Nicky Greville, national general manager of media at Y&R NZ

Have Google and Facebook won the online ad game because they simply offer more efficient/ effective forms of advertising (their offerings are more targeted, require fewer people to run and work instantly) and how can local media companies compete with thi

There is no denying that both Google and Facebook are the most prolific digital advertising platforms that we have at present in terms of reach and management of advertising options. Both are fuelled by intuitive technology and almost endless targeting opportunities that focus on the consumer first, with advertising technology then designed around them; no doubt entirely daunting for local companies not used to economies of scale at a global level and innovation at the rate of a heartbeat.

However, as the recent safety and reporting accuracy issues have highlighted, advertising that works is not solely about efficiencies, metrics that oversimplify (or overstate) time spent with content, or reach.

We have a saying at Y&R Media – attention eats reach for breakfast.

Yes, local companies have a way to go in terms of competing (or more likely working to integrate with) the technology that both Google and Facebook platforms offer, but where they do have an advantage is knowing inherently what it is that makes Kiwis tick and making great content that people invest time and attention on.

Here’s what I know: across a number of our recent successes, all of the triggers we used for capturing the attention of massive audiences have been using content via traditional media. Google and Facebook were certainly an important part of the channel mix for the spread of ideas – but they were not the be all and end all of the ideas themselves. Google and Facebook don’t build brands or sustain brand values; it’s conspicuously creative content that drives this. As such, they cannot achieve the power of tangible traditional media.

So what’s the opportunity for local companies to compete? The answer lies in brands, agencies and media partners coming together to make conspicuously creative ideas that generate an earned PR effect (using Google and Facebook at their best). It’s about making stuff together that people truly want to spend time with.

In a grossly oversimplified summary, the merger would have certainly helped in terms of scaling up the resources to help deliver efficiencies to the businesses. But our jobs are about so much more than cost efficiencies and numbers. The need to produce outstanding content that captures hearts and minds of New Zealanders (and in doing so compelling them to act) isn’t a new requirement from our media sources, nor is working collaboratively with brands and agencies to do this.