1. SEM 1
09
MDMK
SEM
SEM strategy for my last company: McCann‐Erickson
08/06/09
Elena Ibáñez Viñes

2. Elena Ibáñez MDMK’09
Introduction
The Search Engine Marketing is critical for any company that ambitious to have a
relevant positioning in the on world, and this becomes even more important when
we talk about a service company.
Since I’m not currently working, I will focus my analysis on the last company I
worked for: McCann ‐Erickson, a big multinational Advertising Agency that offers
to the clients a 360º integrated vision of communication.
Reasons to build up a SEM strategy
I will try first to detail the reasons why should a company like McCann have a SEM
strategy. The first one and more important is that any client who searches for an
advertising agency for its next campaign will look at the results of a Search Engine,
just to be aware of the offer and get some information about the agencies: last
campaigns, current clients, awards…
But also, a SEM strategy is important to McCann for another reasons:
‐ Credibility and reinforce: for the current clients it is relevant to see how
important is their agency and why it’s worth to pay such money.
‐ Priority to the local issue: it is important that people find McCann Spain
before McCann London or McCann NY (as it happens now).
‐ Reduce cannibalism: in a multidisciplinary communication agency as
McCann, it is easy to find another agencies from the McCann Group just
on top of McCann Erickson (as it happens now with Universal McCann,
the media agency)
‐ Prescription: in a business like this, it is important to be connected to
the “stake holders” of the profession, trough links…
In conclusion, there are several reasons to have a good plan on SEM, and all of them target
to just one point: INCREASE BUSINESS.
2

3.
Objectives of the SEM plan
I stated above the main reasons to have a SEM plan in McCann‐Erickson, but as SEM is a
discipline mainly focused on measured results, my SEM objective should be quantifiable.
This is initially a big challenge for an advertising agency, since these types of service
companies don’t usually “sell” anything in the Internet. So my first point here would be to
“innovate” somehow in the way we approach the client and would include in McCann’s
site:
‐ a possibility to drop a briefing and “test” the company by getting an offer
‐ a possibility to ask for some information of the company based on the prospect’s need
From this point of view, my SEM objective would be:
1. Get briefings
2. Receive info queries
So, as you see, I would focus my SEM strategy in a CPL action, since it is the best way to
measure my campaign and optimize the site.
Please take into account I’m not mentioning yet any number or “increase” concept in my
objectives, since this is the first time I will be approaching this way to my prospects and I
first have to evaluate the campaign.
Should I insource or outsource my SEM campaign?
I would try to make a combination of both. Why?
‐ Having a team inside: McCann belongs to multidisciplinary group, which works already
on digital matters from its media department. This means that McCann has good copies,
good technological people and good digital marketing experts. This also means that inside
the company there is talent and experts that could be devoted to this strategy working on
that part of the SEM plan that they control and letting the company to have the
information in first hand.
‐ Having a team outside: this is necessary since McCann is not a SEM expert and also
because it is a large and multinational company that needs to make things in a
professional way, having an integrated, multitalented team that can implement and
understand various elements of the campaign strategy with a clear responsibility.
3

4. Elena Ibáñez MDMK’09
Campaign set up
Key words: (limited to ten)
(In Spanish)
‐ Advertising agency
‐ 360º campaigns
‐ Integrated campaigns
‐ Best advertising agency
‐ Good advertising agency
‐ Good result advertising agency
‐ Agency for tv ads
‐ Agency for prints
‐ Advertising awards
‐ Advertising
Copy:
(In Spanish)
McCann­Erickson
The most efficacy awarded agency
by the clients
www.mccannspain.es
Pls note I could not include any Destination URL since McCann Spain does not have a site
yet!!! Yes, this is hard to believe but it is true. The Display URL is a fiction; I chose
www.mccannspain.es because I thought it is important for people to know before clicking
on the ad that they are addressing the Spanish site of McCann.
4