New online ad network boss slams lazy media planning

But cool edgy 16-24s need building supplies too.

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Smart way to come into the market….call your potential clients lazy. Wont last long with that attitude! we appreciate that media buyers and very busy, but if you product fits and you send them timely and relevant info then 9 times out of 10 you’ll get on the plan!

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Finally, someone with the balls to say it!

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Hi Jade, Nice to meet you! 🙂

My client is a major alcohol brand that spends on a bunch of niche music sites.

But calling me lazy isn’t really going to get me spending. Ill be the one ignoring you when you start the cold calling.

All the best

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All online display advertising is poorly targeted and worthless, period. If clients weren’t desperate to throw money at digital in the name of ‘branding’ this bird wouldn’t even have a job.

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When media owners are left off the plan, many of them will beat this drum. “Media planners are lazy! They don’t understand how to interact with audiences! They’re too volume focused!”

As someone who has been in and around media buying for 1000 years (give or take), my counter to this is that too often media owners either don’t get to see, or choose not to understand, the client’s objectives. This is what the planner is focusing on delivering. There always has to be a balance between delivering a particular volume of audience, with a relative value. Sometimes that value is enhanced via interaction at a lower level of volume. Sometimes, it’s about delivering reach….pumping up the numbers towards an offer, or a social media site…or whatever it may be.

We can argue all day about which approach is right or wrong but for me the argument is irrelevant.

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How do you know the owners of the edgy music sites aren’t selling their inventory to the networks who onsell as part of performance deals?

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Good to see the number of media buyers posting here who put their own egos and sensibilities before the interests of their clients.

“I’m not booking with you because you hurt my feelings.” Typical of the media buying industry. Lazy is one way of describing it. Stupid and shortsighted would be others.

And heartening also to see the grasp of online advertising displayed by Pistola. So progressive. How your clients must love receiving your advice.

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Still can’t believe we’re talking about online ads in this day and age. Talk about dying a slow death.

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Wouldn’t surprise me if the “Bunnings” ads were part of Google Adsense and contextual advertising from Google and not direct advertising that Bunnings is doing.

Feel free to show me otherwise though.

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@Nigel Tufnel – are we doing we Stonehenge tonight or what?

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Let me clarify, obviously posts like this are meant to get a response I’m not ‘slamming’ anybody I’m merely saying that inappropriate placement of brand ads do no good to anyone, brand or publisher – this is not news to anybody. When I discuss lazy media buys I’m actually not referring to agencies, I’m referring to larger networks that represent sites that don’t fit into the rest of their network and place ads across the network without really assessing the suitability, this is how ads appear that do not appeal to the users. If you read the full release I’m purely trying to illustrate the place for more niche networks that are more involved with the publishers, so no offence meant.

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I’m confused – am I lazy or too busy?

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Nigel the truth is because there is so much choice in the market for us digital planners- we wont be bullied and now have real negotiation power. So yes we will book with who we like…

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I think I’m missing something….SHE didn’t call media buyer/planners lazy, the article simply insinuates that she did…a little unfair I think, unless the aim of the article was to get buyers and sales folk arguing on the comments board.

But she’s right, we’re very busy on this side of the fence and we aren’t able to see every publisher/salesman/online specialist. If I agreed to meet with everyone that called me I would have no time to actually do any work – sad but true.

And Nigel – given the fact that much of this business is built upon relationships, especially in the insular and often incestuous Australian market, so if you ‘hurt someone’s feelings’ as you put it, I would expect buyers won’t want to deal with you – its not rocket science mate…at the end of the day you couldn’t give a knats nut about client or campaign objectives, you care about meeting your tagrtes and getting your bonus – figure it out, you need buyers to do that, so why you’re openly panning the hand that feeds you is beyond me.

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@media buyer

I’m sure your client will be pleased to hear you are ignoring a potentially great fit just because you don’t like something Jade said.

I do agree saying it was probably not the smartest thing she has ever done but your job is to rise above that and represent the best interests of your client.

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@Lucas No we are not gonna f****** do Stonehenge!

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“a media buyer” – I don’t think you get it. Jade isn’t going to come calling you… he’s going after your clients. If you’re lazy, and not focusing on what sites you’re advertising on and what conversion rates your getting, then your “major alcohol brand” will ditch you.

But – if you’re not lazy, and you’re actually ensuring that your major alcohol brand is getting the correct exposure on the correct sites, and getting actual ROI (as opposed to perceived ROI a.k.a. spin), then you’re running the same sort of business that Jade is talking about.

Sadly, there’s not enough agencies/networks actually doing that though, and the client suffers, and ultimately online lacks legitimacy (as suggested by pistola)

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Talk about a lazy (and poor) sales pitch. Work the phones and meetings and build some trust and rapport.

