Being on the media agency side of the industry, we have the unique opportunity to get the inside view of all platforms and technology providers. We can opt to have partners be a preferred solution, or form agreements with as many as possible to promote competition.
Because there are so many different solutions out there, it can be very cumbersome to evaluate them. There are ad networks, demand side platforms, ad exchanges, ad severs, mobile ad servers, campaign management platforms, data visualization tools, tag management systems, ad verification services, and the list goes on. (Notice I left the three letter acronyms out. It’s easier on the brain this way.)
Where does an agency begin to evaluate these tools? How do they make a decision?
Our process always begins with a product demo. Screenshots are never enough, and honestly, when your aim is to see what the technology can do, nothing beats seeing it in motion. After a product demo we feel would greatly benefit our clients and teams, we immediately brainstorm clients this would be a fit for. For example, if we’re looking at data visualization tools for reporting, a few questions we might run through are- Who can benefit most from using this tool? Would it better serve our direct response clients? How long would it take to train the teams to use this? What do current reports look for that the client currently receives? Can those reports be greatly modified with this tool?
Once we’ve determined which clients are a best fit, we talk to the potential partner to set up a test with one or a few of the clients we determined to utilize the tool. After cost is negotiated (not a small step, but by no means insignificant), we get the test up and running and hopefully have success and utilize the tool moving forward for future campaigns and clients.
This process from demo to execution could take a couple weeks to several months for an agency depending on several factors, depth of the tool, business structure, cost, training cycle, and difficulty of implementation. My advice is to meet with as many partners in the space as possible to understand what they have to offer. Each is unique in their own way, but that doesn’t mean they don’t overlap in function or benefits here and there.
Being on the media agency side of the industry, we have the unique opportunity to get the inside view of all platforms and technology providers. We can opt to have partners be a preferred solution, or form agreements with as many as possible to promote competition. Because there are so many different solutions out there, it can be very cumbersome to evaluate them.