Do advertising media buyers ‘get it?’
Steve Safran July 31st, 2007
One of the things I hear most often from media outlets is how difficult they find their dealings with ad agencies. Specifically, they say that the agencies aren’t all that interested in buying web advertising. I’d like to hear your experiences - especially if you’re a media buyer. Are agencies interested in online media? Local online media? Do they feel threatened by the web because it allows DIY ad buying?
3 Comments Add your own
1. bram | July 31st, 2007 at 11:18 pm
I’m not a media buyer but I’ve worked in agencies. I suspect it’s because in the agency game, the goal is to bid up the creative. Contextual text ads are antithetical to that. Insofar as they’re interested in the Internet at all, they want it to be like TV or print. Agencies want to buy as much TV, radio, print and outdoor as they can so they can keep their creatives fat and happy, win awards and justify the inflated overhead in their inefficient business models. Also, even though it is plagued by fraud, Internet advertising has an accountability component that scares agencies. It make it harder for them to convince their clients that the product they offer is actually worth it. What’s the old saying? “I know half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, I just don’t know which half.” Uh huh.
2. gin | August 2nd, 2007 at 7:14 am
I work in an agency and think that you couldn’t be farther from the truth. Right now, all agencies and their clients are pushing for more web advertising. Most clients are mandating that agencies spend less and less on TV and more on the web.
The accountability aspect doesn’t scare agencies at all - in fact, that accountability can be a major selling point when trying to sell in a digital plan.
For years, it may have been difficult for agencies to justify spending money on local online media, but that is changing as local websites gain more visitors, and those websites are promoted more over traditional broadcast media.
3. Mac | August 19th, 2007 at 10:04 am
I work as a media buyer and I have to say many an agency or client comes to place and doesn’t understand the process of online advertising. They want it to be like print or television but the truth is it is not, from the way inventory is tracked to the method of sale to the tracking - a whole new ball game.
Like everything else online, I think some business get it and embrace the new methods. Others exist in a world of fear and will not catch up for 2-3 years.
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