Bob P.’s Post

Are you wondering if all shiny media placements are relevant? Check out this insightful blog from Fuel Media and Marketing where we explore 👉 The definitions, relevance, and benefits of 'premium placements' 👉 The blog also highlights why contractual definitions matter to avoid misalignment and disappointment. 👉 Don't miss out on why the strategy should take precedence over 'premium inventory for premium's sake'. Read the blog here: https://lnkd.in/dgNrWAiM #MediaPlacements #MarketingStrategy #PremiumInventory

So what does principal media do? Essentially it’s when an agency (most often a media agency) doesn’t act as an agent but rather as a principal by selling ad inventory it has purchased from a media vendor/publisher to its client and earns some profit margin off of that sale. #principalmedia

The use of #principalmedia isn't new. The early stages of digital networks, this was very common practice. The network purchased the inventory to resell, more through #shareofvoice instead of #CPMs or impression loads. And before that, large media shops would over purchase #network #linear inventory during the upfronts banking on reselling any unused inventory in the #scatter markets or to brand they worked with but unable to participate in the upfronts. However, it is a bit concerning the way in which its done today in the digital space. The challenge we see is that its not just a resell of inventory, but who owns the original inventory to begin with. When the holding company owns the publisher, the DSP, and the buying agency, are the brands really benefiting or is the holding company simply creating layers in which to keep all the money in a single closed system? Its also important to question if the buyers and sellers are owned by the same company, are the sellers then using your brands data to leverage relationships with your brands competitors? Are they maximizing performance or just ensuring they keep both sides of the margin? In these cases, external audits are vital, and brands need to press hard against understanding where the money and their placements are really hitting. In a simple audit we found one brand, buying digital ads through a digital agency had over 90% of all impressions running on publishers and content owned by the same parent company as the digital agency. In all, we are opposed to principal media, but brands should be aware and ask a lot of questions. Demand deeper performance and transparency into who and where their dollars are being invested. https://shorturl.at/3hP9Y

Advertisers: Get the Media Value You Deserve! This blog post by Fuel Media & Marketing gives you practical tips to ensure you get the most out of your ad spend, even when your agency uses "inventory media." Learn how to verify pricing, reject low-quality placements, and secure your fair share of value. #inventorymedia #principalbasedbuying #mediaconsultancy https://lnkd.in/eD8Dn8gx

An interesting and balanced read detailing the media journey we are on to 0% transparency / 100% margin. Well, technically the margin can be a lot more than 100%. Let us explain in the form of a case study: ➡️ an agency uses their clients money to buy media from a vendor ➡️ that vendor gives the agency their special rebate in the form of free inventory ➡️ the agency then sell this inventory to their opted in clients Welcome to the brave new world of ♾️ margins 💰💰💰 Who do you trust in this environment 🤔 ElucidateX | Re:Motive Media | LA PIPA IS LA PIPA #media #marketing #advertising #principaltrading #transparency #margin #inventorymedia https://lnkd.in/eteBBmUv

Advertisers: Get the Media Value You Deserve! This blog post by Fuel Media & Marketing gives you practical tips to ensure you get the most out of your ad spend, even when your agency uses "inventory media." Learn how to verify pricing, reject low-quality placements, and secure your fair share of value. #inventorymedia #principalbasedbuying #mediaconsultancy https://lnkd.in/ecTrwGZz

We've audited a tonne of brands this year, and one of the consistent take aways is over investing into a single creative format. There's a number of reasons of why this can be a bad tactic and missed opportunity, one of those is traffic cost. Naturally different formats drive traffic at different costs (variations across CPM, CTR) and if you're looking to reduce your cost per acquisition, you can either decrease the cost on the front end (CPC) or on the back end (Conv Rate). The data below is from one of those accounts we audited, the missed opportunity? Not investing more into static image ads and whitelisting partnership ads. #paidsocial

3 Red flags that your ads manager is costing you money (and how to fix it) 🚩 Red Flag #1: They're obsessed with vanity metrics Fix: Ask for reports on ROAS, CPA, AOV and PROFIT. Ignore everything else. 🚩 Red Flag #2: They never test new ad formats or placements Fix: Insist on regular creative testing and expansion to new placements 🚩 Red Flag #3: They can't explain their strategy in simple terms Fix: If they can't explain it, they don't understand it. Find someone who can. Your ads manager should be a partner in your growth, not a black hole for your ad spend. If you're seeing these red flags, it might be time for a change.

Q4 is just a few weeks away! We've put together a 'No Fluff' comprehensive guide to help brands have a productive and successful end to the year. Diligence and focus on the foundational elements often return the highest output. With tightening budgets and resource, ensure that your input is effective. Are you having these discussions with your paid media partner? Read more: https://lnkd.in/e2zSfzUz

Nick Manning has an excellent piece (https://lnkd.in/ebjX_YUF) in The Media Leader today on how agencies make money on what I always knew as broking and which today has been relabelled 'Principal-Based Media', presumably in the hope that that makes it alright...! There's a danger that Nick's points will be dismissed by many as the mechanics of media buying, the dark arts perfected by the few in order to squeeze a better deal for their clients by the agencies. As Nick shows it's nothing of the kind. And it's far more concerning than that. If you accept that the agency can act as a broker, or reseller of media space and time then you have to accept that the media agencies doing this are no longer objective in their recommendations; that their plans are not worth the paper they're written on; and that measuring the advertising's effect by channel is no longer possible. Trading media becomes just like trading a commodity. If you think that 'media' is more than a commodity defined by largely meaningless numbers on a spreadsheet, that instead 'media' is an integral component of advertising; and that creativity and craft matter, then you can join Nick and me (and an increasingly large group of supporters from all corners of the ad business) in the 'Advertising: Who Cares?' movement, and maybe join us at our event in September. Mail me on brian@bjanda.com or Nick on nick@encyclomedia.international for more details. Geraint Davies Julia Linehan