Hire the Best Media Buying Agency
Whether you’re a small business or a big brand, some would argue that having a strong presence in your industry requires media placement. But frankly, media buying isn’t what it used to be…and that’s one of the reasons we recommend that marketing teams consider hiring a media buying agency.
People are consuming media in different ways today than even 5 or 10 years ago. It stands to reason then that successful businesses must also change their approach to media buying. In fact, current trends predict that 2017 will see spending for digital media advertising surpass the amount spent on television advertising for the first time.
In 2016, U.S. companies spent $67 billion on digital media buying, up nearly $20 billion from 2014. And that number is expected to continue to grow exponentially, reaching a staggering $93 billion by 2019.
So what do these shifts mean? Sticking to the tried-and-true media buying practices of old…will leave you collecting dust while your competitors shine.
Truth is, creating and managing a comprehensive media strategy requires specialized skill, experience, technology—and time. And while you could go it alone, there are compelling reasons why joining forces with a quality media buying agency is the far better, smarter and most cost-effective choice.
But where do you begin?
Finding the right ad agency partner means looking for these key characteristics:
Strong Media Buying Experience
Is it worth investing in a television commercial? What about online advertising or social media marketing? Should we buy direct or via network? And if so, which media outlet and type of media?
There’s really only one way to know the answers to these questions: agency experience.
While there is some measure of testing (i.e. A/B testing) that goes into digital advertising, you don’t want to be a media buyer’s lab rat. We’ve all been there and done that in one form or another. So vet your advertising agency. Ask questions. Require hard proof that what they do really works. Don’t let the effectiveness and efficiency of your strategic plan—or your advertising budget—be compromised due to inexperience.
By choosing an advertising agency with a proven track record, you’ll more likely avoid the frustration, delays and financial loss that all-too-often occur while you work to reach your target audience.
Effective Technology-Driven Strategy
At one time, all a media buyer had to use was his or her trusty telephone. Not anymore.
Today, the media buying landscape is full of technological advancements, from ad retargeting and demand-side platforms to programmatic ad placement tech fueled by artificial intelligence (AI) and real-time bidding (RTB).
The best of contemporary media buying agencies leverage such technology to help automate, design, optimize and measure the success of advertising campaigns.
In considering a media buying agency, choose one that uses tech-enabled, proven marketing strategy to reach your target market.
Clear Process Approach
Media planning is an ongoing and dynamic process. It’s not enough to arrange an ad buy and then walk away. Certain facets of the process—like maintaining the media schedule, tracking marketing campaign performance and communicating with media outlets—require frequent attention from a media manager.
It also takes time, focus and know-how to pick just the right media placement options. Even things that may seem inconsequential, like the placement or size of a banner ad, can mean the success or failure of an ad campaign.
For instance, click-through rates (CTR) on any placement of digital ad averaged 0.17 percent in 2016. But click through rates on 468×60 banners were less than a quarter of that at 0.04 percent. Would you have guessed this? Or would you have wound up with a quarter of possible return on investment and been none the wiser? When you hire a great media buying agency, you’re hiring this kind of knowledge—the kind that translates to customer acquisitions and profits.
Each decision—no matter how small—matters, so you need an agency that has a clearly defined, process-driven approach to media buying. With this process, you’ll know what to expect each time you engage in a new media buying endeavor.
Get Help Choosing the Right Collaborator
You know your brand more intimately than anyone else ever could, but this doesn’t mean you should develop your media plan with only your in-house team. You’ll experience the most success in your marketing effort through collaboration.
The world of media buying is changing virtually as you read this. But you don’t need to know all of the ins and outs, because we know the people who do. No need to thumb through tens of websites and not ever really know if a company “has the goods.” We’re a collective—agency matchmaker, if you will—dedicated to helping you find the best marketing partners for your company from a vast array of vetted, quality options.
COMPANIES WE’VE CONNECTED
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