Media Two Interactive

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an account manager for All Media Design Group, a media company. The majority of our clients are local to the Cleveland area. We have a wide range of clients, from automotive dealers and tire store locations to restaurants.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Media Two Interactive?

We hired Media Two to help us with digital elements for one of our longest-standing clients; I’ve been working on their account for 13 years now. We place media for them internationally.

When we started our relationship with Media Two, we didn't have the capabilities to facilitate digital placement on the scale that the client wanted to go. We were basically looking for a digital company that could help us grow the digital elements.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Media Two placed digital ad buys for our client. They handled search, display, and retargeting, and they helped us with campaigns that we had across a number of platforms. 

They also helped us get into the mobile app space. Our client created a mobile app that is part of their subscription-based platform, taking their desktop element into something customers could access via their phones. With Media Two, we expanded into mobile app and ad placements.

What is the team composition?

I worked with several people over the years. Michael (CEO) was our primary contact. We also worked with Heather (Finance Director) on invoicing. They did some direct buys for us, reaching out to websites specific to the investing or stock market world that our client wanted to reach.

Recently, Melissa (Senior Digital Strategist) was the point person that we dealt with. She would actually run one of the weekly meetings that we had with the client. Melissa presented the reporting from the prior week from the digital perspective. I was the point person on the account for television, print, outdoor, and things that we were placing on their behalf in the US, Canada, and Australia. 

How did you come to work with Media Two Interactive?

We found them by doing some basic research. We had conversations with Michael to see if it would work and what our comfort level would be. Hiring an agency to represent our client can be a little scary, because you're handing over a client and allowing someone else to place some media elements that you're not able to do at the time. However, it worked out to be a great relationship.

How much have you invested with them?

We ran close to $1 million on a digital basis, on average.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Michael and his team at least nine years ago. We ceased our partnership with them in August 2019 because, over the years, we had been expanding the digital capabilities within our agency. We brought on multiple people that we felt could do the same type of media placement in the digital landscape. Media Two were professionals all the way through; we just felt it was better in the long run if we brought this piece of the business in-house.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I still stay in touch with Michael and his team on a personal level just because they're really good people. They’re true professionals that took our client from where we could into campaigns that were really sophisticated and detailed. The reporting was far superior to the reporting that we were able to provide the client at the time.

Our client is very tracking-focused. We looked at the number of leads that Media Two generated. The lead sources that we looked at were free stock analysis; our client provided a service where you could do a free stock analysis on a company you might be interested in purchasing to add to your portfolio. As part of that process, you would provide your email address, and then our client would provide the free stock analysis. In return, we would get their email address, and we'd be able to remarket to them for a trial. We monitored the number of free stock analysis that were generated. We based all of the digital campaigns off of the trials, so that we could see cost-per-trial and what it would cost to generate a five-week trial. Our client converted 70% of those trials into monthly subscribers.

We also promoted webcast events. Our client found that if somebody would sit through a 30-minute–hour-long webcast, they were more apt to become a subscriber. Media Two placed email campaigns on our behalf, through which people would register to attend the free webcast. Then, they’d hopefully sign up for a trial and ultimately become a monthly subscriber. 

How did Media Two Interactive perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very good and buttoned up. They brought new ideas to the table because they were really ahead of us in the digital landscape. There were many new campaigns that we were not aware of that they would bring to the table. They explained the benefits of these new initiatives or platforms, and if we felt that it made sense to invest, we would run with it and monitor all of the elements that I just talked about. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were down to earth, they were real, and they were fun to work with. They’re people you can trust. Our client was closer in terms of location to Media Two, so rather than us having to fly down from Cleveland, they’d have meetings with each other. We totally trusted them as a representative of our company in the digital landscape. In addition to being professionals who knew what they were doing and brought cutting-edge ideas, they were honest people and fun to work with. We totally trusted them with our client. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

With anything, you can always improve on efficiency. The client was a challenge because they were pretty set in their ways; for instance, they were big into print and direct mail. We were trying to shift them toward the programmatic landscape and putting more dollars into digital. We weren’t as successful as we’d hoped, since the client continues to spend a large amount of their advertising spend in direct mail. I wouldn’t say this was anything they did wrong, but we did feel that if we could’ve gotten additional dollars from direct mail put into digital and programmatic television, it would’ve been beneficial to the client. 

Any advice for potential customers?

They're going to give you their all. I never had any concern about the effort that was going to be put into any task, challenge, or project that we gave them. As I said, they were always bringing us ideas on new platforms. They represent some pretty large companies whose trust and loyalty they’ve earned as a media company. I couldn't give anybody any advice on how to get more out of them because we were totally happy with their efforts and the way that they handled the projects that we gave them.