We lead advertisers through the minefield of choosing a media agency. There is
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a distinct benefit in having an expert who can streamline the process; understand
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what is really on offer; identify where the value lies; where savings can be made
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and how to negotiate effective commercial terms with the new agency.
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We write media pitch briefs; manage confidentiality; help select
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candidate media agencies; evaluate responses; manage meetings; set
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performance objectives; create cost targets; establish transparent
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relationships and manage expectations.
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We ensure that advertisers ask all of the right questions to reduce the risk of any
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misunderstanding. We work across all media disciplines and have exceptionally
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high skills in all media including digital media.
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The media agency market place is extremely competitive and every media
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agency invests heavily in its new business programme. Media agencies expect to
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lose a certain number of clients every year and in order to continue to grow, they
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must win new business. This has meant that most media agencies involved in a
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media planning and buying pitch or review will offer improved terms, keener
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media buying performance guarantees and enhanced services. In a lot of
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instances, where an advertiser is looking for change and improvements, we
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would recommend a media review rather than a full media pitch. This can save
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time and money. However, there are often good reasons, where perhaps
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relationships have broken down, or an advertiser has outgrown its current agency.
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In these cases it is critical to ensure that a new agency can honestly deliver what it
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promises in the media pitch. It is extremely important to ensure that the new team
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has the right calibre of experience and knowledge. There should also be a strong
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feeling that the two parties want to work together and are excited about the new
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partnership. It is not good business to chase improved media buying guarantees
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at the expense of talent on the media strategy side of the service.
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Media buying performance guarantees are now an expected component of the
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media pitch process, although very few advertisers really understand how the
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metrics that underpin financial buying guarantees work. Because of this we
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make sure that the nature of the guarantee is structured in a way where there
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are no grey areas and the opportunity to manipulate data is removed. Improved
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costs in media buying need to be exactly that. If the advertiser cannot see a
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tangible cost saving without a loss of quality, then it is not a real cost saving.
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There are far too many examples of advertisers who trust a good score on a
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typical media buying audit as representative of cost savings. There can be a
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high dependence on PowerPoint charts from media auditors that show a media
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buying discount against a market norm. These practices can hide a multitude of
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sins. It is quite possible for an advertiser to spend far more with a media owner
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than makes marketing sense (across a given campaign period), yet believe that
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because the media discount looks good on paper he or she has saved money.
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The key point here is to audit the media auditing process before believing that
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media buying cost savings are real savings. We work with client-side
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procurement professionals to ensure that only real savings are logged as a
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direct financial benefit. We also assist in contract negotiations with the media
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agency to ensure guarantees that may drive a media buying performance related
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bonus for the agency cannot be abused.
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