequest request =
      ListPlannableProductsRequest.newBuilder().setPlannableLocationId(locationId).build();

  ListPlannableProductsResponse response = reachPlanServiceClient.listPlannableProducts(request);

  System.out.printf("Plannable Products for location %s:%n", locationId);
  for (ProductMetadata product : response.getProductMetadataList()) {
    System.out.printf("%s:%n", product.getPlannableProductCode());
    System.out.println("Age Ranges:");
    for (ReachPlanAgeRange ageRange : product.getPlannableTargeting().getAgeRangesList()) {
      System.out.printf("\t- %s%n", ageRange);
    }
    System.out.println("Genders:");
    for (GenderInfo gender : product.getPlannableTargeting().getGendersList()) {
      System.out.printf("\t- %s%n", gender.getType());
    }
    System.out.println("Devices:");
    for (DeviceInfo device : product.getPlannableTargeting().getDevicesList()) {
      System.out.printf("\t- %s%n", device.getType());
    }
  }
}
      

C#

public void ShowPlannableProducts(
    ReachPlanServiceClient reachPlanService, string locationId)
{
    ListPlannableProductsRequest request = new ListPlannableProductsRequest
    {
        PlannableLocationId = locationId
    };
    ListPlannableProductsResponse response = reachPlanService.ListPlannableProducts(
        request);

    Console.WriteLine($"Plannable Products for location {locationId}:");
    foreach (ProductMetadata product in response.ProductMetadata)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"{product.PlannableProductCode}:");
        Console.WriteLine("Age Ranges:");
        foreach (ReachPlanAgeRange ageRange in product.PlannableTargeting.AgeRanges)
        {
            Console.WriteLine($"\t- {ageRange}");
        }

        Console.WriteLine("Genders:");
        foreach (GenderInfo gender in product.PlannableTargeting.Genders)
        {
            Console.WriteLine($"\t- {gender.Type}");
        }

        Console.WriteLine("Devices:");
        foreach (DeviceInfo device in product.PlannableTargeting.Devices)
        {
            Console.WriteLine($"\t- {device.Type}");
        }
    }
}
      

PHP

private static function showPlannableProducts(GoogleAdsClient $googleAdsClient)
{
    $response = $googleAdsClient->getReachPlanServiceClient()->listPlannableProducts(
        ListPlannableProductsRequest::build(self::LOCATION_ID)
    );

    print 'Plannable Products for Location ID ' . self::LOCATION_ID . ':' . PHP_EOL;
    foreach ($response->getProductMetadata() as $product) {
        /** @var ProductMetadata $product */
        print $product->getPlannableProductCode() . ':' . PHP_EOL;
        print 'Age Ranges:' . PHP_EOL;
        foreach ($product->getPlannableTargeting()->getAgeRanges() as $ageRange) {
            /** @var ReachPlanAgeRange $ageRange */
            printf("\t- %s%s", ReachPlanAgeRange::name($ageRange), PHP_EOL);
        }
        print 'Genders:' . PHP_EOL;
        foreach ($product->getPlannableTargeting()->getGenders() as $gender) {
            /** @var GenderInfo $gender */
            printf("\t- %s%s", GenderType::name($gender->getType()), PHP_EOL);
        }
        print 'Devices:' . PHP_EOL;
        foreach ($product->getPlannableTargeting()->getDevices() as $device) {
            /** @var DeviceInfo $device */
            printf("\t- %s%s", Device::name($device->getType()), PHP_EOL);
        }
    }
}
      

Python

def show_plannable_products(client, location_id):
    """Lists plannable products for a given location.

    Args:
        client: an initialized GoogleAdsClient instance.
        location_id: The location ID to plan for.
    """
    reach_plan_service = client.get_service("ReachPlanService")
    response = reach_plan_service.list_plannable_products(
        plannable_location_id=location_id
    )
    print(f"Plannable Products for Location ID {location_id}")

    for product_metadata in response.product_metadata:
        print(
            f"{product_metadata.plannable_product_code} : "
            f"{product_metadata.plannable_product_name}"
        )

        print("Age Ranges:")
        for age_range in product_metadata.plannable_targeting.age_ranges:
            print(f"\t- {age_range.name}")

        print("Genders:")
        for gender in product_metadata.plannable_targeting.genders:
            print(f"\t- {gender.type_.name}")

        print("Devices:")
        for device in product_metadata.plannable_targeting.devices:
            print(f"\t- {device.type_.name}")
      

