He's Back! Jon Mandel Returns to the ANA Media Conference

Bill Duggan It39s been five years since your speech at the ANA Media Conference where you discussed the media rebates issue What has improved since thenJon Mandel The ANA provided a contract template which while used by some is a resource that many more advertisers should be taking advantage of The biggest gains have been by those advertisers who have had knowledgeable lawyers redo their contracts But here again there is still a need for expanded use of the available knowledge and unconflicted and unbiased talentAlso it39s good that there has been some recognition that as the media world is in constant flux contracts should be quotliving documentsquot that get reassessed and improved regularlyFurther a few clients have been diligent about auditing and compliance issues related to those contracts which ensures a healthy relationship So there has been decent positive movement amp8212 but like all things in life there is room for improvement and those who are proactive in trying to improve will improveDuggan A key finding of the K2 Intelligence report in 2016 was that many agency executives believed quotthat their relationship to advertisers was solely defined by the contract between the two partiesquot Why is it important for advertisers to be aware of that and what should they doMandel This is still true And perhaps important as a good number of advertisers did find that there were some funds that were due them The cynic could argue that once one party to a contract says quotIf it39s not specifically precluded by the contractquot it39s a red flag The other party had better make sure they understand the unintended consequences of the quotnot specifically calledquot out possibilitiesThe issue is no different than any other relationship Make sure that you are in alignment not only on what the relationship is but also the very definition of the words being used to describe each other39s feelings and beliefsWhen there are different interpretations on different sides there is the potential for poor behaviors and outcomes This need for agreement on clear definitions extends to relationships with other vendors and ownership stakes or warrants to purchase To be clear there must be absolute transparency about every facet of the chain If you are merely transparent about being nontransparent you should recognize that the water you are being pushed to jump into is not safe to drinkThe landscape was made wide open for problems when there wasn39t total alignment within clients about what mattered Simply many procurement people used KPI methodology and process from other supply functions without fluency in the media and agency worlds And many marketing people used their traditional marketingmedia KPI methodology and process without fluency in how those methodologies and KPIs could be finessed improperly in a changed worldBy making sure there is a multidisciplinary approach to KPIs throughout the organization advertisers can ensure that everyone in the organization and its advertising supply chain has KPIs that reward for desired outcomes rather than reward for unintended negative actionsDuggan A report from ANA and Ebiquity that followed the K2 report in 2016 offered recommendations One key recommendation was that advertisers should improve internal governance of their media investments It was specifically recommended that quotadvertisers should appoint a chief media officer either in title or function who should take responsibility for the internal media management and governance processes that deliver performance media accountability and transparency throughout the clientagency relationshipquot Why is that important and have you seen enough of these positions established Mandel There haven39t been nearly enough of the multidisciplinary roles created And there should be a minimum of crosspollination training and understanding of a crossfunctional nature that hasn39t happened across a broad swath of clients Bigger advertisers yes But there are an awful lot of clients spending vast sums of money who for some reason still think they are too small to be bothered or capable in this areaThose who are proactive in managing the risks through learning knowledge sharing and implementation of prudent systems and vigilance are the clients who will enjoy the benefits of good advertising investment Those who don39t leave themselves vulnerable And it is possible for everyone regardless of size to avail themselves of available resources to be successfulDuggan quotDataquot might be the hottest fourletter word in the industry right now What are watchouts or concerns with dataMandel Like the media piece we don39t think you should only look at the rebates issue In data this extends to not only rebates but also to underlying tech platforms and access control and ownership of the data and the tech Scarier is the rights associated with data the protection responsibilities in managing it and the whole litany of responsibility issues that spin out of data collection and usage And the potential blending of the data so your data doesn39t become someone else39s to have and to holdAlso be aware of portability as too much data consolidation and how it is consolidated could increase your switching costs due to a dependency that creates massive dollar and marketingmedia flexibility issues going forward This is an area that being proactive is just smart businessDuggan Do you have any regrets about the speech you made at the ANA Media Conference five years agoMandel The only regret is that because the presentation was mainly direct quotes from folks who are on the media sellside of the business the impact beyond the immediate quotdollars are going into someone39s pocket instead of into working mediaquot was missed by many in the whole discussion One of the more important parts of the problem is that media that was not optimal was amp8212 and still can be for those who aren39t being proactive amp8212 being recommended to marketers which is akin to having a microphone in an empty auditoriumDon39t stop now Stay in the know on marketing excellence and the future of the industry with more from ANA InSites For more on inhousing programmatic read quot70 of Marketers Say InHousing Isn39t Enough What39s NextquotClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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He's Back! Jon Mandel Returns to the ANA Media Conference

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Bill Duggan

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He's Back! Jon Mandel Returns to the ANA Media Conference

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