Agencies need more time, more tools, more cooperation, more understanding.

Dave Smith, president and media director of Mediasmith, Inc. in San Francisco, is a 38-year veteran in the advertising media management arena. He's a nationally-known expert in the areas of new media application, media strategy and media planning, and has held media management positions on both coasts. He is a pioneer in the use of computers in media, and in interactive media. The University of Washington alum is a regular speaker at industry events and writer for a number of industry publications. Smith is a member of several advisory boards, including MSN and comScore, and is involved with the AAAA’s, IAB, OPA and the ARF. He currently chairs the Online Reach & Frequency Committee for the ARF.

iMediaConnection: What's your biggest frustration these days?

Smith: Not enough time in the day. Need for instant turnaround. Everyone wanting access. From a media standpoint, lack of affordable tools to measure ROI for traditional media.
 
iMediaConnection: What's easier this year than last?

Smith: New business. There is much more activity.

iMediaConnection: What's one of the most successful branding campaigns your company has executed recently, and what made it successful?

Smith: Napster 2.0. It helped that the brand was already well-known in the online music space. But we needed to register a whole new message -- that it is OK to pay for music online -- while still remaining hip and cool. We started out with guerilla and low level Web advertising against the younger, hip target that historically used Napster, then migrated to the older online buyer as the service introduced. We did roadblocks on 15 sites, ran a week of TV in a day, followed by healthy campaigns in both online and cable TV. This was supported by a strong magazine effort with lots of third and fourth covers. We tried to make certain that all media was targeted to those who would buy online. We estimate that iPod/iTunes outspent us 10:1 or more, and that BuyMusic.com also outspent us considerably. We are holding our own in the marketplace and while we are not No. 1, we probably have as much volume as everybody else but Apple combined.

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

Smith: Not yet, but we are working toward this.

iMediaConnection: What are you telling your clients about rich media?

Smith: That it works really well from both a branding and direct response basis. It helps break through the clutter. It is now easy to track results, and the pricing premiums to use it have lessened considerably. From an economics standpoint, there is no reason not to use it.

iMediaConnection: What can't the Internet do, as much as we wish it could?

Smith: Reach everyone at once with a sight, sound and motion message. This will come in time. Broadband has reached the tipping point and there will be more and more ways to get broadband affordably over the next few years.

iMediaConnection: How is the agency-seller relationship these days? How could it be better?

Smith: There is too much complaining about trivia and not enough seller involvement in understanding our strategies. Of course, it would be easier if there were more time for both buyer and seller to spend time on issues like strategy (see above on not enough time).

iMediaConnection: Are you having issues with Terms and Conditions?

Smith: Yes, from some big sites and Google, as well as smaller, vertical sites that want to sell advertising, but don't want to do business in a standard way.

iMediaConnection: Are you working with your clients' non-interactive agencies? If so, how are you perceived -- as a partner or still as an oddity?

Smith: We handle all media for our clients and don't have this problem, thank goodness.

iMediaConnection: What's the one thing you wish clients would understand?

Smith: View-through or post-impression attribution. This is a major contributor to the success of most campaigns, yet some clients "don't believe in it" as if it were a religion, not a data point.

iMediaConnection: What's the one thing you wish publishers would understand?

Smith: That we are trying to work in their best interests and that sometimes, what appears to be inflexibility on our part is the message that we are carrying for our clients, not giving us much choice.

iMediaConnection: What remains the industry's biggest stumbling block?

Smith: That it costs an agency a lot more to execute an interactive campaign than a traditional campaign as a percentage of the gross. And that not all clients will compensate accordingly. This causes agencies to reduce services behind important activities like optimization, which can make the difference in success or failure.

iMediaConnection: What are you reading these days?

Smith: I am going back to re-read the Aubrey-Maturin stories (Master and Commander series). These remain some of the best books I have ever read. I still read almost every issue of Business Week, Forbes and Business 2.0, which I find invaluable from a business perspective.

iMediaConnection: And finally, tell us something we don't know yet, but that we will discover this year.

Smith: San Francisco has no good sports teams. And that branding produces the best ROI.

Smith also appeared in Meet the Marketers in 2002.