Media buyers and media planners traditionally work for an advertising agency and work with the agency account directors to plan and execute an advertising campaign on behalf of their clients.  They use Nielsen and other data sources to examine the best demographic audiences and then define a campaign across media, such as radio, TV, newspapers, outdoor and online to target the required demographic audience for their clients.

However, with the fragmentation and increasing audience shift away from traditional media such as TV and newspapers to online, the media buyers and media planners face enormous challenges in creating campaigns that work for their clients.   

Many brand owners are suddenly becoming sensitive to the perils and pitfalls of online advertising.  In a recently highly publicised case, Vodaphone and First Direct had their adverts appearing on the Facebook page of the British National Party, a far right political group.  

The problem the media buyers and media planners have is that by using an online advertising network they have:

·        Sub-contracted the targeting of advertising to a third party

·        Given up a direct relationship between the agency and the media channel   

·        Focused on cost as opposed to value

·        Lost control of the online campaign

Media buyers and planners say they use ad networks to give them a low cost way to reach a large audience, whilst getting around the relatively higher cost of a publishers rate card that guarantees a certain level of exposure in a defined online area.

Often the media buyers will use a “blind” ad network and buy into categories like finance, sport, news across a myriad of possible websites. This strategy devalues the brands and the clients they work for, as it results in advertising that is like an uncontrollable shotgun as opposed to a focused sniper, it can also lead to possible click fraud.  Whilst this strategy may be OK for a campaign for a C1 audience for a FMCG product, it is not acceptable when you deal with a sophisticated product/service for a A1 and A2 audience.

Don’t blame the ad networks, they are only doing their job.

What media buyers and planners need to do is take a much more considered view of appropriate websites for campaigns. Also, the projected shift in advertsing spend in 2008 from print and TV to online, means the ad agencies need to do this to survive.  With B2B trade and STM publishers increasingly transitioning their print audiences into an online environment, the media buyers and planners can use a stable, affluent and influential demographic for more focused campaigns.  The publishers, like UBM, are also starting to evolve vertical search services for niche professional communities - this will allow the media buyers/planners to negotiate directly with the publishers ad sales teams and create focused and targeted campaigns to better serve their clients and brands - this could involve site sponsorships, banner ads, informative podcasts, email newsletter sponsorships.

If advertising agencies want to succeed and transition their revenues into the online environment they must think “Professional Niche Verticals NOT Consumer Mass Markets”.

Not convinced?  OK, why are News Corporation moving from MySpace to the Wall Street Journal? 

Still not convinced?  OK, Who uses the Internet more, teenagers or middle-aged businessmen?

What? Still not convinced? OK, drop me a line, let's have lunch!