Case
Studies.
Real cost reductions. Real inventory. Real savings, measured in euros, not percentages invented after the fact.
Client identities anonymised at their request. Deal structures and figures are accurate.
Dutch e-commerce retailer saves
45% on OOH spend
The Situation
A fast-growing Dutch online retailer had been running outdoor advertising campaigns for two years. Their media agency managed all OOH buying, presenting rate card pricing and charging a 12% agency commission on top. Annual OOH spend: €640,000. The marketing team suspected they were overpaying but had no benchmark.
They engaged Meier Media for a single-purpose audit: benchmark their OOH costs and identify the gap.
What We Found
The audit revealed that their agency was buying at or near rate card on all placements, taking a 12% commission, and providing zero access to distressed or remnant inventory. The mix of formats was suboptimal for their target demographic. Several panels they were paying premium rates for had consistently lower occupancy, a direct indicator of overpricing.
- Rate card bought on 94% of placements
- 12% agency commission with no transparency on negotiation
- Zero access to remnant or distressed inventory in their category
- Format mix not optimised for their audience reach objectives
- No performance benchmarking against market CPM averages
What We Did
The retailer moved their OOH buying entirely to Meier Media under a Deal Access Retainer. We rebuilt their OOH strategy from a cost infrastructure perspective:
- Sourced an equivalent panel mix through direct operator relationships, bypassing broker intermediaries
- Secured 6-month forward deals at volume discount rates, locking in savings ahead of the campaign
- Replaced three overpriced premium-location panels with higher-traffic alternatives at 60% of the cost
- Added remnant DOOH inventory to complement OOH placements at minimal incremental cost
- Delivered full proof of placement documentation and cost transparency for every placement
Fintech scale-up redirects
€520K in savings to growth
The Situation
A B2B fintech company with Series B funding was aggressively scaling brand awareness in the Benelux market. Their annual media budget was €1.27M spread across sports sponsorship (a regional football club LED deal), OOH, and digital display. Their Head of Marketing believed they were getting a fair deal. Their CFO was less convinced.
What We Found
Their sports LED deal was bought through an intermediary who was marking up the club's rate by 28%. The OOH buy was fragmented, six different formats, three different operators, no volume leverage. Digital was running through a DSP with management fees layered on top of CPMs that were already above market.
The audit showed a blended overpayment of approximately 41% across all channels.
What We Did
We renegotiated the sports deal directly with the club, removing the intermediary entirely. OOH was consolidated under a single operator deal, unlocking volume discounts. Digital was migrated to direct publisher relationships through our premium remnant network.
The CFO redirected €520,000 of the annual saving into product-led growth channels. The remaining marketing budget achieved identical brand reach objectives at 59 cents on every previous euro.
"We thought we understood our media costs. The audit showed we'd been comfortable with a lie we were telling ourselves. The savings funded an entire new growth channel."
Property developer cuts campaign cost
by €190K in one quarter
The Situation
A premium residential developer launching a new Amsterdam project allocated €450,000 for a 12-week launch campaign. The plan: outdoor advertising near the development, digital display targeting high-income brackets, and a radio campaign on premium stations. Their existing media contacts quoted them full rate card for all three.
What We Did
With 8 weeks until launch, we identified significant distressed inventory across all three channels that precisely matched their geographic and demographic requirements. The OOH panels in the Zuidas and Oud-Zuid districts had cancellation availability from a brand that pulled their campaign. The digital remnant inventory on premium lifestyle and property publications matched their target audience at half the direct rate.
We assembled the full campaign package under a single agreement, locked pricing, and delivered within the required window.
The developer ran the identical campaign, same footprint, same impressions, same radio schedule, for €260,000 instead of €450,000.
The Outcome
- 24 OOH panels in target postcodes, secured at 36% below quoted rate
- 4.5M targeted display impressions on property and lifestyle publishers at CPM €7.20 vs quoted CPM €13
- 180 radio spots on national stations at 38% below rate card
- Full campaign delivered within 72 hours of confirmation
- €190,000 reallocated to a second campaign phase that would not have been affordable otherwise
Your CFO will appreciate this conversation.
Start with an audit. We'll benchmark your current media costs against market and show you the gap, at no cost, no commitment.
Request Your Cost Audit →