• DE&I Commitment
  • Careers
  • Locations
  • Book a Meeting
    Book a Meeting
  • Company
    Learn a little more about us, our values, and our team
    Our Values
    We don't just talk the talk; we live by our core values
    About Us
    Empowering brands to realize their potential with data, insights, and technology
    Leadership
    Meet our leadership team
    Secure Data Architecture
    Our promise of data security and privacy. We keep your data safe from publishers, competitors and bad actors
    Corporate Social Responsibility
    We are committed to making a positive impact on our communities and our planet
  • Platform
    Plan, manage, optimize, and measure your campaigns with our omnichannel platform
    Our Platform
    A platform that connects all walled garden media
    Connected Media
    Create and manage campaigns across search, social, retail media and apps, in one platform
    Connected Data
    Make data-driven decisions as you plan and strategize
    See the industries we serve
    Learn how our customizable solutions can help with your unique needs
    Explore our partner integrations
    See the media, retailer, and data partners we work with
  • Clients
  • News and Events
    Check out recent announcements and see what we’re up to
    News
    Check out our recent media coverage
    Events
    Join us for our next conference or webinar
    Quarterly Trends Webinar
    Get the latest insights on digital marketing campaign performance for Q4 2022
    Retail Media for Grocery Webinar
    Join us to dig into trends and challenges shaping the industry in 2023
  • Resources
    From new releases, to industry trends and best practices, Skai has you covered
    Blog
    Read the latest insights and thought leadership from our industry experts
    Capabilities
    Take your campaigns to the next level by enhancing your platform capabilities
    Research
    Explore our reports and whitepapers so you can keep up on the latest industry trends
    Subscribe
    Sign up to get the latest updates straight to your inbox
    Quarterly Trends Report
    Learn digital advertising campaign performance trends from Q3 2022
Back to Blog

Marketer Perspective: Wesley Parker, Managing Director of Clicteq

Skai™

September  16, 2019

Wesley Parker is the Managing Director of Clicteq, a London-based fast growth paid search management agency. In today’s interview, we ask him about various topics currently on his mind including in-housing, the growing, role of automation in marketing, and Google Ads scripts.

You run an agency. What are the three most important traits you look for in recruiting prospects beyond marketing experience? 

wesley parkerCulture fit is really important for us here at Clicteq. When hiring we spend a lot of time trying to find people who closely share our values of Honesty & Integrity, Approachability, Innovation, Collaboration, and Excellence.  

We also look for people who are bought into our long term vision for the company. If people are not bought into where we’re going and don’t find what we are doing exciting, then the chances are they are going to get despondent and leave so this is really important to us.

Finally, we tend to look for people who are determined to come first. One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever read was from the founder of Conversion Rate Experts, Karl Blanks, who said that being first is underrated, as the leader in any market takes a disproportionate amount of the market and profits compared to those who come second.

What are a few of the biggest concerns any marketer considering moving ad operations in-house should consider? And what’s your advice?

At the moment, everybody is talking about in-housing but I still feel that most brands don’t fully take into consideration the true cost of in-housing, the level of control and transparency they could get with an agency, or the difficulty in finding and retaining the best people to run their accounts.

When it comes to in-hosing it isn’t just the salary of the new performance marketing managers that they’ve got to pay, there is everything else that goes with it. Then, they have to consider the share of the overhead (recruitment, office space, taxes, training, etc) which most businesses assume to be around half of the salary again.

You also have to build a technology stack for them to use. If you’re running a sizeable account you will probably want to use a bid management platform like Skai but will likely be using additional tools for reporting, split testing and building campaigns at scale.

Furthermore, brands are adopting more of a hybrid approach where they still retain an agency to provide strategy, consulting, auditing and custom technology.

Before taking things in-house, it’s important to fully explore all costs and build a model to determine if it will be cost-effective.

When it comes to transparency and control, I can certainly see why brands have opted to move in-house. Coming from a legal background and seeing what some media buying agencies were doing with rebates and the amount of ad fraud in the supply chain I sometimes wonder how more people are not in jail. Especially considering that Ebiquity estimated that as much as 60% of programmatic spend is wasted, which would be hundreds of millions of dollars per year for some of the biggest advertisers.

