Been there, done that
Misunderstandings during campaigns’ setup affect all of us
Friday, December 14th, 2018, 4:50 pm. A member of the ad operations team in a digital channel is setting up a campaign for a brand that has sent a creative in a VPAID format. The client wants to know if that file is supported by the ad server. Exhausted by the end-of-year hustle and bustle, he assumes there won’t be any problem, although he thinks he probably needs to double check.
Our character doesn’t know it yet, but he’s wrong. Quickly, he confirms the VPAID creative is supported by the Ad Server involved in the campaign. “It’s best to show confidence when talking to a client”, he concludes. Later, while he’s setting up the campaign in the system, he realizes he’s made a mistake. Even though he tried to avoid the discomfort of admitting he ignored the answer to the question, the member of the ad ops team now faces a new challenge.
Sounds familiar? If you’ve ever been in our character’s shoes, you’ll probably know that misunderstandings between agencies and media representatives are frequent during the set up of digital advertising campaigns.
Sometimes things get complicated due to the use of obscure technical terms or the assumption that the person we’re talking to knows about the topic. And these difficulties are worsened by the reluctance to ask (or ask again) when requests, instructions and questions are not clear to the person who’s getting them.
When confusion strikes, projects may suffer delays, errors and new problems can make things even more complex. To avoid these complications, we recommend implementing the following strategies to communicate better at work.
Use simple language
When asking for technical details, closing deals or informing a campaign’s performance, it’s good to assess the level of knowledge the person we’re talking to has about the topic of discussion. If we’re not sure how much the person knows about advertising operations, communicating in a simple, straightforward usually works best.
Avoiding technicalities is very useful. However, if you really need to mention a technical term, explain it as clearly as possible so that any person can understand it, even if they are not specialists in the subject. Be empathic: it’s better to have something you already know explained to you than missing the point because a person takes for granted concepts that you do not understand.
Be honest
In order to increase efficiency and speed up campaigns’ implementation, nothing can be left to chance. This implies that everything has to be understood perfectly so that the actions can be executed correctly as quickly as possible. It is necessary that all doubts are cleared up. And, if there still are questions after asking for explanations, it’s your duty to find clarification. There are no silly questions, especially if they’ll help you improve your work.
Do research online
Sometimes people contact us and use a language that’s not clear. In those cases, if asking for clarification doesn’t work, we may have to resort to searching for information. In general, we can find practically all the definitions and explanations we need online, but it is possible that they are addressed to specialists in the subject or take for granted knowledge that the reader does not possess.
At Flame Ads, we believe it is important that every brand and agency feel comfortable when working with us, whatever knowledge they may have about the world of in-game advertising.
As a result, we decided to launch Pulse, a new content series through which we will share concepts about mobile gaming and advertising that you can use as a reference if you ever are in the shoes of the character in the story.
Check the very first edition in our blog or subscribe to receive the new releases directly in your inbox (we will never send you ads and you can unsubscribe whenever you want).
