Search is all part of a full service offering

26 October 2006

From Kevin Murphy, planning director of Zed



I nearly choked on my coffee twice while reading last week's front page story on how search specialists are feeling the heat as media agencies muscle in (NMA 19.10.06).

I don't know what nearly necessitated the Heimlich manoeuvre more: digital-only agency i-level finally conceding that "forward-thinking" clients realise the importance of investing in an integrated agency so there's "one point of call when planning ahead, comparing strategies and so on", or Latitude saying search "is not a media buy".

I couldn't agree more with i-level, but has it forgotten that 'full service' should refer to offline as well as online? I know digital media is rising fast, but the last time I checked offline media was still taking more than its fair share of ad spend.

I think Latitude's comments just edge it onto the comedy scale. So search isn't a media buy. So it won't work more efficiently when co-ordinating with other online and offline media activity. Does it not work more efficiently with tactics like day-part weighting? Is there no skill or technique in choosing which keywords to use, what bid costs to pay or whether a visibility or cost efficiency strategy is required? Correct me if I'm wrong, but the answer to all these questions is yes, which surely places search easily within the remit of a channel requiring a media strategy. If I was a client of Latitude and I'd read its comments, I'd be alarmed. I'd then pick up the phone and call a media agency, one that truly lives and breathes the full spectrum of media across offline and online.

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