Blog

Practical learning: four tips from the CMA Summit

Media manager Alexandra Bailey is reassured to find that practical tips from the recent CMA Summit are already being put into practice here at CPL

 

It’s been a very busy 2019 so far for our team, with the usual spinning of plates, which are part and parcel of agency life when you’re working for a major client.

I run CPL’s advertising desk for Darley, working with the marketing teams for this leading global stallion thoroughbred breeding operation in the USA, UK, Europe, Australia and Japan. We create and deliver advertising campaigns that raise the profile of the stallions and provide valuable marketing data. This data gives key measurements and ROI (return on investment) from which we can learn and adapt.

Variety is the spice of life in CPL’s Darley team, with no two days ever the same. As well as advertising and creative digital work, we produce brochures, videos, online and print graphics; design, build and curate websites; and deliver physical marketing material and merchandise that is used across the world. We specialise in delivering creative solutions at short notice.

With this in mind, my colleagues and I attended the Content Marketing Association (CMA) Summit in London, to hear from others about their experiences. Below, I’ve highlighted four of the most relevant takeaways to me – I hope you find them interesting…

 

The in-house agency

We are not an in-house agency, but we act as one. This creates trust and enables shared value/culture – avoiding internal politics and focusing on customer and brand direction.

At CPL, I'm part of a nimble, reactive agency team dedicated to a single client. This enables us to champion brand loyalty and creates a mutually trusting relationship with our client. As an external agency, with extensive experience in this specific field, we can focus on their needs, with an impartial view that helps bypass any of their internal preconceived notions. 

 

Empowering clients’ marketing skills

Marketing teams in companies need to be more independent and able to do the basics, not rely on the agency to deliver everything.

By working side-by-side with the client, we’ve developed a cohesive structure for social media posts, provided shared asset libraries and an online style guide. This has given them the tools to create content on the go, at any time of the day or night. The branding is always easily recognisable, no matter which region publishes the content. Working with your client creates a relationship that enables both companies to deliver sophisticated and on-brand marketing, at the same time creating engaging content. 

Ask the right questions and get to know your audience

Efficacy

There is power in numbers. Testing and learning over a long period, and basing your creative execution on facts, enables delivery of projects with impact.

At CPL, we are already getting sales and marketing departments to buy into data collection and our creative teams come up with cohesive campaigns and strategies, which tie in. We advise our clients on the value of data and reinforce how this makes a difference in their world.

 

Thick versus thin data

Ask the right questions and get to know your audience.

Go beyond the technological data you get from Google Analytics (called thin data), and understand the people consuming your content (thick data). At CPL, we ask what these target audiences see and think – and take time to determine the driving force behind our sales. Data can tell you where, when and how people choose to buy/sell/interact, but not why. Data should help ask the right questions and focus the content. 

 

I hope that some of the above sparks conversations and inspiration for you too. Perhaps, like me, you’ll find your team is instinctively doing most things right – but it’s always great to understand more about the reasons why.

Enough from me, I’ve got a client to call!

Alexandra Bailey
is media manager
at CPL

Latest news

Insights
The ground-breaking work of John Reardon, a long-time photographer for CPL, is highlighted in a new exhibition...
News
Watch our moving new film for an educational charity that we have supported for more than a decade.The film...
News
CPL One has been shortlisted for seven Memcom Excellence Awards. The awards recognise the creativity and hard work...