What If We Spent Less?

The programmatic advertising program was spending nearly $2 million annually. The assumption seemed to be that maintaining reach required maintaining the budget.

I was not convinced.

We examined where the money was going

We examined where the money was going, which audiences were responding, and whether the activity was contributing to meaningful business results. Then we began cutting inefficient investment and concentrating the remaining budget where it had a better chance of working.

This was not a minor optimization

This was not a minor optimization. We reduced annual spending to approximately $400,000.

What if a significant portion of the budget was creating activity rather than value?

Spending less forces clarity

Spending less can make marketers nervous. It can look like retreating. In this case, it forced us to become clearer about what we were buying, why we were buying it, and whether it deserved continued investment.