08 June 2006 | Rebecca Ellinor
Purchasers have welcomed a guide designed to transform the way they work with marketing and creative agencies.
Magic and Logic: Redefining sustainable business practices for agencies, marketing and procurement was commissioned by CIPS, the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) and Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA).
Procurement plays a pivotal role in ensuring fair play between all three parties, according to the guide. And it urges purchasers to get tough on marketing to deliver more professionally, provide a remuneration framework that rewards quality and creativity, and to look for ways to help agencies be more efficient.
Procurement professionals are also challenged to develop their understanding of the agency marketplace and the link between the input, output and outcomes of creative agencies, and to be more open about their agenda.
Tina Fegent, former head of procurement at advertising agency Lowe, told
SM: "It's a very balanced book and there are actions for all three parties. Every purchasing person should read it before they see agencies."
Alison Littley, demand and marketing procurement director at Diageo and a member of the value framework initiative launched by CIPS, the IPA and ISBA to improve their working relationships, said: "This confirms that agencies want the same things - to grow their brands and business. They also want to work with the best talent, with clients who know what they want and with purchasers who understand what they're buying."
Gerry Walsh, group procurement and logistics director at food company RHM and vice-president of CIPS, said the guide could be used to help establish a new business model with mechanisms to score performance.
See FocusSMjun2006
