We all have our moments in life, sometimes driven by personal situations at home, while sometimes driven by situations at work. I’m going through the latter – and my approach to getting back in shape actually begins at the drawing board. Since the time I entered the digital media world, I have rarely looked at it from a media planners’ perspective. As a matter of fact, most of the available research is overwhelmingly skewed towards the sell side – the side that is so heavily fragmented that its really a nightmare being a media planner in today’s online world. Exception being search – the ease-of-use and simplicity that the medium brings, particularly Google, to online media planners
Let us look at what’s on offer in Europe for a media planner exploring content categories to target and run a campaign. I began looking at the comscore numbers by category to figure out how to allocate my budget.
The UK automotive category is quite well-spread among the internet population – reaching 45% of UK internet audience. However – within the space, my only chance of reaching any meaningful scale is via the leader of the pack, Trader Media Group. However, even if I buy the slots on all of their welcome pages, my campaign will reach only 17% of UK auto category population. Behind the leader is the trade group – Automobile Association Ltd. – with a reach of 12%, but with engagement levels so low that it would be futile buying the site. Within the top 10 are the car majors – who have audiences that are either incredibly loyal or are soon to be one. Is there any point for me to run a competitive campaign on these sites? – is this possible? – OK – let’s move on. I’m already beginning to get frustrated. Same story in France – although the automotive category reaches 34% of internet population, the top site Caradisiac reaches only 30% of online automotive enthusiasts. In Germany, the story is slightly better – auto category reaches 32% of online population, but the combined reach of top two, Mobile.de and AutoScout24 is a massive 70% of online auto enthusiasts.
At this point, I became very intrigued, and wanted to research another hot sector from a buy-side perspective – Money and Finance. In the UK, this category reaches about 80% of internet audience. However, within the top 10, which is where the category is concentrated, my only chance of running a successful campaign is Moneysupermarket.com with a reach of only 25% of UK Money and Finance category; and Reed Business Information and BBC, which have a combined reach of 12%. Wow! – I thought – isn’t this a text boon scenario of ‘Fragmentation’. In France, this category reaches about 56% of online audience, but I have no chance of running into any sort of success here, because I couldn’t find a single, consumer web destination, with any reasonable reach. Disaster, isn’t it? In Germany, the Money and Finance category reaches about 50% of online audience, and the leader, Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe reaches about 30% of this category. I felt relieved.
But to be honest – the entire experience has been truly frustrating, and I begin to think – if I should follow my friend Pete, who makes his job so simple – buy buying only Google keywords – for both Brand and Performance campaigns. It’s so easy, and value for money – so measurable etc. Surely, this strategy has its limitations, but atleast Pete can enjoy quality time with his family and indulge in his favourite pastime – Golf.
Let us look at what’s on offer in Europe for a media planner exploring content categories to target and run a campaign. I began looking at the comscore numbers by category to figure out how to allocate my budget.
The UK automotive category is quite well-spread among the internet population – reaching 45% of UK internet audience. However – within the space, my only chance of reaching any meaningful scale is via the leader of the pack, Trader Media Group. However, even if I buy the slots on all of their welcome pages, my campaign will reach only 17% of UK auto category population. Behind the leader is the trade group – Automobile Association Ltd. – with a reach of 12%, but with engagement levels so low that it would be futile buying the site. Within the top 10 are the car majors – who have audiences that are either incredibly loyal or are soon to be one. Is there any point for me to run a competitive campaign on these sites? – is this possible? – OK – let’s move on. I’m already beginning to get frustrated. Same story in France – although the automotive category reaches 34% of internet population, the top site Caradisiac reaches only 30% of online automotive enthusiasts. In Germany, the story is slightly better – auto category reaches 32% of online population, but the combined reach of top two, Mobile.de and AutoScout24 is a massive 70% of online auto enthusiasts.
At this point, I became very intrigued, and wanted to research another hot sector from a buy-side perspective – Money and Finance. In the UK, this category reaches about 80% of internet audience. However, within the top 10, which is where the category is concentrated, my only chance of running a successful campaign is Moneysupermarket.com with a reach of only 25% of UK Money and Finance category; and Reed Business Information and BBC, which have a combined reach of 12%. Wow! – I thought – isn’t this a text boon scenario of ‘Fragmentation’. In France, this category reaches about 56% of online audience, but I have no chance of running into any sort of success here, because I couldn’t find a single, consumer web destination, with any reasonable reach. Disaster, isn’t it? In Germany, the Money and Finance category reaches about 50% of online audience, and the leader, Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe reaches about 30% of this category. I felt relieved.
But to be honest – the entire experience has been truly frustrating, and I begin to think – if I should follow my friend Pete, who makes his job so simple – buy buying only Google keywords – for both Brand and Performance campaigns. It’s so easy, and value for money – so measurable etc. Surely, this strategy has its limitations, but atleast Pete can enjoy quality time with his family and indulge in his favourite pastime – Golf.
As I reflect back on this experience – I begin to wonder – where are the big portals? I would have thought that they will be there, somewhere, near the top. But this was not to be – I was wrong in my assumption. Of course, the marketing collateral coming out of these big portals may tell a different story – but that’s what they are meant to be – to be marketing collaterals, where apples are compared with oranges, and presented in the backdrop of a ‘Harry Potter’ or a ‘Jurassic Park’ in the hope that the buy-side will eventually buy the argument. Not anymore – as the buy-side community increasingly gets frustrated with the campaign ineffectiveness associated with a fragmented space, and as the search space gets increasingly smart and efficient, we will see an exodus – unseen and unparalleled before. This phenomena may already be occurring, albeit latently.
So – what’s the alternative? Is this the end of the road? Is there any chance that this situation can be corrected? – I don’t know – but I will keep working on my drawing board, and I will keep blogging on these, and many other issues, and hopefully, find a plausible solution. In the mean time – let me share another story – the story of David, who runs fencing and gardening company in local Chiswick area. His marketing campaign is self managed, and his only medium is a local weekly newspaper called The Chiswick, which also has an online edition! David buys an advert for £30, which is delivered in the weekly print edition, and also on the Chiswick’s website. David’s charges range from about £200 to £500 a visit – depending on the type and intensity of work. But, by adopting this marketing technique, David has managed to attract atleast 10 new leads a week, and the conversion rate is pretty high, given the specific nature of the job and the location. Meanwhile, The Chiswick is a completely ad-supported business, and is quite profitable. This is what is otherwise known as local media – and the money spent on them – local advertising, which is estimated to be about 1/3rd of total advertising (yes - 34% of total). Less than 10% of online spend is on local advertising. Google does offer an alternative to the Chiswick, with its simple buying interface, no-frills service and by providing ability to run low-budget campaigns. David is also trying Google, and claims to have received reasonable conversions. The challenge here for Google is competing with the Chiswisk's smart distribution. The Chiswick is delivered free in the mail box, which is non-intrusive. The content is locally relevant and quite engaging. For someone who spends less than 2% of media time consuming magazines, i end up reading the Chiswick, everyweek. You just have to flip the pages, unlike the internet, where one needs a connection and needs to be online to search on Google.
Am I suggesting a solution? No – but im only articulating the existence of an eco-system, where self-sufficient and sustainable ad-supported media business models are thriving, purely due to local demand. If I were to put this ‘local’ example in the context of my above category media planning experience – I’m sure there is a way for publishers to cater to the category needs of media planners who are seeking to target specific content categories with reach. The Chiswick is owned by Gannett, but the parent has been careful in retaining the Chiswick brand, which has managed to resonate so well with its loyal audience, for so long. This could be one of the ways forward for big portals. Watch this space!
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