Ruby

def show_plannable_products(reach_plan_service)
  response = reach_plan_service.list_plannable_products(
    plannable_location_id: LOCATION_ID,
  )

  puts "Plannable Products for Location ID #{LOCATION_ID}:"

  response.product_metadata.each do |product|
    puts "#{product.plannable_product_code}:"
    puts "Age Ranges:"
    product.plannable_targeting.age_ranges.each do |age_range|
      puts "\t- #{age_range}"
    end
    puts "Genders:"
    product.plannable_targeting.genders.each do |gender|
      puts "\t- #{gender.type}"
    end
    puts "Devices:"
    product.plannable_targeting.devices.each do |device|
      puts "\t- #{device.type}"
    end
  end
end
      

Perl

sub show_plannable_products {
  my ($reach_plan_service, $location_id) = @_;

  my $response = $reach_plan_service->list_plannable_products({
    plannableLocationId => $location_id
  });

  printf "Plannable Products for location %d:\n", $location_id;
  foreach my $product (@{$response->{productMetadata}}) {
    printf "%s : '%s'\n", $product->{plannableProductCode},
      $product->{plannableProductName};
    print "Age Ranges:\n";
    foreach my $age_range (@{$product->{plannableTargeting}{ageRanges}}) {
      printf "\t- %s\n", $age_range;
    }
    print "Genders:\n";
    foreach my $gender (@{$product->{plannableTargeting}{genders}}) {
      printf "\t- %s\n", $gender->{type};
    }
    print "Devices:\n";
    foreach my $device (@{$product->{plannableTargeting}{devices}}) {
      printf "\t- %s\n", $device->{type};
    }
  }
}
      

To generate a curve you would then assign a budget to each product:

Java

private void forecastManualMix(
    ReachPlanServiceClient reachPlanServiceClient,
    long customerId,
    String locationId,
    String currencyCode,
    long budgetMicros) {
  List<PlannedProduct> productMix = new ArrayList<>();

  // Set up a ratio to split the budget between two products.
  double trueviewAllocation = 0.15;
  double bumperAllocation = 1 - trueviewAllocation;

  // See listPlannableProducts on ReachPlanService to retrieve a list
  // of valid PlannableProductCode's for a given location:
  // https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/reference/rpc/latest/ReachPlanService
  productMix.add(
      PlannedProduct.newBuilder()
          .setPlannableProductCode("TRUEVIEW_IN_STREAM")
          .setBudgetMicros((long) (budgetMicros * bumperAllocation))
          .build());
  productMix.add(
      PlannedProduct.newBuilder()
          .setPlannableProductCode("BUMPER")
          .setBudgetMicros((long) (budgetMicros * bumperAllocation))
          .build());

  GenerateReachForecastRequest request =
      buildReachRequest(customerId, productMix, locationId, currencyCode);

  getReachCurve(reachPlanServiceClient, request);
}
      

C#

public void ForecastMix(ReachPlanServiceClient reachPlanService, string customerId,
    string locationId, string currencyCode, long budgetMicros)
{
    List<PlannedProduct> productMix = new List<PlannedProduct>();

    // Set up a ratio to split the budget between two products.
    double trueviewAllocation = 0.15;
    double bumperAllocation = 1 - trueviewAllocation;

    // See listPlannableProducts on ReachPlanService to retrieve a list
    // of valid PlannableProductCode's for a given location:
    // https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/reference/rpc/latest/ReachPlanService
    productMix.Add(new PlannedProduct
    {
        PlannableProductCode = "TRUEVIEW_IN_STREAM",
        BudgetMicros = Convert.ToInt64(budgetMicros * trueviewAllocation)
    });
    productMix.Add(new PlannedProduct
    {
        PlannableProductCode = "BUMPER",
        BudgetMicros = Convert.ToInt64(budgetMicros * bumperAllocation)
    });

    GenerateReachForecastRequest request =
        BuildReachRequest(customerId, productMix, locationId, currencyCode);

    GetReachCurve(reachPlanService, request);
}
      

PHP

private static function forecastManualMix(GoogleAdsClient $googleAdsClient, int $customerId)
{
    // Set up a ratio to split the budget between two products.
    $trueviewAllocation = floatval(0.15);
    $bumperAllocation = floatval(1 - $trueviewAllocation);

    // See listPlannableProducts on ReachPlanService to retrieve a list
    // of valid PlannableProductCode's for a given location:
    // https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/reference/rpc/latest/ReachPlanService
    $productMix = [
        new PlannedProduct([
            'plannable_product_code' => 'TRUEVIEW_IN_STREAM',
            'budget_micros' => self::BUDGET_MICROS * $trueviewAllocation
        ]),
        new PlannedProduct([
            'plannable_product_code' => 'BUMPER',
            'budget_micros' => self::BUDGET_MICROS * $bumperAllocation
        ])
    ];

    self::getReachCurve(
        $googleAdsClient,
        $customerId,
        $productMix,
        self::LOCATION_ID,
        self::CURRENCY_CODE
    );
}
      

Python

def forecast_manual_mix(
    client, customer_id, location_id, currency_code, budget
):
    """Pulls a forecast for product mix created manually.

