In a previous post, I mentioned how marketers use psychographics as well as demographics to decide during which television shows to run their companies' or clients' ads. I recently learned that marketing decisions go beyond where ads should appear. In the cases of television and radio, it's equally important to know when. So, companies give the responsibility for planning and buying ad space over to what's known as a media buyer. A media buyer, who can either be on staff or hired externally as a freelancer or employee of a media buying company, sees to it that his company's or client's ads get in front of the right people. For example, it doesn't take loads of market research to figure out that ads for Valvoline motor oil have no place in the advertising line up for soap operas, whose primary audiences consist of stay-at-home moms. Conversely, ads for L'Oreal hair coloring don't belong in the pages of Car and Driver magazine. Proper placement alone isn't enough.
When it comes to buying ad space during a radio or television program, timing really is everything. So, companies need to choose wisely when they decide it's time to hire media buyers to help them effectively market their brands.
I believe they get a superior product or service from specialists in their fields, and generally at a better price than larger, full-service companies, said Joan Hudson, owner of Tibbets Media, in an e-mail interview. An independent media buying service should have recent, direct experience in all the media that the employing client utilizes in their marketing plans. Our business is changing at lightning speed these days, and having bought, for example, radio, cable or outdoor "a few years ago" doesn't have much relevance to the process today.
One of the many changes in marketing that Hudson may be referring to is the advent of social media.
The online space offers unique opportunities to measure the impact of advertising by tracking desired actions, offered vice-president of Advocacy Group, Inc., Jim Eltringham. Therefore, it's best to have someone running your online ad program who understands that it cannot exist in a silo and is capable of matching online activity with real-world results. It may be as simple as playing nice with other campaign elements or as involved as pairing an online ad buy with a phone program to convert leads into actions.
When it comes down to choosing whether to go with a media buying company that specializes in media buying or one that offers media buying along with a variety of other marketing services, most advocate using a specialist.
Media buying requires such a specific set of skills that I would argue it's always best to use a company that specializes, said freelance media buyer, Amy Maurer. Lots of agencies can 'talk the talk' (they can explain CPP's [Costs Per Point], GRP's [Gross Rating Points], etc) but in terms of understanding the complexities of putting together a buy and having the relationships that are needed to do it right, that's something else altogether.
Michael Massey, author of Your Ad Here: De-mystifying the Business of Media and Advertising (Dog Ear Publishing,2010), explained his preference this way, You want to always work with experts with deep knowledge in a specialty. There are several advantages to working with a firm with a focus on media:
1. They understand the terminology and can speak the language of the media account executives they deal with on a regular basis.
2. They will always act in your best interest in getting you the most exposure for your media dollars budget and plan as if it was their money.
3. Media is constantly evolving. A successful firm will always be innovative and creative.
2. They will always act in your best interest in getting you the most exposure for your media dollars budget and plan as if it was their money.
3. Media is constantly evolving. A successful firm will always be innovative and creative.
It's impossible to build any results for clients unless you learn new strategies, research new delivery vehicles and push the media properties to think outside their comfort zones.
President and owner of Home Run Media, Andrew Blickstein, isn't 100 percent on the specializing company band wagon. For him, the decision depends on the clients' needs. If your TV media blitz always coincides with your experiential campaigns, it's essential that these two outlets work hand in hand, and maybe even be under the same roof. However, for DR (direct response), where the success of most campaigns relies on ROI (return on investment), not impression, a media buying service can act independently. In my experience, the more shops that one works with, the more different sets of eyes are measuring the campaign. This is a major advantage. If the in-house marketing manager is strong this is a great way to go, said Blickstein.
Vito Curcuru, marketing manager for Pilz Automation Safety, L.P., fully supports using a multi-faceted media buying company. If a company is large enough to have its own media buying staff, then all aspects of the media buying process -- buying, planning and creative -- should work in conjunction with each other.
After working at agencies and on the client side, there is nothing like or equal to having a dedicated full-service agency of record. There are no quarrels between agencies or turf wars that have to be dealt with on a regular basis. When planning, buying and creative are divided, then each agency is under a constant strain to protect their turf and try to take someone else's, explained Curcuru. I believe the pendulum is heading back in [the direction of] many clients looking for one stop shops because it is very difficult to track all of the vendors in their portfolios.
From the outside looking in, marketing seems pretty simple and straightforward. But when you pull back the curtain to get a good look inside, you see that market research may tell marketers what audiences to target, but they need the help of media buyers to figure out where, when and how.
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