How to report on biddable media campaigns and educate the masses!

I have spent a lot of time working on biddable media campaigns. I love it, and over the years I’ve built up quite a bit of practical and theoretical knowledge.

So, as a biddable media specialist, nothing that winds me up more than a client sending across a list of keyword demands with no understanding of biddable media strategy.

Client: “Are you bidding on the keyword insurance?”

Me: “No - the CPC is over £100, it doesn’t convert and it wipes the budget out in 20 minutes.”

Client: “Hmm ok. I think we should be bidding on insurance though.”

Me: *Dies a little inside*

This lack of understanding, tied with demands of delivery, can lead to disconnects between client and team as well as a whole range of other campaign issues. Worst of all, it can create feedback deafness as internal KPIs fail to align with the client’s needs.

However, a few weeks ago, something miraculous happened. We developed a simple framework for reporting and delivery, met with a client, ingested and analysed feedback, and worked with them to make actionable changes. Ta-da! Using this framework, we saw a marked improvement in the campaign ROI, so we thought we would share.

If you want to achieve any marketing aim, then biddable media is a great way to boost activity. However, biddable is difficult to get right. If you want to get some solid advice on perfecting your campaign, read our blog 'What is biddable media, and how can it catapult your growth?'

Don’t Obfuscate. Educate.

In a lot of agencies, reports say what you want them to. This is made worse when clients don’t understand the inner workings of a biddable media campaign.

Big numbers look great, but are rarely put in context. I once worked for a company that used to try and dazzle the clients with number of impressions…. To hide the fact conversions were painfully low.

When an individual doesn’t understand the process behind a biddable media campaign, it’s easy for them to make snap judgements on keywords or strategies. To any marketing manager bidding on a high CPC, low CVR keyword is madness. However, a client’s logic may be, “if I’m selling [insert product] then why am I not showing for [insert keyword]?”

Now, you can either bash heads over this, or tailor your reporting to educate clients. We have changed our biddable media strategy to show the clients the process in its entirety. Instead of just showing individual keywords, we show how the keywords are designed and grouped, what the aim of each group is (i.e. traffic driver, remarketing or converter), and what the impression share, ROI and conversion rates are.

By doing this, we have more clout when making changes to budgets, groupings or biddable media channels. By informing clients, we enable more meaningful conversations which lead to actionable outcomes.

Simplify Feedback. Tailor delivery

The miraculous meeting actually started not-so-miraculously. The client felt that changes were required to see a more impressive ROI on their biddable media campaign.

We showed them the new reporting format, then had a frank conversation about the perceived client base, how they interacted with the company, and the bottlenecks facing delivery.

By educating them in this manner, we were able to quickly identify pain points, note changes regarding the target audience and log the client’s feedback. Within half an hour, we had a list of actions and an entire change of focus for the campaigns.

With a simple and concise action plan we were then able to move onto the next section - implementing the plan.

Switching biddable media channels

We had established that the market was wide open for a softer native and content-based approach, but were prohibited by budget in the current biddable media channels. We also agreed that the current approach was too hard sell to deliver consistent and repeat business. 

The client didn’t have a technical understanding of biddable media, but did know their clientele extremely well and had a strong social presence within the market. We leveraged this with strong organic and paid content using videos and blog content. This not only increased brand awareness but gave the posts more clout and extended visibility.

The results were a four-fold increase in conversions and a marked increase in the AOV, giving the client one of their most successful months.

Don’t be afraid to inform

So what do you take from this? We hope you see the value in an education-based reporting and feedback structure.

Many people worry that by educating their clients, they are empowering them to internalise the work, eventually making the agency redundant. Many companies also think that by educating their clients, they are opening themselves up to more hassle and unnecessary input. It’s important to remember:

“The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.”

We believe that if your biddable media strategy is good and your working relationships are strong, you have nothing to fear from an education-based reporting approach. It creates less issues for you, helps decrease any existing issues with your client, and leads to better results. Plus you stop getting ridiculous keyword suggestions, so it’s a win win!

If you want to achieve any marketing aim, then biddable media is a great way to boost activity. However, biddable is difficult to get right. If you want to get some solid advice on perfecting your campaign, read our blog 'What is biddable media, and how can it catapult your growth?'