Our unconventional take on media planning

Data analysis tells you a lot, but never everything. Without a strategic compass, data lacks direction. By combining platform data with insights from sources such as System1 and WARC, a better balance emerges between short-term effectiveness and long-term business impact. Traditional media haven’t been replaced by digital media, but their role, at least for us, has evolved.

In an era where fast and often “dull” media (sorry Meta and Google) dominate, attention has become the defining factor.

That requires a shift away from buying purely on CPM towards metrics like viewability or vCPM—or even metrics we don’t have yet. Not reach alone, but quality attention is increasingly the starting point of our planning. After all, ads only work if they are actually seen. Classic metrics such as impressions only show the chance of being seen, not the real attention an ad receives.

Meanwhile, all tools are evolving. In Meta, we can now buy based on ThruPlays, and Google has made it easier to show longer content since introducing non-skippable pre-rolls. This makes it easier to report on aCPM: cost per thousand attentive impressions. It allows media to be compared more fairly based on real attention rather than pure reach. It helps traditional media to demonstrate their value more accurately.

But how do you measure impact in a market where decisions are slow and effects only become visible later?

Media Impact Studies can help answer that question. Together with DPG Media, we studied the likeability of our campaign video for ACM Insurance, benchmarked against the sector and direct competitors. Our hypothesis was confirmed: in a category that often communicates safely and predictably, breaking that pattern actually works.

For ACM Insurance, we brought a dinosaur to life. A fictional creature symbolising the unexpected twists in life (exactly the kind of risks you want to be insured against). In a 30-second spot, this metaphor took centre stage.

The effect was striking and measurable. The video achieved a likeability score of 7.4 out of 10, compared to a sector average of 6.3. In addition, the campaign scored exceptionally well on originality, clarity, and distinctiveness among the target audience.

But more importantly, this creative choice also translated into measurable impact. Total awareness (aided and top-of-mind) increased fivefold. And in autumn 2025, we saw exceptionally high traffic to acm.be, despite a focus on BVOD rather than traditional social “dullness”. A clear sign that attention can truly drive measurable results when executed properly.

How do you create impact for a brand targeting young families, in a decision-making process that is rarely individual? And where traditional media initially seem non-selective?

That exact complexity shaped our approach for CM. Audience insights showed that digital channels are essential to reach younger audiences, but also that attention there is scarce and content quickly becomes “dull”. And that was exactly what we wanted to avoid.

Because decisions around children are strongly emotion-driven, we deliberately chose a strategy that puts emotion and attention at the centre, even on platforms where endless scrolling is the norm.

To create maximum impact on the first screen, we developed strong 45” and 30” videos that allowed space for storytelling and emotion. These were then smartly adapted into shorter 11” versions for social media, tailored to the pace and context of digital platforms.

On top of that, digital TV was combined with linear TV, supplemented with channels where young audiences are active such as Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest — both paid and organic, as CM also has a large owned reach.

For this campaign, we even went a step further. Believing in the impact of out-of-home and earned media, we planned an additional activation in Antwerp before summer. For CM’s youth campaign, we brought in a group of ambitious influencers to question Mark Zuckerberg about how “social” social media actually still is. The initiative generated strong viral reach and was widely picked up by media outlets: newspapers, radio shows, and Gert Late Night all covered the topic.
What stands out most: the preliminary results confirm the strength of this integrated approach. During the period with less emphasis on pure conversion campaigns, conversion results were higher and cost per lead lower than in the months that followed.

A clear signal that traditional media not only build reach, but also strengthen digital performance. Television, when used strategically, can not only build awareness but also drive short-term conversion.

For us, planning doesn’t start with dashboards, but with vision, strategy, data and targets. That’s why we work from a multi-year compass based on business objectives that also carry meaning in the boardroom.

We translate that compass into an OKR framework that connects business KPIs with operational metrics. Short meets long, and vice versa.

Not every client has a brand tracker or the time to wait for long-term studies. Measurability plays a central role, but never in isolation from context. That’s why we deliberately place short-term and long-term signals side by side.

If brand awareness, recognition or association increases, we expect to see movement over time in branded search, organic traffic, conversions and efficiency. Not linearly, not immediately, but structurally. That’s what makes the bridge between brand building and business tangible.

We define objectives that are ambitious and directional. The Key Results also include both long-term and short-term indicators, avoiding separate silos. Communication then becomes not a sequence of disconnected campaigns, but a system. One that activates in the short term while building in the long term.

The result is clarity. Which initiatives truly contribute to the bigger goal? Which actions deliver short-term gains but build nothing lasting? That sharpness enables better decisions, focused optimisation, and sustainable impact.

That’s what a strong OKR framework does: it connects strategy with media planning, and vision with measurable results.