AdoptoMedia, CheckMedia Solution, Bank’s Media Mix, Marketing Resource Management, allocating the media budgetMost TIER-1 companies employing a full media mix to promote their services need to effectively allocate the media budget among their ad channels. Banks and other financial companies with a wide regional branch network are a typical example of this. Here we will delve into the specifics showcasing how CheckMedia Solution V2.0 by AdoptoMedia can lend a hand in navigating these investment strategies.

 

1. Customer profile

The principal goal of any large bank's marketing department is to manage marketing activities, and this includes allocating the media budget among products, regions, media channels and ad media within each channel.

The bank uses a full media mix to support its marketing activities:

  • TV;
  • radio;
  • OOH advertising;
  • Internet;
  • printed press.

 Below are the specifics of how the bank's marketing department operates:

  • ad campaigns take place in over 70 cities, while media buying and placement are managed by all regional offices and the central marketing department;
  • the regional offices handle the local ad suppliers, providing daily support for the ad planning and buying processes. The central marketing department controls and coordinates all regional office activity, as well as conducts planning and buying from federal ad suppliers;
  • over 10,000 ad media are purchased annually for all media channels. All ad media purchases are logged manually in a single XLS table;
  • the bank's annual ad budget is allocated between federal and regional placements;
  • the allocation is based around legacy data;
  • no research has been conducted to assess the efficiency of particular channels in the media mix.

 

2. Description of solution

The bank requires a media budgeting management solution that calculates the optimum budget share between federal and regional marketing as well as all types of media.

Here are the key factors behind the choice of the solution:

  • Optimum allocation of budget between channels (TV, Radio, Online, Digital, Magazine, OOH) while respecting the established restrictions (lack of budget, lack of available channels, focus on KPIs only, etc.)
  • Real-time adjustment when a campaign is in progress
  • The solution must follow a stage-by-stage implementation scenario without disrupting the marketing department’s workflow.

 

CheckMedia Solution V2.0 meets all of the above requirements due to its following features:

  • a set of reliable consumer behavior models (through machine learning and BigData);
  • predictive analytical capabilities;
  • ability to provide optimum budget allocation for various scenarios;
  • media plan manager module;
  • analytical reporting.

 

CheckMedia Solution V2.0 functionality:

  1. Calculation of optimum media budget for each banking product.
  2. Optimum budget allocation among advertising channels (based on the econometric modeling technology).
  3. Regional budget management: grouping of regions, calculation of optimum share of regional and federal budgets for each group, reallocation of regional budgets between regions.
  4. ROMI (return on marketing investments)-based analytics for each type of media.

 

3. Implementation of CheckMedia Solution V2.0

CheckMedia Solution V2.0 is implemented in two stages:

  1. Model development.
  2. Model launch and adjustment.

and consists of the following modules:

  • media mix tool;
  • media plan manager.

 

 

Model development in CheckMedia Solution V2.0

For implementing the project, we selected the number of loan applications as the bank’s main marketing KPI.

The project has two stages:

  • annual budget optimization;
  • regional marketing management.

 

Task

Result

Develop a forecasting model for the number of loan applications on the federal level.

 

  • A model was built based on the data for: Q4 2013 –Q3 2016, with a forecast for 2017.
  • The Y2017 forecast was manually updated based on the Q4 data
  • The forecast was updated due to LIBOR changing in Q1-Q2 2017.

Perform region clustering (divide regions into several groups) for the purposes of regional marketing management

  • 70 uniform forecasting models were created for all regions, coupled with the federal model.
  • Two clusterings were performed: one ROMI-based, another based on population density and number of offices.

Optimize ad budget for Y2017.

 

  • Forecast made for the number of loan applications in 2017 depending on 3 ad budget scenarios.
  • Media mix optimized for Q3-Q4 of 2017.
  • Forecast made for the number of loan applications depending on 4 ad budget scenarios based on data from Q1-Q2 Y 2017.

 

Model launch and adjustment

On the second stage of implementation CheckMedia Solution V2.0 is focused on automating the ad budgeting process. Automation enables marketers to independently improve the product –  and regional budgeting without outsourced consultants.

Stage

Description

Result

Term

  1. Upload econometric model
  • Uploading of 3 years worth of data on the factors influencing the number of loan applications for each region.
  • Uploading of econometric model

Initial data for the modeling uploaded

4 weeks

  1. Set up model input & adjustment parameters
  • Introduction and correction of input & adjustment parameters: budget, timetable, target values of loan disbursement, etc.
  • Uploading of forecast models for the factors affecting the number of issued loans.

 

Modeling processes implemented

4 weeks

  1. Integrate with media plan manager module
  • Connection to ad media databases (OOH, TV, Internet, radio and print).
  • Development and approval of media plan templates.
  • Deployment of all media plan management functions: approval between users, XLS exporting, input and logging of target values and actuals.

Media plan manager implemented

2 weeks

  1. Set up user access levels
  • User registration.
  • Web browser-based access for all users with segmentation by access levels.

 

User access levels set up

1 week

  1. Implement report system
  • Generation of report templates for strategic planning: based on ROMI, targets, optimization, budget utilization and plan/actual analysis for media plans.
  • Report can be exported in XLS format.

Reporting system implemented

2 weeks

 

4. Implementation results

Task

Current level

Results achieved

Ad budget management:

Annual ad budget allocation

Benchmarking-based

 

 

 

 

Optimization based on the achievement of KPI (number of issued loans)

Media mix modeling

Based on legacy data

Allocation of ad budget between regional and central departments

Based on the number of loans issued by each regional office throughout the past year

Frequency of budget reassessment

Once annually

Once monthly

Regional marketing management

Full autonomy of regional marketing

Grouping of regions into 6 clusters with the following goals:

  • retain ad support;
  • increase ad support;
  • reduce ad support;
  • reallocate regional media mix.

 

Marketing department KPIs

Marketing budget/volume of loans granted

ROMI

Efficiency assessment

Assessment of value-for-money channel by channel

None

15% ROMI increase due to elimination of inefficient ad channels

Efficiency assessment of regional media buying

Non.

  • Ability to introduce best practices regionally
  • Exposure of the best and worst regions, objective motivation system for branch directors

Marketing process automation

Management of the ad campaign budget

None, operating in MS Excel

Ad budgeting module integrated with media plan manager

Support for federal and regional media plans

None, operating in MS Excel and via email

Media plan manager module with filtering by region, access level and user type (agencies, regional marketers, central department marketers).