Even when the right consumer is exposed to great creative and media, they won’t take out their wallets or accept a message if they’re in the wrong mindset.

Perfect example: you can’t sell cosmetics to women visiting news sites like MSN. Sure, on paper, everything looks right—demographic, site traffic, etc. The problem? Wrong frame of mind.

That’s why we spend a lot of time understanding consumers’ need to be entertained, informed, inspired, etc. in relationship to the publishers they choose to satisfy those needs. In doing so, we’re able to understand which online marketing opportunities will yield the best results for our clients.

Of course, we do the raw site traffic analysis that all good media planners do. But we go deeper. We ask questions that let publishers tell us why their ad units will yield the desired consumer response. Why, for example, does Sheila go to Oprah.com instead of iVillage? What’s she thinking when she visits the Mind and Body section? What’s the payoff for having our message there?

Then we determine the right “share of voice.” Knowing, for example, that many consumers go back and forth between iVillage and Oprah.com, we set frequency caps that optimize results while limiting over-served impressions.

Only then do we negotiate price. We’re very tough negotiators but our process means our Publisher Partners understand our clients’ goals and know how they can make the greatest impact on our clients’ business. Armed with this knowledge, they work closely with our planning and buying team to deliver online programs that yield real results.

This is why our buys are more effective and efficient. In fact, because we eliminate ad waste upfront, we very rarely have to optimize. Minor refinements, yes, but no major overhauls. Quite simply, our plans work.