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TIm, not again please.
understand you want to increase your page views? why don’t you do some paid adverting?

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Hi Jade,
That is a very interesting point you make regarding “ineffective in delivering results for the client” however it could be that the agency has bought a performance buy via an ad-network on either a CPA, CPC or CPL model which guarantees the client a given performance metric and minimises their risk.

But as the product you’re representing is itself an ad network I’m sure you already thought about that before making the comment.

Nice not doing business with you.

*YAWN*

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Push and Play? I’ll give it 6 months before it meekly succumbs (after spending it’s last 2 months begging to get Bunnings back on the schedule) amidst a ripple of indifference.

The Salad has spoken!

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@another Agency Guy

It is in the best interests of both agency and media owners to look after client and their goal for the campaign. That is why many media owners have relationships with clients direct as well as with agencies.

On many occasions campaigns are put on sites that don’t match the explicit brief criteria of the client (whether this is through a Google adwords buy or a large network buy) and to media owners who do have matching criteria this is very frustrating.

The problem is that, and you admit this, you don’t have time to see all media owners, which is fair enough in this busy working world, but as you also say it is all about relationships and all media owners are trying to build those relationships and not meeting with them doesn’t give any relationship a chance to build.

Agencies are always asking for new ideas, so why not meet new opportunities that might have something new to offer your clients campaigns instead of staying with the same old same old.

Often a brief comes in from agencies who are unwilling to meet the actual media owner they have sent it too because of the “too busy” mentality. Can you really make a decision based on a spreadsheet and a Powerpoint presentation sent to you?

@Rascal you hit the nail on the head saying publishing houses don’t get to see what the client wants, it is filtered down into a media brief (hence relationships between publishing houses and clients direct developing more and more).

Agencies can help by telling media owners why they were left off the plan as it only helps both parties moving forward and therefore some sort of relationship can develop. Relationships need both parties input not a one way street.

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Don’t media companies only buy space according to kick backs?

Why would they target it?

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Seems to be a hell of a lot of Media buyers responding…maybe they have nothing better to do?

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Is the buyer or the media owner the lazy one?

If this was bought on a CPC basis within a set vertical then should it not fall on the media owner for not managing their inventory correctly.

I am sure the buying agency would have briefed on at least one criteria?

I am sure the media agency who looks after Bunnings can’t wait to deal with you in the future.

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Sort me some tickets Jade and I will totally give you my clients money.

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You can say goodbye to Initiative’s business…

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I’d by that for a dollar!

As long as it delivers.

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isn’t she just saying the job could be done better?
and don’t we all on some level agree?
busy, lazy, whatever… there’s room for improvement.

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“This not only cheapens the environment and deters users.”

Does this mean she will reject money from clients who she deems not to be “edgy” enough?

Lucky her to have that option.

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Tim, this is a bit cruel mate isn’t it? you just took a part of the press release and focused on that one bit.

I’m not saying what she said is right or smart. In fact if she has no idea that bunning’s do performance and how their ad’s turn up on sites, then she definitely shouldn’t be doing what shes doing and representing those poor publishers.

P.S. I see her linkedin page says she works for pagesdigital as well. are they a part of this mob?

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I’ve got some baner ads to sell. Any media buyers interested?

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@ *YAWN* – I guess a CPA buy (in a RTB auction marketplace), can/will at times (& is ‘designed’ to) find it’s “targeted user” (on/across all remnant inventory submitted), that may be totally remote to a site’s theme or, context.

http://seekingalpha.com/instab.....dvertising

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Maybe Bunnings are doing BT, I’m mid 40’s and love my DIY and hey guess what – I go to edgy music sites as well…..does that mean it’s inappropriate??

Hell no, I call it relevancy!

Jade, you saw the Bunnings ad on this edgy site……I assume you are not 16-24YO so guess what, this was more than an appropriate placement.

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Jade, you wont make much money doing this i am sorry.

Assuming you are taking a 30 to 40% commission from publishers. Lets say 35% for this calculation. Your site says you have 2.5million page impressions a month.

If you throw 1 banner on each page and do really really well to sell 50% of this inventory accross the month at $20cpm (dont expect higher for a network play). Thats $25k a month, pay your publishers and you get $8750 or just over $100k a year before you pay your overheads or any staff.

Networks only work on MASS. And by doing branding AND performance campaings from brands like bunnings.

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After due consideration and consultation with the retards who have the media dollars to spend, the consensus is that this lady will be riding the next wave of hype back to London where she may actually be welcome.

So, “Yo, biacch! Work that pasty tan at Clacton. Revolutionize some other market with your pearls of ignorance.”

