In the last week I have had several procurement people (I can't say they are professionals as referred to by their Institute) try and negotiate fees using the 3 most common lies in their industry.

Don't get me wrong, I am a champion of negotiation. I just don't rely on little white lies.

All three are from large multinational companies and all three spun their lie like they believed it. Which is sad and not very professional.

Here they are:

1. I / we don't have the money / budget.

I'm sorry, does the CEO and CFO of your company know you have no money? Do the shareholders know that this big multinational company who reported a pre-tax profit of many billions of dollars now has no money? It is ridiculous to say this, so don't.

Sure, you may not have allocated a budget for this unseen cost, but that happens all the time in business and what you do is reallocate from another budget to cover it.

We are not talking about millions of dollars here. In most cases you are lying for a difference of thousands of dollars. Is your integrity really so cheap?

What you are really saying is that you don't want to pay for fixing this problem and therefore you would rather a much smaller company, who's total turnover is a thousand times less than your annual profit, subsidise your work for you. Right?

2. Think of it as investing in the relationship.

And what type of relationship is that? One where every time we do business you try to screw a lower fee? Or threaten to go to a competitor? I wonder if they manage their personal relationships the same way?

"Yes, would love to go out to dinner, but only if you pay and only if a better offer does not present itself between now and then".

I had to bite my tongue when they said this on Thursday because I knew that in the past 3 years we had "invested" many times in this relationship and as yet have got no return as they are still dating our competitors. So I am sorry Procurement, I am not into a non-performaning investment or a polygamous relationship.

3. I have a lower quote I need you to match if you want the work.

This is the classic negotiating position. Not a good one, but a classic one.

The problem is that it is hard to justify when there has been no formal tender process and you are not comparing like-for-like and you are clearly just fishing around for leverage to get a lower price.

I am happy to give a little here and there, but when this becomes the Procurement person's standard line it really just shows they have no concept of value.

On the basis of "pay peanuts, you get monkeys", it means these procurement people are happy to work with monkeys. Well so be it.

I am, and more than happy to, leave them working in the zoo they have created.

Marketing Magazine report that Deloitte has released the results of a webcast poll, which found that "out of 1,675 professionals across a variety of sectors surveyed, more than half (52%) of respondents believed solicitation and negotiation posed the greatest risk for fraud. 24% separately thought contract performance presented the greatest risk".

While the report in Marketing states this is a concern across all sectors, marketing is often the focus of this type of allegation and concern.

"While the risk of supply chain fraud cannot be eliminated entirely, companies can take steps designed to reduce the risks, including company-level anti-fraud controls and risk-specific anti-fraud controls," said Bill Pollard, partner of Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP.

While personal experience over the past 10 years as a pitch consultant leads me to believe open corruption is relatively rare in the selection of marketing suppliers, I have heard of several examples of obvious cronyism and back room deals that have compromised the integrity of all concerned.

Only by continuing to apply rigorous due diligence and robust governance process to all aspects of marketing procurement will these concerns be minimised.

For the 21st Anniversary of the Brisbane Advertising Association, I was asked to address the question "has advertising come of age?"

Advertising is the world's second oldest profession, with the modern form of advertising agencies coming into existence more than 150 years ago.

Yet in the past 15 years advertising has undergone major changes due to the digital revolution.

So is advertising like an adolescent or a mature adult or perhaps even older and wiser?

Three cognitive signs of maturity are:

1. Taking responsibility for actions,
2. Becoming financially independent,
3. Developing a clear identity.

How advertising is addressing some of its largest issues is discussed to determine how the industry shapes up against these attributes of maturity.

In the fact of increasing demands for accountability, increasing downward pressure on costs and the ever increasing complexity of the market and the way the consumer engages with brands, the biggest issues facing the advertising industry today are:

1. Developing methodologies for proving the business value
2. Implementing a sustainable model for remuneration
3. Clearly differentiate roles and responsibilities to facilitate collaboration

Ultimately it will be the industries ability to address these issues that will prove if it has truly come of age.

In the US, Marketing Expenditure accounts for $USD5 trillion or 20% of total economic activity per annum.

With this in mind, and on the occasion of the ANA's 100th Anniversary, the ANA is encouraging the members of the marketing community to commit to the following key principles to ensure that our industry thrives and continues to contribute significantly to the economic health and wellbeing of our society.

The 10 point ANA Marketers' Constitution is:

1. Marketing must become increasingly targeted, focused and personal.
2. Marketing must build real, tangible and enduring brand value.
3. Marketing must become more effective - more creative, insightful and accountable.
4. Marketing must become more integrated and proficient in managing expanding media platforms.
5. The marketing supply chain must become more efficient and productive.
6. The marketing ecosystem - including agencies, media and suppliers - must become increasingly capable.
7. Marketing professionals must become better, highly skilled, diverse leaders.
8. Marketing must be indisputably socially responsible.
9. Marketing must be unencumbered by inappropriate legislation or regulation.
10. The marketing discipline must be elevated and respected.

To read more and show your support for the Marketers' Constitution, click here.

TrinityP3 was founded by me in January 2000 following 15 years of working in advertising as a copywriter and creative director. In that time we have worked and assisted more than 100 major advertisers.

But then this week, Seven Media Network Executive, James Warburton's outburst at a MFA function reminds me that many people in the advertising and marketing industry do still do not understand the role of companies like TrinityP3

My response on the Mumbrella website focuses on VALUE and not simply the COST.

James Warburton is reported as saying he stands by his comments and does not want to debate it.

When James feels like becoming more informed, and less like the spokesperson for his disenfranchised agencies amongst his clients, he knows where to find me.

I was talking to members of the committee at the Brisbane Advertising Association which turn 21 years old this year.

