This year, Flock sponsored the Marketing Procurement iQ conference, which took place at the Kia Oval, London. The event was two days full of thought leadership from some of the best minds in the industry.
We’ve summarised our key takeaways below:
1. Evolving Agency Models:
The agency and production landscape is undergoing significant transformation. There’s a clear trend towards consolidation and the rise of powerful platforms. In-housing or hybrid models are becoming more common, especially for tasks like adaptation and transcreation, with an increase in offshoring for these services. AI adoption is rapidly accelerating, offering potential for cost savings and efficiency gains. Effective scope management and holistic tech views are crucial for cost control. Additionally, there’s a push for “reconvergence,” bringing strategic and creative skills in-house to integrate creative and production for high-volume content, and the use of fractional talent for cost-effective expertise. Collaboration with multiple vendors and partners is also increasingly desired.
2. Driving Marketing Effectiveness and Efficiency:
Marketing procurement spend is recognized as a key area for improvement. The focus is shifting towards value-driven conversations, moving beyond simple budget transactions to emphasize cost savings and value creation. Data-driven decision-making is essential, with a need for transparency, governance, and measurement of effectiveness. Personalization at scale is crucial for combating attention scarcity, and optimizing processes to eliminate waste is vital for reducing costs. ROI is a primary focus, particularly with inclusive marketing initiatives. AI is seen as a tool for driving effectiveness beyond mere efficiency, aiding in brand differentiation, data analysis, and collaboration. Balancing speed and scale, and automating compliance processes are also critical considerations.
3. Organizational and Stakeholder Alignment:
Successful marketing operations require strong cross-functional collaboration, particularly between CPO, CMO, COO, and CTO. Navigating complex stakeholder landscapes is essential, especially in regulated industries. Overcoming the disconnect between marketing and procurement is a key challenge, as is streamlining agency onboarding. Marketing teams need to take ownership of budgets and investment decisions. Cultural alignment is crucial, ensuring the right people and culture within creative and production teams. Complex operational models need to be designed around existing complexities rather than attempting to eliminate them entirely.
“Work with complexities rather than attempting to eliminate them, especially in highly regulated industries.” – Olga Tymchenko Haleon
4. The Role and Impact of AI in Marketing:
AI is rapidly transforming marketing, with advertisers exploring both internal and consumer-facing applications. There’s a need for AI-specific terms in contracts and for partners to adapt procurement processes to include AI capabilities. However, concerns exist about the “creep of AI” without proper procurement oversight. Understanding AI’s role is crucial for negotiations and Martech strategy. AI is also seen as a tool for driving effectiveness beyond mere efficiency, aiding in brand differentiation, data analysis, and collaboration.
5. The Changing Dynamics of Agency Relationships:
The relationship between marketing, procurement, and agencies is evolving. Poor communication can hinder effective collaboration, and agencies can be caught in the middle. Evaluating procurement tools for their effectiveness and considering diverse agency partners are essential. Agencies should be empowered to service clients effectively. The potential for reuniting creative and production could reshape agency models, with access to production companies’ speed seen as a strategic advantage. The rise of project-based workforces is also impacting agency models, offering clients cost savings.
6. The Importance of Data and Agility:
Data is considered the “oxygen of marketing,” yet much of it remains underutilized. Agility is crucial for marketers to move at the speed of the marketplace. Stronger Martech integration is needed to foster more efficient workflows. Strategic integration challenges exist, with centralization often occurring first, followed by optimization. A customer-focused and operational perspective is necessary, but integration is an ongoing effort.
7. Evolving Marketing Challenges and Priorities:
The power and growth of media platforms, and how to engage effectively without intermediaries, are major challenges. AI’s specific role in driving business effectiveness is another key concern. There’s a strategic approach to cost and value, emphasizing understanding market dynamics, technology, and processes over simple cost-cutting. Sustainability in marketing is a priority, but measuring its impact remains limited. Driving marketing effectiveness requires creativity and deep industry knowledge, alongside strong marketing operations.
“If we have the knowledge and correct positioning—understanding the market, technology, and techniques—we will save money and create value, rather than just cutting costs.” – Graham McKay, Dyson
Want to hear about how Flock are working with marketing procurement teams to optimise and streamline agency management? Get in touch below.
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