At least they think they are! Face it, we’re all fascinated by media. Whether it’s the latest technology craze, social media or the hottest show on television, media is now mainstream news in our society! We have more ways to connect and interact with media. We consume more of it than ever before. And the more we consume, the more we THINK we understand it. We must be experts, right?
Uhhhh…no.
Who am I to say that? Simple. I run the Media Department at AMG – and have for many years. And while I consider myself savvy on the subject of media, I also consider myself a constant learner, a keen observer, a believer, a fan and a passionate researcher. But a media “expert”? As quickly as media is evolving, even I’m leery of the term. (Plus, you’ll note that I wasn’t able to explain it in “140 characters or less.”)
So just how do we media types at AMG figure out the most effective way to reach our client’s best customer prospects? Same old answer…research. Hey, we’re very good at this stuff: analyzing metrics, calculating budgets, negotiating fiercely, creating fancy grids, graphs, lists and flow charts that help us figure out the best way to get the message out to the right people, through the right channels, at the right time.
Pop culture hype is fun, but does that provide the guidance necessary to spend advertising dollars most effectively? We certainly don’t think so and that is why our media recommendations are researched and negotiated with our client’s best interests (and their customers) at heart.
Bottom line: next time you consider where to spend your marketing budget and think your customers watch/listen to/read the same programs/stations/websites that you do, remember that they feel like media experts, too. And you just might need to go into their media world to reach them!