Season 2, Episode 1: Out of the Box Media Strategy

In this episode, we'll explore unconventional approaches, creative campaign ideas, and how to truly capture your audience's attention with our brilliant Media Director Kaitlyn Demarest.

Transcript

Tom Marguccio 0:00

Welcome to Coffee and Tea with SCG, a podcast from the industry experts at SCG Advertising and PR. We are a full-service woman-owned agency that offers advertising, public relations, recruitment marketing, and association and event management. This season, we'll be chatting with some members of our team about innovation in their respective industries. So grab your coffee and your tea, and let's brew up a good conversation.

Maddie Trumino 0:28

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Coffee and Tea with SCG. I'm your host, Maddie Tremino, account coordinator here. And today I'm here with Kaitlyn Demarest, who is our media director. Hi, Kate, how are you? Hi, Maddie. I'm good. How are you? Okay, as always, and I know the answer to this, but tell our listeners, do you prefer coffee or tea and how do you take it?

Kaitlyn Demarest 0:49

Okay. I am through and through a green tea drinker. A little fun fact. I've never successfully finished a cup of coffee. I've tried. No shot. I love my tea. So is it really just the taste you hate it that much?

Maddie Trumino 1:02

Yeah. Okay, fair enough. And the aftertaste. I'd say it's acquired, but most people love it. So that's a strange fun fact. Okay, so uh starting off strong, um, could you start by introducing yourself and tell us a little bit about your role as media director here?

Kaitlyn Demarest 1:18

So I am Kaitlyn Demerist. I am a media director here, and overall I ensure in terms of media marketing that everything goes smooth from start to finish. First, I am responsible for strategic media planning based on the client goals and the overall intended audience. I usually take a few steps back and determine the best media tactics to utilize for that audience to just to make sure that we're reaching them the right way for the client goals. Um then next, I negotiate and buy the media, all forms of media, I buy it, and then I also supervise and assist the team in implementing optimizations throughout the campaign to make sure we're reaching those client goals. That's a lot. You feel busy? I'm a busy gal.

Maddie Trumino 2:10

We know, we know how busy you are. You do a lot of good work. So the theme of this season is innovation. Would you say that you approach media planning and buying in a way that you consider innovative?

Kaitlyn Demarest 2:21

Absolutely. Uh, exploring and testing is definitely my go-to. I'm constantly reaching out to our media partners, um, reaching out to see what their new capabilities look like so we can utilize those new capabilities. And then in terms of overall platforms, I really love to use tools within the platforms itself. So, like in Meta, using dynamic creative to allow the algo to determine which creative variations are the best performing to help inform future creative insights for campaigns and improve overall performance. Gotcha.

Maddie Trumino 2:59

Sounds innovative for sure. And we talk a lot about that creativity and innovation within the space, even something with media buying, you know what I mean? I mean, I think a lot of people think that innovation can only come from the creative side. It can definitely come from a strategic side as well.

Kaitlyn Demarest 3:14

Oh, yeah.

Maddie Trumino 3:14

So then, with that, what are the biggest challenges you face in keeping up with the constantly evolving media landscape?

Kaitlyn Demarest 3:20

Because it's always changing. It is always changing and evolving. Um, for example, AI. You have to adapt and learn about these tools, or you're going to be left behind. Also, I feel like another challenge is the fragmentation of media channels. There are so many platforms, they're increasing year over year between all the streaming services, social platforms, podcasts. You you really have to take a step back and analyze which platforms make the most sense for your audience and which ones will make the most impact. A lot of platforms offer the same things, so you have to analyze all of them to see which one makes the most sense.

Maddie Trumino 4:05

It's uh definitely not one size fits all in this industry. Yep. So, how do you identify and embrace emerging media channels and technologies before your competitors do?

Kaitlyn Demarest 4:16

I feel like staying on top of research and what the trades are saying and not being afraid to test and learn. So, what I was saying before is a lot of people are afraid to offer up new ideas to clients. Testing out new ideas and bringing new exciting things to your clients is so important to be able to grow with them. The the worst they'll say is no, but they'll always appreciate a new idea that you're bringing forward to them.

