Yes, you can certainly measure how much profit a business accrues from a media campaign. The usual ROI calculation divides total return by the campaign cost, giving a percentage representing the effectiveness of the ads. However, measurement can be complex, particularly if the client is, for example, carrying out a broad awareness campaign using traditional media. The calculation will necessarily depend on the campaign KPIs and precisely how the client chooses to measure success.

In general, ROI is easiest to measure using the plethora of data available in a digital media buy and when there are clear KPIs which, for example, focus on the number of click throughs or sales.

There are numerous elements to consider in determining the best media channels for a campaign. Everything starts with a full understanding, and interrogation of, the brief and the central question of ‘who are we talking to?’ We need to precisely define the target audience, their age, gender, location, level of income, as well as their behaviours, values, interests and their preferred media channels.

We analyse the precise nature of the product or service, the message being conveyed, the campaign goals and KPIs, and of course the media budget available. The choice of best media channel(s) for a campaign will be those that speak most effectively to the target audience whilst achieving the campaign goals to the given budget.

Channel performance will be analysed as the campaign progresses. Further fine-tuning of the channel mix strategy may then take place to achieve maximum ROI.

A media agency is a business like MEERKATworks that covers both the areas of media planning and media buying. At MEERKAT we design and implement brand media strategies for our clients by planning, negotiating, buying and managing their advertising campaigns. A media agency focuses on maximising the impact of brand communication by ensuring it reaches the target audience through the most effective, timely and best value media.

A media planner develops the strategy or plan behind the selection of media platforms (whereas a media buyer focuses on the actual negotiation and purchase of different platforms as laid out in the media plan).

In this way a media planner is specifically involved in analysing audiences, channels, platforms, messaging, and advertisements to discover the most effective media and methods to promote products and services.

An expert in this field enables clients to reach potential customers on the right channel, with the right message, at the right time and at the right price.

A media planning agency is concerned with determining the most effective method of communicating a message to a particular audience.

Heidi Carroll, the Founder of MEERKATworks, describes a media planning agency as “a business employing highly skilled marketers who develop effective strategies to best reach their clients’ target audiences. They do this by analysing and fully understanding the audience, the media landscape, the options available and the true value of media.”

Programmatic buying is an increasingly popular marketing technique that involves the purchase of digital advertising space via automated software platforms. It utilises data insights and algorithms to serve ads to the right user, at the right time for a given price.

Programmatic buying provides several important benefits:

1.Reach

Advertising bought programmatically provides access to millions of websites, social media platforms and digital ad spaces and thus allows marketers to speak to an incredibly broad and diverse audience.

2.Targeting

Programmatic enables extraordinarily precise segmentation and targeting of the audience by behaviour, shopping habits and interests, as well as by age, location, device, and context of ad.

3.Transparency and efficiency

The extremely high level of transparency and data enabled by programmatic means that marketers can accurately track and analyse every dimension of their advertising. This has significant cost benefits. It also means that programmatic advertising provides a much clearer picture of ROI and a more effective means of judging the success of a campaign.

4.Real time data management

Programmatic allows real time management using a data-driven process. Real time access to a wealth of data means that marketers can respond quickly and make changes to fine-tune ad style, placement, and messaging. They can also react to news events, market trends and consumer behaviours.

There are key differences between buying traditional media such as TV, radio, outdoor, and print etc. and digital media, that is those which are online or depend on the internet.

1. Targeting

When buying a digital campaign, the client can take advantage of the precise audience targeting capabilities. Using digital media it is possible to target people based on their exact location (often right down to a postcode), age, interests, area of work and consumer behaviours. Traditional media tends to offer more generalised targeting. For example, a campaign aired on a traditional radio channel will necessarily cover the whole audience that listens to the channel across a relatively broad area.

2. Audience interaction

Digital media allows easier audience interaction than traditional media such as TV, print or radio. For example, if a user clicks on an ad while they’re searching the internet or browsing social media they can be taken directly to a landing page where they can find out more, read reviews or buy your product/ service on the spot.

3. Tracking

Tracking the results of an advertising campaign also differs between these media. Traditional media channels tend to offer less clarity into which ads are driving the most leads and sales. Digital media allow you to track the results of your campaign in a more detailed manner. For example, you can see how many people clicked on your ad or how many people contacted your company or bought a product after ad viewing.

A: Companies are often hesitant, even nervous, about hiring media buying agencies. This may be because they are uncertain about exactly what media planners and buyers do, or perhaps because they believe the cost of their services will be too high or even because they believe they can buy media more simply by dealing direct. Whatever the reason, there are significant benefits and cost-savings that can accrue from working with the right agency. Here are our top five reasons for using a media buying agency.

1. Gain instant, pain-free media know-how and experience (expert)
2. Benefit from independent, impartial advice (independent)
3. Tap into established relationships and invaluable connections (relationships)
4. Access the perfect mix of advanced data with skilled human initiative (planning execution)
5. Gain understanding of the ‘true’ value of media in real time (value/buying)

We will cover all of these points individually – but do feel free to get in touch with us – details here

A: We know the real value of media. An experienced media buying agency, like MEERKATworks knows what ‘real’ value is when negotiating for our clients, we understand the current state of the market and how to squeeze the most out of each media pound. We will use our media knowledge to plan every purchase insightfully and economically. In this way you can be sure of the most effective advertising campaigns that achieve the desired response with the minimum of waste.

A: In a nutshell – both! Some media buying agencies, like MEERKATworks allow you to access the perfect mix of advanced data WITH skilled human initiative. The best agencies will harness their knowledge of the media landscape, combining skilled human initiative with specialised industry measurement data, such as BARB, Route, RAJAR. Whilst data is at the heart of planning, so too is the insight to cross check and finely tune. Every media plan we create will be bespoke and individually tailored to your business and the distinct requirements of each brief.

There are some great examples in our case studies here.

A: Just imagine how good it would feel to throw away those impenetrable guides to buying media. Instead, you could tap seamlessly into a media agency’s experience and up-to-date knowledge of the multiplicity of channels, platforms, and formats. This is a major benefit of recruiting a good media agency; they smoothly and efficiently carry out all the difficult, hard-learned media planning and buying tasks, leaving you to concentrate on your day-to-day work. Why start from scratch, struggling to understand the ever-evolving technology, how to integrate complex data, trade media, and negotiate cross platform purchases? You could benefit from expertise and know-how that saves you valuable time, money and a whole lot of hassle.

You can see how we have helped some of our clients in our advertising case studies.

A: Sometimes what you really need is an independent perspective, an agency on the outside who can see your business from 360 degrees and give you impartial advice. Many media agencies work across a wide variety of sectors and businesses and can give you an unrivalled view of what media strategies and techniques would work best for your business goals. Better still, if the media agency is fully independent, with no contractual ties to any one media owner, then you can be assured of completely unbiased advice into the best media route forward for your business.

A: Yes. That’s part of the service all good agencies will provide. We have connections with all of the key media owners. Connections matter in the media world. Media buying agencies put a great deal of importance on building good, solid relationships with their suppliers, the media owners. In many cases these will have taken numerous years and many negotiations to establish. Good relationships provide extensive benefits to media agencies and their clients, such as the ability to purchase the highest quality formats, heavily discounted rates, access to exciting short-term deals, added value/ overshow and sometimes even seats to the best inside tours in media.