Media Buyer For Hire

Help for Picking a Shop
July 18, 2006
By Dawn Anfuso More by this Author

Some Amelia Island Agency Summit attendees suggest three questions to ask potential vendors.
iMedia asked Summit attendees: For the marketers out there looking for a media planning and buying shop, what are three questions they should be asking?

Christine Bensen, Vice President, Media, Modem Media:
What is your opinion of what each media form brings to the mix?
What is your experience with integrating multiple media platforms?
How will you use my customers/potential customers to further enable my marketing communications?

Bryan Wiener, President, 360i:
How will the agency leverage technology to manage your campaign, and how is this balanced with the human element of the account team structure? Be wary of agencies that are either under-reliant or over-reliant on technology. The former will be inefficient and your account team will get bogged down on tactics and won't have time for analysis or strategy. The latter will undervalue the importance of analysis, testing strategy and overall service.
How will the campaign be staffed in terms of people and time allocation? The client should insist on meeting personally all the key members of the account team prior to signing on with an agency.
How will the agency keep you ahead, or at least concurrent, with the rapidly changing media landscape? You need to be innovative in order to create buzz for your brand. You need to understand what your agency is doing to make sure they are on the cutting edge of the industry. This should also translate into specific recommendations for an evolving testing budget that will help your company stay ahead of your competitors and hopefully create positive buzz in the marketplace. The agency of the future (or present) should be strategic marketing consultants helping your company navigate a time of unprecedented change.

Stephen D. Kempisty, Director, Business Development, Flatiron Media:
What kind of clients do you work with (DR/Branding/both)?
How much experience do you have with _____ (all the media types that are important to me)?
Can you provide three references from satisfied renewing clients?

Lee Slovitt, Media Supervisor, Heartbeat Digital:
Are you full service?
Do you offer technology-driven solutions?
What have you done for other clients?

Mark N. Dorf, Managing Partner, Acuity Media Group:
I would always recommend that they look for an agency that has been around a while. If a company has made it through the dotcom bust, those media buyers have thick skins and have become quite versed in the many styles of planning and buying. I would look for a shop that has a strong depth of knowledge in all facets of buying (CPM, CPC, CPL, CPA), and in-depth knowledge of working with the various sellers (portals, networks, top destination sites). I would make sure the shop has strong relationships with the media sellers (ask for references not just of clients but of the media sellers as well). Make sure they understand data and what to do with it. Online media is very different then buying radio, television and print. A strong campaign manager can be the difference in making a buy work or not

Jack Goldberg, President, Windy City Advertising, Inc.:
What experience does your team have in my particular industry, and what quantifiable results have you been able to generate for other clients like me in the past?
Do you fully understand our business model and our value proposition to our customers? (There will be a test before you are awarded our business.)
Who will be managing my account on a day-to-day basis after I award my business to you? (I have seen so many cases of major agencies assigning junior people to blue chip accounts and not providing these neophytes with the proper training or tools to properly service the client.)

Jason Weidner, Director of Performance Marketing, Refinery:
Are all services under one roof?
Do they have a capability in search?
What kind of reporting options are there?

Michael J. Konowicz, VP Integrated Strategy, MarketSource IMS:
What's an example of an integrated execution of an online advertising program, even if that media planning/buying shop wasn't responsible for all channels used? If they have no example, or their only example is simply tagging other channels with a URL, keep looking.
What's the most innovative thing they've done with emerging media?
What's an example where they completely changed the way one of their clients goes to market or messages their marketing?

Erik Harbison, Director of Performance Marketing, Refinery:
What is your view on integrated media campaigns? Please share an example.
Please introduce team members who will be executing the actual media plan/buy.
Please provide detailed breakout of your process, including samples of deliverables at each stage.

Dawn Anfuso is senior editor, iMedia Connection