Tailor-made media purchasing and advice

The days of traditional media buying are long gone. Today, there are more options than ever before when it comes to platforms, advertising opportunities and media. That makes it difficult to weigh up which option is exactly right for you and your company.

Agencies often specialize in a certain facet of the total mix of possibilities, and therefore often advise their clients from that narrative. This blog is intended to give you a first impression of what is possible today in terms of media purchasing, and that we can advise you throughout the entire process.

The possibilities in the field of video and display

As said before, the possibilities are endless. But in order to add some structure to the maze of possibilities, we can distinguish between 3 facets:

Google Display Network (“GDN”): the network of Google Ads, on which you can advertise by creating an account.
Direct media purchasing from publishers: you can knock on any site that does not fall under the GDN to see if you can advertise on it. You agree on a budget, duration and number of impressions in advance. Hence direct purchasing.
Demand-side platform (e.g. DV360): a tool that can reach both point 1 and point 2’s inventory, if a deal has been made with a specific network or publisher beforehand. The system then uses real-time bidding to ensure that the right message to the right person at the right time. That is why this form of advertising is also called programmatic.

Good to mention: a publisher is a company that has inventory available on which advertisements can be served. (This can be several websites.) For example, FD Mediagroep is a publisher. If several publishers are then offered under an umbrella with other publishers, we call this a network. Consider, for example, Ad Alliance.

Pros en cons

The GDN is a network to which all kinds of websites are connected. We call this inventory. The quality of the inventory and targeting options determine how valuable a network is to the advertiser. Depending on the goal you are pursuing, awareness or conversion, the GDN can certainly contribute to that goal.

But the GDN also has its limitations: the inventory. Because the GDN is so huge, you reach not only valuable sites and channels on YouTube, but also a lot of inventory that is irrelevant. In addition, another limitation is that the GDN cannot reach certain inventory: the so-called premium inventory. This inventory falls outside the network and must therefore be purchased separately. This earlier blog was specifically about premium inventory.

Premium inventory is often more expensive, but with the right choice can often yield higher quality branding. The disadvantage is that if you want to use multiple inventory, you have to make a deal / agreement separately with each publisher or network. Entering into these deals and checking these tasks takes a lot of time and the interpretation of the results is not always easy.

To properly manage deals, optimization and reach across multiple publishers/networks, we recommend a DSP. To be able to use a DSP, a license must first be purchased. This is a monthly amount and applies for a certain period of time — for example 3 months. With a DSP you can even purchase Digital Out Of Home (“DOOH”) screens and include them in the mix of services. We can support you with this as well.

Our approach

In consultation with you, we will look for a good mix of services: for example, we can advise you to go for a specific publisher, network or DSP right away, or to just wait for another moment. Another question we often ask: does this customer need a reach that is as niche as possible, or as broad as possible? We often advise you to set up a good foundation with services that generally speaking deliver, such as Google Ads (YouTube, Display/Discovery, Performance Max, Search) and Meta. We like to start with well-known services because we can gain data and insights quickly. With these insights we can make better choices about where we can achieve extra results.

So we often see a situation where it is not about one platform or another platform, but rather a combination of platforms, publishers and networks. The added value of this approach is that the available budget is used as effectively as possible and that we make as much impact as possible with the campaign.

Why Hide and Seek?

Hide and Seek is one of the few agencies to offer a tailor-made omnichannel strategy. We offer every form of video and display advertising, and many other options. We do this by maintaining direct contact with publishers and networks, and by being aware of the latest tools/platforms of the moment (such as DOOH, or hyper local targeting). With our expertise and experience, especially in the cultural vertical, you can outsmart the competition and reach exactly the right people.

In other words: we guide and support you throughout the entire process. From purchasing to planning to optimization and everything around it! If interested, please contact us using the contact form below.

What you need to know

Hopefully, like us, you see the amount of interesting opportunities when it comes to media buying. To be sure, here are the key takeaways again:

Not all agencies are able to advise on direct media purchasing.
When it comes to video and display, you can simply choose between the Google Display Network, and everything beyond.
A publisher controls specific inventory; a network consists of multiple publishers.
We call the management of multiple networks and publishers, and the automatic tuning of campaigns, programmatic advertising. This is done via a DSP.
The GDN can be effective when it comes to performance, but because of its size it is also often less relevant when it comes to brand awareness.
A premium placement indicates how high quality and known a certain publisher’s inventory is in relation to the target audience.
Our approach to direct media purchasing is tailor-made and therefore more effective.
By working with us, you can outsmart your competitors and use the latest services and platforms.