Welcome
Are You Ready To Bring Media Capabilities In-House?
Many marketers are opting to bring media capabilities in-house for greater control and visibility, rather than relying on agency partners to do all the work. However, bringing media in-house is not something that most companies are immediately prepared to do. It requires establishing and managing a number of media-related processes, technologies, and skills. A recent Forrester study commissioned by Acxiom found that 50% of survey respondents reported their organizations consider insourcing media capabilities a top business priority, yet there are many tasks that marketers are not ready to handle on their own and will need ongoing support.
Our study measured readiness to bring media capabilities in-house by the extent to which marketing organizations have the right strategies, processes, skills, data/insights, and technologies to execute media tasks. Want to see how ready your organization is to bring media capabilities in-house? Take our short self-assessment to find out.
The assessment will yield customized results and recommendations based on your responses and should take no more than 2 minutes to complete.
Questions
How well does the following statement describe your organization's current paid media strategy?
“We have a clear media-buying strategy.”
Questions
How well does the following statement describe your organization's current paid media strategy?
“Our strategic agency and media descisions are driven by data”
Questions
How well does the following statement describe your organization’s current paid media strategy?
“Our business is taking the steps necessary to future-proof our media strategy/execution.”
Questions
How well does the following statement describe your organization's current paid media processes?
“Our organization can easily adapt to the new realities of managing media in-house (e.g., enabling finance to pay bills to various publishers).”
Questions
How well does the following statement describe your organization's current paid media processes?
“We have a complete set of workflows and processes in place to manage media planning and buying.”
Questions
How well does the following statement describe your organization's current paid media processes?
“We have developed an operational plan for how media tasks and data will be managed.”
Questions
How well does the following statement describe your organization's current data practices related to paid media?
“Customer data privacy is a top priority.”
Questions
How well does the following statement describe your organization's current data practices related to paid media?
“We have a robust customer data file for media targeting.”
Questions
How well does the following statement describe your organization's current data practices related to paid media?
“We have strong data goverance capabilities.”
Questions
How well does the following statement describe your organization's current staffing/skill sets related to paid media?
“We have a formal employee training program for employees to learn new skills related to media buying.”
Questions
How well does the following statement describe your organization's current staffing/skill sets related to paid media?
“My organization is agile and easily adapts to changes from the customer or in the market.”
Questions
How well does the following statement describe your organization's current staffing/skill sets related to paid media?
“We've developed a retention strategy for in-house media teams and talent.”
Questions
How well does the following statement describe your organization's current paid media technology?
“We have access to the proper media technology (e.g., ad server, trading platform).”
Questions
How well does the following statement describe your organization's current paid media technology?
“We have adequate computing power and storage to create and manage digital assets.”
Questions
How well does the following statement describe your organziation's current paid media technology?
“We have the strong integration between customer data systems and media systems to support ad targeting.”
Results Overview
Based on your responses to the survey questions, your company’s overall application modernization readiness level is:
Developing
Emerging
Advanced
Recommendations
Your overall readiness rating is: Developing
Your score of classifies your company as having low readiness to insource media. For companies with a similar level of readiness, 75% are taking a slow transition to bring certain media capacities in-house as capabilities and capacity allows, and only 22% are looking to insource all media functions.
Companies recognize that they can’t fully manage media on their own, nor do they want to. Partners will be essential to help your company ease into managing media capabilities in-house. In fact, 73% of surveyed marketers reported using or planning to use two or more partners (e.g., specialized digital media consultancy, data services provider, media agency, etc.) to help bring media capabilities in-house. These partnerships can help forge the proper foundation for bringing media in-house as internal teams and resources are developed.
Every organization is in a slightly different state of readiness when it comes to insourcing media capabilities. Our survey identified five components that impact a company’s level of readiness to bring media in-house: strategy, process, people, data, and tech. Regardless of how they are provided (i.e., directly in-house, or via outside partnerships), these five components create a solid foundation for building an in-house media program. Based on your readiness rating, Forrester recommends the following regarding each component:
Recommendations- From a strategy perspective: Establish a clear, data-driven strategy for how your organization will execute its media buying now and in the future. Ensure there is a clear priority for preferred media channels and investments areas.
- From a process perspective: Establish guidelines for how media tasks will be managed, and by whom (i.e., agency or internal). Be flexible as you navigate this new way of executing media.
- From a data perspective: Wherever your data resides (partner or internal) make customer data privacy a top priority. Also, focus on expanding your own customer data with strong data governance, as third-party cookies are being gradually eliminated.
- From a tools/technology perspective: Verify your computing and storage environments are equipped to handle a greater volume of customer data and digital assets. Ensure that you’ll have access to the proper technology to execute media buys.
