In today's media climate, some of the best media ideas come from creative teams. And some of the best creative ideas come from media teams.
When those teams work together, they listen and collaborate more, creating the best results for the client. Two different agencies that serve one client just don't row in the same direction as well as one agency does.
It's critical to take the "what's in my best interest" out of the equation when working on a client's business. Having separate agencies with individual points of view that aren't fused together to create one holistic point of view is not only time consuming, it's often fortified with rationale that only supports each individual agency’s thinking.
This puts the burden on the client to gather consensus and optimize the best creative and media thinking. When it's under one roof, the agency can spend the time formulating the mix of opportunities, and then work with the client to home in based on their feedback and input.
It fosters true collaboration and eliminates concerns of "not-invented-here" should media come up with a creative idea or creative come up with a media idea.
Ultimately, there should only be one agenda and that is what is in the best interest of the client.
When we look at optimizing media plans, we often see that creative has a big impact on media performance. There is a continuous dialogue about creative testing that improves media performance, like button treatments, how many buttons to include in ads, how many messages to include in ads, how to best utilize different ad sizes (which carry different costs and vary greatly in performance).
Communication planning requires holistic solutions. It also requires holistic measurement and optimization.
We don’t think of the strategic, creative and media teams as separate entities. We think of them as integrated project teams.
The infinite available formats mean that if our creative teams can think of it, our media teams can buy it. It also works the other way around. Media brings our creative teams ideas and possibilities constantly.
Our most successfully integrated ideas have been the result of this collaborative environment. People literally walk down the hall or up and down the stairwells to turn possibilities into action.
For Honda, the all-new 2018 Accord made its debut in a creative marketing campaign, “Trophy City,” highlighting Honda’s mission to push beyond past success in pursuit of even greater achievements.
The creative concept surrounded trophy-winning moments across entertainment and sports, with a special appearance in “Will & Grace, allowing Honda to become the first advertiser to create original content for the show. On social media, a highly targeted campaign allowed people to acknowledge their friends’ achievements by nominating them to receive personalized awards.
To introduce the 2018 Honda Fit, the brand launched its most robust multicultural, mobile and social-driven campaign to date with TV creative and social content incorporating the fun and versatility of the Fit, as communicated by comedians and influencers throughout.
Apartments.com debuted the apartment industry’s first-ever Super Bowl ad, “Movin’ On Up,” in 2016 and consisted of a comprehensive three-week-long integrated campaign that also leveraged digital influencers, a partnership with Buzzfeed and game-day social activations.
The most successful media plans and go-to-market strategies are driven by true integration across all marketing disciplines to ensure that business objectives, creative platforms, and financial resources are maximized.
Consistent and closely nurtured exchange of media and creative ideas, which is best accomplished within a full-service agency, can make the difference between a powerfully dynamic marketing campaign and one that does not engage people in an impactful, relevant way.