But it’s not all doom and gloom, there is now a new breed of agencies focusing on media transparency and giving brands full control over their own data, which may provide a simpler alternative to moving operations in-house.

Finally and most importantly is finding and retaining the best talent to run your in-house team when you’re competing against agencies.

One of the biggest issues that I hear from in-house marketers is that it is great working in-house for a few months, but when you’re running the same account month after month, it quickly becomes mundane and they start to look to move on. Considering the fairly high turnover rate in digital advertising, I would strongly urge CMOs not to move things in-house unless they are planning on building a small team, of say 3-4 people, this is generally where I’ve seen brands succeed the most.

I’m seeing more and more brands trying to move things in-house with just one person. It works great for 6 – 12 months, then they up sticks and move on and you’re back to square one – with gaps in management and huge time and cost losses in replacing them.

full funnel search

What should be the role of automation in marketing? How much control over our campaigns should we give to computers and what becomes the new role of marketers and agencies in the age of machine learning & AI?

I think the role of automation in marketing is quite simple. It should do what machines do better than humans, namely analysing trends in sets of data through things like n-gram analysis, crunching numbers and doing repetitive tasks that don’t require any cognition. 

Machines are in essence, only as good as the people who have programmed them. 

When taking into consideration how much control we should give machines I think it’s important to think about the potential areas for failure and ensure that there are the correct fail-safes built into the programs to minimise any negative impact.

Things like bidding—provided that there are hard upper limits around what can be bid—can be fully automated with little risk. 

On the contrasting end, we use automation to expand for search query reports, creating new ads and keywords programmatically based on the best performing search terms. 

Here there is scope for things like competitor brand terms to be included within your ad copy if they were included in the search term, which is likely to get our clients into hot water.

So we build a double step set of authentications, firstly the program would make a lookup to ensure the ad does not contain a competitors name. Then secondly we would manually approve every ad to ensure brand safety before it goes live.

Considering these two examples, when thinking about how much control computers should have you, I think you should firstly consider the severity of the potential consequences of if things go wrong and then build in suitable safeguards to minimise the potential consequences until you feel comfortable with the program running by itself. 

Thinking about the agency of the future, I think in the next decade there will be a move towards agencies being more likely strategy consultants than advertising agencies executing campaigns. Providing strategic advice around audiences, creative, competitive strategy as well as cross channel attribution. 

I also think that you will find agencies bolstering their technology arms and building their own solutions that integrate with Google using either Google Ads Scripts or the Google Ads API to help clients automate tasks. 

You have written several articles on Google Ads scripts. How do you articulate their value to a search marketer who hasn’t yet utilized them? How should they get started?

Firstly, Google Ads Scripts are a great way to automate the boring mundane tasks that search marketers do on a day to day basis, so they will free up your time and make your life more fun.

If you’re doing something over and over, the chances are that you can write a Google Ads Script to do it for you in a fraction of the time and with less human error. 

Secondly, they are a great way to utilise first or third-party datasets within your Google Ads campaigns to bid more effectively and make your marketing budget go further.

As an example, we had a client selling high-end security products and had a target market of people who owned properties with a value of £1mil+, they also saw a spike in sales when there was a burglary nearby.

So we used Google Ads scripts to bid based on house prices by taking postcode level house price data from the property search site Zoopla, so we could bid up in wealthy postcodes. We also pulled data for crime rates from a 3rd party database and used the logic that if there had been an increase in burglaries in the postcode district over the last month we would increase bids.

Getting started with Google ads scripts is fairly easy and doesn’t require any coding experience as there are already a large number of pre-written scripts available online that you can simply configure and then copy and paste into your account. 

Here is a guide to getting started.

