McCann is poised to launch a programmatic buying platform for Defence Housing Australia (DHA) as it continues to push its capacities in media beyond its traditional creative heritage.
The agency is planning on switching on the platform next month, which will allow buying across TV, digital, out of home (OOH), mobile and display, and will also integrate search.
McCann national head of digital Bradley Moore told AdNews it had partnered with Audience Precision and used third party data from Acxiom and Peer39 to build the platform.
Moore said the launch will be an “Australian-first”, adding that for high consideration and high value purchase, driving a sale through the smart use of technology is critical.
“For DHA, the average lead time is a fairly long time from initial lead to closing the deal - there's a lot of investment and it’s still a very finite release of the properties available. It could take a person a number of times in a ballot process until they are actually offered a home,” he said. “So if we can give leads that are either hot, medium or cold for them to actually get in the barrel, then that’s great.”
McCann is also in discussions about rolling out the programmatic offering to another government-based client, according to Moore, but he remains tight-lipped on who. This follows recent moves by McCann into the media space, with the agency recently winning the $15 million AGL account from Maxus without a pitch, and with several other deals thought to be in the works.
But McCann CEO, Ash Farr, told AdNews it’s not looking to become a media agency but instead, it’s a play for “true integration”. For that reason, he said it partners with a number of different trading desks, rather than just adopting the tech platforms in the IPG Mediabrands’ stable.
“What has really driven it is client need,” Farr said. “It’s infinitely more complex than what it used to be; marketing organisations are infinitely smaller than what they were and there is a genuine need for speed to market. As a result, that has created an environment for those agencies that have the resources to deliver an end-to-end solution and understand the strategic journey from business strategy right down to the retail component, the last mile so to speak.
“Can you separate [media and creative]? Of course you can. Is it better when they’re together? I think so. The truth of it is we work better when both sides of the equation are working in combination.”
A version of this story originally appeared in the latest issue of AdNews magazine (4 September). Hasn't dropped on your desk yet? You can get it right here, right now. On your iPad or in Print.
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