Catherine Alton
CEO, Co-Founder at Trading Up Media
Website Address: tradingup.media
Each week on ““Media Champions”, our host talks to media experts across the country. This week our host speaks with Catherine Alton from Trading Up Media. To learn more, check out https://tradingup.media.
What is the biggest change in marketing that you see coming in the next 2 years?
The sunsetting of cookies. Although we have known about this for a few years, a lot of marketers still don’t have a plan to replace third party cookies. Thankfully, there are some great tactics available that utilize first party data. Not enough marketers are taking advantage of these tactics like CRM targeting.
Are their any trade organizations or groups that you belong to?
No.
What is the advantage to working with an outside media buyer as opposed to having just an internal marketing director?
Utilizing an outside media buyer or agency can actually save on costs. By the time you invest in the infrastructure like demand side platforms and data needed to run programmatic, you are already looking at an investment that can run anywhere from tens of thousands of dollars to more than a million dollars. And that’s before you even make your first media buyer hire or consider your ad spend. Agencies like Trading Up Media already have the people, technology and data needed to run your brand’s campaigns. So while you may think agencies are costly, you’re actually saving quite a bit of money.
What is one tip that you would give when it comes to media planning?
Ask and understand the “why”. Don’t just run a campaign for the sake of running it. Have a deep understanding of the audience you are targeting and what your specific goals are.
How does a media buyer stay on top of trends with media placement?
Always reading the trade publications and implementing the latest technologies and tactics that our vendors offer.
