Does Anyone Care About Media?
May 22, 2019
McKinsey estimated that companies across the globe could spend in excess of $2.0 trillion on media in 2019.
A big number to be sure, and for most advertisers the media component of their marketing spend, which runs between 10.4 and 14 percent of annual revenue is a material SG&A expense (Source: The CMO Study, from Deloitte, AMA, Fuqua School of Business at Duke University).
Thus, it was surprising to read the results of advertising and media consultant ID Comms' recent survey assessing advertiser interest in media training. Seventy-one percent of the respondents indicated that the "investment in media training" by advertisers was "unsatisfactory or entirely unsatisfactory."
Given that in aggregate, the survey respondents' firms spend "in excess of $20 billion" on media globally, one might say that their response was stunning. This is particularly so given the scrutiny that has been given to media advertising in the wake of the 2016 ANA study on media transparency that brought to light some of the financial risks faced by advertisers in this area.
So why haven't advertisers stepped up their investment in building media competency? It would seem that advertisers the world over would place a much higher level of priority on the recruitment and training of media personnel to help them steward their media agencies to safeguard and optimize their media spend.
Media savvy marketing professionals understand that the cost benefit proposition for staffing and training corporate media departments is quite compelling. In fact, the ID Comms survey went on to point out that nearly all of the survey respondents agreed that "brands can gain a competitive advantage in marketing" by elevating their firm's media capabilities.
Companies have plenty of Chiefs, ranging from Chief Executive Officers, Chief Operating Officers, Chief Financial Officers, and Chief Marketing Officers to Chief Risk Officers, Chief Procurement Officers, Chief Technology Officers, Chief Information Officers, and Chief Revenue Officers.
Okay, so perhaps there is no room left in the C-suite for a Chief Media Officer. No worries, build out the corporate media function within the marketing pyramid. No money in the HR budget to hire a seasoned media professional? No worries, bring on a fractional Corporate Media Director to assist in staffing and training the department.
The need is real.
What advertiser wouldn't benefit from investing in the ongoing training and education of their marketing and/or corporate media staffs? Honing capabilities related to setting media strategy, establishing KPIs, crafting a compelling media brief, reviewing media plans, evaluating media performance, building an understanding of the ad tech sector and managing a diverse roster of media agencies would yield both near and long-term financial returns.
With the desire to improve "working media" in an increasingly complex marketplace, companies would benefit mightily from building their corporate media proficiencies.
In the words of Nolan Bushnell: "Hire for passion and intensity; there is training for everything else."
Cliff Campeau is a principal with AARM.
The views and opinions expressed in Marketing Maestros are solely those of the contributor and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the ANA or imply endorsement from the ANA.