Media Execs' Priorities for New Media Marketplace

With the pressure now on for advertisers to become DMS savvy, an intriguing question emerges: How are media companies handling the pressure to address these developments and the new expectations that come with them?

Active International was particularly interested in answering this question since our corporate trading model is built on longstanding relationships with media companies and advertisers. Thus, we decided to commission a research study to examine how media executives are modifying their business, inventory and pricing models to accommodate the rise of new DMS channels.

We worked with an independent market research firm to interview 100 C-level and senior management executives at media companies. Survey respondents were divided evenly between finance and marketing executives (50/50 split) and C-level and senior management (50/50 split).

The survey reveals that nearly three-quarters of media executives (71%) are worried about how to most effectively deliver audience to advertisers through DMS channels. C-level executives (73%) and finance executives (72%) are slightly more concerned about this than their senior management and marketing peers (both 69%).

Findings from the survey also show that the top priority for media executives in 2015 is reinforcing advertising value by emphasizing content (58%). Developing new DMS inventory models (42%) ranks second. When broken out by survey respondents, however, C-level and finance executives (49%) are far more concerned about developing DMS inventory than their marketing and senior management counterparts (35%). Marketing and senior management executives (65%) place more emphasis on reinforcing advertising value than C-level and finance executives (51%).

Additionally, 88% of media executives say that their technology focus for the remainder of the year will be on growing their DMS offerings. Over half of respondents (52%) plan to measurably increase their investments in programmatic technology during the same time.

Promoting consumer engagement and leveraging quality content has been the critical foundation for media companies’ growth strategies for many years. But with the recent rise of DMS channels, it is evident that these new shifts have many media companies racing to catch up to their digitally savvy consumers.

The upside is that media companies are investing to catch up. But until a new normal is established for how both media companies and advertisers view DMS advertising inventory, uncertainties will persist on how to value them.

That is a problem for which corporate trade can be a useful tool. We work to help advertisers minimize the impact of market uncertainties by offering a financial solution that enables them to stretch their advertising budgets and improve ROI. It's a model that provides value in almost any market environment, but it is especially valuable during times of uncertainty.

If you’re interested in reading the full report, Operating in Today’s Media Marketplace, you can find it available for download here. 

The opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage management or associated bloggers.

Image at top courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net.