With many advertising options in the marketplace, buyers must have assurance that the media they’re investing in reaches their client’s intended audience with optimal results.
We recently spoke with Gina Biel, executive media director at Bader Rutter, a Milwaukee-based agency specializing in B2B media, to learn how her team uses audited media to make more informed media recommendations, optimize campaign performance and deliver the greatest ROI.
Maximizing Media Buys
For many years, the focus of B2B marketers was on brand building. Then a shift occurred.
“With the growth of digital, advertisers became more focused on lower funnel marketing, such as driving conversions on their website,” Biel said.
Now another shift is taking place.
“Because the industry went so deeply into the lower funnel, we’re now having more conversations around brand versus demand and what the right level of investment should be for each.”
Biel added that regardless of whether clients’ goals are brand building or lead generation, agencies must find ways to prove they are good stewards of their investments. As budgets have decreased, accountability has only increased.
“There’s more pressure to prove that the media we're buying is reaching clients’ audiences and that it's effective, quality media,” Biel said. “Clients want to know what they’re getting for their money.”
One way to cultivate niche B2B audiences is by using audited data.
“AAM data provides us with granular insights into a publication’s audience such as roles, responsibilities, types of businesses and geography, which is important information when building media plans for niche audiences.”
Prioritizing Verified Media
While Biel said Bader Rutter relies on AAM data, the agency also uses other complimentary sources.
“We use SRDS to look at all publishers within a channel and MRI Simmons for high-level information such as what channels and mediums our target audiences use. Then we use AAM data to dig deeper and learn as much as possible about a publisher. That gives us a deeper understanding of a publisher’s overall health.”
Biel added that while audited data informs media recommendations, it can also be used as a tiebreaker when deciding between publishers in a market.
“We put our options in priority order, making it easy for the client to decide where to invest. When it comes down to multiple publishers in a market, audited media are preferred.”
Biel acknowledged that while some publishers have provided sworn statements when sharing audience information, Bader Rutter always prioritizes those audited by a trusted third party.
“If a third party verifies the data, then that’s validation. It’s increased confidence that the data shared is truly the audience we want to reach.”
Biel’s advice for publishers?
“Stay audited. It will help you get on more plans because audits remove any questions and doubts.”
