Hasta La Creative!

At the end of a digital ad campaign, clients and agencies review how it performed, and if it performed worse than expected, that’s when the trouble begins. Not always — but often enough — disappointing performance becomes a matter of finger-pointing.

The client blames the agency. The creative wasn’t good enough, engaging enough, unique or compelling. Video spots were too long or not long enough. Banners weren’t sufficiently eye-catching. The agency blames the client. The product isn’t exciting or good. The market research was insufficient. The timing was all wrong. Oddly, through all of these arguments over the what and the how of the campaign performance, the one thing that is never blamed is the where.

Think about it — the best product in the world, with the best ad in the world, won’t sell if nobody sees those ads. And there are places all over the internet where ads aren’t seen. Just ask Google. Its recent viewability benchmark report found that more than half of digital ads are never seen. So maybe, just maybe, the fault of a failed campaign lies not on the agency creative, nor on the brand or product, but on the media buyer. So before risking failure on another digital campaign, here’s what you need to know about making sure you aren’t part of the bottom half.

Continue reading at AdAge.com