Ars X Machina (formerly Media Matters Worldwide)

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the former VP of marketing for one of California’s largest credit unions. I was responsible for all facets of marketing, advertising, communications, and PR.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Media Matters Worldwide?

It was clear that we needed to elevate our digital presence so we were looking for a partner to help us with that.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Media Matters Worldwide was a strategic partner supporting our entry into the digital media space. Their team tested a relatively small budget on ad retargeting and display ads. As this was proven successful, we shifted more of our traditional advertising budget to digital and their role expanded.

They offered insights into prospect search behavior and helped us pinpoint ways to grow our client base. hey provided us with creative resources we needed to supplement our lean team and enabled us to produce a higher volume of content.

What is the team composition?

We worked with several members of the Media Matters Worldwide team, including Taji (Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Media Matters Worldwide), a reporting analyst, and media buyers.

How did you come to work with Media Matters Worldwide?

I found Media Matters Worldwide through an online search. It was important that they were local and accessible, but I also appreciated that it was a team led by women. I knew that they would give our team the attention we needed.

They were a growing company with tremendous individual expertise and an entrepreneurial spirit. On a personal level, they were great people to work with and they provided us with the expertise and intelligence we needed. And they continue to be a great professional and industry resource.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested in the range of $200,000–$500,000 a year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

We continued to expand our digital advertising budget because it was working for us. It was clear that the influx of traffic was coming from digital advertising and that Media Matters Worldwide’s efforts brought new customers and site visitors. The service, reporting, and expertise they gave us were invaluable to our team.

How did Media Matters Worldwide perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was excellent. Our teams held weekly meetings in which we went over detailed metrics and trends, collaborating to shift our strategy as necessary. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their energy, industry knowledge and creative approach to problem-solving along with their service quality were very impressive. I’d hire them again if I were in a position to do so.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Because I was new to digital media, I was focused on learning as much as I could from them. It’s hard to say if there’s anything they could improve upon.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Avast is in the business to keep people safe online. As the global director of marketing at Avast, my role is to deliver our core brand message as efficiently as possible to as many consumers as possible while staying true to our brand. This means consistently growing our brand awareness and brand preference and staying one step ahead of our competition.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Media Matters Worldwide?

With limited dollars and a crowed competitive landscape, we need to make every dollar work as hard as possible. This means using media strategically, surrounding our target audience at important moments throughout their day or during current events impacting their lives—whether they are commuting to work, browsing the web, banking online, shopping online, sharing on social media or when there is a cybersecurity attack.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Media Matters oversees and implements our media strategy and placements across all media channels.  They work closely with our creative partners to develop standout media campaigns that break through the competitive clutter and deliver results.

What is the team composition?

My team at Media Matters is comprised of between 5–8 people, each specializing in different disciplines from digital and OOH experts to Google Analytics and performance/optimization analysts. Account managers and agency principals oversee our business to be sure the team is on strategy, delivering on time and successfully against our KPIs.

How did you come to work with Media Matters Worldwide?

My background is in media and account planning on the agency side and I have known of Media Matters and their principals for many years.  When we started searching for a new media partner, they were on my shortlist of companies to evaluate as our media partner.

What impressed me most about Media Matters is how they are structured.  Not too many companies can pull off a virtual working environment, however at Media Matters, their teams work seamlessly—when you are on a call with Media Matters, you wouldn’t know they weren’t all in the same room.  It’s extraordinary that all members of the team are aligned, offering a depth of knowledge in their area of expertise. I’m also impressed with their real-time dashboard, a tool that aggregates data across all media channels, displaying key performance metrics against a variety of campaign attributes. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Media Matters in January 2017 and are still working with them today.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

When we first started working together, we established campaign KPIs based on industry benchmarks and Media Matter’s experience with past clients. After six months of working together, we had far exceeded our original goals.

After the conclusion of each campaign, we set new goals based on our previous successes. We continue to outpace our goals each year and I’m happy to report we are on track to eclipse our goals for this year as well.

Our success has come as a result of simultaneously fine-tuning our media strategy and creative approach and staying current with media and market trends.

How did Media Matters Worldwide perform from a project management standpoint?

Media Matter’s project management and account service have been outstanding, especially in terms of their responsiveness and thoroughness.  I'll frequently inquire about new and different media approaches and they always come back with a thoughtful response that typically includes more detail than expected.

The team is well organized and informed.  We meet weekly (and more often if needed) to review a detailed status report, current activities, and campaign performance, leaving time to brainstorm on campaign optimizations and to discuss new media. They've far exceeded my expectations.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m very impressed by their strategic thinking, specialization across multiple media channels and depth of analytics they bring to the planning process and optimization of campaigns. Collectively, this experience has continuously moved us toward meeting and going beyond our performance goals and core objectives.

