Procurecon Marketing 2016 - The Great Transparency Debate goes on....

As I sit on the plane on the way to LA from Boston for this year’s Procurecon Marketing Conference I thought I’d share a few thoughts about the media environment in 2016.

We are meeting tomorrow to talk about how advertisers can take control of transactional data to gain a greater level of transparency and this is one of the key issues of 2016. 

Whether we like it or not, John Mandel’s comments at an ANA Media event in March 2015 have had a lasting effect on our industry.

Much like a stone that gets thrown into a pond, the ripples last longer when the pond is bigger. We have to accept that the media landscape is one of the largest ponds we will find, and as such, we are going to continue feeling the ripples for some time to come.

Some commentators have called for a complete change, some clients have called for a new model, and some agencies have called for clarity (they don't want to be tarred with the same brush as some of the more obvious protagonists) ...

And some (like me) have called for better measurement and accountability across the board. Only the truly na?ve believed Martin Sorrell when he claimed that there were no rebates in the US market in 2015 Adweek 2015 – given what has been reported since, he was either telling porkies (English for Lying) or his agencies were lagging behind the competition – either way, the current reality makes you wonder what the truth really was….

So, what do clients do about this? I have been lucky enough to work with a number of clients over the last 18 months that have been trying to make sense of this new reality which has given me a unique insight on this space.

Some have reacted badly, Client A pulled the trigger and went to pitch as the pressure from their board was so great. They had enjoyed a good relationship with their incumbent but the ‘noise’ from the press was so great that they were forced into the decision to pitch. Thankfully, we were able to ensure that the pitch tested the agencies on a number of capabilities including strategy, planning AND their ability to buy well. We were also able to set some ground rules about the level of transparency available to the client on their investment with the new agency.

Client B was less inclined to pitch and we were able to work with the incumbent to negotiate new terms with their incumbent agency.  We also made a point of changing the structure of their compensation arrangements to better incentivize the agency to deliver across the board for the client (client service, planning, buying and business results). Whilst the negotiations were fractious at times, the client and agency were able to agree terms that allowed the leadership of both organizations to return to head office with their heads held high.

Client C was a new media client so had no baggage to carry into the situation. What was concerning from this client was their outright suspicion of the media industry irrespective of agency.  Part of my role in the pitch process for this client was to encourage them to show some trust in the agencies that were pitching (and that could win their business). The client had a blatant distrust of all the agencies that was driven by the transparency debate…they were not media insiders but they still had a very strong opinion of the industry.

All of these pitches demonstrate the far reaching impact of the transparency debate over the last 18 months. You could look at this negatively but I prefer to look on the bright side…

One of the great benefits of the current situation is that it has encouraged brands to ask more questions about their media investments.  Procurement professionals are being given a new opportunity to lead in their organizations and this is a chance they need to to grab with both hands. But be warned, this is not about cheaper or squeezing the agency to give you more for less, this is about making sure you are getting everything your brand is paying for and giving your business a competitive advantage by asking the right questions.

There are a number of services that will allow you to ensure you are getting what you need from your agencies…audit providers, audience verification, bot and fraud services – the list is endless but…all of this is pointless unless you are able to use this data to make some changes.

When I got into procurement it was called supply chain management and this is this is one of the clearest opportunities to really manage the supply chain – time to take the lead and help your organizations secure the value they are paying for.