Media Planning: The Moral Dimension

The strategic planning issues faced by agencies these days are complex and go far beyond arguments over maximizing reach frequency caps wearin wearout and the rest There is a moral dimension tooThere39s also the matter of objectivity and trust The dilemma is amp8211 where to draw the line between advertisers interfering in editorial freedoms and supporting a channel that seems to consider itself apart from common laws of decencyImagine this An online platform that measures its own audiences That avoids external examination and validation That makes errors in calculations some of which it corrects some of which it doesn39t After all if nobody notices or challenges the data who cares Truth and objectivityA channel some of whose staff are so concerned about what they see as their management39s priorities that they would rather jump ship giving up a no doubt wellpaid position to blow the whistleA channel that selfregulates that ignores restrictions on such as political advertising that apply to other media formsAn organization that uses the data provided by its users to trap the gullible in a web of disinformation and then hides behind complex terms and conditions that noone reads and details of the privacy options available that are so full of jargon that few bother with themA platform not please note a publisher that avoids taking responsibility for the content that it publishesA channel funded by advertisers many of whom are busy promoting the importance of corporate responsibility of behaving with a sense of civil purpose of supporting civil liberties diversity inclusion and so onWould these advertisers condone lying in their copy Would they continue running material that offends or even harms some of their audienceNo of course they wouldn39t So why on earth do they continue to support these platformsWe can go further What if ads on these channels were shown not to attract attention What if ads on them simply don39t work a lot of the time What if the ads that do work on them are of a very specific type reminder messages for example or direct responseWhy do major brand builders continue to use them to quotbuild their brandsquotLet39s recap False audience data Misuse of data No responsibility for the content that appears Ineffective for brand buildingIf anyone reading this plans campaigns for a living they would surely not use these mediaAnd yet they doIt really isn39t good enough to say quotThat39s where you find the audiencequot Who says so Who validates that data And is quotaudiencequot just a onedimensional number a gross impression in the vernacularPlus it39s not the only place to find the audience They use multiple media forms as we all knowNor is it professional to say quotOur client mandates itquot Maybe so but many clients would also mandate smaller ads larger logos and using the wife39s cousin in the ad We argue against them because we know from experience from years of looking at data what worksExcept in media we apparently don39t or if we do we keep quiet about it and settle for an easy life doing what our clients want as opposed to what they needMedia strategizing is full of tough calls but those that do it can be and should be the voice of reason on how the client39s money is spent It39s up to them to raise effectiveness concerns even moral concernsThey won39t always be listened to They certainly won39t always win the day But they owe it to themselves and to the business they39re in to tryClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Media Planning: The Moral Dimension

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Brian Jacobs

Jon Miller | Cofounder Marketo, Engagio | The Gumball Machine is Broken - Rethinking B2B Marketing - By Mike Linton

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