Ads or Algorithms?

The news broke in Campaign on Monday in a piece by their media and technology editor Omar Oakes who by Thursday was speculating on whether media agency brands were becoming an endangered species as planners migrate to tech businesses and media sales operationsThe media consultant Tom Denford of IDComms wondered aloud if the Wavemaker move signalled the end of media planningAnd the creative agency Mother revealed details of their entry into the media agency business with Media by Mother which aims to quotrethink the media agencyquotThis paragraph from their manifesto caught my attentionquotMedia planning needs to be about business and content planning That means analytical talent who create better inputs for media and understand attribution It means having content creators who can turn around a meme because they know culture It means copywriters working within creative management platforms so banners aren39t the shitty posters of the internet It means experts in media buying platforms who can work like producers managing activation through the right access point with a deep knowledge of ad tech and dataquot David Gaines CEO Media by MotherGoing back to Wavemaker media agency networks need tools They39re a key ingredient in the cement that holds the network together They39re the answer to the inevitable question quotBut what differentiates you from the othersquotThey also define a way of working In the eyes of those at the center if the local markets all have the same tools they all work consistently A key requirement for international clientsIt39s never that simpleWill all local markets understand and use the tools How will the centeramp160check How and how often will they train What will they do if the tools aren39t usedThese aren39t hypothetical questions We faced the same issues building the Carat network way back whenThere are certain lessons that have stood the test of timeFirst if the local market doesn39t understand the tool they won39t use it The first time a client asks them to explain the inner workings and they can39t is the last time that tool will be usedIn another lifetime I once had to present how we estimated crossmedia reach to a large client I was my agency39s head of media research at the timeamp160Being a smartarse I put up a long formula to demonstrate 1 how clever we were and 2 the scientific rigor behind our approachMy line was quotI39m sure you don39t want me to take you through the formula quotamp160Unfortunately the client had a deep and abiding interest in statistics and asked me to do exactly that I couldn39t looked and felt like a fool and never made that mistake againIncentivizing offices to use the toolkit can work well At Carat we used to visit local markets ask to see examples of the tools in action check their use with international business and adjust local bonus payments accordinglyTools are great but the clue is in the name You need to have smart humans to work the tools Smart humans need training in why they should be doing this when local market custom and practice dictate otherwiseThe danger with the Wavemaker approach is that it will stop people thinking about what they39re really trying to do which is not to maximize the media numbers a means to an end but to use commercial messaging to drive business success for the clientThe alternative approach followed by Mother and agencies like MediaHub and VCCP is to bring media planning in far closer to the creative processIt39s a question of whether you focus on the ads or the algorithmsClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNetamp160

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Ads or Algorithms?

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Brian Jacobs

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