Yet in contrast, only 15% of agencies say their relationship with marketing procurement is “extremely or very healthy.” This view is at odds with procurement executives, 54% of whom said their relationship with agencies was in good shape. According to the report, agencies believe that procurement departments think marketing is “an expense to be minimized.”
“At its best, marketing procurement is an enabler and facilitator; at its worst, it can be a roadblock and bottleneck,” said Bill Duggan, ANA group executive VP, in a statement. “Marketing procurement must understand what marketing needs and what agencies provide and insert itself with the goal of optimizing the overall value and quality of the output.”
The report also found that procurement divisions are still quite young—on average, the department has only been around for 11.6 years, and the majority, or 55%, of marketing procurement departments have existed for less than 10 years.
After reporting on procurement in 2010, the ANA had planned to issue an updated survey in 2020 but that report was delayed two years by COVID-19, according to a spokesman.
In order to improve relations with agencies, the ANA included some advice, noting actions like clearly aligned goals, involvement of procurement early in the process, a focus on value more and cost less and education. The ANA also recommended that procurement departments work more closely with marketing teams, and that agencies should proactively establish relationships with procurement.