The account management is also very strong. They pay special attention to details and are very insightful in discussions. They often present considerations and options from a new and useful point of view.

Are there any areas they could improve?

While there isn’t too much to improve on, I would highlight two possibilities.  Although they provide competitive spending data, I would like to see more insights on competitive spending – a look at the trends over time, challenges and opportunities we should consider as we budget for future quarters, an analysis of media usage and seasonal spend. The second is proactively starting a discussion on new and emerging media even before it becomes viable.  This is a personal interest – I like to keep up with what’s on the horizon even if it’s years away. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Most successful partnerships start with mutual request and great input. Sharing as much information as possible on the industry, competitors, business goals, product portfolio, brand positioning, target personas, the performance of past campaigns and performance goals, will guarantee a more fruitful agency/client relationship and yield successful campaign results.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I worked with Media Matters while at another firm. I was the director of media and home marketing at a brand management and licensing company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Media Matters Worldwide?

We brought on Media Matters to help us with our media planning and buying.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They were essentially our agency of record. They worked on a variety of accounts—from men's athletic wear to home fashion to juniors’ brands—and were putting different targeting initiatives and strategies in place for each one.

They built customized dashboards for us that let us track media engagement and look at what was working and what wasn't. In some cases—specifically one of the brands that were sold exclusively on Amazon—they were able to develop attribution models for us.

What is the team composition?

We had one dedicated account lead. She brought all of the channel specialists' work together. We also had a project manager who worked on the account. She pulled other people onto projects as needed.

How did you come to work with Media Matters Worldwide?

We went through an extensive review process. My CMO identified that we needed to find a more data-driven agency based on our consumer needs and the changing digital climate.

We hired an experienced consultant, and he identified six agencies for us. We set aside a day where they all came in, and Media Matters really shined. They were, by far, the best that we saw during that process.

How much have you invested with them?

Our budget was about $5.2 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

I worked with Media Matters for almost seven months. We started talking to them around November 2017 and officially began the partnership in January 2018. I left the company in November 2018, and they were still on board when I left.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

The brands that were sold on Amazon were always a challenge for us, but Media Matters was able to quantify and grow our ROI for those accounts. Our ROI was up to 300% using the Amazon advertising platform.

Other aspects of the partnership weren’t as quantifiable or trackable because we were working with brick and mortar retail. They were helping us develop more attribution models for those pieces of the business. Our budgets were segmented by brand, and they were very attuned to that and able to help us build strategies.

How did Media Matters Worldwide perform from a project management standpoint?

The dedicated account manager came into the office once a week—sometimes twice, if needed—which was very helpful. She was able to tap into the resources that we needed based on the different projects we were working on.

Everything was expertly managed in Trello. They're a digitally-based company, so they didn't have a home office. We were a little concerned about that when we hired them, but they were able to work well with each other and stay organized.

They were basically on-call whenever we needed them. Even the team members on the West Coast were able to adjust to our schedules easily. Working with them was a seamless experience.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were a very fast-paced company with many different objectives per brand, and some of the brands that we worked with had very small budgets. For example, one of our smallest accounts had a budget of around $200,000. This project was divided between six or seven brands, and Media Matters was able to dedicate time to each one.

It’s very hard to find vendors in the media space who pay equal attention to smaller accounts. This was one of the factors that drew us to them initially. Media Matters was always very receptive to our changing budgets and requirements, even for those smaller brands.

The team from Media Matters is also comprised of people who are extremely kind and supportive. They were always patient and willing to provide additional information. There were several members of our company—some on the executive team—who didn't quite understand digital media, and Media Matters was quick to stop and explain their processes even while they were executing them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think so. Our business experienced a rough couple of months towards the end of the project, but I wouldn't attribute any of that to Media Matters.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure—and I think they would suggest this too—that you're scheduling weekly calls with them. They also have a briefing template that you can fill out. If you give them plenty of information about your objectives, whether it be targeting, KPIs, or other goals, they’ll be able to do their jobs well.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior marketing manager at Mountain Hardwear, an outdoor apparel and equipment company that is owned by a large sportswear parent company. I oversee all digital and social strategy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Media Matters Worldwide?

We employ a shared services model with our parent company, but last fall, they began giving several of their subsidiaries more autonomy and ownership last fall. My company took over all e-commerce and digital advertising duties.

