Top 10 Ways Marketers Waste Money

marketing management consultants

Top ten most common ways ��advertisers waste money…��

��and how to avoid them

Lessons from more than a decade of advising Australia’s largest and most successful advertisers

Presented by TrinityP3


1. Changing agencies when changing Marketing Directors

The loss of brand

and market knowledge within the incumbent agency is one of the great unaccounted assets.


Remember…

1. Changing agencies can take up to 3 months and require more than 600 internal head hours to complete successfully.

2. The new agency will require 3 - 6 months of 20% more time to get

“up to speed” on your business. 3. With marketers’ average tenure now less than 25 months the

agency is often the most consistent source of brand knowledge. 4. Poorly managed reviews can lead to irreparable damage to the

brand and corporate reputation.


To avoid this…

1. Clearly identify the areas were the agency is underperforming by discussing expectations and delivery with the marketing team.

2. Meet with the agency management and communicate your concerns

and agree objectives, timelines and metrics for improvement. 3. Schedule and provide regular feedback to the agency or consider

using a relationship survey (such as Evalu8ing) to monitor the relationship.


2. Incomplete or poor quality briefing

If you don’t know

what you want or need

how is the agency going to know?


Remember…

1. If the agency doesn’t “crack” the brief first time, it is more often the brief rather than the agency.

2. Every iteration of creative work creates a hidden cost in agency

fees and tangible costs in production fees. 3. Time wasted on developing consecutive creative concepts eats into

production time, driving up cost or compromising quality.


To avoid this…

1. Develop the brief with stakeholder and agency input and before work commences make sure all parties agree on the direction in writing.

2. Always use the brief to judge and critique the work and when

presenting work make sure it is presented in the context of the agreed brief.


3. Lack of time and project management discipline

If you don’t allow

enough time to get the job done right,

be prepared to pay for it later.


Remember…

1. Mistakes are made more often when people are in a hurry and cost more to fix later.

2. Quality requires either time or money to achieve and the less you

have of one the more you will need of the other. 3. The cost of revisions rises in direct relation to the approach of the

deadline, and if it doesn’t you have probably paid for it already.


To avoid this…

1. Have within your contract agreed timelines for strategy, creative development and production.

2. Make the agency responsible for project management based on

your planned activities. 3. Have agreed processes for “fast track” activities that arise outside

of your planned activities.


4. Spending the budget

Many marketers and agencies

are too focused

on how to spend the budget rather than how to invest to

maximise

the results.


Remember…

1. “What sticks” says that it is not 50% of advertising that is wasted, it is only 37.3% because marketeers do not learn from their mistakes.

2. You cannot learn if you do not bother to measure, record and

analyse the results of your actions. 3. Vague objectives and general statements on improvement do not

provide meaningful results.


To avoid this…

1. Make sure all activities have a specific and measurable outcome.

2. Implement a detailed and rigorous measuring and reporting

process for each activity / project / campaign. 3. Share this information with the agency and link their remuneration

to the result to drive efficiency and effectiveness improvements.


5. Being too prescriptive in your requests

You’re paying

professional rates, so

treat the agency

like professionals…

instead of slaves.


Remember…

1. If you are telling your agency what to do and how to do it, where do they get to add value?

2. This behaviour leads to high agency staff turnover and lower quality

people working on your account. 3. Agencies are there to provide specific strategic and creative value,

not to be an outsourced personal assistant to the marketing department.


To avoid this…

1. Always define the requirements and / or problem clearly and listen to the agency’s suggestions.

2. If it the agency is consistently not delivering to your requirements,

discuss the issue with them to determine why. 3. If yelling at the agency is the only way to get what you need, then

eventually you will end up with a new agency.


6. Lack of clarity and focus in providing feedback

Garbage in leads to garbage out in IT and similarly in advertising - so

be careful and concise in providing feedback to the agency.


Remember…

1. Providing feedback on strategy, creative, concepts and aesthetics is difficult as it is often abstract or highly subjective.

2. Misinterpretation of feedback can lead the agency in the wrong

direction and cause additional work and create costly delays. 3. No matter who is at fault for the misinterpretation, the advertiser

ends up paying for it in energy, time, frustration and budget.


