Get to know the paid media supervisor at Union agency in Charlotte, NC as he talks about juggling work, family, homebrewing and paid media tactics.

Josh Price | Paid Media Supervisor | Union

Take 10: with Josh Price, Paid Media Supervisor

Any time you log onto a video call with Josh while Union operates remotely, he’s set against a serene, black-and-white backdrop of trees, talking calmly. You’d never realize that he’s in the middle of juggling two kids and a dog with his wife, work deadlines, continued education and experimental homebrewing. Or that he’s sitting in his oldest son’s room surrounded by Pokemon and Minecraft posters. (The tree print is an intentionally-placed decoy.)
But he’s making the most of it all.
“I’m just trying to take advantage of work being in the same space as my kids,” said Josh, whose entire career has been focused on paid media strategy. “I can actually see them throughout the day. It’s nice, because I get to spend more time with them than I did before.”
As Paid Media Supervisor, he also spends a lot of time supporting Union’s Paid Media Specialists, helping with any technical and strategic aspects of their roles in order to execute successful campaigns. Tactics include <a href="https://cms.union.co/services/performance-media/paid-search-marketing">paid search</a>, <a href="https://cms.union.co/services/performance-media/paid-social-media">paid social</a>, display, <a href="https://cms.union.co/services/performance-media/programmatic">programmatic</a> – the list goes on. Most recently, the team has rolled out a soda brand’s paid contest through an <a href="https://cms.union.co/services/performance-media/influencer-marketing">influencer campaign</a>, as well as a supplement brand’s paid promotions to boost product sales.
From tracking the latest paid media trends and pivots during the pandemic to what it means to be open-minded, here are some insights and advice from Josh.
What do you want clients to get out of paid media strategies?
“We want them to get the results they’re looking for. So if they’re focused on getting as many eyes on their brand as possible, then we want to put together a strategy that is really focused on exposure and brand awareness and reach. But if the client wants to sell their products, we really need to focus on getting those bottom-line results.”
Why is frequent reporting such an important part of paid media campaigns for clients?
“We want clients to feel involved in the success of their campaigns and address issues to help troubleshoot. At Union, we really try to be a partner versus just being a vendor. We want to know the ins and outs of their business, but we also want them to know the ins and outs of what we’re doing. That makes for a better relationship. The reporting is an important time for us to level set with the clients. To show them the results, see if they’re satisfied and get feedback. Then, we can take a step back and see holistically what worked and what didn’t.”
A lot of brands paused paid media with Facebook and Instagram this summer. What are some alternative channels that are worth considering?
“The channels you pivot to really depend on who your audience is, what your message is and how you want to reach them. Platforms like TikTok and Snapchat are great if you want to incorporate a younger audience for targeting, if you have a lot of short-form content for ads and if you want something that’s more engaging and interactive. There are other ways to take advantage of the social environment, too.”
You’re always scrolling blogs and updates from other experts in the industry. What motivates your continued learning?
“I naturally want to be up-to-date with what’s new and happening in the paid media space, just because this industry moves so fast. You can learn one thing, and the next month there’s something new that people are focused on. I want to make sure that we’re current and continuously being innovative while offering the best solutions to clients.”

Get to know Josh as he answers our 10 questions between work and family time

What’s the best part of your job?
“I love working with the people here at Union. It’s a much more close-knit group of people than other companies and agencies I’ve worked at. Even in the virtual setting, I still have deep, meaningful conversations. The best part of my job is collaborating with those people and figuring out what we can do for our clients.”
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to clients when setting KPIs for paid media campaigns?
“You have to have a clear vision of what your end goal is. Is it sales? Is it awareness? Is it lead gen? Also, we need to figure out the journey of getting there. If your goal is to have more sales as a company, there are a lot of ways to do that. There are different clusters of KPIs that match best with your objective, but you have to look at the whole picture.”
What’s the biggest mistake brands make with paid media campaigns?
“Not placing the emphasis on measurement. Again, you need to have a clear objective in order for us to measure the success of your campaigns. We can’t choose your objective for why you’re spending money on paid media campaigns. But we can help you figure out the KPIs that are needed to achieve that goal.”
How has the pandemic changed the paid media landscape most so far?
“We were placing a huge emphasis before the pandemic on tactics like <a href="https://cms.union.co/services/performance-media/geofencing-hyper-local">geotargeting</a> and <a href="https://cms.union.co/services/performance-media/digital-out-of-home">DOOH</a>, but in order to reach as many people as possible in an effective way, people have to be out and about. If people aren’t there, we can’t run those campaigns.”
What’s your brand?
“Be open-minded. This is something I live life by at home and work. Everyone has an opinion on something and, in most cases, they are pretty passionate about it. I try to hear people out as much as possible regardless of what their point of view is and understand how their opinion is just as valid as mine. At work, being open-minded contributes to an improved collaborative effort that results in campaigns that are more strategically sound and creative.”
Speaking of being creative – what does your homebrewing entail?
“I brew beer with my brother. This is a good time to try more experimental batches and new things. Our latest batch was a saison. We’ve done maybe 15 large batches and some smaller one-gallon batches. Some are good. Some aren’t great, and we look at each other to see who’s going to drink it.”

Valtech + Union is a creative &amp; performance marketing agency that creates omni-channel campaigns, unleashing creativity on a data-driven world, helping brands produce memorable, measurable and repeatable results. Obsessed with data-driven performance, we believe every marketing dollar should be viewed as an investment. Our clients expect a meaningful return and we prove the ROI of our work with quantifiable data.

About Valtech + Union

Union Paid Media Supervisor Josh Price working at his computer at the office