Media Planner FAQs
Q: What is the Media Planner tool in Alli?
A: The Media Planner in Alli allows strategists to upload, manage, and visualize media plans directly within the platform. It centralizes planning workflows, streamlines collaboration across teams, and enhances transparency with internal stakeholders and external clients
Q: How do permissions work in Media Planner?
A: Permissions in Media Planner are controlled by a combination of user roles and plan statuses. Owners have full control, Users can contribute in draft mode, and Clients can view finalized plans. Plan statuses (Draft, In Review, Locked, Closed) determine who can edit or view a plan at each stage. Users can propose updates through versions, but only Owners can publish them. Clients only see the approved version.
👉 For full details, see: How-To: Leverage Plan Statuses in your workflow
Q: What is a version in Media Planner?
A: A version is a copy of a plan that allows teams to make edits or test changes without affecting the active, client-facing version. Users can create versions to propose updates, but only Owners can publish a version to make it the new primary plan. This ensures collaboration without disrupting approved work.
Q: What’s the difference between a Parent Plan and a Child Plan?
A: A Parent Plan defines the overall strategy, budget, and structure for a campaign. Child Plans sit underneath it and are used by channel teams to execute specific tactics within the boundaries set by the Parent. This structure ensures centralized strategy while allowing flexibility for channel-level planning.
Q: What’s the difference between a global admin column and a column added to a single plan?
A: A global admin column is created by an Owner and appears on every plan for a client, ensuring consistency across teams and plans. A column added directly to a single plan is only visible on that specific plan and doesn’t carry over to others. Use global admin columns for standardized fields like funnel, channel, or platform.
Q: Are there any required columns in Media Planner?
A: While there are no strict required columns, Alli automatically includes Start Date and End Date on every plan by default. These fields help standardize timelines across plans and support downstream workflows like pacing and visualization.
Q: How do I create a new set of Overview visuals?
A: To create a new Overview view, open an existing one and use “Save As” to duplicate it. This lets you keep the original layout and filters while customizing a new version—perfect for tailoring views by channel, stakeholder, or analysis type.
Q: What can my client see in Media Planner?
A: Clients can only see plans that are in In Review, Locked, or Closed status—they never see Drafts. In Overview views, only visuals based on non-Draft plans will appear for clients, ensuring they only see approved or in-progress work.
Q: How do I share something with my client in Media Planner?
A: Every page in Media Planner has a unique URL, so you can copy and share the link directly. Just make sure the content you’re sharing is client-visible:
Plans must be in In Review, Locked, or Closed (not Draft).
Overview views will only show data from non-Draft plans.
Also, your client must have permission to access the Alli client you’re sharing from. Learn more about getting them added: https://help.alliplatform.com/getting-support/Working-version/getting-alli-access