mediasmith: hypebusters: "automated media technology"

Digiday HypebusterWelcome to the Modern Media Era

© Mediasmith 2012

Hype

Media planning & buying will be automated!

Corollary

The algorithm trumps all!With the right algorithms, machine learning will eliminate the need for media planning and buying!

Some TruthsThere is no panacea media technologyGoogle, Microsoft, WPP, MediaOcean (Donovan/ MediaBank) & others have been trying for yearsMost “proprietary” tech is in fact a white labeled solution by someone else (e.g., DSP’s used by holding companies) …and solves only one of the PAIN POINTS

Pain Points• RFP’s• Lack of inventory hold mechanism• Manual and fax handling of Orders• Ts & Cs negotiations• Production QA by media• Rekeying of info all through the

process• Discrepancies• Reporting not automated• Optimization constant• Two sets of numbers• Billing late, inconsistent, under

detailed

Marketing Tech Complexity

Gartner Group:“By 2017, a CMO will spend more on IT than the CIO.”

Data TodayAjay Agarwal (Bain) on data today:Businesses can mine thousands of signals from prospectsMarketers can link spending on customer acquisition directly to customer actions via web, device or physical locationConsumers are conveying their intent by scanning codes, downloading mobile coupons or walking into a store with their location-aware deviceSocial networks are providing a new source of demographic data that, combined with Facebook Open Graph, offer marketers a new treasure trove of information

Media Tech PlannerEnter a new job: The Media Tech PlannerEvaluates new media tech for inclusion in agency Tech StackConsiders various options from the Tech Stack for campaignsDrives integration of various components to create a bespoke tech stack for each campaign

Job DescriptionThe Media Tech Planner needs to be able to:Identify pain pointsEvaluate potential solutionsUnderstand what solutions to integrate to provide the right tech stack for the clientTalk to engineers and direct them in tweaking their developmentMotivate the disparate solution companies to work together

BackgroundMedia planning did not always existBefore the late 60’s, AE’s and the Media Director decided what to do and executedThe advent of Nielsen, Simmons, ARB and other data on mainframes created the opportunity for media planningThe media tech planner job will evolve out of the complexity exhibited by Lumascapes and other tech lists

Point of ReferenceMediasmith reached the tipping point in 2011

We now see more tech companies than media publishers to get our jobs done

Mediasmith Tech Stack Audience Definition

Data Collection & Audience Segmentation Contextual Targeting

Buying Platforms

Inventory Sources

Ad-Serving & Dynamic Creative Tagging Brand Protection

Brand Survey Data Collection Data Visualization & Attribution

Enabling TrendsFailure of the third party ad servers to extend services

Proliferation of standardized APIs

Use of visualization tools, enabling “beyond the spreadsheet” reporting

There’s MoreConstant change afoot with funding from:Venture CapitalAngels &Super Angels

Buy or Build?

It is better to buy than buildInvesting in an infrastructure that continues to change is a waste of time and resourcesAs new media are introduced, we will need new media metrics and solutionsThere must be fluidity in this process and the ability to add new technologies to the stack without tearing everything down

Black Boxes ARE becoming White Elephants!

© Mediasmith 2012

David L. Smithsmith@mediasmith.com@mediadls