Three Pillars of Procter&Gamble Ad Revolution

The debate about the transparency issues in the advertising industry has been gaining momentum recently, and it all started with Jon Mandel’s 2015 speech at the Association of National Advertisers’ (ANA) annual media conference. The following year, an independent research was conducted by K2 Intelligence LLC (“K2”) which showed that numerous non-transparent business practices, such as rebates and problematic principal transactions, had been taking place on a regular basis across the whole media spectrum. Numerous evidence suggested that some advertising agencies had taken advantage of their position failing to act in the best interests of the advertisers. The incident took an unprecedented turn in 2018 when the FBI had to intervene and ask the ANA and its members for cooperation. At this point, there is nothing conclusive yet, no accusations or charges have been put forward, but the FBI assumes there may be numerous potential financial fraud victims and wants them to assist in such a massive investigation, which might reveal offences far more serious than financial fraud like conspiracy and even racketeering. Such a scandal couldn’t go by unnoticed and very naturally caused some revolutionary changes in advertising industry, so companies started to take action. One of the world’s… Read more »

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Technology HUB 2018

In May 2018, Milan hosted an event dedicated to innovative technologies — Technology HUB 2018. This innovative products trade show creates a favorable environment for establishing commercial relations with top IT and development experts. AdoptoMedia CEO, Aleksey Kuznetsov, took part in Technology HUB 2018 where he presented the company’s technological product — CheckMedia Solutions. Aleksey, could you please tell us more about your company and the product you presented on the trade show? Our company develops solutions to effectively plan advertising campaigns and optimize media budgets. The company’s unique product, CheckMedia Solutions, which was presented at the Technology HUB 2018, enables effective allocation of your ad budget across various media channels and helps to create and analyze media plans. Due to the fact that CheckMedia Solutions consists of different independent modules most of which can be deployed separately, the product is flexible and suitable for many customers. Which companies might benefit from CheckMedia Solutions? Large companies across Western and Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Middle East with annual media budget of more than $1 million, using more than 3 various advertising channels in their media campaigns. How exactly were you involved in the event? Why did you choose this… Read more »

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#RebateGate. The Advertiser-Agency Disconnect. Conflict of Interest. Part 3: Transparency and CheckMedia Solution

As we have previously covered here and here, the 2016 “RebateGate” proved to be a wake-up call for the advertising industry enshrouded in non-transparency, and uncovered the disconnect between the advertisers and their agencies in regards to the very nature of their relationship. The Association of National Advertisers, which commissioned the renowned K2 Intelligence Report, was quick to lend a helping hand to advertisers who found themselves at a loss as to how to cut their losses and recuperate. Published in July 2016 and updated to version 2.0 in July 2018, ANA’s template Master Media Buying Services agreement is part of the overall set of ANA’s Guidelines for best practice and is meant to serve as a blueprint for transparent regulation of the Advertiser-Agency relationship, ultimately aimed at rebuilding trust and confidence between the two parties. The advertiser-agency media management practices require full disclosure as their cornerstone principle. Seeing how many agencies have blurred the lines, the contract between the parties has to precisely define the nature of their relationship. Whether it be that the agency acts as the client’s agent or the principal in its own right, there should always be a contractually prescribed ability for the advertiser to… Read more »

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#RebateGate. The Advertiser-Agency Disconnect. Conflict of Interest. Part 2: Nature of Relationship

The 2016 research on media transparency in the US market by K2 Intelligence and the Association of National Advertisers was fundamental in shedding light on the status quo as pertains to how advertisers and agencies see their respective roles in their relationship. On the advertiser’s part it would seem quite natural to expect the agency to act in their former’s best interests. As outlined in the “Transparency Guiding Principles of Conduct” issued by 4A’s in January 2016, “The default principle in all client/agency relationships where the agency is agent and the client is principal is full disclosure and full transparency in media planning and buying, unless there is an exception that the client has agreed to in advance and is covered by a separate agreement. Further, the client/agency agreement should specify that the client is the principal and the agency is the agent. However, the same Guiding Principles also make mention of the agency’s ability to also act as principal: “The agency should always ensure that the client clearly understands the nature, implications and benefits of any opt-in products and services, including disclosed and non-disclosed models. These should be documented with an opt-in agreement, with a clear explanation of any… Read more »

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#RebateGate. The state of non-transparency. Part 1: the K2 Intelligence report.

In 2016 the marketing industry community was shaken by a major event with potentially massive and all-encompassing repercussions. Aptly named “RebateGate”, the cataclysm was caused by an eye-opening report on media transparency in the advertising industry. The independent research behind it was commissioned by the Association of National Advertisers (“ANA”) and conducted by K2 Intelligence LLC (“K2”), leading the fact-finding part of the study. Addressing the study’s results, Ebiquity/FirmDecisions (“Ebiquity”) partnered with K2 to develop specific applicable advice and recommendations to help advertisers adjust to this newfound information and address the potential blind spots. Throughout the process, K2 put out requests for interviews, reaching out to 281 sources, finally conducting 143 interviews with 150 separate sources, which amounted to a cross-section representation of how the United States’ media buying ecosystem operates. Throughout the study, all of the interviewed participants’ identities were kept secret from both the ANA and Ebiquity, including all the individuals and corporate entities named in the sources’ accounts. Additionally K2 held full authority over the methodologies the study team applied, also having editorial control over how the report was eventually presented. What K2 realized was that within that sample they studied, there were pervasive non-transparent business practices. Out of the 117 sources… Read more »

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Ребрендиговые кампании на примере Bayer AG и Einsiedler

