Stefanie Gonnella
Director, Programmatic Display at Closed Loop
Website Address: www.closedloop.com
Each week on “Media Champions,” our host talks to media experts across the country. This week our host speaks with Stefanie Gonnella from Closed Loop. To learn more, check out www.closedloop.com.
What is the biggest change in marketing that you see coming in the next 2 years?
The biggest change in marketing that I see coming in the next 2 years is the evolvement of the metaverse and the ways advertisers will get involved in this space. As the metaverse evolves/expands, this will bring about new opportunities for advertisers to appeal to a wider audience and to encourage engagement by the use of VR/AR. It will allow advertisers to also offer more personalized experiences to each user.
What is the advantage to working with an outside media buyer as opposed to having just an internal marketing director?
The advantage of working with an outside media buyer over just having an internal marketing director (client-side), is that at an advertising agency, we have the ability to reference performance and knowledge not just across multiple channels/tactics, but also across multiple clients/accounts. Closed Loop is full of channel experts when it comes to fields like, Social, Programmatic and Search, and we work together to determine the best media plan and mix for each client, to achieve their goals.
What is one tip that you would give when it comes to media planning?
It’s important to have a very clear understanding of what the client’s goals are and what is most important to them. If they want to solely focus on driving revenue, then we would want to ensure our plan has a more heavy emphasis on retargeting and lower funnel activity. If they want to focus on driving awareness, then we want to allocate the majority of our dollars towards prospecting initiatives focussed on traffic and engagement. Regardless of the main goal, it is important to ensure a full-funnel approach is implemented to capture users at each stage, and also to ensure that the messaging is consistent across each medium as well.
How does a media buyer stay on top of trends with media placement?
One of the best ways I ensure our team stays on top of trends in regards to programmatic and media placement is reaching out to a variety of partners in the space and having learning sessions with them. These sessions allow us to foster a working relationship and learn about new opportunities to share with our clients. We also ensure we maintain pertinent certifications related to the platforms we utilize to stay up-to-date with what is being introduced and have ongoing conversations with our reps are Google and Adswerve. Reading publications, such as AdAge and WSJ are also great resources.