Maddie Trumino 4:42

Definitely. That's a good way to put it. I like that. The worst they'll say is no, right? Which isn't so bad. Because at least, you know, it's not down the road, if then they feel it's uh applicable or the right time, they know that you know we have that in our back pocket to share with them. Yeah. And that we've done the research ahead of time. In all of that, between research and innovation, how do you balance the need for innovation with the need for measurable results for your clients?

Kaitlyn Demarest 5:06

So that's a good question. When it comes to testing new like trends or ideas, I like to start small. Typically, that will make the client more open to these changes or innovations, and then we can analyze how that is performing against their tried and true that we've been doing. So this helps ease the client in and helps us keep growing.

Maddie Trumino 5:33

How does data and analytics play a role in driving media innovation within our agency?

Kaitlyn Demarest 5:40

Yeah, we are definitely a data first agency, and you need data in innovation as a way to increase performance. If you always stick to what you're doing, you're not gonna take the client's messaging on the creative side or the strategy to the next level. Right. It's gonna continue to stay the same or worse. Right. Stagnancy, worst thing you could have.

Maddie Trumino 6:04

Okay, Kate. Now we get to talk about you a little bit and some of the work that you've done with your campaigns. Um tell me one or two of the most innovative processes that you've worked on so far as far as media campaigns goes.

Kaitlyn Demarest 6:18

There's a lot of them, but I'd say most recently, adding in high impact units is a really good innovative piece to add to a campaign, or even geofencing around specific events and then retargeting those people are good innovative flares to add to your campaigns that make you stick out against, you know, regular static creatives or targeting. And the most recent, I'd say we had some savings on a campaign that we were working on. So a really quick turnaround, we added in jukebox screens, we presented our findings and why it would work. Um, and we added it in within just days of coming up with the strategy, and it really is taking our campaign to the next level.

Maddie Trumino 7:06

Yeah, I think that's a great example because I think that is a perfect example of how you used out-of-the-box thinking, you know, you had a you had a problem or an opportunity, I should say. Instead of distributing the money to campaigns we already had, you came up with a really good idea, a really innovative idea to implement. And that's exactly what we're talking about on this season innovation. We are all right, Kate. We won't torture you any longer. For anyone listening, our friend Kate, she's a little shy, so she's doing a great job today. Thanks. We loved having you on, so we'll wrap it up here. Last question for anyone who also doesn't know Kate. She was a recipient

Maddie Trumino 7:43

of the NJ Ad Club 40 under 40 award. What was it last year? Oh, I think it was two years ago. Okay, two years ago, um, which is a huge deal. Congratulations. Thanks. That was super cool. Yeah. Tell us what it was like to receive that award, and also if you could give any advice to aspiring media professionals who want to succeed in this changing industry, what would it be?

Kaitlyn Demarest 8:04

It was a very proud moment to be able to look back on um and receive that award during the award ceremony. Being able to be filled with like-minded people was a great experience and getting to know them as well. What I would tell to aspiring media professionals who want to succeed in this role and the changing industry, soak everything up and be a sponge. That was told to me early on, and I really took it and ran with it. Reach out to other departments and learn as much as you can. Challenge people that aren't in your day-to-day and ask questions. It's important to be a subject matter expert in a field, but that'll also hurt you because it's more important not to silo yourself to just one expertise. Being able to understand and actually be able to know the ins and outs of each media tactic, whether that's TV, radio, out-of-home, digital, social, influencer marketing, it'll allow you to grow. Um, and that's the opportunity I've had, which I believe that's that's how I've gotten so far.

Maddie Trumino 9:20

What wonderful advice. That really wraps it up perfectly. Thank you so much for being on this episode. Kate, we loved having you. All your insight was amazing.

Tom Marguccio 9:34

Don't forget to subscribe whenever you listen to your podcast so you never miss an episode. And leave us to review. Until next time, keep those mugs filled and those ideas flowing.