Can Planners Save the Universe?

Now there is more than a little evidence that 40 years of buyer supremacy is coming to an end Itamp8217s not an exaggeration to suggest that the future of media agencies lies in the hands of the plannersBuyers are amp8220hotamp8221 people Theyamp8217re loved by their holding company bosses because they deliver a simple thing in a world full of jargon and complexity and that simple thing is cashWhich sounds better to a holding company CEO under pressure to deliver to the financial market every quarterIamp8217ve screwed these suppliers into the ground and ensured an additional X million in bottomline revenueWe are investing in the latest thinking that will help build my clientamp8217s brand over the next five yearsPlanners are amp8220coolamp8221 analytical people They write articles to support the agencyamp8217s intellectual credentials They consider every angle They make carefully reasoned choices They put their client firstFor 40 years media agencies have focussed internally on buying while publicly talking about planning The reality is that too often buys drive plans not the other way aroundAnd now the buying community faces twin problemsProblem No 1 Clients are on to them Agency deals rebates kickbacks AVBamp8217s surcommissions rappels super rappels dark pools all of these are under investigation and are having a light shone on themProblem No 2 Automation Unlike planning which requires an understanding of and integration with other marketing service suppliers the buying process can very largely be automatedNow I know buyers are creative too There will always be a need to look for new ways to get the best value for the client but their period in the sun is coming to an endWhat do clients want A thorough examination of and use of large amounts of data Integrated thinking across all channels driving towards effective campaigns that pay back and come with a feedback loop that gathers learnings and reapplies themSounds like planning to meWhat do clients hateThe suspicion that there are rebates generated by their budgets that are not being returned to them The uneasy feeling that comes from thinking that maybe this or that element of the plan is not there to do a job for me but to generate revenue for the agencySounds like buying to meI can already hear the angry ringing of a phone amp8220How many times do we have to tell you Clients want cheap prices They want to commoditize media They wonamp8217t pay for planningamp8221ReallySo why do agencies keep hiring and parading planners Why not shut up shop and do what you say the client wants Invest in machines automate everything and fire all the planners and researchersBecause the agencies know full well that planning is essential If clients donamp8217t agree with this and I personally believe they most certainly do agree then persuade themProve the benefit of great planning show the business benefits convince the procurement guys that the skill and there is a real skill involved is worth paying for After all we read every day that agencies want to be seen as topend consultantsThey need to scrap the opaque nature of what they do and initiate honest open businessbuilding conversations with their advertisersCreate the right environment and your planners might just save the universeThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageMyersBizNet management or associated bloggers

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Brian Jacobs

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