Huddled Masses is a certified minority owned New York-based agency trading desk that delivers organizations access to media buying technology and expertise. With MediaMath Platinum Certification, Huddled Masses helps clients grow their revenue and businesses at scale through expert programmatic optimization of digital campaigns. CEO Charles Cantu is an industry veteran with nearly two decades of experience under his belt.
Since starting Huddled Masses over three years ago I can say one thing with certainty: I’ve learned a lot about what it takes to turn a business vision into a reality, and what’s needed to run and maintain a successful digital marketing organization. It isn’t always easy and there have been many lessons along the way. Below I’ve outlined key tenets that I adhere when running Huddled Masses:
1. Care about your client’s business as if it were your own. And, hire staff that cares as much as you do.
For starters, I only hire people that I trust, people who are dedicated to what they do and who will be with us for the long haul; seek out and nurture individuals who have what it takes to commit to the cause.
That cause, for me, is helping small and mid-sized companies and or their agencies fully manage programmatic media. Smaller organizations generally don’t have the manpower, resources or capacity to learn or to hire for new technologies. Instead they augment with our team as staff, since we dedicate our time and energy to learning about, and becoming power users, of marketing and advertising platforms.
It follows that the first priority for Huddled Masses is to be service-oriented. We take care of our clients’ businesses as if they were our own. Even though many customers will say they want a self-service solution, typically that is not what they’re really looking for. What they usually desire is a very fair price for the service at hand – and the ability to take advantage of world-class technology.
2. Understand new technology and how to use it.
As far as that world-class technology, we rely on TerminalOne as our technology backbone and of course, there are other technology players in the mix, as well. It’s paramount that we continue to focus and expend effort against staying educated on emerging technologies. One way we do so is through MediaMath and it’s OPEN Partner Marketplace. There are many “shiny objects” out there making it crucial that you truly understand new platforms and technology and their use cases.
With regard to partners and vendors, my advice is that those on the procurement side of the business take the time to identify the technology that aligns to the goals of the business (yours or your client’s): Do a needs analysis or SWOT analysis to understand what the most important needs are for your agency. Get a clear idea of what’s going to make sense for you, your team.. and what you’re looking to build. Always pay a great deal of focus of what these integrations will mean regarding type of company you are today and who you want to become or remain as the case may be.
Huddled Masses has always been very focused on our clients’ businesses, and we are clear that we work with partners that care more about our clients’ businesses pertaining to their expertise than some clients do. That kind of commitment (internal and external) to our client’s success is ultimately what has and will continue to drive desired results for everyone.
3. Final words of advice: Be ready and willing to adapt
As a boutique agency trading desk we are able to implement internal changes to technology and processes quickly– but the need to respond, and adapt to technological innovation and market changes is just as true for the biggest holding companies, as it is for the smallest boutique agencies.
Ultimately: Be optimistic for the future but root your decisions in realistic business goals. Avoid putting all of your proverbial eggs in one basket. Start small. Make sure it’s right.