One of my first tasks was finding an agency that could help us with digital advertising campaigns. This was the first time that Mountain Hardwear was taking on digital advertising internally, so we needed to trust whatever agency we hired. Also, we had to onboard them in the fall, right before our busiest, most revenue-generating time of the year. Therefore, we needed to find a media agency that all internal stakeholders would sign off on, and then get them up and running before we reached such a pivotal time of the year. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Media Matters Worldwide strategizes and executes all of our digital marketing channels. They oversee our paid search channels and programmatic display advertising. The team is also responsible for our paid social channels, which includes Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and various other channels that they’ve pitched to us, run strategy around, and executed.

Their creative team provides feedback on ways we can optimize our ads to be more efficient. Although they don’t work directly on our website or e-commerce platform, their insights influence our design and content decisions.

What is the team composition?

A great aspect of Media Matters Worldwide is that they have various teams of strategic experts who specialize in different digital channels. I work with the paid search team to ensure that we’re working on a tactical level and getting updated copy. I also engage with the paid social team to find ad creative, generate test links, and approve display and outgoing social. On each of these teams, there are 1–2 people that we work with closely.

We engage with Denise (Media Director, Media Matters Worldwide) and Jyll (Project Management Lead, Media Matters Worldwide). Jamie (VP, Strategy and Operations, Media Matters Worldwide) is great from a strategic level, and she has a wide breadth of knowledge, from creative to tactical. She helps us pitch our seasonal and quarterly strategies and outline what channels we’re going to be on. She also assists with budget allocation and creative. Finally, at the highest level, we work with Josy (Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Media Matters Worldwide). She’s plugged into many of our discussions.

How did you come to work with Media Matters Worldwide?

I did some discovery and looked at several agencies that offered a variety of services; some had specific concentrations, like paid social, while others were full-service. When we found Media Matters Worldwide, I had a good experience learning about their company and meeting their team.

How much have you invested with them?

We give Media Matters Worldwide an annual budget of just over $1 million. This covers media spend, internal fees, and various other costs.

What is the status of this engagement?

My company began working with Media Matters Worldwide in August 2018, and our work together is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Much of what Media Matters Worldwide does ties directly to our e-commerce platform’s performance, and we’ve been very happy with their work so far. The digital campaigns that they’re running on different channels are positively impacting overall site traffic and revenue.

How did Media Matters Worldwide perform from a project management standpoint?

They deploy an incredibly robust reporting and analytics platform, which they’ve given us full access to so that we can see on macro to micro levels how their media is performing. They’re one of the only agencies I’ve ever worked with that provides such a full insight into media performance; nothing is hidden or extrapolated.

Media Matters Worldwide is readily available at every stage of the process. When we map out strategy around a season or specific timeframe, they compile detailed timelines so that we know when we need to deliver assets or feedback to them. They’re also very clear about when they’re going to deliver anything to us. When we’re busy with a campaign and want to make changes or put out new creative, they’re responsive and update things promptly. We communicate via email and phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their readiness to be present sets them apart, as does their ability to communicate seamlessly. Their reporting and analytics have been invaluable. They want to help us understand our media performance and how that connects to our goals.

Media Matters Worldwide is also a great thought partner. They’ve shown a desire to learn about our company, business goals, and industry. They strive to have a full picture of our brand so that they can make the most impactful strategic decisions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing stands out. We have a collaborative relationship, so shortcomings fall on us as much as they do on them.

Any advice for potential customers?

This is the type of partnership where you get what you put in. You should engage with Media Matters Worldwide and let them know your brand, strategy, and goals; they’ll run with that knowledge.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the director of account management for a Los Angeles-based marketing and advertising agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Media Matters Worldwide?

We had a new client that needed a media planning agency. We’ve worked with them before, so we brought them onto the project based on their proven capabilities.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our agency is in charge of facilitating the relationship between Media Matters Worldwide and clients. For us, they are in charge of providing OOH (out of home), digital, and print media for our branding efforts. They also come up with an annual media plan, which we examine every quarter. We decide on how to tweak the plan during those quarterly presentations.

For clients, their team constructs creative media plans to drive up engagement. Our facilitation helps to ensure that clients attain the results they want. Clients also ask Media Matters Worldwide to bring non-traditional media ideas to the table. That opens up new opportunities for them.

What is the team composition?

To facilitate client relationships, we work with Taji (Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Media Matters Worldwide) and Maxine (Media Director, Media Matters Worldwide) who is the day-to-day lead. 

How did you come to work with Media Matters Worldwide?

I’m not sure how my company originally partnered with Media Matters Worldwide or which of our accounts worked with them in the past, but my agency intermittently engages them on new business pitches.

