Before the turn of the century, ad agency media directors had these tools to choose from: Radio, television, newspapers, consumer magazines, business publications/directories, brochures/posters, outdoor, transit, Yellow Pages, CRM and direct mail (skywriting was outlawed after 9-11). The challenge was to mix and match and try to achieve enough reach and frequency to measure the results. It sometimes was media selection by dartboard.
We joked that half of all advertising worked, we just did not know which half. No client thought that was funny, but we took our chances and sometimes our campaigns drove consistent traffic to clients’ places of business.
Media research was used to measure sales (sometimes), awareness (a canard) and anecdotes (rumor). Media reps often bought off agency decision makers with alcohol-fueled lunches, free trips and Husky tickets—and probably (surely) some kickbacks.
Radio and television viewers were counted in in-home “diaries,” which became “bibles.” And we learned that a diary, completed with phony information, could significantly boost the ratings of a radio or TV station. A friend with a blank radio diary reported cash offers from multiple radio stations.
Some called these “the good old days,” when an agency could place a $100,000 television buy and earn as much as a $17,650 media commission. You could build and sustain a brand name with consistent media advertising when you bought enough Gross Rating Points (Grips). And we could target our prospects. Sort of.
Today—with millennials as the dominant demographic—is a different story. How would you plan and buy a media campaign to reach tech workers in Seattle? Do we really need to make those X number of impressions to convince them to attend a concert, buy a ticket to an XFL football game or have them sign up for a bike race?
Use conventional television or cable advertising? Millennials don’t watch it. Terrestrial radio? Their listening span is so short it’s difficult to get reach and/or frequency. ROP newspaper advertising? Only old people read newspapers. Outdoor and transit? Maybe. I saved some climbing magazines for my grandsons, and they left them on the dining-room table when they departed. They’re worldly and well-informed, using their mobile devices. No print materials for them.
They buy everything online and aren’t wedded to Tide, Ford or AT&T. They have little brand loyalty.
Oh, I forgot. The only way to reach them is “social media.” Does that mean Facebook, WhatsApp, Pinterest, Instagram, WeChat, Ozone, Twitter, Tumbr, Tik Tok, or, or…and what will this fickle generation embrace next week, next month?
It’s reported that, by 2022, 80% of all media buys will be made on a live-bid basis. We’re supposed to know what to bid on, in real time, and have appropriate, relevant and timely content to immediately post and respond? Clients, who’s going to write your blogs,
produce your podcasts, take your photos, keep your calendars and website content fresh, increase your “Likes” and try to make a sale—and sense—out of all these engagements?
Does anyone know how to design an advertising campaign that will reach millennials? And who’s going to integrate the messaging—often done by a number of different shops—across all these platforms? And whose analysis of the results will you believe?
Plenty of good questions. Are there coherent answers?
Or do we return to the dartboard?
Bill Hoke is a former advertising agency creative director and agency owner. He and his wife, Patricia Graf-Hoke live on the Kitsap Peninsula.