Hear the Salad, take the Cuke

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valid point and media buyers and planners don’t get your nickers in knots. nothing wrong with placing a bunnings ad on a young demo site as long as it has the right message – maybe the creative should have been considered – not a media buyer’s problem, but the creative supply????

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we don’t know what the creative was that Jade saw, could it have been a ‘kitchen’ or ‘decorating’ ad?

let’s add it together…..Jade (female) + > 25YO (just assuming) + ‘kitchen’ creative (again, assuming this is what Jade saw) = RELEVANT consumer targeting

Nice work Bunnings! (based on assumptions)

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I find the strength of the reaction from media buyers interesting here. Call somebody lazy who’s doing their job thoroughly and they’ll shrug it off.

This lot on the other hand are absolutely horrified that somebody’s taken them to task. Like guilty schoolkids blaming the goat for eating their home work (I did this once).

All this stuff about being too busy to look at all the options is the same as saying they’re too busy to handle their client’s budgets responsibly. A good media buyer looks for an edge and is not satisfied with ticking the same boxes as everybody else.

Sadly, that’s very rare.

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There’s a difference between someone who won’t take your calls because they’re busy and someone who won’t take your calls because what you’re offering has no value.

Every media vendor thinks they are the answer to the problem. The issue is none of them bother to ask what the ‘problem’ really is.

Don’t misinterpret laziness for buyers perhaps just not buying the ‘solution’ here.

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# Not Aguru is on the ball;

You can’t measure an ad’s relevance by the context of a site you see it on anymore; to do so is naive.
Brands,Planners & Publishers get in trouble for ‘out of context’ placements yet the identifiers fails to realise their own demographic or browsing behaviour! What appears to be a ‘terrible example’ of poor planning – may actually be a stroke of technological/Planning brilliance.

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#Another client
Could be your media buyers always do do a thorough assessment of each option and applied every measure of creativity to the planning.

Could be. Ask some hard questions and find out.

One suggestion: how many senior planners do they have per million of billings.

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I just want to clarify that I contract to Pagesdigital on a sales basis and they have nothing whatsoever to do with the Push And Play Digital Network.

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Hey Jade,

Maybe you should enter the Telstra Business Suicide Awards

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I wonder how many clients realise that their agencies call / email a publisher (cold) saying that they need to book a campaign (yesterday) and without even understanding the website, book away and thus (as the pr points out) receive a load of wastage.

A message to clients: Understand everything your agency is doing and when!!!!!!!

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this has made the most commented list!

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Whats the difference between a ‘rep’ and a media buyer? About fifty thousand dollars and 2 years of age:)

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google ” Push And Play Digital Network”

this article comes up before their website!

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the network looks okay for niche, but why have they included munky?

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I’m 25, visit edgy music sites &… own a house

Does that make the contexual relevance a misfit – At first glance YES

Does the placement reach the right audience – YES

I regularly visit bunnings, and also visit music sites….

Think of the audience Jade, rather than the perceived misfit

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@ why? munkey is horrible. such a bad idea so badly done

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It’s not your job to be as confused as Nigel…

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femaile POV
If you should go to Bunnings at Valley Heights, you will get the distinct impression that you are the first women of any age to ever go in there.

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Great contribution Jeannie;
I got the same feeling entering Bra’s N Things in town.

Are we still talking about the relevancy of online ad placements based on the contexts? Or are we talking about the emotions/thoughts that overcome us when we enter retail stores?

let me know – Im keen on either.

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If you go into Bunnings Valley Heights wearing bras n things product you’ll no doubt feel relevant despite the context

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I’m just glad those pesky hard-to-target bohemians who listen to cool music are now easy to target, with just one phone call!

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hello.. Jade can i interview you and whoever else is keen for their point of view. I have an article to write on the Australian Media, and this is amusing me.

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.
Never mind Jade ………Tom Hespos, who is the chairman and president of Underscore Marketing – reports that ‘he saw’ the prestigious ‘Consumer Reports’ running a banner on a page containing nude cartoons?

http://seekingalpha.com/instab.....e-cartoons

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I see where you’re coming from Jade
The question is – what was the fit to this demographic – what was the creative like?
If it was your stock standard bunnings banner – then no … wrong placement.

I see comments from @bad placement here and acknowledge that she owns a home at 25 and visits bunnings – I would say you are an exception to the rule and if I were bunnings you would have to do some serious selling on me as a client to convince me I should spend 10’s of thousands on a campaign on an edgy music site.

I completely understand that we all need to be working on exposing clients brands into the youth demographic – but throwing a banner onto this type of site won’t cut it – and yes your client knows this – no matter how busy you are.

Matching products to the right market takes time and energy – but that’s what you get paid for right ?

@hmmm – feel free to have a chat

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