In the past few years, the marketing and advertising industries have evolved more than fifty years before that. With everything changing so fast, you must have a media-buying service that can keep up with that.
Media buying agencies need to be able to adapt fast. They need to spread your message to the targeted audience at the right time and, of course, at the lowest price possible so even smaller companies can afford it.
If you think your media buying agency can’t keep up with all that, it’s time to find a new one.
What to Look for in Your New Media Buying Agency
It does not matter if you are new to this and are just starting your marketing journey or looking for a new media buying service because your old one doesn’t satisfy your needs. We’ve got you covered. Here are our top tips on how to find a new one:
1. Market Analysis
Every professional media service will insist on making a complete and well-organized media strategy before considering media buying. Media agencies will likely do background analysis on your company or brand that is being advertised.
They do a strategic look at your company or brand and make a marketing plan that should do for you. Also, they do market analysis for your niche. They review sales, competitors, distribution, and previous marketing programs to make the most suitable and effective marketing plan just for you.
2. Financial Concept
The best media planners know every in and out of the financial concepts. The main thing here is that the new agency that u are hiring understands what you are looking for. Things like where the breakeven point is in the campaign, the margins on profit, and the benefits of adding a new client.
This is the most important thing from the money aspect because you need someone who can work with you on your budget and get the highest return on investment possible.
3. Tools
You should always ask how they conduct market research and their media habits. It doesn’t matter how much money you give them. If the message you are trying to deliver doesn’t get to who you want to get to whole investment is worthless.
The media agency should give you a clear answer on how they reach their target audience, how they do market research, and the tools they use to do all these things.
4. Testing
Every media buying agency knows there is no one for all advertising models. Every customer needs a little something, whether a small customization or even a big one. Every campaign needs to be a project for itself. If the agency does copy/paste on every new client, they will leave the job soon.
With everything in marketing expanding, its options are too. Every good media planner knows that and knows that every campaign is unique. The agency needs to set up a test program with changeable metrics so they can test everything before it goes online.
5. Negotiation
One of the most important things on this list is how they conduct a negotiation and if they have already established a successful process when it comes to negotiation. Every media buyer needs to prioritize negotiation to have the best prices.
They must successfully manage to get both the best price and value when negotiating. The best way to tell if they are doing a good job on this is to analyze how well they work for themselves. Don’t be fooled by the best prices and low values.
It doesn’t mean anything if you pay little if nobody is going to see it. We are not telling you to go with the cheapest option. You need a mix of price and value, not one or the other.
6. Accountability
One of the many concerns of someone who is finding a full-service digital media partner is will my message reach the people I need it to reach.
Well, this is where accountability of media services comes, you don’t want someone who is going to make a campaign, and he is done with it. You need someone who will be there with you nonstop, who will go and fix the campaign if it’s underperforming.
You don’t want some set-it-and-forget-it type of system where you can’t get any insight into hows your campaign is doing. They need to ensure that media schedules are on time and that KPIs are measured and improved throughout a campaign.
7. Experience and Reputation
Experience in the field is a must-have. You need a professional service, not someone who just started. Experienced agencies may have a little higher prices, but they can almost guarantee the results. With them, you don’t really have to worry about anything.
These are big and reputable. They won’t do a bad job because their name is on the line.
Here you should look for media services that take time to explain in detail what they are going to do and how are they going to do it. They should set up a clear layout of how things will unfold.
Closing Thoughts
Choosing a new media buying agency can be hard and overwhelming whether you are a small company that just started or a big company with hundreds of employees. Still, we are sure it will be easier once you understand everything we said.
Remember to follow our instructions closely; rest assured you have nothing to worry about.
