MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying
MediaMath is a demand-side platform that provides a single interface from which online media buyers can buy display media advertising from multiple advertising exchanges. The company's chief executive officer is contemplating the strategic direction of his new business after its first full year of operation. Specifically, he needs to determine which clients he should most actively pursue and how that decision will affect the strategic direction of the business.
Swot Analysis of "MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying" written by Raymond Pirouz, Emily Chen-Bendle includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mediamath Interface facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mediamath Interface, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mediamath Interface operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mediamath Interface
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Mediamath Interface
Strengths MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mediamath Interface in MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Mediamath Interface has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Mediamath Interface is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Mediamath Interface is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Mediamath Interface is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Mediamath Interface in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Mediamath Interface has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Mediamath Interface is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Organizational Resilience of Mediamath Interface
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Mediamath Interface does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Mediamath Interface in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Mediamath Interface has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Mediamath Interface in the sector have low bargaining power. MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Mediamath Interface to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Mediamath Interface has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Mediamath Interface has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Training and development
– Mediamath Interface has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Weaknesses MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Raymond Pirouz, Emily Chen-Bendle suggests that, Mediamath Interface is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Mediamath Interface has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Need for greater diversity
– Mediamath Interface has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Mediamath Interface, firm in the HBR case study MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying HBR case study mentions - Mediamath Interface takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Mediamath Interface has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Mediamath Interface has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying, is just above the industry average. Mediamath Interface needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Lack of clear differentiation of Mediamath Interface products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Mediamath Interface needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Mediamath Interface needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Opportunities MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Mediamath Interface can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Mediamath Interface can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Mediamath Interface can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Sales & Marketing segment.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Mediamath Interface can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Mediamath Interface in the consumer business. Now Mediamath Interface can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Mediamath Interface in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Mediamath Interface has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Mediamath Interface to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying case study. Mediamath Interface can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Mediamath Interface to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Mediamath Interface to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Mediamath Interface to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Mediamath Interface to increase its market reach. Mediamath Interface will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Buying journey improvements
– Mediamath Interface can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Mediamath Interface has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Mediamath Interface to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Mediamath Interface can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Mediamath Interface can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Threats MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Mediamath Interface is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Mediamath Interface business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Mediamath Interface has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Mediamath Interface needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Environmental challenges
– Mediamath Interface needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Mediamath Interface can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Mediamath Interface can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying .
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Mediamath Interface needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Mediamath Interface can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Mediamath Interface with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Mediamath Interface high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Mediamath Interface will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying, Mediamath Interface may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .
Regulatory challenges
– Mediamath Interface needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Sales & Marketing industry regulations.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of MediaMath: Positioning a Real-Time Interface for Online Media Planning & Buying is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Mediamath Interface needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