To celebrate they were talking about discussing the theme "Has the advertising industry come of age?" at their June function on June 4th.

It reminded me of this spoof of the Monster.com ad made by Agency: Meyocks Group as an intro to the ADDY Awards.

So here is the question? Has the advertising industry grown up and come of age?

What do you think?

I saw this on Mumbrella today.

And while I agree with Dr Mumbo that it is ironic that the film was made by Saatchi & Saatchi, to quote Mark Twain "Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated."

Brand Finance has recently completed its annual study on the 50 Most Valuable Australian Brands. It is available for download here.

In launching the second study of Australia’s 50 most valuable brand portfolios, Tim Heberden, Managing Director of Brand Finance Australia says:

“Intangible assets represent more than half of the value of corporate Australia, and brands are a significant source of intangible value. Some companies have shrugged off the downturn and added value to their brand portfolios - Woolworths is a prime example and moves into top spot. Unfortunately there is plenty of red ink amongst the Top 50, signifying declines in value. Despite some stand-out performers, Australian brands contribute a lower percentage of enterprise value than top international benchmarks.”

The Winner and Losers?

Continue reading "50 Most Valuable Australian Brands" »

Millward Brown BrandZ brand valuation report is now a really neat iPhone application, which I first found out about in New York at a WPP presentation during the Adforum CEO Summit earlier this month.

If you have an iPhone (and there is more than 30 million of us in the world according to Apple) check it out here. It is free.

And have fun. Especially shaking it to get random word cloud results. Love it!

In the past six months many companies (marketers and agencies) have gone through the downsizing process in response to the GFC. This email has been floating around for a couple of years, but it is probably more relevant.

1. Never walk without a document in your hands
People with documents in their hands look like hardworking employees heading for important meetings. People with nothing in their hands look like they're heading for the canteen. People with a newspaper in their hand look like they're heading for the toilet. Above all, make sure you carry loads of stuff home with you at night, thus generating the false impression that you work longer hours than you do.

2. Use computers to look busy
Any time you use a computer, it looks like "work" to the casual observer. You can send and receive personal e-mail, chat and generally have a blast without doing anything remotely related to work. These aren't exactly the societal benefits that the proponents of the computer revolution would like to talk about but they're not bad either. When you get caught by your boss - and you *will* get caught -- your best defense is to claim you're teaching yourself to use new software, thus saving valuable training expenses.

3. Messy desk
Top management can get away with a clean desk. For the rest of us, it looks like we're not working hard enough. Build huge piles of documents around your workspace. To the observer, last year's work looks the same as today's work; it's volume that counts. Pile them high and wide. If you know somebody is coming to your desk, bury the document you'll need halfway down in an existing stack and rummage for it when he/she arrives.

Continue reading "Top 10 ways to avoid redundancy in marketing & advertising" »

I know this video has been around on the internet for a while, but I am always amazed that it was created by Microsoft. I have never really thought of Microsoft as a customer centric organisation considering how hard I have always found their operating systems and program interfaces to use.

Anyway, this is the consumer breaking up with the marketer, or probably more correctly it should be the brand, because consumers have relationships with brands. They only have relationships with marketers if they are dating, married or living with them.

Watching it again, I think it is really interesting at how many traditional agencies and their clients are still embracing the broadcasting approach to communications reflected in this video, rather than join the conversation that consumers are already having amongst themselves.

Is it because it is easier to simply keep talking at people rather than stop to listen and respond to what they are saying in a meaningful way? Clearly if marketers continue to talk at their consumers rather than with them, then perhaps the Microsoft view of the relationship between marketers and consumers will come true. Or is it true for some brands already?

One of the best films made on advertising is "Truth in Advertising" and available on DVD from Amazon.

In this satirical take on the advertising process, the agency and client personnel say what they are thinking. If you have not seen it, it is well worth taking the time.

But when we have played this video to an audience of advertising agency people and marketers, the agency people cringe and their clients laugh. Why?

Continue reading "Why do agencies cringe and marketers laugh when they are confronted with truth in advertising?" »

On July 1 this year we announced the change in name of the company I started eight and a half years ago from P3 to TrinityP3. The reaction and comments have been incredibly positive, but the number one question is "why?" Why did we feel compelled to change the brand name that we had spent eight years in time, effort and money developing?

The pragmatic answer is, "To avoid the confusion with our competitors in Asia who have a very similar name to ours".

The more significant answer is "Why not?"

P3 has developed significantly since its inception and grown in size, from a one person operation to now more than sixteen industry consultants in Australia and New Zealand and now five people in Asia.

Continue reading "Changing the name from P3 to TrinityP3" »

This morning I was talking to a group from the AMPA (Australian Promotional Marketing Association) about supplier selection, remuneration and collaboration. Being a smallish audience of 20 - 25 people it was a lively and interactive discussion.

These people represent the category of the marketing communications category that is often termed "below the line" and are often seen by "above the line" agencies as an after-thought.

Because of this they are mostly briefed secondary to the creative and media agency and often left to interpret the brand strategy through their discipline.

At one point in the discussion I asked the audience "What are the most important factors for creating a truly collaborative environment where the best of each participant is realised?"

Continue reading "Creating collaborative marketing environments" »

Mark Dapin, a regular contributor to the Good Weekend magazine in the SMH and The Age is launching a new book on October 1 through Harper Collins called "Fridge magnets are bastards".

To promote the book he has an article in todays Good Weekend where he describes "bastards I have known". It is full of the usual "weasle words" like "learning curve", "same page" and "magic bullet", but the one that caught my eye was "marketing guru".

Continue reading "Beware the marketing guru? Or is that the invisible elephant?" »