Observed Signal · Aug 26, 2026 · Commentary · Source: Horizont · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
Cheapest Media Contact Can Be Most Expensive
A Talking-Heads column by Katharina Wildau (JOM Group) published on Horizont argues that media planning's narrow focus on cost-per-contact and short-term efficiency can be counterproductive. Wildau, a member of JOM Group's management, explains why the cheapest audience contacts may deliver lower long-term value and higher overall costs, and urges media planners to adopt a broader definition of efficiency that accounts for reach quality, campaign effectiveness, and strategic goals.
Opinion piece urging a broader efficiency metric in media planning; relevant to agencies and advertisers but not an industry-breaking announcement.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Article published on August 26, 2026.
- Author is Katharina Wildau, member of the management (Mitglied der Geschäftsleitung) at JOM Group.
- Column argues that the lowest-cost media contacts can be the most expensive when accounting for long-term effectiveness and quality.
- The piece is published as a Talking-Heads column on Horizont, part of dfv Mediengruppe.
Connected Companies & Entities
2 Entities mapped“Authored by Katharina Wildau of JOM Group”
“Published by dfv Mediengruppe.”
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Christian Bachem: End the 'Cheap-Price' Pitch Principle
Christian Bachem, managing director of Markendienst Berlin, criticizes that media agencies are still chosen primarily on buying conditions and lowest price, which he argues drives ad budgets into opaque environments and increases ad fraud. Together with experienced media managers he launched a new consulting approach called "Pitchfork" to reorient media pitches around demonstrable advertising effectiveness instead of discounts. The article appears on MEEDIA and was published on 2026-07-10.
Media Pitches' Risky Hunt for Lowest Price
An ADZINE interview with Thilo Swoboda and Christian Bachem criticizes modern media-pitch processes that prioritise lowest price over advertising effectiveness. They argue price-led selection undermines campaign impact, is ill-suited to diverse formats (especially video, social and CTV), and poorly reflects programmatic auction dynamics. The interview introduces Pitchfork, described as an effects-based pitch model that awards agencies based on guaranteed impact rather than lowest cost. Pitchfork requires agencies to document media-strategy derivations in a provided media-mix-modeling framework, agree contractual KPI targets and measurement methods with advertisers, and uses a validated AI system to produce a Creative Impact Score for creative contribution. Regular progress checks are included and agencies must remediate if agreed targets are missed. The OWM survey is cited, noting 92% of advertisers see traceability of ad effectiveness as a major challenge.
Media Planning Needs to Reconsider Its Thought Process
Jess Treasure of Bountiful Cow argues that media planners' own biases, such as novelty bias and consumption bias, lead to suboptimal media plans. Planners often overvalue new, 'innovative' channels and undervalue established ones like TV, despite evidence of their effectiveness. Political bias also risks editing out audiences that don't align with industry views. She suggests structural changes like diverse hiring and spending time with media outside one's own consumption, and calls for agencies to have the freedom to recommend plans that may feel uncomfortable.
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