While online media planners boast loudly about the flexibility, measurability and accountability of online advertising, their planning and buying approach does the medium little justice. The average online media planner and buyer is satisified following the traditional broadcast media approach – allocating a lion’s share of media spend to a handful of properties. The McKinsey Quarterly – A reality check for online advertising” study supports this belief, indicating advertisers currently direct 96% of online display ad spend to just 30% of overall Web traffic. Furthermore, the U.S Interactive Advertising Bureau’s analysis of revenue by company size indicates the top 10 companies online accounted for 72% of all interactive ad revenue last year, up from 71% in 2004.

The problem with this “tonnage approach” to planning and buying is that it does not take advantage of online´s “long tail”, an inherit benefit of the medium. The “long tail” not only provides access to more niche audiences but targets consumers in different mindsets. Furthermore, the “tonnage approach” creates an undersupply of available ‘premium’ ad space which creates bottlenecks that limit the pace of online ad growth and raises prices.
There are key drivers behind the wide use of “tonnage buying”. The first driver is risk aversion – a natural inclination for buyers to go with the safe, mass, well-established online sites. Second, the reach of the big sites such as Yahoo, MSN makes them easy go-to places for marketers and spend their ad dollars. Third, the manpower involved in planning, buying and tracking ads across a handful of sites versus twenty or thirty makes tonnage buying more efficient. Fourth, the biggest sites have invested heavily in research and sales training - polishing and standardising their sales pitch . Fifth and most concerning is the fact the average online media buying and planning team suffers of a condition called “media inertia”.

“Media inertia” is a learned disability which limits the planning and buying decision making process, by limiting continuous improvement and experimentation beyond “proven results”.

In our experience granular buying is an absolute requirement, but it requires a more hands on approach to media planning and buying. For one, granular buying must aggregate niche sites and placements to be effective from a cost and profitability. Secondly it requires media and creative to be integrated from the start of the briefing process, given granular buying will open a wealth of bespoke ad opportunities. Third it requires a methodical approach to optimisation – testing, rotating and changing schedules on an on-going basis. Fourth, it requires flexible out-clauses to be negotiated with media owners, in the case funds have to be transferred to other sites. Fifth and more important, it requires clients to commit to testing and experimentation – making  ROI a sustained long term objective as opposed to a short term gain.

web liquid, media buying,media inertia

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