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Client session
Cerritos Auto Square
Wednesday, April 29, 2026 at 5:00 PM
tom@mgaadvertising.com
Granola
Duration (min)
Notes
### Media Mix & Reach Concerns - Core problem: budget spread too thin across too many channels -> not hitting minimum effective frequency (3x) - Current mix: local news/weather, broadcast sports, national sports playoffs, CTV entertainment, social (13%), billboards (20%), unpaid search (8%), no audio budget - Choke point has shifted from creative to media — new creative is more targeted and differentiated, but results still flat - Small but steady organic traffic lift since messaging/website refresh; not a home run yet ### Audience Behavior & Channel Observations - Nick's media habits as a proxy for shifting consumer behavior: - YouTube TV as cable replacement; skips all recorded content ads - Watches Dodgers via MLB TV app (no ads currently — Spectrum/MLB server sync glitch) - Instagram ads most effective for impulse purchases; podcast host reads also drive purchases - Tunes out web display/banners almost entirely; retargeting has marginal effect - Billboards still register occasionally; DoorDash bag inserts get attention - 30-40% of population only reachable via social (no TV or ad-free streaming) - Social gets ~1/3 of impressions at 13% of budget due to cheaper CPMs - Netflix and Amazon Prime ads are non-skippable — reach is uncertain but guaranteed attention when served - Local news audience skewing 60+; most people getting news on phones ### YouTube Campaign Analysis - Tested broad audience vs. car shopper audience (TV and mobile breakouts) - Car shopper audience: 50% higher cost per conversion, but budgets were unequal (~3x more on car shopper) - Conclusion: unequal budgets make the test inconclusive — broad may still outperform - Pattern consistent with Meta: broad audiences often match or beat targeted ones - TV-only awareness campaign favored TV placements because mobile inventory is more competitive (other advertisers bidding for action-oriented goals) - Exclusion lists not applied to all campaigns — only carried over when campaigns were duplicated from one that had them - Account-level content suitability settings partially configured (Apple app categories excluded, Google Play categories not) ### Search Campaign Issues - Non-brand search campaign in poor shape: cost per conversion spiked, click prices roughly tripled after copy update - New copy ("test drive before you buy") may have misaligned with keyword intent - Descriptions updated but headlines were not — ads running with mismatched messaging - Conversion tracking: ~25% of conversions are phone calls, ~75% get directions - Phone calls considered higher-quality signal; get directions may include bots - Considering weighting phone calls higher via conversion value to shift bidding toward better signals - PMax concern: most conversions attributed to branded search; unclear if cross-channel attribution is real or Google capturing existing demand ### Next Steps - Tom - Equalize YouTube audience test budgets (both to $100/day) and rerun broad vs. car shopper comparison - Apply exclusion lists to all campaigns missing them - Add Google Play app category exclusions in content suitability settings - Update search campaign headlines to match new messaging; add sitelinks to improve ad strength - Evaluate weighting phone call conversions higher than get directions (review next week) - Consider pausing or resetting underperforming search campaign before killing it outright - Explore cutting local news budget to heavy up on YouTube, social, podcasts, and playoffs - Nick - Check MLB TV app tonight to see if Spectrum ad sync issue has been resolved - Continue monitoring Dodgers viewing experience for ad inventory insights to share with Tom - Both - Meet again next Wednesday at 10:00 AM
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