- From a skills/people perspective: Identify the primary tasks where you’ll need internal skill sets and focus recruiting/development efforts on those areas. Look for prospects with agency experience to add valuable media expertise and minimize training.
Your overall readiness rating is: Emerging
Your score of classifies your company as having moderate readiness to insource media. For companies with a similar level of readiness, 52% are taking a slow transition to bring certain media capacities in-house as capabilities and capacity allows, and 43% are looking to insource media functions entirely.
Companies recognize that they can’t fully manage media on their own, nor do they want to. Partners will be essential to help your company ease into managing media capabilities in-house. In fact, 73% of surveyed marketers reported using or planning to use two or more partners (e.g., specialized digital media consultancy, data services provider, media agency, etc.) to help bring media capabilities in-house. These partnerships can help forge the proper foundation for bringing media in-house as internal teams and resources are developed.
Every organization is in a slightly different state of readiness when it comes to insourcing media capabilities. Our survey identified five components that impact a company’s level of readiness to bring media in-house: strategy, process, people, data, and tech. Regardless of how they are provided (i.e., directly in-house, or via outside partnerships), these five components create a solid foundation for building an in-house media program. Based on your readiness rating, Forrester recommends the following regarding each component:
Recommendations:- From a strategy perspective: Enrich the media strategy with both partner and in-house inputs and expertise. As you become more proficient and staffed for strategic responsibility, redirect partner efforts to add value in innovation and media execution.
- From a process perspective: Revise responsibilities and division of labor between internal groups and marketing partners to match your increasing media, data, and technology capacity and expertise.
- From a data perspective: Implement high standards for internal and partner compliance and uses of customer data to insure privacy. Seek out membership to groups like WEF, which has recently created a data ethics code of conduct for members to leverage.
- From a tools/technology perspective: Make the technology experience more seamless for employees by strengthening the integration of customer data systems and media systems to better support targeting efforts. This will help streamline media operations and enable more insight-driven media decision.
- From a skills/people perspective: Scale internal training initiatives to ensure in-house media experts stay sharp and up on the latest technology, strategies, and thought leadership coming from the market.
Your overall readiness rating is: Advanced
Your score of classifies your company as having high readiness to insource media. For companies with a similar level of readiness, 60% are taking a slow transition to bring certain media capacities in-house as capabilities and capacity allows, and 39% are looking to insource media functions entirely.
Companies recognize that they can’t fully manage media on their own, nor do they want to. Partners will be essential to help your company ease into managing media capabilities in-house. In fact, 73% of surveyed marketers reported using or planning to use two or more partners (e.g., specialized digital media consultancy, data services provider, media agency, etc.) to help bring media capabilities in-house. These partnerships can help forge the proper foundation for bringing media in-house as internal teams and resources are developed.
Every organization is in a slightly different state of readiness when it comes to insourcing media capabilities. Our survey identified five components that impact a company’s level of readiness to bring media in-house: strategy, process, people, data, and tech. Regardless of how they are provided (i.e., directly in-house, or via outside partnerships), these five components create a solid foundation for building an in-house media program. Based on your readiness rating, Forrester recommends the following regarding each component:
Recommendations:- From a strategy perspective: Own the strategic function internally and direct partners for channel selection, media mix, budget allocation, and optimization
- From a process perspective: Build bridges to important stakeholders in HR and finance to ensure your processes for internal hiring and media management run smoothly and effectively.
- From a data perspective: Enhance data governance internally by appointing a head of privacy develop and implement internal practices that follow a data ethics code of conduct.
- From a tools/technology perspective: Continuously reevaluate your media technology and ensure your computing and storage infrastructure can match any new requirements. Expand ownership of technology contracts to build a richer pool of customer data and insights.
- From a skills/people perspective: Implement career development opportunities within your department and organization to insulate from attrition and proliferate media talent and thinking across the organization.
Next Steps
Read the research
Thank you for taking the time to complete this assessment! Click here to read the full Forrester report commissioned by Acxiom.
Want to know more about services from Acxiom?
To learn more about how Acxiom can help you define your roadmap to media in-housing success, visit https://www.acxiom.com/digital-transformation-solutions/media-strategy-services/ or contact info@acxiom.com.
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Methodology and Disclaimer
Methodology and Disclaimers
Methodology
Methodology
In this study, Forrester conducted an online survey 300 marketing decision-makers from US companies. Respondents were at the director level or higher and were responsible for paid media campaigns, ad tech investments, and advertising agency relationships. Respondents were from companies in one of the following industries: financial services, retail, telecommunications, insurance, or automotive. All companies surveyed were primarily business-to-consumer (B2C) business types. The study was completed in May 2021.
Disclaimers
Although great care has been taken to ensure the accuracy and completeness of this assessment, Acxiom and Forrester are unable to accept any legal responsibility for any actions taken on the basis of the information contained herein.