A major component of media buying is building relationships. A sizeable portion of a media planner's role is to forge and cultivate associations with vendors and partners. While these bonds are the foundation of any good marketer/vendor relationship, it is important that planners objectively evaluate their buys. This neutrality is especially crucial as ad networks are continually evolving, so sticking to familiar vendors could mean that inventory and properties are overlooked. Planners must be sure to consider all of their options to best serve clients. Successful campaigns, long-lasting client relationships, and industry credibility depend upon this.
Using familiar vendors and advertising networks is not necessarily a negative quality of a media planner. When all things are considered equal, great customer services and responsiveness oftentimes sways a media planner's decision to choose a particular vendor. It is only a problem if viable advertising options are neglected to favor preferred vendors. To get a broad perspective of possible pitfalls, I asked my colleagues at Geary Interactive to share their insights.
Here are five things a media planner can do to execute campaigns objectively.
Don't stick to what you know
To ensure that media buys do not favor one vendor over another, planners should conduct a thorough proposal process whenever time permits. By casting a wide net, planners can make sure they are basing their decisions on competitive quotes -- not bias. It is easy to return to vendors that have performed well in the past, but before each media buy, planners should reevaluate the landscape to secure the best options to meet clients' goals. Of course, media teams should include known and trusted vendors in the RFP process, but no one should feel obligated to go with familiar vendors. The important thing is to make smart buys that contribute to campaign objectives.
If vendors question why they weren't a chosen buy after a proposal process, make sure to provide honest feedback about how a decision was reached. Even providing a high-level explanation can keep relationships intact and maintain amicable foundations for future campaigns.
Focus on goals and research
Base media buys on success metrics as opposed to personal recommendations. Representatives promote their own platforms (as they should), but that does not mean their recommendations will best serve a campaign. Their recommendations might be effective but not necessarily a good fit for your given situation. As the liaison between marketers and vendors, it is up to a media planner to focus on buys that support goals -- not just activity. By combining their own research and vendor recommendations, media planners can rest assured they are making educated buys. Turn to vendors to get their opinions, but do not follow them blindly. Instead, ask them for hard numbers that you can compare to your own research. Before finalizing a media buy, refer back to the client's desired goals to ensure they are in alignment with your recommendations.
Respect different variables
Any number of variables can impact the success of a campaign. Creative design, targeting, competitive landscape, and seasonality are just a few components that influence a media campaign. Each variable needs to be viewed as a separate entity when gauging the success or failure of a campaign. When deciphering the results of a campaign, planners need to view it from a holistic perspective. A planner should not attribute the success or failure of a campaign on solely one factor or a single vendor.
Don't judge a vendor by a rep
The above recommendations will help media planners avoid favoring vendors where relationships have been established. What about the opposite? It is also important for planners to avoid writing off an ad vendor because they had an unpleasant encounter with one of its representatives. In these instances, it's even more crucial for media planners to set their preferences aside and make choices based on data and research. If a campaign requires ample management from a vendor, planners can politely ask for a different representative. The vendor wants to encourage lasting partnerships, so they will usually oblige to maintain the relationship on their end.
Finding a balance
Each campaign is different and can be based on a variety of goals and objectives. To account for this, planners should approach each project with a fresh perspective and notice when past experiences are impacting current campaign planning. In a perfect world, marketers could disregard earlier vendor relationships, but the knowledge gained with each execution can be helpful in other instances. The disconnect can be seen when working with vendors that reach similar verticals or age groups. While planners should make an effort to treat the campaigns as unique, tapping into this baseline information can help optimize new buys -- especially when timelines are short. Media planners need to find the appropriate balance where insights do not become assumptions. Assuming that one campaign will generate similar results with different variables can be dangerous.
The consolidation of ad networks
Media fragmentation is a challenge digital media people face every day. The diverse landscape of media platforms forces planners to choose where they purchase ad space, and these decisions directly impact the users they reach. Although fragmentation has been a growing problem over the last decade as digital platforms have evolved and matured, most predict that this era may be over. Ad networks are beginning to consolidate into vertically specialized groups. This merging will allow media planners to more effectively use the billions of bulk impressions available on a monthly basis to reach their target audiences through a shorter list of media vendors. It will also afford media planners easier access to best-of-breed targeting technologies. With these evolutions on the horizon, marketers can reevaluate how they buy digital media properties and make sure buying habits are sensible.
Conclusions
These suggestions are meant to illuminate underlying biases that might affect how marketers buy media space. It will never be possible for media planners -- or anyone else -- to be completely unbiased. However, it is a good goal and a mental check. By acknowledging that there are tendencies to favor vendors, media planners can be aware of their biases and make corrections if needed.
Jinenne Sutherland is director of media services at Geary Interactive.