Since 2013, SRDS and the James G. Elliott Co., Inc., have been studying how media planners and buyers want to buy, so ad sellers will be able to sell them the way they want to be sold. The 2022 study of Media Planning and Buying confirmed many of the trends discovered in earlier studies and introduced some new elements as a result of the pandemic.

• There is no more “planning season.”

• Planners and buyers are responsible for more clients, brands, and dollars than ever before.

• Email and video conferences are the top two communications preferences.

• Hybrid work is here to stay — Zero percent (0.00%) of planners and buyers in organizations of 100+ employees anticipate returning to the office full-time.

Before acquiring SRDS from Kantar, the AdWanted Group first joined as a partner in the 2019/2020 Study. In March 2022, Readex Research combined with Adwanted SRDS and the Elliott Co. to field the current study.

Download your own 3-page copy of the study highlights here: 2022 Study of Media Planning & Buying Highlights

Download the full 91-page study here: Full 2022 Study of Media Planning & Buying

Kantar SRDS, James G. Elliott Co., Inc., & Adwanted Group 

2019/2020 STUDY OF MEDIA PLANNING AND BUYING

A strong grounding in research and data analysis is a primary characteristic of projects conducted by Ads&IDEAS®, a division of the James G. Elliott Co., Inc. The consulting team knows how to obtain and use data to understand markets and opportunities, and strategic recommendations are grounded in data. 

Members of the Ads&IDEAS® team are familiar with all the research tools available in the advertising industry including reader panels and focus groups. They have bought research from most of the major advertising industry research providers and have been employed by the largest syndicated research companies for publications.

The Ads&IDEAS® team conducts primary research. Perhaps the best-known recent effort is a joint effort with Kantar SRDS, the Study of Media Planning and Buying.  Here is some background on the study and a few conclusions.

Three Trends Selling Organizations Must Understand by Jim Elliott

Organizations that depend on ad sales revenues must understand changes in their markets and adapt to those changes or they will not thrive. The past decade has witnessed tremendous change in the media markets: not only in the way media is bought and sold, but also in the media offerings themselves.

To better understand these changes the James G. Elliott Co., Inc. has partnered with Kantar SRDS since 2013 to jointly conduct industry-wide research: the Study of Media Planning and Buying. Since 2016, we have included a Seller’s component to the study so we could learn more about how the perspectives of media buyers and sellers differ.

We have always known that it is important to sell the way buyers want to be sold, and that is still true today. But buyers now have different wants and needs than just a few years ago.  Here are three current trends all sales executives must understand:

Sellers Need to Demonstrate Relevance--Fast

Media planners and buyers are too busy to spend much time with low priority media, so it is essential for salespeople to learn how to find the relevant story and lead with it.  There are many more sellers presenting more media options than ever before, and agency media planners and buyers are responsible for understanding all those relevant to their clients.  Forty-four percent (44%) of planners and buyers reported that they now work with 4 or more clients. Fifty-two percent (52%) said they work on 4 or more brands.

Sellers Must Process RFPS Efficiently and Timely

Buyers say they always use RFPs 51% of the time.  Sellers report that agencies always require completed RFPs only 17% of the time before their media are considered.  This big disconnect could result in lost business if sellers don’t appreciate the requirements of the buyers.

Seller Organizations Must Be Very Nimble

Agency people are responsible for analyzing more media than they could possibly meet with, so they rely heavily on responses to Requests for Proposals (RFPs) sent to selected media sellers. Ninety-two percent (92%) of media planners and buyers report that they give up to 10 days for response, but 71% of sellers state that they must submit proposals within 5 days. Either way, it is a very small window. During planning, agencies are often not sympathetic about delays caused by vacations, illness, travel, or other schedule conflicts the seller may have.  To avoid missing the opportunity, selling organizations must establish a way to back up every seller with office staff or selling partners.  This is important; 37% of sellers say they are never given an opportunity to change a proposal that was excluded or denied.

Click here to download your own free copy of the entire study: 2019-2020 Study of Media Planning & Buying

Click here for highlights summary: Media Planning & Buying Highlights