Specify a media plan

Page Summary

• This feature is only available to allowlisted accounts; contact your Google representative for access.

• The ReachPlanService helps in formulating media plans by providing methods to generate a reach curve based on audience targeting and product mix.

• Audience targeting criteria include audiences, age ranges, genders, devices, locations, and networks, each referencing specific Google Ads API components.

• The product mix, specified to generate a curve, can be determined using the ListPlannableProducts method, and assigning budgets to products is necessary for generating the curve.

• To generate a reach forecast request, you must set customer ID, campaign duration, and planned products, with optional fields available for further customization.

Important: This feature is available to allowlisted accounts only. Contact your Google representative if you need access to the feature.

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: Target affinity, in-market, and life event audiences using AudienceTargeting.
• Age Ranges: Specify target age groups using the ReachPlanAgeRange enum.
• Genders: Target specific genders using the GenderInfo criterion.
• Devices: Target specific devices using the DeviceInfo criterion.
• Locations: Find supported location IDs using ListPlannableLocations.
• Networks: Find applicable networks, which may vary by product and region, using ListPlannableLocations.
• Parental Status: Target specific parental statuses using the ParentalStatusInfo criterion.
• YouTube Select lineups: Target specific lineups using YouTubeSelectSettings within your reach plans to reach engaged audiences on curated content across YouTube.

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. These are represented by the following fields in ProductMetadata:

• plannable_product_code
• plannable_product_name
• plannable_product_description
• plannable_product_core_attributes: A collection of attributes used to describe a product's capabilities, including:
  • marketing_objective
  • cost_model
  • buying_method
• plannable_targeting: Allowed targeting settings for the product, such as age ranges, genders, devices, networks, and parental statuses.

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());
    }
  }
}
ForecastReach.java
      

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}");
        }
    }
}
ForecastReach.cs
      

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);
        }
    }
}
ForecastReach.php
      

Python

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

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

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

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

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

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

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
forecast_reach.rb
      

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};
    }
  }
}
forecast_reach.pl
      

curl

Note: While a direct REST code sample for this step isn't provided here, you can achieve this using a manual REST request.

Refer to the Google Ads API REST interface documentation and the method-specific reference pages. You will need to construct the JSON payload based on the proto definitions.

Key Resources:

• Using REST
• REST Interface Structure
• JSON Field Mappings
• Consult the REST API Reference for the specific service and method.

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);
}
ForecastReach.java
      

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);
}
ForecastReach.cs
      

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
    );
}
ForecastReach.php
      

Python

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

    Args:
        client: an initialized GoogleAdsClient instance.
        customer_id: The customer ID 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: list[PlannedProduct] = []
    trueview_allocation = 0.15
    bumper_allocation = 1 - trueview_allocation
    product_splits = [
        ("TRUEVIEW_IN_STREAM", trueview_allocation),
        ("BUMPER", bumper_allocation),
    ]
    product: str
    split: float
    for product, split in product_splits:
        planned_product: PlannedProduct = 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
    )
forecast_reach.py
      

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
forecast_reach.rb
      

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 @$product_mix,
    Google::Ads::GoogleAds::V25::Services::ReachPlanService::PlannedProduct->
    new({
      plannableProductCode => "TRUEVIEW_IN_STREAM",
      budgetMicros         => int($budget_micros * $trueview_allocation)});
  push @$product_mix,
    Google::Ads::GoogleAds::V25::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);
}
forecast_reach.pl
      

curl

Note: While a direct REST code sample for this step isn't provided here, you can achieve this using a manual REST request.

Refer to the Google Ads API REST interface documentation and the method-specific reference pages. You will need to construct the JSON payload based on the proto definitions.

Key Resources:

• Using REST
• REST Interface Structure
• JSON Field Mappings
• Consult the REST API Reference for the specific service and method.

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, network, and parental statuses.

What's next

Learn how to Generate a reach curve.