UPartner Media is an agency that claims to do things differently, with a holistic vision of media and communication, and with the client’s business as its permanent focus. In order to have an in-depth look at the agency’s projects in the realm of the digital world, we had a conversation with Rubén Somoza, Head of Digital Strategy.
What actions should be essential for brand building in the digital environment?
It is important that, within the market, we stop seeing brand building and performance as completely isolated things. It is in that fusion where the crux of the matter lies: we have to consider branding and performance as an integrated approach that will help us shape future demand, while collecting existing demand. It is also important to understand that each brand needs a different strategy because it is in a different process and at a different time: what works for a start-up is not scalable to what a mature company needs and vice versa.
Working in compartments, either dividing “traditional” from “digital” or, as in this case, separating branding from performance is counterproductive. It is essential that we consider brand strategies as a whole, working in a cohesive way. This is the only way to maximize effectiveness, because this is about finding the combination of channels that best fits each brand, its audiences and its objectives.
New propensity measurement models like the one we use at UPartner Media are essential for us to understand what the best opportunities are across different types of channels and formats, because they allow us to detail what is working best to focus on each individual brand objective and the overall business outcome of the company.
It is a 360 approach to communication that we can carry out because as a company, at UPartner Media we are collaborative and flexible.
What is your 360 vision of the digital world?
UPartner Media’s 360 vision is not only limited to the digital world. As I said before, if you work on communication in compartments, you will never be efficient.
We rely on a strategy that works based on objectives and use the most appropriate channel to achieve them. We are efficient in this selection because the decisions made in this step are not random or based on intuition, but on a great technological solution that uses machine learning to always optimize, improve and increase campaign results. Although this does not mean that our team loses influence on the process. On the contrary, our developments allow them to employ their time in having a greater strategic vision.
My team and I have a more digital-focused set of skills, but we coexist and collaborate with all other parts of the agency such as creative, more traditional media or strategic planning so that our partners have the best integrated product so that the team as a whole can generate value for our clients.
How does UPartner Media use data and technology to improve campaign results?
UPartner Media has an ecosystem based on technology, where we unify all the client’s activity, not only in terms of media but also in terms of the results that each action has on their business results. We are able to track the entire funnel, including its middle stages, which is where we are truly differential.
This allows us, with extensive granularity, to know which activation works best not only in terms of ROI but also from a complete view of brand and business objectives.
Therefore, the campaigns we activate for our partners can be very profitable economically: we measure everything and we measure it through a real single-source view, which allows us to optimize every euro invested according to the results that the activation seeks to obtain.
Is integrated measurement between on and off channels possible?
That depends on who you ask. Our partners will always tell you yes, because it is our main obsession and the differential value we offer as a company. When UPartner Media was born in 2017, this was our first obsession.
In all these years, we have worked and bet on making a strong investment in the development of a comprehensive measurement, monitoring and planning system that offers our clients a unique vision of all their investment in communication, justifying every euro invested, even in items such as, for example, branded content, which have traditionally been very difficult to quantify.
What new forms of segmentation are emerging for the future without cookies?
We, as a company, have been working with IDs for at least two years, so we are prepared for when the decision is made to implement the cookie removal measure. Having an understanding of how the ID world works for so long now has given us a head start and space to beta test various methodologies and ultimately develop propensity models. These models help us determine how close each entry is to our brand.
It’s almost like a game of hot potato, the closer to our brand that ID is, the more effort we can afford to put into getting them to perform a certain action. Based on this we are able to, for example, create differentiated activation segments at the most efficient touch points, with different messages for each one.
About UPartner Media
UPartner Media is a media agency with end-to-end services that works to add value to brands’ business results, through a partnership relationship based on trust, transparency and involvement. Its proposal is based on a solid team, data solutions and innovative technological products, all at the service of communication.
