Glossary/M
Media plan
What it meansThe plan for where, when and how much an ad set will run: the platforms, the placements, the dates and the budget for each. For the people making the ads, its most important part is the list of placements, because that list decides every size and shape the set must include.
- Also called
- Media schedule, flowchart
- Applies to
- Every campaign
- Set by
- Whoever plans and buys the media
What the ad maker reads from it
| In the plan | What it decides for the set |
|---|---|
| Platforms and placements1 | The shapes and sizes to make |
| Display sizes2 | Each banner, at its exact pixel size |
| Dates | When the set must be approved, and when offers end |
| Markets and languages | Which versions are needed |
Meta lists its placements; Google lists common display sizes in pixels.12
What it means in practice
Ask for the plan, or at least its list of placements and sizes, before the master is made. The shape most of the plan shares is the shape the master should be, and the full list of sizes is what the set will be checked against at approval.
When the plan changes, the set of ads changes with it. A placement added late is a size added late, and a market added late is a version added late. Agree with whoever owns the plan that changes to it come to the people making the ads at the same time as they go to the people buying the media.
Keep the plan’s list of placements beside the set at approval. The approver is checking that every size the plan will run exists and is right, and the plan is the only complete list of what that means, size by size.
Common mistakes
- Making the master before seeing the plan.It may be the wrong shape for most of the set.
- Finding out about a placement at upload.The size nobody made has to be made in a hurry.
Sources
- About ad placements across Meta technologies, Meta Business Help Center. The places an ad can run, grouped as feeds, Stories and Reels, search and apps.Checked 26 Oct 2026
- About common sizes for responsive display ads, Google Ads Help. Common display sizes on computers and mobile.Checked 25 Oct 2026