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by: Jon Bross, Director of Media Services
Ad fraud touches all of us in the business—clients rightfully continue to be worried about it, and agencies’ reputations depend on how their level of proactivity and knowledge directly correlates to their ability to protect each and every dollar invested in them by clients.
At Vladimir Jones, we practice brand altruism; it’s our philosophy and approach to how we work with every client. In today’s media environment, where ad fraud, malware, ad-supported internet piracy and a lack of standards around brand safety in media environments can create mistrust between agency and client partners, our approach is decidedly different from others. Far from a “set it and forget it” approach to media planning, buying and stewardship, we emphasize doing the right thing over maximizing profits for the agency.
We are different because our clients want us to be, and need us to be, an extension of their brand values.
Transparency in contracting and pricing often sets the pace in a relationship. We have a saying at the agency, “It’s not our budget, it’s our clients’ investment in the future.” This isn’t just lip service—it’s how we act.
We hold ourselves accountable for the performance and investment. When there are mistakes (because we are human, and despite the advanced tools we use, mistakes do happen), we own them, and make good for our clients. And then we learn. We embrace vulnerability; and we tend to attract clients who value our humanity and integrity as much as they value our results.
Our approach is always informed by quality over quantity, and creating impact through a truly rich media mix. Our standard is high. Every aspect of our media mix must meet our baseline standards, starting with the media environment. We respectfully decline 9 out of 10 opportunities for clients, and focus only on those media environments that are verifiable, and provide short-term performance impact with long-term brand growth.
Even in the supply paths of programmatic, our approach exceeds best-in-class practices by:
- Studying our supply partners; holding them accountable for quality traffic
- Knowing our platforms, and certifying all staff in platform-specific accreditation
- Embracing an outside expert or third-party audit to validate supply and distribution partners, and validating our work
- Investing team time; buy direct, a sustainable effort to buy only the best available media
As an engaged member of the 4A’s (American Association of Advertising Agencies), we also continuously seek to give back to our industry in this time of rapid evolution. We work with Nielsen in providing agency perspective on TV measurement tools, assist AdWanted’s SRDS (Standard Rate and Data Service) in product enhancement, add value to industry events, speak at universities and even donate our time to publishers in creating a better selling proposition.
Altruistic agencies invest in their employees’ well-being and development, charitable initiatives, community engagement opportunities, career path development, health and work-life balance. Just as clients invest in us to build their future, at VJ we invest in every single employee’s future as well.
As media professionals, our role in brand altruism for each client enhances agency and team perspective, fosters relationships and nurtures a socially conscious team of creative minds with a client-first approach.