Book a Meeting of Skai

Related Posts

  • Responsive Search Ads Are the Present—and Future—of Paid Search Marketing
    Read More
  • Key Commerce Takeaways from Google Marketing Live 2021 
    Read More
  • How to Choose the Best Campaign Budget in Google
    Read More
  • A baby in a grass field with his hand up waving goodbye.
    Goodbye, Google Expanded Text Ads (ETAs); Hello, Responsive Search Ads (RSAs)
    Read More
  • Microsoft Shopping Campaigns Get a Powerful Analytics Upgrade in Skai Search
    Read More
  • Phrase match and broad match modifier
    New Google Ads Keyword Match Types: Tweak Your Strategy to Improve Results
    Read More
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share via Email
  • Copy Link
    Copied!
Tags: Google, Marketer Perspective, Search

Subscribe to Updates

Media that matters.
Marketing that works.
© 2023 Kenshoo, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Recruitment Privacy Policy.
  • Connected Data
    • Market Intelligence
    • Our Approach
    • By Need
    • By Solution
  • Connected Strategy
    • Dynamic Marketing Mix
    • Budget Forecasting
    • Strategic Consulting
  • Connected Media
    • Overview
    • Retail Media
    • Paid Search
    • Paid Social
    • App Marketing
    • Auditing
    • Expert Services
  • Measurement
    • Incrementality
    • Experiments
    • Cross-Channel Attribution
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Glossary
    • Case Studies
    • Training & Enablement
    • Developer Hub
Privacy Preference

We use cookies on our website. Some of them are essential, while others help us to improve this website and your experience.

Privacy Preference

Save All

Save

Accept Only Essential Cookies

Manage Cookie Preferences

Cookie Details Privacy Policy Imprint

Privacy Preference

Here you will find an overview of all cookies used. You can give your consent to whole categories or display further information and select certain cookies.

Save All Save Accept Only Essential Cookies

Back

Privacy Preference

Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website.

Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

Name
Provider Owner of this website, Imprint
Purpose Saves the visitors preferences selected in the Cookie Box of Borlabs Cookie.
Host(s) .skai.io, skai.io
Cookie Name borlabs-cookie
Cookie Expiry 1 Year
Name
Provider Owner of this website
Purpose This cookie stores selections made by the user in the Accessibe tool in order to maintain those settings on future visits. These cookies help us make our website compliant with our obligations under US law.
Privacy Policy https://accessibe.com/privacy-policy
Cookie Name acsbState, acsbReset
Cookie Expiry n/a
Name
Provider Owner of this website
Host(s) skai.io
Cookie Name wordpress_sec_,wordpress_test_cookie,wp-postpass_*, wordpresspass_*, wordpressuser_*
Cookie Expiry Session / 1 Year

We use these cookies to enhance functionality and allow for personalisation, such as live chats, videos and the use of social media.

Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

Accept
Name
Provider Owner of this website
Host(s) .chilipiper.com, skai.chilipiper.com
Cookie Name fs_uid, CHILI_PIPER_CLUSTER, guest-session, _sp_ses*, _sp_id*
Cookie Expiry Session / 2 Years
Accept
Name
Provider Owner of this website
Host(s) .comeet.co, www.comeet.co
Cookie Name visid_incap_, nlbi_#######, incap_ses_, referrer22_00a, incap_ses_1364_2167377
Cookie Expiry Session / 1 Year
Accept
Name
Provider Owner of this website
Host(s) skai.io
Cookie Name moduleFormPardotDownload
Cookie Expiry 30 days

Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us to understand how our visitors use our website.

Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

Accept
Name
Provider Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland
Purpose Cookie by Google used for website analytics. Generates statistical data on how the visitor uses the website.
Privacy Policy https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en
Cookie Name _ga,_ga_*,_gat,_gat_*,_gid
Cookie Expiry 2 Months
Accept
Name
Provider Hotjar Ltd., Dragonara Business Centre, 5th Floor, Dragonara Road, Paceville St Julian's STJ 3141 Malta
Purpose Hotjar is an user behavior analytic tool by Hotjar Ltd.. We use Hotjar to understand how users interact with our website.
Privacy Policy https://www.hotjar.com/legal/policies/privacy/
Host(s) *.hotjar.com
Cookie Name _hjClosedSurveyInvites, _hjDonePolls, _hjMinimizedPolls, _hjDoneTestersWidgets, _hjIncludedInSample, _hjShownFeedbackMessage, _hjid, _hjRecordingLastActivity, hjTLDTest, _hjUserAttributesHash, _hjCachedUserAttributes, _hjLocalStorageTest, _hjptid, _hjSessionUser_2229986, _hjIncludedInPageviewSample, _hjIncludedInSessionSample, _hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress, _hjFirstSeen
Cookie Expiry Session / 1 Year

Marketing cookies are used by third-party advertisers or publishers to display personalized ads. They do this by tracking visitors across websites.

Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

Accept
Name
Provider Linkedin
Cookie Name lidc, li_gc, lang, AnalyticsSyncHistory, UserMatchHistory, li_sugr, bcookie, TDCPM, TDID, bscookie, ln_or
Cookie Expiry Session / 1 Year
Accept
Name
Provider Skai
Accept
Name
Provider 6sense
Cookie Name _gd_session, _an_uid, _gd_visitor, _gd_svisitor, 6suuid
Cookie Expiry Session / 400 Days
Accept
Name
Provider Pardot
Purpose Cookie name associated with services from marketing automation and lead generation platform Pardot. The visitor value is the visitor_id in your Pardot account. This cookie is set for visitors by the Pardot tracking code.
Host(s) .pardot.com, pi.pardot.com, skai.io
Cookie Name pardot, visitor_id*, lpv*
Cookie Expiry Session / 10 Years
Accept
Name
Provider Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland
Purpose Cookie by Google used for conversion tracking of Google Ads.
Privacy Policy https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en
Cookie Name IDE, 1P_JAR, NID, SOCS, CONSENT, AEC, _gcl_au, OTZ, test_cookie
Cookie Expiry Session / 400 Days
Accept
Name
Provider Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland
Purpose Cookie by Facebook used for website analytics, ad targeting, and ad measurement.
Privacy Policy https://www.facebook.com/policies/cookies
Cookie Name _fbp,act,c_user,datr,fr,tr,m_pixel_ration,pl,presence,sb,spin,wd,xs
Cookie Expiry Session / 1 Year

Content from video platforms and social media platforms is blocked by default. If External Media cookies are accepted, access to those contents no longer requires manual consent.

Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

Accept
Name
Provider Wistia
Host(s) .wistia.com
Cookie Name cb_anonymous_id, _sp_ses.2b40, _li_dcdm_c, __hssrc, _gcl_au, _clsk, hubspotutk, _sp_id.2b40, __hssc, __hstc, _uetsid, _uetvid, _gid, _ga, _ga_GQR109DZ3Y, _lc2, fpi, _ex-pricing-cta, _fbp, cb_group_id, cb_user_id, _clck
Cookie Expiry Session / 400 Days
Accept
Name
Provider Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland
Purpose Used to unblock Instagram content.
Privacy Policy https://www.instagram.com/legal/privacy/
Host(s) .instagram.com
Cookie Name pigeon_state
Cookie Expiry Session
Accept
Name
Provider Openstreetmap Foundation, St John’s Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge CB4 0WS, United Kingdom
Purpose Used to unblock OpenStreetMap content.
Privacy Policy https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_Policy
Host(s) .openstreetmap.org
Cookie Name _osm_location, _osm_session, _osm_totp_token, _osm_welcome, _pk_id., _pk_ref., _pk_ses., qos_token
Cookie Expiry 1-10 Years
Accept
Name
Provider Twitter International Company, One Cumberland Place, Fenian Street, Dublin 2, D02 AX07, Ireland
Purpose Used to unblock Twitter content.
Privacy Policy https://twitter.com/privacy
Host(s) .twimg.com, .twitter.com
Cookie Name __widgetsettings, local_storage_support_test
Cookie Expiry Unlimited
Accept
Name
Provider Vimeo Inc., 555 West 18th Street, New York, New York 10011, USA
Purpose Used to unblock Vimeo content.
Privacy Policy https://vimeo.com/privacy
Host(s) player.vimeo.com
Cookie Name vuid
Cookie Expiry 2 Years
Accept
Name
Provider Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland
Purpose Used to unblock YouTube content.
Privacy Policy https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en&gl=en
Host(s) google.com
Cookie Name CONSENT
Cookie Expiry 6 Month

Borlabs Cookie powered by Borlabs Cookie

Privacy Policy Imprint