On Media Champions, our host Greg Kirkham speaks with experts and professionals from across the country operating in the media space. In this segment, Greg speaks with Brooke Weller of REQ, An Agital Company.
REQ is a full-service digital marketing, branding, and PR agency. We drive outcomes for clients across various B2B, B2G, and Retail verticals.
What is your BEST service?
Digital (SEO, SEM, PPC)
What was your first job in Media?
My job right out of college was for BikeBandit.com, I was making an astonishing $10/hr to run Google ads, create event graphics, etc.
What is the biggest change in marketing that you see coming in the next 2 years?
I think the biggest challenge in marketing is going to finding the right balance between AI and real authentic Human strategies. We see so much machine learning and AI capabilities in platforms but without oversight, these features can destroy results and tarnish client results. Same sentiment across creative, there are new tools to enhance ads and increase productivity but they still look and feel like AI which creates the opposite of trust
List any trade organizations or groups that you belong to, if any:
I am a Forbes contributor via the Forbes Agency Council and a member of the Female Executive group CHIEF
Why is it important for a business to hire an outside ad agency as opposed to having just an internal marketing director?
I think scale is the best and obvious answer here. Client’s can spin up and deploy large scale campaigns and get the expertise equivalent to a robust marketing team (junior to exec) for the same cost as 1 full-time hire. Clients also get layers of QA whereas launching in house without enough eyes on your program can result in errors, overspends, etc. They also benefit from cross-channel integration like Digital PR which includes creative brainstorming, PR consulting, digital activation, and in-depth reporting/analytics. That would cost a fortune and take too much time to build in-house.
What is one tip that you would give when it comes to digital marketing?
I was taught that the devil is in the details and I truly believe that is the mindset that differentiates good marketers and GREAT marketers. The incremental checkpoints and a critical eye are the most valuable super powers when it comes to running media, creating an SEO plans, and putting media strategies together.
What percent of your advertising service offerings does traditional media buying make up?
Less than 10%
