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When Walking Away Is The Right Decision
I hate walking away from prospective business, but a recent situation made me realize that sometimes that is the best outcome. A few months ago I received an inquiry from someone purported to be a consultant who was given our name through a mutual business friend. She...
The Value Of Content
If someone asked you to work for free would you do it? I would not. But many publishers do this all the time. They allow their content to be served to people who use ad-blockers. Most publishers would say that about 20% of traffic comes from devices with ad-blockers....
The Battle Over The Pipeline
No, not the Keystone Pipeline, but the pipeline delivering content into US homes. Yesterday the FCC proposed a framework (whatever that means) for providing innovators, app developers and device manufacturers the information they need to develop new technologies. A...
To Boldly Go…
You know I can only be talking about Star Trek, unless you’ve been in a cave for the last fifty years. CBS announced today a new Star Trek TV Series, but with a twist in distribution. The first episode will air on the traditional CBS network, but all subsequent...
The Dark Side of Programmatic Buying
Programmatic digital can be dicey when it comes to getting what you paid for and you should be concerned about fraud, bots, safety, and viewability issues that result in bad outcomes. A few months ago a prospective client asked me to evaluate a small programmatic buy...
Is Your Marketing An Investment Or A Cost?
Never underestimate the importance of goal setting and strategy in media. While smart media buying will save you money, smart media strategy will make you money. Without a well thought out media plan you are not getting the most from your budget because you have not...
Who Is Minding The Store
The marketing world is being turned upside down. There are as many as 25 major media reviews going on right now, as I wrote about in my last post. There are many theories as to why; Is it the agency kickbacks/rebate issue? Is it about service pricing? Is it about...
The Model Isn’t Broken. It’s Fixed.
Sony, VW, P&G, J&J, Bacardi, SC Johnson, Visa, 21st Century Fox, L’Oreal, Coca Cola, BMW, BASF. What do all these companies have in common? They all have placed their media business in review, or recently completed a review. Their incumbent media agencies; the...
Audience Fragmentation and Media Consolidation Are Hurting Most Clients
Typical media agencies are ill suited for getting client’s real value from media buys. Media audiences are fragmenting at an increasing rate. There are very few opportunities in mass media to reach large audiences, yet most brands need reach to drive new buyers to...
Ad Sales Rep Consolidation
An interesting trend is happening in traditional media and it has interesting consequences for marketers. Meredith Publishing is now managing all the business operations, including ad sales, for Martha Stewart’s print properties. Hearst recently launched a division...
Repercussions
The fallout from Jon Mandel's statement at the ANA about Agency kickbacks has led to a number of anonymous executives admitting it has happened under their watch and some even confessed to participating themselves. Now, this doesn't mean that these individuals...
I’ll Have Two Scoops, Please.
The ad industry is abuzz with the recent accusations by Jon Mandel, a longtime media exec, regarding widespread kickbacks between media companies and media agencies. I can believe that there are kickbacks, personal favors, some tit-for-tat agreements, but the claim...