Bayer ditched GroupM and saved US$11 million

In what can be termed as quite a bold move, Bayer ditched GroupM last year, and the company managed to reduce its programmatic buying costs by US$10 to US$11 million.

Speaking to DigiDay, its head of programmatic and social, Paul Gelb, said that “it is really hard to provide a significant amount of value in an agency today in a programmatic biddable medium.”

The company had managed to negotiate better pricing with every vendor that it works with compared to what the company paid when it had an agency, according to Gelb.

Bayer is planning to bring all digital media buying in-house by 2020. While the company is working only with MightyHive in the digital space, it still has links with agencies for TV ad buys and creative work.

Currently, Gelb said that the company is spending more on programmatic and social advertising and is already spending more on digital than TV.

Bayer set up their operations in New Jersey and recruited programmatic talent from ad tech firms in the form of veteran executives.

It was not a huge challenge for the company to achieve it, and Gelb mentioned that as long as brand are willing to hire and compensate people well for their efforts, most brands can take the in-house route with minimal fuss.

Source: DigiDay UK