IPG Mediabrands released the results of their first Partner Survey, an assessment of partners that Mediabrands works closely with, marked against their adherence to the Media Responsibility Principles (MRPs), as well as the transparent and ethical approach to advertising that the partner demonstrated.
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Following the launch of Mediabrands’ Media Responsibility Index last year, a social media platform audit based on Mediabrands’ Media Responsibility Principles, geared towards protecting brands and the communities that a brand serves, the Mediabrands UK team launched the Partner Survey as a way of embedding the agency’s MRPs into their broader partner ecosystem.
The Partner Survey is part of a larger effort aimed at enhancing brand safety and media/corporate responsibility in advertising and offers Mediabrands a clearer understanding of their media partners. The survey included a comprehensive questionnaire assessment of all vendors, scored by their Strategic Investment Team. This provides Mediabrands with the opportunity to make more informed media planning and buying decisions on behalf of clients, as well as offering greater transparency of supply chain, deals and trading approach.
Dan Keat, Regional Investment Director, EMEA said: “Our decision to create the Mediabrands Partner Survey (MPS) has been driven by our desire to create a more forward-thinking, ethical approach to advertising that our clients can plug into. Now, more than ever, it is important that we work together to strive for a more positive future for advertising and our world, and the MB Partner Survey helps us define what that is for our clients.”
Split into six categories, the survey asked questions around Responsibility, Pricing/Value/Transparency, Inventory Quality, Data, Reporting capability and Creative, of more than 100 regional and local partners across 7 of our EMEA markets. This enables Mediabrands to have the most comprehensive view of partners in categories that are critical for clients as well as the broader industry.
Key findings of the Mediabrands Partner Survey include:
- A number of partners fell short of the new standards that Mediabrands have implemented through their Media Responsibility Principles strategy.
- Even where responsibility policies exist, there is very little in the way of accountability and policy enforcement.
- The majority of respondents do not yet have a strong stance on the environment and sustainability.
- Many of the top-scoring partners hail from ‘traditional’ media backgrounds, such as TV and print.
- Premium content providers, such as new brands, score well – reinforcing the drive for premium, curated marketplaces. Distributors need to take greater ownership of monetized content, despite not being the content creator or having ownership of the end platform.
Harrison Boys, Director Standards & Investment Product, said: “Mediabrands is creating a client-centric investment approach which focuses on the growing need for higher standards in the advertising ecosystem. We hope that this survey, and the impact on investment it most certainly will have, creates an expectation of responsible media partners with unique and sophisticated propositions.”