Ребрендинг – стратегия обновления бренда компании. Как правило, к этой тактике прибегают при изменении рыночных условий, когда возрастает уровень конкуренции. Цель ребрендинга – способствовать росту лояльности потребителей и увеличить целевую аудиторию. Представляем вашему вниманию несколько примеров удачного ребрендинга за рубежом.   Кейс Bayer AG Цель Возобновить интерес потребителей, предоставив новую версию «Аспирина» с его улучшенными свойствами на немецком рынке. Реактивация болеутоляющего средства проводилась с помощью рекламы ООН в выбранных приоритетных областях.  Реализация Стратегия включала в себя распространение рекламы на телевидении (классическом и онлайн), в печатных СМИ и вне дома, а также работу над поисковой оптимизацией. В качестве рекламных носителей были использованы билборды, рекламные дисплеи и лайтбоксы. Итог Реклама ООН достигла высокой видимости в избранных для кампании городах. Привлекательность имиджа «Аспирина» значительно возросла по сравнению с его конкурентами.       Заказать демонстрацию   Кейс Einsiedler Цель  С созданием брендовой и дистрибьюторской компании традиционная саксонская пивоварня Einsiedler Brauhaus GmbH из Хемница решила заявить об одном из своих продуктов Sächsisch Landbier как о новом бренде, обращенном к молодой ЦА (от 20 до 39 лет). Путем обновления бренда планировалось также повысить его узнаваемость и повлиять на поведение потребителей. Реализация Рекламная кампания объединила в себе сообщения вне дома, в региональных газетах, трамваях и ​​на радио. Реклама была размещена на лайтбоксах, билбордах и… Read more »

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Visiting StartUp Day

StartUp Day is a major Baltic business event that unites the business community and the start-ups. Here, experts from various fields and emerging entrepreneurs can discuss business at its different stages. Visiting miscellaneous seminars, talks and workshops included in the event's primary line-up allows young businesspeople to gain inspiration and experience from the strongest and most established companies. Investments, smart production, cutting-edge technology are all major topics discussed at StartUp Day. AdoptoMedia did not just take part in StartUp Day but ranked in top 10 best projects of the Baltic region. At the event's final section, the company CEO Alexey Kuznetcov talked to international experts and investors from Finland and Estonia about AdoptoMedia's flagship product: CheckMedia Solution, a software suite for allocating budgets among different advertising channels. CheckMedia Solution can calculate an optimum marketing budget depending on the client company's goals or financial capacity, as well as the current economic situation. The talk briefly touched on  AdoptoMedia's existing achievements, major clients, technology in-use and the upcoming plans."2017 was all about preparing for expanding internationally, handling all that pertains to intellectual property, localizing the product and forming partnerships with representatives from Italy, Germany and Israel. Entering those markets will allow the company to increase capitalization over… Read more »

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Visiting Content Israel

Content Israel is a conference aimed at researching content marketing technologies. Among its participants are international and local agencies, start-ups and major brands. The conference discusses various content marketing strategies, hosts workshops based around case study results and provides a venue for the best speakers from international companies such as SodaStream, The Guardian, Cisco, 3m and Linkedin, among others. Content Israel itself encourages participants from different countries, such as the US, Israel, the UK and others, to share in the experience and gain knowledge needed to expand their businesses.  AdoptoMedia was also represented at Content Israel in the fall of 2017. AdoptoMedia is an international start-up company with branches in Israel and Estonia. The company's primary area of expertise is advertising budget optimization based on various technologies that include attribution and econometric modeling. At the Content Israel round table, AdoptoMedia executives discussed with other participants the matters of content influencing overall advertising efficiency, and in particular, the impact of creative materials. The abovementioned econometric modeling approach employed by AdoptoMedia, allows for baseline use of creatives as an efficiency-impacting factor. The influence of creatives is evaluated using specific metrics, focus groups and neuro kit-based research being the most popular. Focus groups are best applied when a creative approach is… Read more »

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Digital Out-of-Home Advertising for a Shopping Mall Network

Digital out-of-home advertising (DOOH) has long since become a part of the urban infrastructure. Having gone a long way from their humble beginnings as lightboxes to today’s interactive media, DOOH screens are now superstable. The owner of a network of shopping malls in Croatia wanted to expand his offer and strengthen the power and value of its coverage. To that end, it was essential to set up high-quality and low-end outdoor displays with the options of purchase cost estimation, comprehensive remote health status supervision and tech support. On the initial stage it was crucial to establish a critical-mass network of 23 large-format all-weather outdoor digital screens. Most of the units are double-face totems, while the rest are wall-mounted 75” screens. All of units were placed at the most frequent passerby areas all across the country, covering all major Croatian city centers. This was important to access ATL (Above the line) advertising budgets and attract big brand advertisers. Three different types of units were chosen to cover all the districts and satisfy the local municipalities — primarily double-side screens with ultra-high-brightness 2,500-nit LCD panels. These unique HVAC driven units were expected to deliver many years of high-quality performance and minimal downtime…. Read more »

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Case Study: Automating the Work of an Ad Agency

Major ad agencies operate an extensive number of ad projects. A client's single ad campaign can include upwards of 10,000 ad media. Large-scale campaigns require smart planning with account for all the nuances pertaining to the purchase of ad inventory, and proper gathering of all reports and documents once the placements expire. Characteristics of a major ad agency How do major ad agencies operate, specifically? Many clients: the agency managers service over 100 clients; Ads are bought in more than 100,000 media units annually; The agency has about 70 employees; The agency works with more than 870 contractors; Ads are placed in more than 650 cities, while different employees handle the buying in different cities; The overall process of media planning, buying, placement and closing of an ad campaign involves employees from different departments: – client service managers handling client support; – buying managers handling the media buying; – the document control or accounting department responsible for the closing of deals. This results in the following difficulties: the approval process takes a long time, since all matters are discussed and handled via email, both internally and when operating with clients and contractors; the launch of an ad campaign consists of multiple… Read more »

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