Canadian Ad Insider

Faebri – When I started in the industry, digital advertising in 2006, digital advertising was just starting to rise. Since then, there has been a shift from traditional media-first planning to digital-first planning. While digital media has a strong role in the marketing mix, I still strongly believe in the impact traditional channels can have on the digital side, such as SEM. There are also a lot more vendors out in the market meaning relationships are even more important to this day. With the overwhelming amount of advertising noise in the marketplace, I’ve noticed a growing emphasis on marketers adopting a more personal approach when communicating with consumers. Delivering relatable messages tailored to individual users has been shown to enhance performance significantly.

What sparked your interest in the media buying industry?

Faebri – I would say it’s two-fold. When I was at MBS, I had a great mentor at the start of my career named Amy Grove (now Foster). She showed me how to have fun in the industry while doing great work. She also was a big proponent of teamwork, which taught me how to run and be part of a team. Throughout my career, I have always fought to be creative, and it has paid off with multiple awards across multiple clients. This fuelled my passion for creative media planning and that passion continues to this day.

Has there been a campaign that significantly impacted your approach to media buying?

Faebri – I would say working on the Olympic sponsorships for Canadian Tire and launching the “We all play for Canada” platform. It took almost a year of weekly meetings leading up to the games. Lots of collaboration with the client and our agency partners to create magic during the Olympics. This kind of collaboration helped me look at the big picture vs. just with a media lens and helped us build a better plan which won a heap of awards we are all proud of.

How has the media landscape evolved during your time in the industry?

Faebri – When I started in the industry, digital advertising in 2006, digital advertising was just starting to rise. Since then, there has been a shift from traditional media-first planning to digital-first planning. While digital media has a strong role in the marketing mix, I still strongly believe in the impact traditional channels can have on the digital side, such as SEM. There are also a lot more vendors out in the market meaning relationships are even more important to this day. With the overwhelming amount of advertising noise in the marketplace, I’ve noticed a growing emphasis on marketers adopting a more personal approach when communicating with consumers. Delivering relatable messages tailored to individual users has been shown to enhance performance significantly.

What are the most pressing challenges facing media buyers today?

Faebri – There are so many distractions for consumers and it is becoming more difficult to break through and resonate with them. In the past, ensuring your ads are running around content would work. Now, you need your brands to be part of the content to avoid being overlooked.

How do you balance the need for data-driven insights with the importance of creative storytelling in media planning?

Faebri – Creative storytelling is successful if consumers engage with the ad at a high clip. Data-driven insights will help direct what kind of story a brand tells, offering more personalized communication to its targets. Without a good insight, the story falls flat.

How do you measure the success of a media campaign?

Faebri – Is it purely based on metrics, or do you consider other factors like brand awareness and audience engagement? For me, I love to see how people engage with campaigns. Other KPIs are important but to have a memorable campaign, you need people engaged. Brand Lift is also a great metric to keep an eye out for as it directly shows your client the impact of the campaign and offer learnings to be applied in the future.

What advice would you give to someone starting in the media buying industry?

Faebri – You can gain a lot of knowledge through experience, but qualities like confidence and being personable cannot be learned in the same way. Clients, vendors, agency partners, and co-workers all need to establish trust with you, and the fastest way to achieve that is by being confident in your actions.

Where do you see the media buying industry heading in the next 5-10 years

Faebri – AI is going to become bigger and bigger. On top of that, the metaverse should be a thing in 10 years. Think “Ready Player One”, which will open up a literal whole new world for marketers.

How do you stay informed about the latest industry news and developments? What are your favourite media sources?

Faebri – There are several humorous Instagram handles that provide industry news in a funny yet insightful manner. LinkedIn remains a valuable resource as well.

What strategies do you use to stay inspired and motivated?

Faebri – I like looking at what kinds of ads are happening around the world. I also enjoy tapping into my passions, like video games and movies, to inspire ideas. Being aware of your surroundings while out and about can ignite creativity when viewed through a marketer’s lens.

What is the most unique job you’ve had?

Faebri – I worked at World Vision as a Campaign Manager. We were not selling products, we were saving children which made what we were doing matter. Learning about third-world countries and contributing to solutions was both interesting and challenging.

If you could have a ‘superpower,’ what would you want?

Faebri – Telepathy. Who wouldn’t want to hear people’s thoughts? It takes away their poker faces.