As the media landscape continues to adapt at pace, planners should be seeking new mantras. Stewart Gurney (main photo), chief strategy officer at Kaimera, outlines half a dozen ways media agencies can simplify things in 2022…
I’ll let you in on a secret. Media strategy isn’t as complicated as many people make it out to be.
In fact, any 21st-century media agency worth its salt is dropping old models and habits and focusing on one goal: creating simpler, more effective strategies that better suit their clients.
Here’s where to start.
Gain a clear understanding of exactly what’s needed
Clarity around media, marketing and business objectives is fundamental to the success of any company. Media can be expensive, and many companies often fail to grasp how their investment correlates with their marketing plans.
More often than not, the relationship between how media is intended to ladder up to wider marketing objectives hasn’t either been connected or shared. Marketing objectives should ladder up to tangible business objectives, and media should be planned to help meet established marketing objectives.
When a client tells a media agency that its goal is to ‘build awareness’, that’s an exercise in vagueness and doesn’t help anyone. A clear understanding of all the objectives is the most important starting point for any media plan or strategy.
Don’t force fit a process
Agencies mustn’t be afraid to break the mould and do what is best for a specific project. Generally speaking, simple changes can be made to existing processes that will produce better results. There is no one-size-fits-all solution that applies to every brief. Agencies often have requirements that they rigidly enforce regardless of what the client needs.
When you’re trying to come up with a strategic recommendation for a client, they might just need a coherent media plan. This is why it is important to tailor your service to the client’s individual needs. It’s also why it’s best not to use a rigid process chocked full of fancy diagrams and models. A more efficient approach is to listen to the client’s needs and create the response accordingly.
More conversations, less presentations
Ugh, presentations. Anyone who has looked for images for hours on end, or tried to build a series of graphs, knows that they eat up a lot of time. And there’s no surer way to put clients to sleep. Unfortunately, presentations are our knee-jerk way of demonstrating ‘value’. After all, a one hundred-slide PowerPoint is worth more than one conversation, right? Well, no, actually.
Let’s get in the habit of talking about things before we double click on Google Slides. It might seem like a small thing, but having properly structured, evidence-based conversations first can be very impactful.
There was a time when media agencies had big reveals and big moments in presentations. But these days, agencies are better served by cutting to the chase. So talk with your clients about ideas and strategies meaningfully, and you’ll find you save a lot of time and resources.
Don’t land grab or one-up
Establishing roles and responsibilities is so important, especially on large projects. It’s likely that other agencies will be involved, so it’s crucial to stay in your swim lane. This will ensure people don’t feel threatened or like their territory is being encroached upon.
But remember, collaboration can often add to complexity. If one agency supplies 50 PowerPoint slides for their section, another agency might feel they must provide the same or more. Trusting your partners and defining boundaries is the key to creating simple solutions.
Don’t use jargon to force people into submission
Media land loves jargon. From acronyms and abbreviations to downright made up words, our media language not only makes us feel clever but can be used to confuse people. Decades of jargon have also added to industry-wide confusion on what should be relatively straightforward subjects.
Be creative, sure, but don’t try to bamboozle your audience. Creating simple, jargon-free strategies will not only help clients upsell work but will build greater trust and transparency.
Let it go
When you have done a lot of thinking, there’s a temptation to put every thrilling idea into your argument. Doing this inevitably results in a complicated strategy that is difficult to understand and less likely to win your audience over.
One way to simplify strategies is by letting go. When it comes to reaching the ultimate outcome, the more you let go, the better. If point X does not lead neatly to point Y, then your strategy will look dubious. Embrace simplicity by letting some good ideas, insights, and research go.
And, it’s as simple as that.
Well, almost. The world of media is changing at a dizzying pace, with new channels springing up and old ones losing prominence. No matter how well prepared you are, there will always be challenges.
Kaimera’s mantra is to dive into the great, but complex world of media strategy and emerge with a simple, effective system that makes doing business easier. If your business is looking to simplify things in 2022, then give these ideas a go, or get in touch with those who live and breathe them.
