• by Maarten Albarda , Featured Contributor, May 4, 2018

Here are some takeaways from the ANA Financial Management Conference in Hollywood, Fla., which I attended earlier this week:

First of all, a more appropriate name for the event would be the ANA Marketing Procurement Conference. Perhaps equally un-sexy — but a better description of what took place and who was there.

But forgetting the name, the conference itself was excellent. The agenda promised to cover wide-ranging issues, from close-to-home topics such as transparency and agency contracting to further afield topics like AI and blockchain.

And that is where it kicked off on Sunday, and again in another session on Monday: with blockchain. For those (like me) who were hoping to get a simple-to-follow “Blockchain for Dummies” primer, this was not it. If you listened really hard, you could figure out some of the consequences and implications of blockchain on the media and marketing procurement landscape. But it was also clear that we are years rather than months away from that becoming a watershed. Of course, you can never tell in today’s warp speed world, so I may regret writing this in six months’ time.

It was kind of telling that one of the questions asked was how blockchain could help save money with media agencies. It was, after all, a room full of marketing procurement folks.

That same question was asked of  Shun Matsuzaka from McCann Japan, who was the brains behind the somewhat famous robot creative director.  It was a little sad that this brilliant innovator was asked by the procurement folks how this might be used to push the agency cost lower.

Two presentations truly stood out. MGM Resorts shared how the the company has structured and operates its in-house agency — a textbook example on how to
do this. Still, the presentation opened with a very clever and well-produced brand film on who MGM Resorts is, and it was produced by… McCann Erickson.

The other presentation was from Hershey’s and focused on how to use influencers. Again, a great and practical session, giving all attendees a clear how-to model of all the basics, from briefing to contracting to measuring and more.

The Association of National Advertisers also shared its Better Briefings recommendations. It’s important for procurement specialists to understand that better briefings are vital not just for marketers, but equally so for procurement. After all, a better brief leads to fewer rounds of rework — and thus actually saves money!

And finally, throughout a number of sessions there was still much talk about transparency and agency contracts, or the lack and the challenges thereof. I think the room could have been more or less divided between those that have addressed the issue, and either pitched or renegotiated themselves to a better position, and those that haven’t.

Similarly, half the attendants still seemed to believe that all agencies are thieving schemers out to hoodwink innocent advertisers, while the other half now undersood that an agency is a business partner who, if you let them do their jobs, should be allowed to make some money in an honest and transparent way. And a good contract is where that starts.