We live in a digital age with a seemingly endless list of advertising opportunities. According to the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report, in 2021, digital advertising spend soared 35% to $189 billion. This situation has caused advertisers to look at their media activation strategies. 

What is media activation? This article will discuss what agencies and in-house marketing teams need to know about media activation, why it's so important, and how to successfully implement it into your advertising strategy. 

Media activation is the physical act of pressing "go" on a digital marketing campaign to generate brand awareness or complete a sale. It seems simple, but media activation can only be successful after careful planning and preparation. We'll dive into that. 

Media activation is similar to digital activation in that both are focused on the execution process of ad campaigns – media activation focuses more on media-based strategies rather than organic tactics like SEO,  for example. 

In-house marketing teams or agency partners typically carry out media activation campaigns. The team develops a plan, sets campaign objectives, and creates the media. Within these teams, there is usually a media activator. This person is in charge of overseeing the buying of ad space and turning campaigns live. Once the campaign is live, the team monitors and optimizes the campaign based on its performance. 

When activating a campaign, the marketers aim to "activate" the audience and generate brand awareness, complete a sale, or generate clicks, views, conversions, etc.

A few examples of media activation include: 

• Placing Display Ads on multiple websites (via DSP)

• Brokering a DOOH deal

• Posting on social media 

• Running CTV ads

• Placing native ads 

• Using a programmatic platform to retarget display ads

• Uploading audio or video ads on platforms like Facebook, Youtube, or Spotify. 

Before activating a campaign, you need to lay the groundwork. The groundwork includes nailing down campaign objectives, defining the target audience, and choosing a media mix.

This step in media activation is where the team identifies which metrics to track to analyze campaign success. 

If a team is running the campaign on behalf of a client, this is when they ensure that campaign objectives align with the client's needs and determine a budget. 

Once accounting for these elements, it is time to press "go" on the campaign. Pressing "go" can mean manually scheduling and publishing media or having a programmatic platform carry it out. As soon as the ads are published, the campaign is considered "activated". 

After execution, the data is recorded in real-time and analyzed for trends or patterns. Based on these insights, the team can optimize the campaign, predict future outcomes, and set themselves up for future media activations. 

It takes a lot of work to run media activation campaigns. The most common roadblock in creating a successful media activation plan is resources. We're talking about people. Someone has to do it all. Once the campaign launches, the work is hardly done.

To succeed in media execution, you need a team with expertise in every step of the process. 

Marketers spend weeks or months getting campaigns off the ground, which entails negotiation, media creation, and system calibration. Many teams do not have the resources to manage these moving parts. 

The process becomes even more complicated when working with a client. The more people involved, the more prone this process is to delays. Forming a robust and transparent relationship with clients is often the best solution. It is essential to discuss the goals and demands upfront before launching the campaign.

The media activation process looks different depending on resources. Suppose a team decides to do it in-house. In that case, they use media planning tools or programmatic platforms. Advertisers who do not wish to carry out media activation in-house typically implement a programmatic partner into their workflow. 

At the end of the day, the idea is to improve efficiency. As teams execute media campaigns, they use media tools or programmatic partners to help them stay organized, manage projects, and gain valuable insights from one spot.

As mentioned above, many teams hire programmatic partners to activate their media campaigns. The challenge here is that activating media is a crucial step in the marketing process. The partner you choose can make or break the campaign.

When choosing a partner to handle this critical task, look for the following traits: 

• Multiple years of experience in media activation and marketing execution

• High level of technical expertise on various media execution platforms

• Numerous success stories and clients case studies

• Knowledge of different types of media 

• Data-based approach

• Eagerness to discuss the objectives of the campaign and hone in on KPIs

• Isn't scared to own their work, voice problems and concerns, and be honest when they make mistakes

• Can translate between marketing, technical, and personal language. 

• Professional, but easy to connect and collaborate 

Media activation is a necessary part of any marketing effort. While it's not always easy, the work is almost always worth it.

The key is to get started. Then start tracking, optimizing, improving, and ultimately getting closer to (or surpassing) the goals you set for your digital activation effort.

Are you ready to explore the benefits of working with a media activation agency partner? Get in touch with Pathlabs to see how we can become an extension of your team.