How much have you invested with them?

Our clients pay Media Matters Worldwide directly, we just manage their relationship.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve engaged with them since 2017. Clients sign their own annual contracts with them, though.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We typically get the desired results from their work. I’ve heard that clients want more unique media ideas than what they’re currently presenting. But, all of their content has performed well for clients so far.

How did Media Matters Worldwide perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very thorough and great at holding themselves to a schedule. During our day-to-day operations, we usually communicate via email. We also have status calls on a weekly basis and can call them as needed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Media Matters is a team of excellent project managers that can really drive timelines forward. They’re programmatic and have a high level of expertise—they really know what they’re talking about.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As I said earlier, some clients wish they would bring some more ideas to the table. It would be great if they could demonstrate a sounder knowledge of the LA market. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very specific in communicating what type of results needed from Media Matters. With any type of media agency, it’s important to be clear with project goals. But, Media Matters Worldwide has done a decent job and know what they’re talking about.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the VP of digital and e-commerce at e.l.f. Cosmetics. I oversaw all digital marketing, e-commerce, and gross marketing proponents.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Media Matters Worldwide?

We hired Media Matters Worldwide to help us with performance marketing, specifically driving traffic and sales to our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Media Matter Worldwide was responsible for all media strategy and buying; strategic acquisition planning; and driving traffic, sales, and growth. They also did PPC through Google and Bing Ads.

What is the team composition?

We worked with an account manager, a media planner, and an analytics team member. My team also engaged with Josy and Taji (Co-Founders and Managing Partners, Media Matters Worldwide). Other behind-the-scenes team members did paid search and paid social.

How did you come to work with Media Matters Worldwide?

Someone at e.l.f. Cosmetics was friends with Josy. When we began talking to them, we were very impressed by both Josy and Taji, so we hired Media Matters Worldwide to be our full-service media vendor.

How much have you invested with them?

Media Matters Worldwide was responsible for between $2 million–$4 million worth of media, and they charged about 10% of that.

What is the status of this engagement?

My company began working with Media Matters Worldwide in July 2015, and the engagement was ongoing when I left e.l.f. Cosmetics in April 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

e.l.f. Cosmetics don't disclose growth on e-commerce because they're public, but I can say that Media Matters Worldwide drove growth in both site traffic and sales.

How did Media Matters Worldwide perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Media Matters Worldwide provided a very personalized service. From an account management and customer service perspective, we were very happy with their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there weren’t.

Any advice for potential customers?

Be clear on what your objectives and goals are, and then continue to have hard conversations as things come up.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was the Director of Marketing for Byer California, a fast fashion brand. The company is a multi-million dollar B2B fashion manufacturer that wanted to venture out with their own label. I was brought on to build an e-commerce business and brand.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Media Matters Worldwide?

From the ground up we needed to build brand identity and audience for the new Byer California brand. We brought on Media Matters to handle our full paid media strategy, from search to retargeting to social.

What were your goals for this project?

The goals at first were to just build awareness and drive traffic to the site. Of course, we had a plan to turn those visits into conversations and we had a target conversion rate. There is a lot of competition in the fast fashion world, so we needed to be strategic in how we spent our money. The owner of the company was an old fashioned B2B sales person who didn't understand technology or what we were doing. We needed to be able to communicate the plan and the results in a very easy to digest way, and MMW were great at that.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

To be honest, for this project I didn't interview any other vendors. I had used them at my previous job and had a long run of success with them, so I didn't have to interview other companies. I originally selected MMW due to their knowledge in the space, their efficiency in strategy and reporting, and tactics. They proved themselves while we worked together at Giro and so I hired them again. I would hire them again as well, but currently I am doing smaller contract positions.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Know that there was a lot of competition in the space. We focused on retargeting campaigns that allowed us to also build brand identity through our display ads and content. We also focused our strategy on building our social media platforms' likes and engagement. We had a lot of great photography to work with for our paid media campaigns.

What was the team composition?

It was myself, a social media manager, a creative department of two, plus I was able to hire out for a PR firm and a creative director externally. From Media Matters I got both the owners attention and a couple of planners.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

To be honest, I don't remember the numbers. I just remember that we rapidly got on the radar and started selling, which, now that I have tried to build other e-commerce business from scratch without the support of a media plan, it was effective. They were able to target the right audiences efficiently and quickly and start building customers.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Seamless.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Strategy and the ability to jump into the business and figure out what was needed from a tactical way. Reporting. I found that the reports were concise and exactly what I needed to justify the spend and effort to upper management. They are very smart women who are easy to work with.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None, but I haven't worked with them in a few years.