Media Buying

The University at Buffalo is pleased to announce that Fahlgren Mortine (FM) has been awarded the media buying contract for the university. Securing an exclusive agency contract is part of the operational excellence project University Communications (UC) began in fall 2017, which was supported by the provost and the vice president for finance and administration. The purpose is to create efficiencies in the purchasing and processing of advertising across paid media platforms for units and central procurement offices as it relates to contact review, negotiations and execution. This also decreases the university's risk and increases overall ROI while standardizing processes and procedures to ensure ethical and sustainable business practices, and consistency in institutional branding.

Services Offered

FM is an integrated marketing and communications agency. Their services include media planning, buying, placement, management of assets and, if needed, creative to support the media buys (e.g., copywriting and graphic design).

Media Planning and Strategy Development

This includes strategic and tactical plans (delivered in the form of a brief) based on budget and parameters provided by UB units. Tactics may include a mix of, for example, traditional, digital and social media advertising.

  • A customized media plan created by FM will be specific to your goals, objectives and budget. FM has worked with dozens of organizations, including UB, and has a reputation for being very knowledgeable, responsive and professional. Below are examples of the types of media they have purchased and placed on behalf of their clients. Please keep in mind their experience extends far beyond this short list.
    • National/regional/local news media – print, digital and video ad formats with newspapers, magazines and other news-based media (e.g., The Chronicle of Higher Education, Buffalo Business First, The Buffalo News, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Flipboard, CNN, etc.)
    • Broadcast TV/movie/cable advertising locally and nationally
    • Social media – paid campaigns on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Snapchat
    • Radio – traditional local and national radio stations such as WBFO and NPR; music streaming platforms such as Pandora; podcasts
    • Traditional/digital billboards and out of home – e.g., transit, bus
    • Paid search and display advertising
    • Niche/industry opportunities – e.g., First Bell for Engineering
    • Special promotional/sponsorship opportunities – e.g., NCAA programmatic advertising, agency partnerships
  • Media partner selection, aligned to support identified media placement goals.
  • Recommendation of a media mix, with rationale to support recommendations.

Media Placement Services

  • Collaboration with UB units on content, audience, geographies, budgeting and selection of paid media most likely to meet unit objectives.
  • Negotiations with media partners to increase efficiency via pricing, added value and high-impact placements.
  • Ad tracking to ensure ads are seen by the target audience and that contracted impressions are delivered.
  • Quality control and reliable ad placement. FM utilizes preventative measures to ensure paid media campaigns are not infected with fraudulent traffic that artificially inflate ad metrics. FM’s services ensure valid ad views and engagement as well as quality site traffic with paid ads. In addition, the placement and integrity of ads are guaranteed by FM to ensure they are properly displayed in the purchased media.
  • Assistance in the management of existing UB relationships with paid media outlets and in the development of new relationships.
  • Ongoing and regular status and milestone meetings with units, as needed.

Creative and Copywriting

If needed, these services would include development of ad copy, images and videos. NOTE: Use of creative services is optional and will require an additional charge to the unit. During the initial consult with FM, units should indicate whether they will be developing their own ads or whether FM will develop the ads. FM is available to provide cost estimates for its creative services.

Measurement

Measurement includes media dashboards, tracking and reporting services. FM will provide units with a dashboard to measure and report upon the effectiveness of their ad campaign, hold meetings to review findings/outcomes, and provide recommendations on whether a campaign should be adjusted mid-stream to achieve objectives.