Use data to become a partner, not a just supplier

Look at the recruitment page of any media agency and there is a pretty good chance you will find positions for Data Analysts, Statisticians even Econometricians. Driven largely by advertiser clients demand for greater accountability of ad spend, the demand for sophisticated and accurate data analysis within the advertising industry has grown. 

For many years large group agencies have taken advantage of their expertise in data analysis and made themselves indispensable. 

But where has this left the rest of the market? Smaller group agencies and independents are now competing with financial institutions for the best analytical minds to help ‘join everything up’.

Moreover, advertiser clients actively demand better data analysis and reporting from there incumbent agencies and it’s clear that certain agencies are taking advantage.

At a recent media conference organised by Haymarket media (Media 360) the signs were clear to see. David Fletcher head of analytics and insight at MEC Global was one of the many keynote speakers and he shared a recent experience where a client had begged them for help with a “consolidated programme reporting”. The idea being that data collected by the advertiser client would be combined with data generated from the media agency to bring greater insight to planning, I guess improving return on investment for everyone. This scenario could be from any client apparently, according to Fletcher.

An recent article by Katherine Levy, Reports Editor for advertising trade magazine Campaign covered the Media 360 event.  She emphasized that media agencies who embraced this area are gaining a competitive edge. She said “More clients are waking up to the fact that, while data itself is a transferable asset, the bit of magic that happens when an agency unpicks complex information and visualises it in a simple way that really moves the dial for a client’s business isn’t transferable. The more a media agency does this, the more respect it will get from clients. It might even mean media agencies can discard the burdensome “supplier” tag and proudly step into the “partner” league”. 

Becoming a “Partner” instead of simply a “Supplier” is key here. Katherine also made the point of advertisers reliance on their agencies for this expertise rather than use their own marketing teams in-house. “The really interesting talking point was how far clients have come to rely so very quickly and heavily on their media agency as a crutch in a data-driven world. Forget competitive media planning and buying - if an agency can create unique systems to cross-examine the wealth of data that many clients find overwhelming, it makes them indispensable”.

So it seems clients have come to expect this level of service from their agencies. Afterall we have grown up with Google analytics so why not expect the same level of analysis and reporting from all of your advertising? Only this week we have been approached by 5 non adalyser subscribers who have been asked by a client they are pitching for, what systems they have in place for analysing data and reporting results. 

Furthermore we are receiving 30-40% more data load requests from our existing clients now than we did the at the same time last year. It is clear to us that advertisers (brand and DR) want more and more insight from their response data and they are relying on their agency to come up with the answers. 

So what are the options? Recruitment of your own analysts can be expensive and time consuming, developing your own system even more so. Microsoft Excel and other statistical software will only get you so far when it comes to complex data sets and terabytes of responses. 

Whichever route you take it’s clear that accurate analysis of data, plays a key role in the relationship between agency and advertising client. Whether you choose in-house systems and data analysts or outsourced solutions like Adalyser, advertisers will continue to drive the demand for their agencies to be more like a ‘Partner’ as apposed to just another ‘Supplier’.

Adalyser is designed around media buying and advertising. We roll out new features weekly, driven from the needs of our media agency or advertising clients. 

Whether you want to identify the best day part and channel for TV advertising, or you want to demonstrate that TV drives more web sales than press advertising, or perhaps you want to bring all of your direct response clients together and start to analyse the best medium for different industries. Its all possible with Adalyser and more. 

In just two years we have analysed close to 1/2 billion pounds worth of advertising revenue, from 300 client advertisers. Our services are not limited to supplying the software either, we help clients with data cleansing, we attend pitches to help win new business, we can handle historical data and we can supply bespoke reporting for large clients. We’re fast becoming more than just a software supplier, for some of our clients we are an extension to their business, a “partner” not just a “supplier”. 

You can find out more about Adalyser by attending our next webinar on the 18th June - Click here to register. You can also arrange for a one to one meeting and demonstration by call +44 (0) 333 666 7366. E-mail us adalyser@onesoon.co.uk 

You can read all of Katherine’s article here on the campaign website.