This Senior VP, Media Director defines the agency of the future as a marketing agency that works beyond simple ads.
As SVP, Media Director for Sedgwick Road in Seattle, Sheryl Hudson is responsible for leading the media-planning team. The team's primary role is to evaluate all channels of communication and make recommendations as to where the messaging should appear. Additionally, the media planning team is responsible for all print, online, and out-of-home rate negotiations for such clients as Washington Mutual, WA Dept of Health and Converse.
iMedia: What has been the biggest change that you have experienced in the online advertising industry over the past year?
Sheryl Hudson: I think one of the biggest changes in the online advertising industry is client acceptance of online as part of the media mix and the sheer growth in dollars shifted to the medium. We have gone from having clients who ignored online as a medium to acceptance that online is a vital part of the media mix. Clients are beginning to see competitors’ spend heavily in online and shift their mix media away from broadcast and print. This shift has not gone un-noticed.
iMedia: What do you hope to accomplish or try this year?
Hudson: In many ways the online medium has been pigeon-holed into only a direct-response medium. We want to effectively communicate to and convince our clients that online advertising is not just about direct response (gaining a click, selling a product).
Online is capable of creating awareness, engaging with consumers, entertaining consumers, communicating product features, educating consumers and much more. Online is unique in that sight, sound and motion can affect emotion on which a consumer can act immediately.
iMedia: How do you evaluate media placements?
Hudson: For most clients, we evaluate clicks, conversions and/or brand impact via Dynamic Logic. We have one client for which we evaluate peer-to-peer dialogue and online media driving offline action (phone calls).
iMedia: What needs to be done internally as well as in partnership with the clients to better coordinate integrated marketing efforts?
Hudson: On the agency-side, media needs to work more closely with the creative team. Online advertising should not be purchased without having a clear understanding of how creative will be integrated into each placement opportunity.
On the client-side, organizational structure must be fluid enough to encourage cross-departmental cooperation. We still see clients organizationally separate offline and online marketing and create offline and online agency silos. Without tight communication, a clear understanding of the brand position and integration of media channels, advertising campaigns appear disparate.
iMedia: Behavioral targeting is a hot topic. Are you using it for any of your clients? How and what have the results been like?
Hudson: Not yet.
iMedia: Are any of your clients being affected by any consumer-generated marketing (CGM) -- blogs, user groups, etc.? Are they using any blogs or other social networking tools to market?
Hudson: Not yet.
iMedia: Are analytics getting any easier? Where do you see this aspect of online marketing going?
Hudson: Easier is relative. We have more information to make better decisions, but it requires more resources to dissect. So, while analytics are getting easier because the information is getting better, the volume of data available requires more time.
Analytics in the future will be simplified if marketers have a clear understanding of what they want online to accomplish and how they want to measure it. By focusing on key metrics and capturing the most relevant data, metrics will become easier despite the volumes of data available.
iMedia: We recently asked Brands what they thought the future of advertising agencies is. Want to weigh in on the topic? What do you think agencies' greatest role will be moving forward?
Hudson: Advertising agencies will become marketing agencies that work beyond simple ads. Digital opportunities have opened up the possibilities to create content that can be used to communicate to consumers across platforms and outside of the 30-second guard-rail. We are beginning to see technology enable some very interesting ways to engage with consumers (on the web, on the ground, and even on the television with companies like Visible World).
iMedia: What are brands still not getting about interactive marketing?
Hudson: Online marketing can impact brand, and interactive marketing should not be held to accountability standards significantly different from traditional media.
iMedia: What marketing or business books do you most recommend?
Hudson: Sergio Zyman’s book “The End of Advertising As We Know It” published a few years back has been a great reminder of what advertising should do for our clients. They key points in his book are that 1) everything communicates, 2) advertising should include all communication, 3) every single expenditure must generate a return and 4) awareness is worthless unless it results in sales.