MIAMI – “Bigness” is generally considered the ultimate endgame for independent agencies after a decade or so. A period of ad shop consolidation is always around one corner or the next.
But some agencies do find value in retaining their stand alone status. Icon Media Direct is one of them. Among the prized values of independence is the ability to avoid being forced into a niche like performance marketing as defined by outside forces rather than embracing a constant state of reinterpretation and reinvention, said Minnie Dimesa, EVP, Advanced Marketing at Icon Media Direct.
“Icon Media Direct is a performance media agency, and that means that we really take care to measure KPIs like return on ad spend, cost per acquisition, cost per order,” Dimesa told Beet.TV contributor David Kaplan at the POSSIBLE conference. “In that world, it’s like the stock market. We look at performance every single day.”
Nimble decision-making
As an independent agency, Icon Media Direct leverages its freedom to adapt strategies quickly based on real-time data insights.
“Being independent really allows us to have the freedom to go into any other strategies we would like to,” Dimesa said. “We’re very entrepreneurial from the very top to the very bottom. So we have the permission to really react to what’s happening in the market, to what’s happening with each individual client’s performance and campaigns.”
This agility allows the agency to maintain focus on driving measurable outcomes for clients without navigating bureaucratic hurdles that might slow response times.
Measurement evolving with the landscape
Over its quarter-century history, Icon Media Direct has developed proprietary tools to measure campaign effectiveness across changing media environments.
“We are very proud at Icon of the proprietary models and measurement tools that we’ve been able to develop over the past 25 years,” Dimesa noted. “It used to be that people would just pick up a phone and then we would ship big tubs of Oxyclean to them through the mail. Things have absolutely changed.”
The agency’s Web Tracks tool measures the impact of individual TV spots probabilistically, while its newer I-Picks platform provides similar capabilities for connected TV environments.
“As new data sources become available, we adapt because it’s our proprietary tools very quickly, very nimbly,” she said. “We’re really starting to lean into ACR more and the probabilistic is going to become deterministic.”
An agency’s superpower
Staying ahead of emerging trends and technologies has become an expectation from clients and a core part of Icon Media Direct’s value proposition.
“Innovation is a key part to what we deliver for our clients. Every QBR [quarterly business review] with our clients that we do across the board, there is a section where we talk about what’s new and innovative that we can bring to them,” Dimesa said.
The agency actively pursues alpha and beta opportunities with technology and publisher partners, an approach that has garnered industry attention.
“We’ve definitely had partners and publishers say, ‘Wow, we’ve never heard that question from anyone before. And how do you onboard clients so quickly?’” she added. “As an independent agency, that is one of our superpowers is the ability to adapt to bring clients along very quickly.”
Cross-functional career path’s perspective
Dimesa’s own career trajectory at Icon Media Direct reflects the agency’s flexible approach. Having worked in creative agencies and client-side marketing roles before moving to media, she brings a multidisciplinary perspective to her current position.
“The really important thing is always the eyes towards strategy and the eyes towards what’s new,” she said. “Icon allows me to take my career in the direction I wanted to and finding new ways to solve problems is absolutely something I love.”
This career flexibility has contributed to notable staff retention at the agency. “I’m sort of on the younger side of it. We’ve got people who’ve been with us for 18 years, 25 years,” Dimesa noted.
Curious advice
For marketers navigating today’s complex media environment, Dimesa advocates persistent curiosity and openness to evolving solutions.
“Always be curious. If you don’t really understand it, lean in, dig in, do all the research. Ask as many questions as you need to really wrap your head around what is happening because the world is moving and changing very quickly,” she said.
Equally important is maintaining an open mind about potential partners. “Never say never. There are many companies that maybe it’s not a right solution for you right now, but things change all the time,” Dimesa said. “Don’t write people off because maybe they weren’t quite right before. Just continue on that quest — for the knowledge and the curiosity.”
