Respondents, who were selected from among marketing department specialists with at least a year of experience in the digital segment, were asked to complete an online survey.

The questionnaire consists of a presentation block, asking for the level of induced knowledge (with prompting)/collaboration, a qualitative assessment of specific contractors in 15 segments, and general issues on the use of digital tools.

FIRST BLOCK provides for obtaining the necessary and sufficient identification information, as well as clarifying the level and profile of the specialist, social characteristics and experience in the segment.

• Last name, first name
• The name of the company
• Field of activity
• Age
• Position
• experience

STUDYED SERVICES

1 MEDIA SERVICE

1.1 direct media Buying. Planning and purchasing banner placement by the agency directly from publishers and sites

1.2 Programmatic Buying. Programmatic media planning and purchasing, all formats and all media (CPM, CPC, RTB)

1.3 Digital video / Smart TV. Planning and purchasing video advertising: pre-rolls, post-rolls, in-banner video, overlay, video context, etc.

1.4 Non- standard media (NEW!) Development and implementation of non-standard media campaigns (sponsorship, branded content, etc.)

1.5 Mobile media Buying. Planning and purchasing mobile advertising (CPM, СPC, RTB)

2 PERFORMANCE MARKETING

2.1 Lead Generation / CPA. Pay-per-action advertising (pay-per-click, pay-per-purchase, pay-per-survey, etc.)

2.2 Search Engine Optimization / SEO. Website promotion services in search engines, search engine optimization

2.4 direct Marketing & CRM. Strategy, development and implementation of large-scale direct marketing campaigns using CRM platforms and Big Data

2.5 Application promotion / CPI (NEW!) Comprehensive promotion services mobile applications(CPI, ASO, etc.)

3 CRAFT SKILLS

3.1 Creativity and strategy. Development of strategies and creative solutions for the implementation of outreach digital campaigns

3.2 SMM / Digital PR. Services for promoting and maintaining a brand in social media, the blogosphere, etc.

3.3 Special Projects (NEW!) Development and implementation of content special projects with brand integration

3.4 digital production. Design, design and development of complex web solutions (corporate websites, online stores, etc.)

3.5 Mobile production. Design, design and development of mobile applications (games, services, media)

On the SECOND STAGE knowledge (guided) of agency brands in all examined examinations, as well as experience and share of cooperation (market share) is found out.

Knowledge with hint(hovered) was found out on the basis of pre-compiled lists, consisting of the leaders of the ratings of cooperation in 2016, as well as agencies that provided a client contact for the survey.

Cooperation experience over the past two years, in addition to the formation of the corresponding rating, is the starting point for building a further qualitative survey scenario.

On the THIRD STAGE respondents on a five-point scale evaluate companies with which they had experience of cooperation, according to several criteria. With regard to qualitative criteria, a differentiated system of indicators was developed.

EVALUATION CRITERIA BY SEGMENTS

MEDIA SERVICE

Direct Media Buying, Mobile Media Buying

media service

· Customer service

· Price-quality ratio

Digital Video (instream, outstream)

level of expertise

· Customer service

· Price-quality ratio

Programmatic Buying

User data volume, connected inventory, connected platforms

Targeting quality, data processing capabilities, campaign optimization capabilities

· Customer service

non-standard media

· Adequate impact on the audience

PERFORMANCE MARKETING

Lead Generation / CPA, direct Marketing& CRM, Application promotion / CPI

· Expertise and analytics

· Customer service

Pricing

Search Engine Optimization / SEO

Quality of analytics and reporting

· Customer service

Quality of traffic (audience)

Quality of targeting

· Customer service

CRAFT SKILLS

Creative and strategy, Special Projects:

originality, innovation

Quality of implementation, use of new technologies

The effectiveness of the impact on the audience

SMM / Digital PR

Speed ​​of work, responsiveness, ability and willingness to work with situational marketing

Campaign performance

· Quality of content, level of engagement

digital production, Mobile production:

Quality of implementation

Level of organization and process management

Pricing

On the LAST STAGE follow questions on the use of digital tools in the marketing budget in the dynamics of 2017-2018.

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METHODOLOGY

Rating: Rating of digital agencies according to a survey of customers of services 2017 (Digital Index 2017)

We couldn't get around the topic of how clients choose contractors for context. We talked to advertisers whose campaigns are run by agencies, looked at several tender tasks and found out which parameters are decisive.

Actively looking

At the very beginning of the search for an agency, the advertiser faces a huge choice. And here criteria and characteristics come into play, designed to narrow down the circle of potential performers, for example, participation in ratings, certificates of specialists, price segment.

It is difficult to assess the professionalism of the contractor before the start of work, says Nikita Freyuk, head of the marketing and advertising department of the SM-Clinic holding. Therefore, when choosing an agency for context, marketers of the network of medical centers paid attention to the participation of the agency in professional ratings, the availability of certificates for employees.

The status of a certified agency of Direct and AdWords and a place in the ranking of the best agencies are also found in the requirements for tenders of the largest companies, for example, Sberbank. At the same time, the developed placement strategy, the experience of the project team members, the experience of the team in the ecommerce market and the agency fee are still decisive.

Count on the representativeness of certificates and ratings, according to Head of the Online Sales Department of the Moscow Jewelry Factory Daria Veligodskaya, not worth it. “Places in profile ratings are bought, the same with certificates, experience in the subject turns out to be (and in our case it is almost always the case) experience in promoting a jewelry store with silver and an average bill of 3,500 rubles, etc.,” says the top -manager.

