Just seen an article from the Malaysia press (http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/11/21/business/5138912&sec=business)
Quite an interesting viewpoint from the author - Paul Loosley, with 2 paragraphs that stood out for me - shown below. Interesting re his view of the ad agencies and one I have to say that I do agree with. But re the 2nd extract I don't want this blog to become a listing of all the negative press that marketing procurement get but it is funny that it seems the world over, the view is similar. Let's spread the positive word - we can help and we can make a difference (sermon over with !)
"Due to market forces, the alignment of planets or perhaps a prediction from the Mayan calendar, the ad world seems to be suffering from an amazing amount of seismic shifting.
...nature is super heating the traditional core of advertising; the ad agencies. They are being hit by a veritable tsunami of change; the heavy hand of procurement, the removal of the media function, marketing input taken up by consultants, the digital revolution and so on; so much so, agencies are now calling themselves “creative” agencies to try to stop the end of days
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Hi Tina - was that you I saw leaving Heston Blumenthal's new place the other day? (Remember this is a procurement blog: it was the Little Chef, not The Fat Duck!).
ReplyDeleteAnyway - I think we should just tell these guys to move on. I've read about the negative impact of procurement for over ten years now, and every article seems to end with a caveat of 'some procurement people are actually quite good'. Well doh! If you quote the work of rubbish procurement people, then it's going to be rubbish! Believe it or not Agencies employ crap people as well, though obviously not any that I have selected with my spreadsheets and robocop-like application of logic. PS I heard the same thing in the motor industry and utility companies "...price of everything ...value of nothing...." It's old news.
Hi Matt, my secret is out I eat at Little Chef!. It was excellent I have to say. Agree with you on all counts and I am not sure where this negativity comes from. Is it from the agencies that are sometimes ill prepared to meet us. On the flip side there are some good agencies that have dealing with procurement off to a tee (all nominations gratefully received).
ReplyDeleteHi Tina,
ReplyDeleteI can recommend Heston's pub next door to the Fat Duck! I agree with the comments already made - it never ceases to amaze me that agencies that have sat at the "top table" with their corporate clients for so long, helping plot brand journeys and new strategic courses with their clients, are so resolutely conservative when it comes to shaping a path for their own businesses. Part of that conservatism is manifested in this rather old fashioned adversarial view of our procurement role. Fortunately some younger or more open agencies we have dealt with have welcomed our involvement as it helps the agencies understand the dynamics of their own businesses more fully and has helped develop more thinking around risk/reward models.