    Args:
        client: an initialized GoogleAdsClient instance.
        customer_id: The customer ID for the reach forecast.
        product_mix: The product mix for the reach forecast.
        location_id: The location ID to plan for.
        currency_code: Three-character ISO 4217 currency code.
        budget: Budget to allocate to the plan.
    """
    product_mix = []
    trueview_allocation = 0.15
    bumper_allocation = 1 - trueview_allocation
    product_splits = [
        ("TRUEVIEW_IN_STREAM", trueview_allocation),
        ("BUMPER", bumper_allocation),
    ]
    for product, split in product_splits:
        planned_product = client.get_type("PlannedProduct")
        planned_product.plannable_product_code = product
        planned_product.budget_micros = math.trunc(budget * ONE_MILLION * split)
        product_mix.append(planned_product)

    request_reach_curve(
        client, customer_id, product_mix, location_id, currency_code
    )
      

Ruby

def forecast_manual_mix(client, reach_plan_service, customer_id)
  # Set up a ratio to split the budget between two products.
  trueview_allocation = 0.15
  bumper_allocation = 1 - trueview_allocation

  # See listPlannableProducts on ReachPlanService to retrieve a list
  # of valid PlannableProductCode's for a given location:
  # https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/reference/rpc/latest/ReachPlanService
  product_mix = []

  product_mix << client.resource.planned_product do |p|
    p.plannable_product_code = 'TRUEVIEW_IN_STREAM'
    p.budget_micros = BUDGET_MICROS * trueview_allocation
  end

  product_mix << client.resource.planned_product do |p|
    p.plannable_product_code = 'BUMPER'
    p.budget_micros = BUDGET_MICROS * bumper_allocation
  end

  get_reach_curve(
    client,
    reach_plan_service,
    customer_id,
    product_mix,
    LOCATION_ID,
    CURRENCY_CODE,
  )
end
      

Perl

sub forecast_mix {
  my (
    $reach_plan_service, $customer_id, $location_id,
    $currency_code,      $budget_micros
  ) = @_;

  my $product_mix = [];

  # Set up a ratio to split the budget between two products.
  my $trueview_allocation = 0.15;
  my $bumper_allocation   = 1 - $trueview_allocation;

  # See list_plannable_products on ReachPlanService to retrieve a list of valid
  # plannable product codes for a given location:
  # https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/reference/rpc/latest/ReachPlanService
  push @$product_mix,
    Google::Ads::GoogleAds::V17::Services::ReachPlanService::PlannedProduct->
    new({
      plannableProductCode => "TRUEVIEW_IN_STREAM",
      budgetMicros         => int($budget_micros * $trueview_allocation)});
  push @$product_mix,
    Google::Ads::GoogleAds::V17::Services::ReachPlanService::PlannedProduct->
    new({
      plannableProductCode => "BUMPER",
      budgetMicros         => int($budget_micros * $bumper_allocation)});

  my $reach_request =
    build_reach_request($customer_id, $product_mix, $location_id,
    $currency_code);

  pull_reach_curve($reach_plan_service, $reach_request);
}
      

This is also when you can set advanced_product_targeting for YouTube Select Lineups.

Reach forecast request fields

You must set the customer_id, campaign_duration, and planned_products fields for each GenerateReachForecastRequest.

You can also set the following optional fields:

Field Description
cookie_frequency_cap_setting The maximum number of times an ad can be shown to the same user during a specified time interval. This cap can be defined as a limit per one day, one week, or one month.
currency_code Three-character ISO 4217 currency code.
customer_reach_group The name of the customer being planned for. This is a user-defined value. Required if targeting.audience_targeting is set.
min_effective_frequency Minimum number of times a person was exposed to the ad for the reported reach metrics.
targeting The targeting to be applied to all products selected in the product mix, including location, age range, genders, devices, and network.