The Procurement Perspective: Influence for a Collaborative Future

January 21st, 2015 | Nikki Wallen, Business Manager, MDC Partners

Nikki Wallen
Nikki Wallen

Working under a Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) who has spent the entirety of his career thinking outside the box while keeping progress at full throttle; I would argue that there’s no better motivation day-to-day, than feeding off a committed desire to change the game. The world of advertising has an undeniable draw that brings people in, but once here, it’s our job to maintain it. Marketing procurement is a unique niche. We have a clear understanding of the financial backbone of our business, but in a way that irreversibly merges with the creative highs which define our industry. Today’s trends become tomorrow’s standards faster in the advertising space than virtually anywhere else. Thus in a constant phase of change, I have learned that adaptability is king.

The demand for perpetual innovation breeds an environment where measuring anything, from the conception of an idea through the reception by the consumer, is frequently quantitatively impossible. But what does this mean for the humble staffing plan, the tried and true method for valuing creative output? Questioning whether the justification of each dollar invested in marketing can stifle the creation of big (and often risky) ideas, is nothing new. The real opportunity lies in procurement’s unique ability to bridge this gap.

The Disruption Method of Controlled Risk

Anyone on Wall Street will tell you that investment security and calculated risk are not mutually exclusive concepts. A CPO’s inability to see the opportunity that this presents to clients and agencies alike threatens the dynamic progress of our industry. And as more brands are speaking directly with holding companies, the potential danger is even greater. Procurement must capitalize on its ability to identify the different, yet often overlapping, concerns and demands from client finance and marketing teams, simultaneously.

With a goal of maximizing ROI, marketers are always focused on ensuring that their business plans rest in the hands of their agency’s top talent. But when procurement looks to cut costs, they should know that adjusting staffing plans in favor of cheaper talent is one of the easiest ways for agencies to meet lower budgets. The resulting impact of too many such reengineered project plans has been predictably negative. The strongest client-agency partnership is the one that embraces the notion that the whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts.

The Dangers of Shortsighted Financial Targets

A fair yet competitive investment from clients is the only way to guarantee future generations of innovators. Or as articulated in a recent Wall Street Journal commentary by 4A’s CEO Nancy Hill, “All clients demand the best talent on their business, but, generally speaking, aren’t willing to pay for it.”

Our industry thrives on the rise of the underdog, the unknown creative mind whose new idea changes the course of a brand’s fortunes forever. But even innovation, although not always a tangible or traditionally measurable concept, requires financial incentive. We need to recognize that the client-agency relationship is only as strong as its interest in collective success.

Practicing Shared Accountability

For procurement professionals, taking a global, long-term view of the client-agency relationship may very well lead the way to stronger partnerships and greater returns on all sides. When negotiating commercial terms and planning for the future of our industry, we need innovative thinkers to create mutually beneficial opportunities. As the legendary ad man Leo Burnett once said, “My inventory goes down the elevator every night.” Balancing fiscal prudence with an understanding that the best brains produce the best results is the way for clients and agencies alike to share accountability.


Nikki Wallen
Nikki Wallen is the Business Manager at MDC Partners, one of the leading and fastest-growing global business transformation organizations. Her work in procurement focuses on creating enterprise partnerships on behalf of MDC’s 50+ portfolio companies, and identifying value-creation initiatives on a global scale.