Pay Attention, Mr. & Ms. Corporate Procurement Officer

The following commentary was written by an industry executive who requested anonymity in response to Monday's Jack Myers Media Business Report focusing on Upfront economics.

Jack, I read with interest today your article on The Upfront That Could Have Been or some such thing in which you correctly stated that advertisers are so fixated on cost that they have lost sight of the much more relevant value side of the equation. Yes, it's true that financial personnel on the client side ride equipped with more firepower these days and thus, the true client strategists are fighting a more difficult uphill battle than ever. And the agencies, compensated meagerly (margin-wise) for the never-ending challenge to excel - to deliver the "big idea" - are squeezed between those cost / value priorities and in the end, it's not even close……cost is the priority.

You realize, of course, that the model for media and marketing buying hasn't changed much over 40 or 50 years. In fact I believe you stated something to that effect. Mind-boggling really, when one observes that the model was built, and worked just fine, thank you, when there were a couple of dozen choices as to where one might put their message. Currently, you could probably name 200 choices off the top of your head and then double that given time to think a bit beyond the obvious. And research, which you also placed in perspective, is 50 times, maybe even 100 times more accessible, relevant, and powerful than just 20 years ago, wouldn't you agree?

I'm sounding, I realize, a bit pretentious; the guy or girl who plays the game just like everyone else but still feels justified in pointing out the flaws of the game in which he or she is participating. Well, I'm not a golfer but I have friends who are and moan endlessly about a particular course - the difficulty of this hole or that, how the greens are "tricked up" and yet they still stumble out of bed at 5:00AM every Saturday for the "pleasure" of playing that same course once again. Imagine a scenario where one day, a few really smart foursomes sitting around the nineteenth hole after a round, suddenly, collectively, say hey, let's change some things. And through dogged effort and despite the inevitable uproar of the lemmings, perhaps a few trees get removed, a couple greens get shifted, a bunker gets a facelift, the carts actually run.

Now you're wondering, with justification, what's the point? This is the point, Jack: what makes or breaks a marketing campaign? Creative? No, although it's been said that great creative can overcome the worst of marketing plans but the inverse is not possible. Perhaps it's true, depending on how one measures "success". The fact is, Jack, what makes or breaks a marketing campaign is the answer to one simple question: "who do I want to talk to"? Who is my best prospect today, the person who will be, or who will continue to be my best customer – a heavy user, a loyal user, someone who influences the purchase decisions of others who need my category of goods or services?

You get it, I'm sure and I'm not trying to bust balls Jack – certainly not yours, but I am using you as the landing strip for pent-up frustration. Didn't know I am frustrated? Oh. Well, consider that a nationally marketed product or service will spend hundreds of millions of dollars to purchase platforms for its advertising message and the selection of such platforms will mostly be based on the cost to reach 1,000 adults 18-49. Or adults 25-54. Or, my favorite – adults 35+. That is so cool; deliver your message to every living adult, preferably most of whom are over 35 and then sit back and watch sales soar. Ingenious. And, given the tons of consumer research available today, you have to assume Jack, that the selected target was the result of a long and arduous process with discussions and focus groups lasting well into many a night. What lasted long into the night were discussions on creative, on packaging, on competitors and their (non) strategy and on many other subjects, most having little to do with the consumer target.

The target today is an after-thought Jack, ripped off from last year's plan and perhaps the same target that has been used year after year for a decade. Or, the target was recommended by some well-meaning young agency person who was asked at 6PM to put one on the table by 7PM, as the meeting – well, the meeting be tomorrow folks.

Value and strategy are in no way reflected by a cost per thousand. Do you know that Mr. or Ms. Procurement? Do you even want to know that? Do you want to throw me under a sixteen-wheeler because you've never had this much fun in your life and you're on a roll and it feels…so…good. Damn packaging companies used to have crap tickets and a discount at Jake's Jumping Jambalaya. But advertising? We're talking steak and orchestra seats. So you would prefer that I shut the hell up. And you want me to understand that's the way to negotiate.

Soon – and it needs to be very soon - a small group of marketers will step up and have the bravery to say we'll pay the $170.00 CPM for that multi-dimensional target rather than the $30.00 CPM for the age / gender target because we've done our homework and we know it's the best way to talk to the people who can kick-start our business. And keep it prosperous. The value differential is not even close – it's a no-brainer. When that happens, and before everyone jumps on the bandwagon, note who those people are and the companies that support their actions. And then go out and put every dime you can find into long stock options on each of those corporations. Those people and their companies will be the heroes who save this industry, and quite possibly your job. They will be the few foursomes at the nineteenth hole who finally say screw it, let's do the right thing. And every one of us sure as hell better thank them when it happens.

By: Tower (Name Withheld by Request)