Inside the Industry: Transparency and honest conversations in advertising
Kenneth Söderman, Digital Media Planner at MediaCom, on why transparency is key for publishers and a more open media industry.
Media norms, processes and looking to the future with Kenneth Söderman, Digital Media Planner at MediaCom.
Meeting advertisers, media agencies and brands offers not only feedback for product development but also gives the opportunity to discuss shortcomings, processes, and progress in the media industry from different perspectives. How do the perspectives from different areas in advertising differ? How are they similar?
In the second feature in our mini-series, Inside the Industry, Kenneth Söderman, Digital Media Planner at MediaCom, sat down to reflect, discuss and look to the future. Our conversation led to various points but always back to a common craving within the media industry — transparency and accessibility.
What information is important for media agencies?
“From clients, we need a brief that includes vital information like the audience, key visuals for the creatives and sales targets, for example.
I use Ocast to search for information about audiences and products that publishers have that are relevant to us.
For publishers, it’s important for us to have an open conversation regarding placements, how they perform and transparency with data.”
What do you look for in a publisher?
“The first thing is their core audience and how they interact with them. Then it’s the products or collaborations they offer.”
With accurate content, we can see if publishers align with the briefs we are given from our brands.
Think about promoting yourself to agencies and clients in a different way — use Ocast better and more effective. The content needs to be useful and up to date, not outdated content that’s added once and then never touched again.”
When brands want to be highlighted in a niche area, it takes more time to research and find publishers.
With accurate content, we can see if publishers align with the briefs we are given from our brands. That’s why transparency and open communication is so important to us.”
The challenges and hurdles of media planning — context and contacts
“The challenges are different depending on if it’s a local or global client and finding the right context for smaller clients. When brands want to be highlighted in a niche area, it takes more time to research and find publishers.”
For publishers, it’s important for us to have an open conversation regarding placements, how they perform and transparency with data.”
“The most time is lost chasing down the right contact people — either to get information about their upcoming campaigns or information from publishers after our briefs.”
Advertising trends to keep an eye on — AR, VR, and Voice Assistant, Oh my!
“I think the hardest task we have coming up is AR and VR. It will be difficult to find a reasonable way to create an experience that suits both publishers and clients.”
I think the hardest task we have coming up is AR and VR.
“I’m really looking forward to the progress of voice assistance and how that will affect the digital marketing we see today. I read that in a couple of years at least 50% of homes in the US will have a voice assistant.”
Time for an honest conversation with advertisers
As a publisher or brand selling advertising space, it may seem difficult to reach advertisers and media agencies. The key takeaways from the interview are to remember that the people behind these big agencies are, in fact, approachable and curious about new opportunities.
Be available and have open communication
People like Kenneth are ready to talk about the opportunity of working together. The trick is taking the step to contact them, be reachable yourself and set yourself up to avoid a bad case of FOMO.
Be transparent
Be clear and transparent with your information. Every facet of advertising should be transparent for the success of both your own brand and building a positive relationship with advertisers.
Both publishers and advertisers are pushing for more transparency and accessibility. The responsibility to meet these needs is on everyone in advertising.
I highly can recommend reaching out to Kenneth at MediaCom for a guaranteed listening ear and honest conversation. 👍