By the way, in the document on the conditions for holding tenders in contextual advertising in 2017, the committee on performance marketing and related markets of IAB Russia also emphasized that there is no agency rating on the market that the association can recommend.

All agency selection criteria fromIAB Russia

Another parameter for choosing agencies is experience in the subject. Ilya Konoplev, Director for Development of the World Gym Fitness Club Network in Russia tells that one of the criteria during the search for a contractor for contextual advertising was precisely the experience of working with a business comparable in product and scale. According to him, the closer this experience is to the customer's industry, the better. Nikita Freyuk from SM-Clinic notes that he was also interested in which companies the agency had already worked with, how long the cooperation had lasted and what results had been achieved. At the same time, portfolios and cases, in his opinion, should not be particularly trusted: unscrupulous contractors can simply invent them.

Ilya Konoplev notes two more advantages of agencies - the willingness to work during the test period and the availability of recommendations that are not on paper, but in the form of a mobile phone number.

First meeting and acquaintance

When the pool of potential applicants for the role of the contractor is collected, the stage of acquaintances and negotiations begins. It was the face-to-face meeting that was the most milestone in choosing a contextual advertising agency, says Elizaveta Ivanova, marketing and PR manager for formwork and scaffolding manufacturer Peri. Therefore, when meeting, the agency should show business qualities as much as possible, show its adequacy and competence. Here, attention is paid to both the approach to work and the ability to communicate.

Head of the online sales department of the Moscow Jewelry Factory

How the tender is carried out, using the example of M.Video

media and CRM director M.Video:

What advertisers value

From partners, Ilya Konoplev from World Gym also expects depth of immersion and the ability to adapt to clients: “When a contractor starts bombarding me with special terms, demonstrating my deep knowledge of the topic, I lose interest in him, because you sparkle where it will be appreciated.

The current agency Peri delves into the campaigns, into the tasks set, offers options, advises and shows new tools. “In this way they develop us and give us the opportunity to get a greater effect, sometimes without even increasing the budget. We believe this approach is correct and productive, and cooperation is long-term,” says Elizaveta Ivanova, marketing manager of the company.

Therefore, competitors who want to oust the existing contractor will have to try and avoid mistakes in communication. Peri receives a lot of contextual proposals, but according to Elizaveta Ivanova, absolutely everyone requests access to running campaigns and justifies this by saying that this is the only way to find the right requests, form a budget, and bring campaigns to top positions. “They do not offer any ready-made solution, ready-made study just for us. This is the main difference between such companies and our partner,” says marketer Peri.

When choosing a contractor for the MJZ, the main thing was to find someone who shares a real understanding of what advertising is for, emphasizes Daria Veligodskaya. Good times large advertising budgets in order to get a site visitor who just looked at the pages and left, gone, now, in her opinion, the main thing is earnings.

With the participation of Sofia Bitkova.

Respondents who are selected from among the specialists of marketing departments were asked to complete an online questionnaire.

The questionnaire consists of a presentation block, general questions on the use of digital tools, finding out the level of knowledge (with a hint) / cooperation and a qualitative assessment of specific contractors in 12 segments.

FIRST BLOCK provides for obtaining the necessary and sufficient identification information, as well as clarifying the level and profile of the specialist, social characteristics and education received:

• Last name, first name
• The name of the company
• Field of activity
• Age
• Position
• Education

On the SECOND STAGE follow questions on the use of digital tools in the marketing budget in the dynamics of 2016-2017.

In order for the respondents to act within the framework of a single conceptual field, wordings are given of what is meant by one or another type of service.

MAIN DEFINITIONS ADOPTED IN THE RESEARCH

Planning and purchasing banner placement. Includes display advertising (media), text and graphic blocks and media contextual banners.

Website promotion services in search engines

· Creativity and strategies

Development of the idea of ​​an online campaign, as well as proposals for its implementation

· Web Production & Support

Design, design and development of Internet projects and services, including corporate and promo sites, e-commerce, landing pages. Services for support and development of Internet projects: operational support, functional improvements, content marketing.

· Mobile Marketing

· Mobile Production

Design, design and development of projects in a mobile environment, mobile applications, services, etc.

· Digital PR / SMM

Services for working with groups, applications in social networks, creating and sowing viral content, working with bloggers and opinion leaders on the network.

· Lead generation

Services for organizing direct contact with potential buyers or providing information about consumers (demographic, contact, behavioral). Companies in the rating are divided into agencies and specialized services (technologies).

· Programmatic Buying

Automated media placement technologies that use big data of users, mathematical algorithms for buying an audience, predictions for predicting conversions and the auction principle of forming bids for advertising impressions (RTB). Companies in the rating are divided into agencies and specialized services (technologies).

· Direct Marketing / CRM

Development, design and support of customer relationship management systems, including specialized solutions in the field of email marketing.: E-mail Sending Platform, Marketing Platform and Telecom / SMS Platform.

On the THIRD STAGE knowledge (guided) of agency brands in all examined examinations, as well as experience and share of cooperation (market share) is found out.

Knowledge with hint(induced) was found out on the basis of previously compiled lists. The pool of participants was based on the results of the 2015 study. Respondents have the right to include up to five companies outside the proposed list in the ranking.

Cooperation experience over the past two or three years, in addition to the formation of the corresponding rating, is the starting point for building a further scenario for a qualitative survey.