Three Steps to Becoming an Agency Ad Ops Leader

by Lauren Rodas, Associate Director, TAAG

Our industry is moving more into digital and that means that tech teams are becoming more invaluable. Here at Mediavest, we have our 2015 Vanguard Award winning AdTech and Platforms Group run by Oleg Korenfeld and in that group our AdOperations team is called the Technology and Activations Group aka TAAG run by Rich Walker. AdOps roles are changing and we are no longer a trafficking group therefore that means that we need to evolve with the industry. Here are some tips that have helped me along the way.

1. Become invaluable by understanding the data. AdOps as been perceived as the data input group and all we do is send tags, this is just a piece of what we do. Since we have the access to all the data, we really see what’s pacing and how to optimize towards what’s working. This gives us the power to really position ourselves as a team that is in the front, guiding how the client should invest their media dollars and how to use that data to strategically plan for the future. At Mediavest, we can start changing those perceptions since the proof is in the data but its up to us to make sure that we are bringing the correct information to our teams and making sure its being heard and understood. That brings me to my next point…
2. Making sure that our voice is being heard. AdOps teams again are usually backend tech people and with that are quiet voices. We need to make sure that we are letting our media teams know the value that we have and what we can bring to the table can benefit our clients. Since we see the data and we can see whats performing well and what isn’t, we can come up with clear ways to optimize performance. Sometimes the reason why a campaign could fail is because once its launched, it is forgotten. AdOps teams are consistently looking at campaigns and should speak up when they see something thats out of the ordinary. Confidence in understanding the data that you have is valuable to the client and that will ultimately help your confidence in making your voice be heard.
3. Keeping yourself current. AdOps for a Digital media team is very fast pace. Things are changing in our industry all the time. One of the things Bill Clinton said that prepared him to be President was reading every newspaper every day. This is something I recommend everyone that’s in Digital Media especially AdOps to do — educate yourself. Read and keep up with technology, some of my particular favorites are TechCrunch, ReCode, AdWeek, and AdAge​ to name a few.