Mediasmith White Papers

iMedia Connection - SEM: Still an Adolescent?
Written by Mediasmith's Search Guru, Bob Heyman
(Oct 2004)

MSN Agency Relations
"Challenging Agencies to Change"
by David L. Smith & Karen T. McFee

MSN Media Mix 101
Articles that will provide the traditional marketer with a frame of reference and working knowledge of media mix as it applies to the online medium. This series should also be useful for the traditional media person and as a brush up for the Interactive planner or buyer.

MSN Advantage Marketing
Online Reach/Frequency and GRPs - An Update On Progress. A series of regular columns that will be devoted to the state of online reach & frequency development for the Web.

MediaPost Articles
David Smith is a regular contributor to OnlineSPIN, MediaPost's newsletter discussing controversial issues.

DoubleClick & Privacy
At issue is a lack of understanding behind the technology that agencies and online publishers use to track users. Here's a brief synopsis of said technology and a summary of the critical issues.

Audited Sites
Mediasmith has a long (in Internet years) established policy of buying only sites which are audited by a third party. Are we to shut out some of the premier sites on the Web due to our seemingly arbitrary policy?

Paradigm Shift
The paradigm is shifting in how media works. This is especially true with interactive, on-line and Internet advertising. Some companies have the message and some clearly do not.

Full Disclosure
At Mediasmith, we regularly evaluate buying services and agencies for advertisers. We find many cases of non-disclosure, some very cleverly disguised. Agencies and buyers are not solely at fault. Advertisers have complicity in this area too.

Effective Reach
The concept of effective reach has been used for many years as a primary measure in comparing alternative television media plans. Effective reach is a term misused by some and misunderstood by many.

Spot Radio
We estimate future performance for our television buys; newspapers and consumer magazines are held accountable for circulation delivery verified by ABC audits. Yet, when asked about spot radio, the preponderance of agencies and buying services say, "We dont' post spot radio."

Planning Philosophy
Outstanding media strategies and plans stem from meticulously constructed media objectives. The best objective statements are based on solid and quantifiable data points.