Procurement - A branding problem...
I was lucky enough to be invited to attend a dinner this week organized by Adforum. This was a great opportunity to meet many of the new business leaders from the leading US agencies as well as numerous other advertising folk.
This forum is a really effective way for consultants like me to gain a deeper understanding of the agencies that are vying for our clients' business and has a fantastic reputation both in the US and more globally - I met friends from the UK, Denmark, Germany, Australia and France at the dinner so it really comes across as a multicultural event!
At the start of the evening there was a lot of introductions being made and people were meeting and greeting each other with smiling enthusiasm. I was making my way around the room and was introduced to a very cool looking dude (beard, slick clothes and shoes etc) who turned out to be a Chief Creative for one of New York's advertising behemoths. We started chatting about nothing in particular and then he asked what I did...before I had the opportunity to respond he said "I presume you're a creative - what shop are you at?". After chuckling to myself and smiling, my colleague (who made the introduction) piped up (with some glee...) - "he's not a creative...he's PROCUREMENT!"
Anyone who works in marketing procurement will likely have experienced the response to telling an Ad Man that you are 'in procurement' - his reaction was classic...it was as if I had told him I was a toilet cleaner! He physically recoiled at the word 'Procurement' and then, on realizing that his reaction was obvious, he tried to backtrack by saying "...oh...well you don't look like procurement". At this point I felt obliged to help him out and went through the usual script of "I understand that you have probably had some tough experiences with procurement but we're not all that bad...etc". After a few more minutes of uncomfortable conversation, I wondered off chuckling to myself but it got me thinking...
We have a problem with our brand that is going to take some efforts to overcome. Due to poor experiences through the years we have been painted as a scourge on the marketing industry being blamed for everything from ad fraud to stifling the growth of Sir Martin Sorrell's empire.
The disappointing thing is that there are some great stories of procurement helping clients to get the best out of their agencies where both parties win - the trouble is, the stories never get any air time in the ad press. We have to find a way of popularizing the great work that procurement can do so the next time you tell someone you're 'procurement' they won't make 'that face'!
Sales Specialist- Personalised Gifts and Print on Demand- Precision Proco
10 年Love this Daniel Jeffries, and Gary is right, I also know that face! I like to use the term, "Procurement, that's right, you're the ones that makes it look good, and we're the ones that make stuff happen and together we're a strong team." In other words, we're the GSD people or Get S**t Done department. When that gap is bridged between creative, procurement and logistics, it's amazing how many GSD days you have. Best of all, the end client benefits too by being more effective and having time to do more stuff.
Chief Executive Officer at Precision Proco Group #Brilliant Together
10 年I know that face it's the same one I see when I tell them I am printer "does anyone do that anymore?" I also understand what it can feel like to be at the end of the line. "We've had a great idea, don't mess it up". Involvement from the beginning seems to be the key Procurement don't want to take the Magic wand away they would like to held wave it and it's all in the wrist
?? Celebrations expert ?? I help companies recognize employee and guest milestones.
10 年I've run strategy workshops where I divide people into their functional groups (marketing, procurement, etc.) and give them two assignments: 1) what they believe people say about them 2) what they wish people would say about them. When each group reports out, the first part always elicits laughter---no one expects their peers to be so insightful. The good news is the second part of the exercise results in good discussion...and may just be a step on the path to rebranding old perceptions.
I believe you get out what you put in. As a service provider, the more time we have invested in working with Procurement teams, the greater the yield -- in terms of collaboration, communication and ultimately engagement. Key is the desire for mutual success, and investing the time to drive a win/win outcome. Procurement teams these days are far more in tune with the marketplace, and far more specialized than a decade ago, which is good.
Helping brands to maximise the value of their marketing investment
10 年Thanks for the comments guys - all great points made This is one of the biggest challenges we face in the procurement profession - without credibility and acceptance from our stakeholders we are useless!