There have never been more tools in the media toolbox. Media’s potential value contribution to achieving strategic corporate goals has never been greater. And yet, many a media department and agency find themselves at the kids’ table of communications planning. CROSSMEDIA Managing Director, Sebastian Schichtel, wonders why we have been reduced to the equivalent of a media slaughterhouse where campaigns are deboned, piecework-style.Albert Einstein is possibly the most famous scientist the world has ever seen. It is true that the native of Ulm spent a considerable part of his life trying to prove complex physical relationships and make them measurable. With great success, as we know today. Despite this, Einstein was also all too aware of the limits of being able to measure things. “Not everything that can be counted counts. And not everything that counts can be counted,” he once said. A quote that is probably more relevant and significant for marketing and media decision-makers today than ever before, as many brands are standing at the crossroads between long-term success and slipping into irrelevance in a digitalized and fragmented (consumer) society. So, what has actually happened and what role does measurability play in all this?
The call for campaigns that not only wave the magic wand of creativity, but clearly deliver on effectiveness is getting louder. Just recently, the WARC Effectiveness Award took place, honoring that exact combination for the first time. Our very own Martin Albrecht, CEO CROSSMEDIA Worldwide, was a member of the jury and explains why the award has the potential to transform the industry.This year’s Cannes Lions have been handed out, albeit in a more understated way than the typical hoopla generated by thousands fueled by Rosé on the Croisette. But as we gradually move towards a return to some semblance of normal, will we do it with wisdom accrued from lessons learned?
If necessity is indeed the mother of invention, then 2021 could be the year in which agencies will truly transform the way they operate. Lee Beale, managing partner at Crossmedia USA, explains why a critical approach to third-party data is long overdue.2021 on paper is daunting. But could 2021 be the year of rebirth?
A transparent, fair and thoughtful pitch process is not only a good predictor of how a client runs their business. It is also a good indicator of how they treat their agency partner moving forward. Ali Plonchak, Managing Partner at Crossmedia US, looks back on nearly a year of pandemic pitching and takes stock.The flow of new business pitches in the past six months has been relieving — and a bit surprising.
Our industry is becoming less and less alluring, says Crossmedia USA co-founder Kamran Asghar. But what can we do to shift the dysfunctional, often toxic dynamic between clients and agencies? Kamran takes a look at how solutions-based operating principle, human intelligence, and operational transparency can help agencies regain their high ground as practitioners of excellent work.Many are lured into the agency business because they find the craft—the art in some cases – of persuasion compelling. But our industry is becoming less alluring.
Publicis raised a few eyebrows when it hyped its recent launch of The Pact by Epsilon. Crossmedia CEO Martin Albrecht says guaranteeing outcomes will harvest only the low-hanging fruit.The Pact is being sold as a “business outcomes solution powered by Epsilon’s identity management platform and machine learning.” It guarantees that digital campaigns will deliver on key performance indicators (KPIs) that could include sales, new client acquisition and return on ad spend. If agreed-to metrics aren’t met, clients get 100% of their money back.
When planning their brand communication, many companies focus on short-term KPIs, as they can be quickly optimized for success. However, an inconsistent strategy damages the brand – and more than half of the value of advertising is only created in the long term. Crossmedia’s head, Markus Biermann, is concerned about the future of brands.The world of marketing, sometime in the near future: companies have started digging their own graves. By abandoning consistent brand communication, they have gradually destroyed values that they had built up over time in painstaking effort. Media in-house silos burden their profit and loss account, obstructing the view to a neutral way of looking at things. Marketers no longer ask their agencies to make recommendations, evaluate pros and cons or think in scenarios. Now, all they ask for are dashboards. Every new strategy is always only as good as yesterday’s KPIs. Creators and brand makers have become submissive dependents. Slaves to a short-term mania called optimization.