• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, March 27, 2016

It's no secret that the advertising industry has a unique penchant for creating new words and phrases in an attempt to add "shiny new object" glitter to something that's been done for decades prior. This week, it's The Shipyard which, in partnership with Jon Bond's marketing consultancy Tomorro LLC, has announced Mediopolis, a -- wait for it -- "media engineering firm." 

What, exactly, is a media engineering firm? 

According to Bond, himself, it's an entity that "uses data to engineer a media driven customer acquisition machine that reaches consumers with mass personalization. It is simply the most effective way to plan and buy media today." 

So in other words, it's a super-smart way of buying media that's super-targeted. Yup, that's totally new. 

Continuing to polish their newly birthed shiny new object, The Shipyard CEO Rick Milenthal, who will serve as Mediopolis's Co-Chairman, added: "The future of all media is personalization. We must be totally relevant at each and every touchpoint. The balance of power has shifted squarely to the consumer, enhancing every day their ability to choose the messages they see." 

And so...we have to be really, REALLY targeted now, right? 

According to its founders, Mediopolis intends to displace the traditional media planning and buying firms serving blue-chip marketers. I'd venture to say some of the major players in media buying will have something to say about that. 

Former head of Victoria's Secret media Pattie Glod will serve as President of Mediopolis. She added: "I've joined the leadership team of Mediopolis because we represent what clients need today. We don't see our job as just planning and buying media. We see it as making our clients money. As building a machine where you put in $1 on one side and get $3 out the other." 

Yup, she's certainly consumed the Kool-Aid. 

The company will have offices in New York, Columbus, and Newport Beach, California. And just to be sure we all realize this is a totally new thing, the press release was quick to point out: "The Columbus headquarters has a buzz more like a Wall Street trading floor than a media agency."  

Ben Clarke, the president of The Shipyard, will serve as chief strategist of Mediopolis. Winning the fancy word prize, Clarke said: "To achieve the apogee of media engineering means having a totally new set of technologies and talents than media agencies ever imagined. We are geeks, quants, and techies. For many of us, this is the first experience in an agency environment. Data drives our convictions on behalf of our clients." 

Wow. Never before has a media department or media-buying agency ever used data to make a decision. This is truly leading edge stuff, folks. 

But, hey, let's give them a chance. After all, apparently they already have clients. Current clients include WD-40, Fantastic Sams, Scotts Lawn Service, Virgin Casinos, Alger Financial, Co-Op Financial Services, Donatos, American Electric Power and Sears Home Services.