Category Archives: media planning & buying

Who’s to blame for the current digital media mess? We all are.

Posted on April 7, 2017 by David Angell

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Commentary regarding the various issues facing the digital advertising industry continues to grow. Dishonesty, corruption, complexity, lack of knowledge, inadequate marketing, inadequate agencies, inadequate measurement…the list goes on. Based on the work we do with our clients, these issues are certainly becoming more recognised – even if many advertisers are still extremely challenged in their understanding of who, or what, they need to look at. The trouble is, so much of the commentary lacks objectivity. Continue reading →

Posted in agency remuneration / compensation, agency solutions, data & direct marketing, industry news & trends, marketing process optimisation, marketing procurement, media planning & buying, social media & digital marketing | Comments Off

Organisational Mishmash: The Ad Agency’s Unaccountable Structure

Posted on March 24, 2017 by Michael Farmer

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The global ad agency has become a complex, unmanageable mishmash of organisational positions. Complexity reigns. Accountability is invisible if it exists at all. No wonder clients are able to take such advantage of their agencies, loading on unpaid out-of-scope work and cutting fees! Top agency executives, though aware of the problem, are unable to launch a management counter-offensive. No one has the responsibility for the problem or the authority to turn things around. Continue reading →

Posted in agency remuneration / compensation, agency solutions, interesting observations, marketing process optimisation, media planning & buying, strategic management | Comments Off

Which comes first, the media plan or the creative?

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Bill Merrick

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Sometimes, using a story can help put things into context; here’s one for this idea. A chicken and an egg meet in a dimly lit bar in New York. After a few drinks, it’s clear that they’re heading for romance. They get a room and feathers fly. Later, in the warm afterglow of the street lights and the hotel neon blinking gently into the room, the chicken lights two cigarettes, hands one to the egg and says, “Well, I guess that settles that.” My apologies, but the debate in the industry over which comes first, the media plan or the creative – is an almost certain way to fall fowl (pardon the pun) of good practice. But it does seem to me that more and more people are asking this (especially with all the new shiny toys and technology)– and it’s a great way of sorting the pros from the cons (The professionals or the people trying to con their way through). Continue reading →

Posted in agency solutions, Evalu8ing - Relationship Performance Monitoring, interesting observations, marketing process optimisation, media planning & buying, strategic management | Comments Off

Marketing Technology and its impact on Media Ethics and Transparency

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Darren Woolley

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There is much discussion on Marketing Technology and the impact it has on Media Transparency. In this post, myself and David Angell from TrinityP3 deliberately take differing points of view to explore the issues and encourage industry discussion on this important topic. Continue reading →

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Time for marketers to follow P&G’s lead and apply the Golden Rule

Posted on February 3, 2017 by Darren Woolley

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Congratulations to Procter & Gamble CMO Marc Pritchard on an excellent example of how marketers need to apply the Golden Rule. The Golden Rule is the Man with the Gold makes the rules. Or put another way, the market sets the price but the buyer sets the terms. But there is certainly an argument that for the past ten years marketing and procurement have been setting the price, using competitive tensions and tenders to drive down the agency fee but largely ignoring the importance of setting the terms. By terms I do not mean payment terms, but even the introduction of extended payment terms has been cost driven. Continue reading →

Posted in agency solutions, Evalu8ing - Relationship Performance Monitoring, industry news & trends, marketing process optimisation, marketing procurement, media planning & buying, strategic management | Comments Off

The importance of financial analysis in determining marketing priorities

Posted on February 1, 2017 by Darren Woolley

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In dealing with the management of marketing, a significant component of the work we do is assessing and benchmarking the value of the marketing investment of our clients. This budget is spent with a range of external suppliers. These external suppliers include advertising, digital and media agencies, but also the thousands of other suppliers who are competing for the share of the marketing budget. These suppliers can include everything from printers and merchandising providers to market researchers and software providers. Continue reading →

Posted in agency remuneration / compensation, agency search & selection, marketing process optimisation, marketing procurement, media planning & buying, return on investment, strategic management | Comments Off

If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional marketing management consultant to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur

Posted on January 16, 2017 by Darren Woolley

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I love this quote that I have shamelessly paraphrased in the headline here. Red Adair was a larger-than-life character who built his reputation successfully putting out oil well fires. This is a highly dangerous and incredibly lucrative occupation. Imagine an oil well producing thousands of barrels of oil, suddenly erupts into flames? It is literally millions of dollars going up in smoke. Now I am not for a minute suggesting what we do as marketing management consultants is anywhere near as dramatic or a dangerous as Red Adair and his oil fire fighting business, but I think there are some key examples of where in marketing management an expensive professional provides more value than a low cost amateur. Continue reading →

Posted in agency remuneration / compensation, agency search & selection, interesting observations, marketing process optimisation, marketing procurement, media planning & buying, return on investment, strategic management | Comments Off

Media transparency the biggest challenge last year and next

Posted on January 13, 2017 by Darren Woolley

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2016 was, generally speaking, a difficult year for the world. Brexit, the US election, and a number of iconic world figures dying, and various natural disasters, have not made for high levels of morale or happiness. So can we at least spread a bit of cheer in our tiny little corner of the world, that of the marketing industry? Unfortunately not; the past year has given us very little to cheer about. If advertisers are looking for some relief from the challenges and issues of the past year, I suggest they make sure they are well rested going into 2017 based on the biggest issues we have noted in 2016. Continue reading →