Marketing Procurement

I’m no marketing procurement expert but…

Respect And Responsibility

“Treat procurement with the respect it deserves, and don’t keep the function siloed. This goes for brand marketers – don’t hoard your agency relationships – as well as agencies, but to the latter: help them understand our business”

A bold confession, perhaps, to make in this article for Marketing Procurement iQ, particularly given I chaired a session at ProcureCon Marketing Europe recently.

It’s an event we’ve been involved in for each of the previous three years, yet we remain one of only a few agency networks to attend. If I’m no expert, you should see the other guys (hint: they were probably attending Cannes).

What I do know – and so do you – is that the client/agency model is broken. Havas research reveals that 50% of procurement professionals cite a disconnect between what they need and what their agencies are providing. More than half (56%) believe agencies over-promise and under-deliver. That’s embarrassing.

While it’s easy to point fingers, it would also be disingenuous, incorrect, and ultimately not conducive to finding a solution. We are all – agency growth, new business and account teams, and brand marketing and procurement departments – culpable. We must all take responsibility.

So, now you’re sitting (un) comfortably, let’s address the elephant in the room: agencies and brands have different objectives. Hell, often different teams within each have different objectives. When it comes down to negotiations, we want – indeed, we are actively striving for – different things. Mercifully, this is not the most insightful thing you will read today, but it does remain a largely unspoken taboo – and accepting this reality is crucial if we’re to find a better path.

Agencies generally don’t understand procurement. Even as procurement has increased in importance and influence, they have made very little effort to. As a result, they view procurement with suspicion. Operating on low margins as it is, they don’t want to disclose all the details, fearful this information will be used against them.

However, neither are agencies typically incentivised to be open and honest. Procurement, to borrow an analogy, are playing poker – as hinted at in the idea of ‘us’ versus ‘them’ thrown up by our research.

To muddy the waters further, brand marketing teams often (although not always) don’t understand the wider commercials well enough. It is not my place nor intention to apportion blame, but the result is they can end up viewing procurement adversarially; a box they, begrudgingly, need to tick. It is often, at the least, a source of friction internally.

Combined, we end up with siloed, competing factions. A lack of understanding, a lack of communication, and a lack of trust – if it ever existed. Once that’s gone, dissatisfaction is inevitable, and terminal.

It’s not all doom and gloom. The fact we’re together at Procurecon Marketing, at an event that continues to go from strength to strength, is cause for optimism. But we need to work together.

We need to be open, on all sides, about objectives and the rationale behind them. Avoid baking in an expectation gap at pitch stage – where agencies, faced with artificial tension created by procurement and the proclivity of marketers to buy shiny new things, can find the urge to over-promise overwhelming.

This requires trust, which requires engagement and education, which means that procurement must be involved throughout a relationship. Partner with, don’t just buy, agencies; agencies, be encouraging of this partnership. Talk weekly, or monthly – not once a year when terms are up for renewal.

Treat procurement with the respect it deserves, and don’t keep the function siloed. This goes for brand marketers – don’t hoard your agency relationships – as well as agencies, but to the latter: help them understand our business. Make an emotional connection – after all, people buy people. Treat them like you would your ‘direct’ clients. If you don’t, they’ll treat you as a commodity.

To agencies, specifically: hire procurement experts, to enable you to understand, deeply, how it works. You can’t afford not to. It’s because I am no specialist by experience I hired one into my team. He has more than 20 years’ procurement experience in top multinational telco, media and FMCG organisations, and a deep understanding of both brand and agency commercial considerations. That, to be frank, is what you’re up against.

Ultimately, we need a less combative approach, with all parties on the same page. If not, agencies, don’t be surprised when you’re squeezed, and/or squeezed out. Marketers, don’t grumble when procurement insists on a pitch you don’t want. Procurement, don’t get a chip on your shoulder when you find that shoulder caught between a rock and a hard place.

While we may have different objectives, it’s mutually advantageous to find the common ground.

About the author

Tracey Barber is Global Chief Transformation and Growth Officer at Havas Creative