The Midwest Director of OMD Digital gives advice on how to earn respect, and provides insight into measurement, R&F and day-parting.

As Midwest Director of OMD Digital, Sean Finnegan runs a consolidated media group of Tribal DDB, Atmosphere BBDO and Element 79. Finnegan has close to a decade of media planning experience in print, television and online. Some of his interactive experience includes work for McDonalds, State Farm, Dell, Quaker, UPS, Merrill Lynch and AT&T. Finnegan talked to iMedia Connection recently to give his views on the direction of the interactive marketing industry and suggestions for its improvement.

iMedia Connection: What’s one of the most successful campaigns your company has executed recently, and what made it successful?

Finnegan: We had an extremely successful McDonald’s campaign that supported the flat-bread sandwich this past summer. With the help of the IAB and several media providers, we were able to prove that the dollars allocated to online were at least as efficient as the traditional allocation. Exposing a message to a person in the right mind-set, at the right time -- while he or she is investigating what he or she is going to do for breakfast, lunch or dinner -- is what online marketing is all about.

iMedia Connection: Can your company point to evidence that suggests online advertising and marketing are contributing positively to branding metrics?

Finnegan: Absolutely. We have gauged such brand responses across our entire client-base—from McDonald’s to Quaker to State Farm to Tyson Chicken. Also, for certain products and services, both consumer and trade, a majority of our success in supporting branding online has been performed during the workday -- the @work day-part if you will -- when other media may not be utilized as much and also may not have the attentiveness and engagement as our medium delivers.

iMedia Connection: You mentioned day-parts. Do you think day-parting will become known as one of the Internet’s best practices, or is this perhaps more hype, than hope?

Finnegan: It’s real and we’re doing it when it makes sense. The beautiful thing about online is that it’s self-selecting. We pay based on confirmed viewed exposures and therefore have a higher chance of serving messages when consumers are in their right mind-set to take action or perceive the offer. And day-parting helps us deliver a further targeted message. Why would we consider not working toward it? It puts as at parody with traditional media and helps eliminate waste.

iMedia Connection: In this post click-through era, what kinds of new metrics are emerging as the new measurement standards?

Finnegan: We utilize all types of post-click metrics, from view-through reports to action tags charting conversions. Lately, I’m seeing a lot more interest in cross-media and consolidated optimization-based reporting -- the ability to roll a client’s campaign’s media responses into a single timely report and optimize on the fly. The down side is that these services charge a hefty add-on CPM, and when applied to using some of our CPA-evaluated (not necessarily purchased) campaigns, it makes the cost of entry high. But if the product works and conversion costs reduce, I suppose those upfront fees are justified.

iMedia Connection: How does the issue of relationship marketing tie into the future of online marketing?

Finnegan: At OMD we see relationship marketing from a macro, cross-media perspective. We make sure our online promotions are tying into whatever offers or deals are being promoted in other media. We pay more attention here on all consumer media touch points, versus just fulfilling an online campaign.

iMedia Connection: Have you piloted any early Reach & Frequency planning on behalf of your clients? What kinds of results did these analyses reveal?

Finnegan: We were the inaugural testers of the Atlas DMT system and are also beta-testing other products like WebRF. We’re thankful to have it as a planning measure, something we can equate to traditional planning. I agree with the discussion being had with the ARF about calculating the actual online R&F, to merge panel and site side data seems to be the optimal solution. Also, like all research, when presenting these online reach and frequency figures to our clients, they are always relayed with the caveat that they’re directional.

iMedia Connection: Are you recommending Gator and its technology to your clients, or is there a certain amount of angst?

Finnegan: We are investigating all companies and their products and services that can target URLs of interest. Of Gator, we are interested in the outcome of the suit laid against it.

iMedia Connection: Are your clients increasing their interactive spend over time? What does 2003 look like relative to 2002?

Finnegan: Yes, our billings will increase this year, probably at a clip higher than the industry average due to our integrated structure at OMD. We will see both organic growth as well as new allocations from previously non-spending clients. Also, we are beyond proposing the testing phase and only present our mass medium to a brand fully, if research dictates, as one to reach its audience. It makes large sense for most and little to others and we are fair about our recommendations. From these pro-recommendations we set achievable benchmarks and hopefully prove to and satisfy our clients with measurable results.

iMedia Connection: What remains the industry’s biggest stumbling block?

Finnegan: I think our current stumbling block is our voice as an industry, where we complain too much about not getting a share of the overall pie, when in fact we forget that we are larger than out-of-home and on the heels of radio’s billings share. Online is a mass medium and should begin to act like one. Yes, everyone remembers the dot-com bust, and I am thankful to say most of those pirates have moved on to their next scams. (And if you are in this business now, you must be legitimate and a believer.) But we need to remember that we are a worldwide medium reaching over 150M in the United States alone and should project as much in our pitches and plans.

iMedia Connection: What knowledge can you share to bridge the gap on how to better serve marketers’ needs in the online world?

Finnegan: Simply, to speak to their needs, remember that a marketing client’s day to day is 10% advertising focused. Focus on our medium in its mass and effective form, its role in the overall media mix and begin to argue more for solving your client’s business objectives. Then we’ll start to garner the respect we’re all clamoring for.