Media Agency co-founder, ex-agency CEO, Founder at Encyclomedia International, Non-Exec Chairman, Media Marketing Compliance, Adtech advisor, commentator, investor, writer
'Proprietary Media' (or 'Principal) is a hot potato in our industry right now. A new report from the Association of National Advertisers is a great, in-depth guide to the pros and cons, with very good recommendations for advertisers. Here I go into the cons and cons and argue that it is bad for everyone and ultimately the Media Agencies themselves. I call it 'unprincipled' media. As the WFA meets in Toronto for Global Marketer Week the health of the advertising industry should be on the agenda. Advertisers may not be able to solve issues such as climate change, but they can take actions with a more immediate impact on the well-being of the people who service their needs through how they spend their money. The news piece contains the ANA report can be found here https://lnkd.in/geKeFjBX All comments welcome, as ever.
Geraint Davies
2mo
The Cons definitely outweigh any benefits clients think they may be obtaining using PM, but they probably don't even know what those proposed benefits are anyway. This is an excellent quote from the article from Philippe Dominois, co-founder of media auditor Abintus Consulting. He said: “The lack of transparency, audit restrictions, lower value media inventory, loss of agency volume bonuses, and compromised media neutrality far outweigh any perceived short-term benefits…. To protect advertisers’ interests, I strongly advocate for Holistic Media Auditing that exposes these practices' true extent and impact.” I am sure he could have listed even more cons.
Fredrik Hallberg
2mo
”The focus is on spending money, not generating profit for advertisers.” Warren said it best.
Gareth Owen
2mo
Brilliant article and detail. Can’t the likes of brandtech group start to help change all this? Or would they by definition struggle to make enough money to compete with the oligopoly?
Mats Rönne
2mo
Excellent - and, unfortunately, also scary overview
Nick Wells
2mo
Very well written piece, yet again Love what you and Brian Jacobs are spearheading
Darren Woolley
2mo
Well said!
Exploring Retirement
2moSpeaking as an ex-practioner in this area, I am allowed the luxury of what is likely to appear an unpopular opinion. And that is: that PM can in fact be a win-win for all parties- IF the requisite checks and balances, sign offs and transparency are all in place. Any responsible agency should be offerring this up without waiting to be asked. I'm surprised and a little amused at how little this debate has changed over the years, the terminology and agendas seem to have evolved slowly or not at all: whilst the rigour around buying and selling PM, based on my own experience, has improved massively to protect the client. No axe to grind here, except perhaps the one needed to fell that banana tree in my garden..