The future of public sector

I thought that it was interesting last week that John Collington has unveiled a plan that will see a quarter cut from £13 billion-a-year spending in nine areas. John is the head of procurement for the Cabinet Office’s Efficiency and Reform Group (ERG), and at a conference he revealed nine spend categories that will be transformed over nine months.

The one that is of interest to us is advertising and media which will be tackled by next September 2011.  But as it is not clear the future of the COI, I wonder how they are thinking that they are going to tackle it.  Will they look at bringing in consultants that know this area as to date I have seen little procurement experience in public sector organisations of knowledge of the marketing category. Be interesting to watch this space on this one.

There is no such thing as a free lunch

I have read this week about the Bribery Act that comes into force next year and the impact that it could have on the media industry in particular.  The Act is there to stop corruption and market distortion, and if you are found to be breaching it, there are unlimited fines for the companies found guilty, as well as a possible ten years for individuals who are found to be offering inducements.

The article in Campaign feels that there is a lot of corporate hospitality and entertaining that goes on the media world, and that is an essential part of the job as it enables the media buyer or advertiser to understand the different commercial mediums that are in place.

Ummm not so sure of that.  Obviously as Procurement we are always aware of these types of situations, and in my view everything should be reciprocal so I make sure that I pay my fair share (not that I have that many lunches I have to say).  But I don't really agree that you need to experience corporate hospitality and entertaining to understand what you are buying.  We Buyers have to understand the market that we are operating in and there are many valuable sources of information and I agree that you cannot beat a face to face, but this can be at the agencies or clients office or over a coffee. 

It must be that time of the year again

Is it me or does it seem that once a year the old debate of Payment by results come out ?  It has been around as a form of incentivised payment for many years. The reason that it is in the news this time is that the COI is looking at it.  Short answer....about time too.

I like PBR and agree with the comment from David Wethey, that a few clients agree a PBR and then don't have the money to pay it.  A PBR should reward against the pre set agree targets and should be paid in full.

To be the question is not PBR good or bad but rather should and could PBR be applied to other sectors more than just advertising ? I have recently tried to look at it for a DM and a Digital contract and neither agencies could get their head round it.  So let's see if the value of a good PBR can extend to other disciplines.

Kingston Smith Annual Survey

This is always a good read as it reports back on the top agencies by sector in terms of their financial performance. This year they are celebrating their 20 years and have a great panel of speakers - Mark Lund, Paul Graham from Anomaly, Esther Carder from Kingston Smith and.....me. 

If you are interested in buying the survey (and you get 2 free tickets for the presentation), further details can be find via the following link-  kingstonsmith survey_2010.

I may see you there (and no heckling from the front row please!).

ANA Conference next year

I blogged a few months ago about a conference that the ANA held in Florida earlier this year on Financial Management.  They have sent me a form if you want to register for the 2011 event.  Have a look at the details on their website - ANA Conference.  The agenda looked really good this year so I am sure that 2011 will be just as good, and it is in Arizona this time - beats a London hotel to me any day!.

Send me an email if you want the form to register.

Some great ideas from across the pond

Mentoring - Education and Branding and PR of Marketing Procurement - great food for thought in this Ad Age article - adage.com

A great new ad

I know that this is a procurement blog but occasionally we like a bit of creative.  Here is a outstanding ad that Darren Keff at JWT has done for the Special Olympics - well worth a look (and yes I am biased as he is my cousin - sorry about the plug!) - Special Olympics - Encourage Omar  - http://www.encourageomar.co.uk/.