OEA on Media – Max Your Mix

The OEA media department’s primary function is to get our clients’ messaging out in the most effective and efficient way possible. It’s not just about negotiating the best possible rates and value add (although that is certainly important!); it’s about finding the right audience, at the right time, via whatever media they may be consuming, on whatever device they are using. Digital has certainly disrupted the media landscape, to be sure. While some may lament that audiences are becoming more and more fragmented and difficult to reach, O’Brien et al.’s philosophy is “Challenge accepted!”

Here are some of our thoughts about finding our clients’ audiences and the best channels in which to reach them:

1. Don’t discount traditional media! TV and radio are still very much viable in terms of both high reach and driving customers in-store and to websites. In any given week, well over 90% of most demographics are reached via radio and TV. They have the benefit of being “live and local”. News and live sports still continue to perform especially well. If you make it a point to track ROI, your analytics will typically always show a lift in traffic to your website on the first day that your broadcast schedule airs. We make it a point to show our clients how their traditional media buys are performing and affecting their traffic and sales. Local station talent are the original “social media influencers” and stations often have large social media following. Make sure that you take advantage of all that a station has to offer in terms of reaching their audience through their other platforms as well (social, website, database, etc.) The goal is to reach their audience across multiple screens/platforms.
2. Digital display and video pre-roll allow us to target consumers more specifically based on product interest and purchase intent. Both Google and programmatic demand side platforms allow us to serve our clients’ messages to those who are in the market for their products or services and to track consumer actions, conversions and sales. We can immediately gauge ROI and optimize our campaigns to ensure maximum efficiencies.
3. OTT (over the top TV) and ConnectedTV continues to grow. According to a recent eMarketer survey, almost 60% the population currently has a TV that is connected to a Roku, AppleTV or gaming console. This means that more and more people are consuming video content over the internet. OEA was an early adopter for onboarding our clients for OTT and for several years now. While we would not yet tell our clients to eschew traditional TV and ONLY do ConnectedTV (the reach is just not quite there yet), we do make sure to allocate budget to OTT, to reach those cord cutters and folks who ONLY watch on a smart TV.
4. Programmatic/ConnectedTV buying is handled in-house here at OEA. What does that mean? Many advertisers and agencies partner with other local media or digital companies to buy their OTT/ConnectedTV. Often, that means there is an extra “middle man” that increases the clients overall cost per thousand (CPM). We have dedicated resources to having an in-house digital team to place our own programmatic, to ensure the client gets the most impressions possible for their budget.
5. Transparency! The digital landscape and offerings can sometimes seem like the wild, wild west. Many providers/partners do not like to disclose their mark up on digital. We think we know why. We’ve seen some digital partner presentations with markups as high as 50-75% (a couple higher than that!) In addition to handling our clients programmatic digital buying in-house, we are also VERY transparent about what our markup is. Our primary goal is to ensure our clients success and protect their ad dollars. We make sure that the majority of their digital budgets are working towards bringing them customers. Otherwise, they won’t be pleased with their campaign performance. We let our clients know up front what our markup is and they are assured they are not paying 2x-3x the actual CPM to have us handle their digital campaigns.
6. Optimize, Optimize, Optimize! We are constantly evaluating all our media placements, whether traditional or digital to gain keen insights as to what is the most successful formula for our clients. It’s important to use our findings to shape future campaigns. The more successful our clients are, the more successful we are. Nothing is more satisfying than a client saying to us, “O’Brien et al. has made a significant impact on our business! Thank you!” It’s all about doing the right thing and ensuring the success of our clients who entrust us with their precious media dollars. They trust us to be their fiduciaries and we certainly don’t take that responsibility lightly!

If you’re looking for someone to help navigate the choppy waters of media… click here and let us help!