Included below are four strategies that you can keep in mind to maximize the ROI on your media buys: 

1. Media Partnerships 

A great partner should make you feel like you’re important to them (within reason). Obviously, a client spending $20k+ should expect more hands-on help and bells and whistles than someone with a $2k buy. That said, no matter how much you’re spending, setting expectations up front with media partners can go a long way toward building a great partnership. Examples can include: 

How often will reporting be provided?  

How often can we change the creative or targeting?  

How quickly can deliverables be turned over?  

Both parties need to be clear on these expectations so the contracted media partner can uphold their side of the relationship. 

2. Advertising Mediums 

While many advertisers are spending more and more of their ad dollars on digital, that doesn’t mean more traditional routes have disappeared or have lost relevance. Every day, there are more options out there for where and how to spend your advertising budget, and it’s easy to get confused and overwhelmed.  

Always keep in mind that the mediums you choose for your next advertising campaign will vary based on your target audience and your campaign goals. Know what you want to get out of your advertising so you can talk that through with your sales rep. Don’t forget to also consider the creative assets you have available and can leverage based on your team's capabilities or what that media company offers.  

3. Beyond CPM 

Once you have an apples-to-apples media evaluation to weigh the allocation of your precious advertising dollars, let’s say you have two outdoor companies each pitching billboards that are the same size and on the same relevant roadway. One is a single board on the right side of the roadway (considered a “right-read”), it is lit 24/7, and everything else that might block the view has been mitigated. The other billboard is on the left side of the roadway (considered a “left-read” or “cross-read”), is in a stack of two billboards, is not lit at night, and it has trees blocking one side of it. In this case, whatever you do, do not pay the same CPM price based on impressions (in the case of billboards, the number of cars each company tells you will pass this billboard each day). Consider all of the factors mentioned above when considering the CPM you are being quoted. For example, the right-read board might be as much as 10x more expensive (and 10x+ more valuable to you) than the proposed left-read board described above (that may actually be worthless). 

4. Budget 

Whatever you do, remember that just like with everything else in life, you get what you pay for, especially in advertising. So, if a media company is offering a deal that seems too good to be true, remember what you have always heard...  

The more you know, the better you can ensure that you’re using your advertising dollars to get the best ROI. However, if managing relationships with media representatives is intimidating, or if navigating and weighing how all of these options fit into your media budget is overwhelming, or if you just want to pass off the seemingly endless incoming cold calls and emails you get to someone else—working with a firm like Stamp to represent your organization and take all of this off your plate is absolutely an option! Schedule a no-obligation call with us to find out what that can look like, and we’ll connect you with clients so you can hear firsthand what it’s like to work with us.