Paying for Planning

The obvious objective of this script is to place the focus for nontransparent behaviors on the client Clients won39t pay we have shareholders why blame us for advertisers39 shortsightedness amp160This is crazy logic Surely it would make more sense to do a better job making the case as to why the networks39 planning is so good it39s worth paying for amp160Nobody buys any service unless they are convinced of the benefits it brings themThe large network agencies have over time not done a great job promoting their excellence in planning to a nonspecialist audience Of course they enter and win awards judged by their peers but ask most CEOs or CFOs and if they ever refer to these organizations at all it39s as quotmedia buying agenciesquot amp160This perception is only fueled by the focus on the size of the deals these agencies make across their client spectrumInternally network agencies do little to promote planning objectivity Rather the common practice of having traders sign off on plans in order to ensure that agencywide or groupwide commitments are met does the exact opposite amp160Why would anyone pay for a service provided by organizations that consider it to be so inconsequential beyond windowdressing that someone with nexttozero knowledge of the client39s requirements can simply change certain component partsWhat happens within such a system to these agencies39 sudden public enthusiasm for the importance of context The classic trader39s response to his planners quotYou may win the pitch but I make the money that pays your wages so do as I say and convince your clientquotamp160comes to mindThere are though some signs of progress away from the era of the trader First it may be my imagination but the number of headlines boasting of huge volume deals seems to have reduced amp160We are now hearing more from the agencies39 innovation specialists and planners than even a few months agoamp160Second and more significantly whilst the Cog Blog has been on holiday the UK independent agency Goodstuff whose strength is unquestionably in its planning has bought itself out from Omnicom amp160This is interesting as it always used to be assumed that smaller agencies needed some sort of relationship or affiliation with one of the big boys to ensure quotthe best pricesquotamp160my quotesYet the Goodstuff guys like the most successful of the UK independent agenciesamp160the7stars are clearly comfortable with their freedom from the worst excesses of the networks amp160Clients are also it seems increasingly prepared to move away from the big boys Nielsen data quoted by Goodstuff shows that UK independent media agencies grew their billings over the period 201216 by 27 as against 12 for the networksThese independent agencies have discovered that clients will indeed pay for objective and independent planning advice I don39t have the data but it seems likely that their fees from clients are higheramp160and their income from media trades is approximately zeroA different more transparent model in other wordsThe irony is that the networks in handing certain planning decisions over to the whim of their traders have overridden the core principle of objectivity and in so doing have helped the case for why they shouldn39t be paid for the serviceClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Paying for Planning

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Brian Jacobs

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Paying for Planning

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