Jul 15, 2020
Summary:
In our coronavirus world, more and more businesses are turning to agencies for digital advertising. But the old model of percent of ad spend has a TON of flaws. It’s misaligned with the client, it doesn’t account for creative creation, creative refreshes, platform differences, and the list goes on. With the core platforms like Facebook being commoditized left and right, there is an increasing need for agencies to communicate their unique value in the equation. In today’s episode we are diving into the broken service model of media buying as we begin to rethink it for our own companies.
Top 3 Curtain Pulls in this episode:
For more tips, discussion, and behind the scenes:
About The Guys:
Bob Hutchins: Founder of BuzzPlant, a digital agency that he ran from from 2000 -2017. He is also the author of 3 books. More on Bob:
Brad Ayres: Founder of Anthem Republic, an award-winning ad agency. Brad’s knowledge has led some of the biggest brands in the world. Originally from Detroit, Brad is an OG in the ad agency world and has the wisdom and scars to prove it. Currently that knowledge is being applied to his boutique agency. More on Brad:
Ken Ott: Co-Founder and Chief Growth Rebel of Metacake, an Ecommerce Growth Team for some of the world’s most influential brands with a mission to Grow Brands That Matter. Ken is also an author, speaker, and was nominated for an Emmy for his acting on the Metacake Youtube Channel (not really). More on Ken:
Show Notes:
[1:27] Bob introduces today’s episode: media buying. Gives a brief overview of media buying.
[3:18] Brad talks about his experience in traditional advertising.
[7:30] Brad continues: Savvy clients will try to negotiate and “nickel-and-dime” agencies over commission costs. They want to know exactly what it is that you’re doing with that 15%, but so much of what that is used for is difficult to explain and sort of nebulous to the client.
[11:00] Ken: “Here’s the challenge I see with buying ads and that being your service offering… I think from the outside that is seen as a commodity…”
[12:25] Brad: “I think the media buying for most clients see that as just a commodity task that isn’t creative.”
[12:30] Ken: “The challenge is that it’s not a commodity- it’s seen as that. It presents a real challenge, because the question is how do you compete in a commodity market- you compete on price.”
[12:47] Bob: “I’m convinced that things become a commodity when things become common and accessible…” Anyone with an internet connection can create and place a Facebook ad right now. That is a commodity.
[14:07] Ken: Digital channels are making it easier by the day for anyone to launch those ads and do those kinds of things.
[15:48] Brad speaks about wrestling with this in his own agency. “What does that future look like when it comes to media buying and how should we charge the client for our time and energies for that?”
[16:54] Bob talks about how much the purpose of advertising has changed. In the past, everybody was pretty much on the same page. “We’ve got a product to launch, create awareness, and we want people to buy the product.”
[18:30] Brad: “The initial strategy isn’t the heart and soul of your campaign. The heart and soul is tweaking that campaign and measuring the results and continuing to refine that campaign over time to get the best results. It’s the refining that takes time and measure and pitting two campaigns against each other, AB testing and looking at different language and looking at different audiences that are responding better. That’s really the heart and soul.”
[20:11] Ken: “How do you, as an agency, position and create a strategy that does not rely on the nuts and bolts and de-commoditize them as much as possible.”
[21:45] Brad: “We try to educate our clients that there is a fee that is going to be an ongoing fee that you’re going to need because it’s not just start it and let it run by itself. There's actually a lot of work that goes into it, and we don’t want to do something for a client that doesn't allow us the money or the resources to be able to do that… because we know that that’s what’s going to get the end result.”
[22:57] Ken recalls the last episode, where we talked about the idea of not having enough to create success. Knowing what you need in order to be successful is important.
[24:01] Bob summarizes Ken and Brad’s point: “If you still want to do ad buying and you’re struggling with what to do, position yourself either within a niche that you know really really well, OR become an expert in testing and deciphering for the client.”
[25:45] Brad predicts that in the future, there will be other platforms that do what Facebook does.
[26:15] Ken talks about how many apps are making it easier than ever to step in a become an expert. They want people to be able to set up an ad and walk away, but for an agency this means building value into the work you do- the daily upkeep of digital marketing is the future!
[30:02] Brad asks: What are the risks of buying media for an agency and where could you eliminate the risks?
[35:07] Bob speaks about how that mindset change is creating need for CRO experts, people who can increase conversion rates by 2%, 10%.... They’re looking for specialists and agencies who can get them across that finish line.
[37:22] Brad speaks about “programmatic marketing.”
[37:45] Ken talks about how Metacake is moving away from the traditional media buying model.
[39:47] Brad asks for some insight into what Ken charges initially and what is covered in that cost. There is so much work in the forefront for many companies that has to be done, branding-wise. So that process is built in 100%
[43:11] Brad: You can drive a ton of people down a specific funnel, but if the infrastructure isn’t set up it’s like the catcher having a hole in his glove. There are things that need to be resolved and fixed… “Restructuring, redoing their customer journey, refining their ecom platform because it’s confusing.”
[45:10] Ken speaks about how clients will sometimes step into the process and confuse the optimization process- educating away from this tendency is valuable.
[46:38] Brad speaks about how many campaigns are based on just getting people to a website or a landing page, but not taking actual action. Knowing the cost of true customer acquisition is important- many clients would not know this because their agency didn’t tell them it was important.
[48:05] Ken brings up another point of education: Not every campaign is meant to sell things, some are just focused on awareness.
[50:46] Brad talks about the difference between different ads and how important it is to let your clients know what it is that they need and the real work that is involved.
[51:32] Bob: “That’s the value that agencies should be bringing- Depending on what your budget is, what is the correct strategy to help you be successful?”
[52:01] Ken stresses the importance of educating potential clients of what they actually need to be successful. “What are you trying to do? What stage are you at and what are some of the things around your business…. What budget do you have and what are your expectations?”