To avoid this…

1. Do not allow yourself to be rushed into providing feedback, where possible use the “overnight” test

2. Use the brief as the basis for providing feedback at all stages of

development, not just concept but right through production 3. Do not use subjective language like “edgy” or “contemporary”,

but where words fail use pictures and examples instead


7. Convoluted approval processes within the organisation

Everyone can have an opinion, but in

the end the only one that counts is the…

…ultimate

decision maker.


Remember…

1. The more people involved in the approval process the greater number of changes required to get an approved execution.

2. Each iteration of change incurs a cost and creates opportunities for

waste with unnecessary changes. 3. There is no incentive, other than the timely delivery of the job, for

the agency to keep the number of changes to a minimum as these changes increase revenue and profit


To avoid this…

1. Identify who can say YES and minimise all of the approval stages that can only say NO

2. Have everyone responsible present at the one time for approvals 3. If you can’t, get everyone’s feedback before de-briefing the

agency


8. Poor understanding of the advertising process

This can lead to making decisions at the

worst possible time in the process.

Know the process and you’ll get

better results.


Remember…

1. The creative process commences with the strategy and continues through the concept and execution

2. At every stage decisions, feedback and directives have an impact

on the cost, quality and time required to deliver the final outcome 3. The agency will always focus on the delivery of the advertisers

stated requirements over the cost effective delivery of the concept 4. “In six months time no one will thank me for delivering it on time or

on budget” - Creative Director


To avoid this…

1. Never dictate specific executional outcomes unless you understand all the cost, time and quality implications.

2. When discussing projects with the agency, always ask for a written

assessment of the cost implications before proceeding. 3. If changes are required to deliver strategic imperatives, ask the agency

to recommend multiple solutions and costs to achieve these.


9. Having a remuneration model that rewards inefficiency

Focusing on resources & head hours instead of

outcomes & results encourages

poor practices & efficiency.


Remember…

1. Paying for head hours can encourage agencies to work slowly and inefficiently to increase revenue and profit.

2. Commissions and service fees reward the agency for spending

your budget and are not related to the cost or effort involved. 3. Head hours are a notoriously inaccurate record and measure of the

resources and efforts required to deliver a specific outcome.


To avoid this…

1. Define your requirements from the agency in the form of capabilities and volume (scope of work).

2. Negotiate remuneration based on the delivery of those services and

outcomes not simply the resources required. 3. Monitor the scope of work and the agency performance and resources

to identify opportunities for improved efficiency.


10. Falling in love with the (new) agency

While the best

advertiser/agency relationships are based on

mutual respect & trust,

it is still a business relationship that requires

management.


Remember…

1.  The honeymoon period does not last forever but a great working relationship can.

2.  Many contracts fall into three year cycles, the first year is great, the second year is ordinary and the third year is not much better.

3.  Great relationships deliver great outcomes and increased ROI, but they take time and effort to manage.


To avoid this…

1. In establishing the relationship, ensure that agreement / contract includes measurable expectations (SLA, KPI etc).

2. Plan an allocate the time and resources to manage the relationship on

a regular basis (ideally quarterly). 3. At each review stage, discuss outcomes, performance, process,

resources and remuneration with specific recommendations for improvement.


Summary

Tired of wasting

money?


then avoid…

1. Changing agencies before it is really necessary 2. Poor briefing practices and implement ways to improve quality 3. Being too prescriptive with the agency, it stops them being their best 4. The last minute minute rush, it increases the chance of costly mistakes 5. Simply spending the budget, instead of looking for ways to invest 6. Costly mistakes and misinterpretations in your feedback 7. Convoluted approval processes, instead look for ways to streamline 8. Making changes without understanding the real cost and impact 9. Remunerating your agency for time instead of outcomes 10. Forgetting to manage the relationship which needs investment to grow

and if all else fails…


Contact TrinityP3 to find out how to reduce waste��and increase value in your advertising. ��

TrinityP3 Pty Ltd Sydney

+612 8399 0922 Melbourne

+613 9682 6800 Hong Kong

+852 3478 3982 Singapore

+65 6631 2861

[email protected] www.trinityp3.com

Top 10 Ways Marketers Waste Money

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