The chief executive of the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) has outlined a few things for marketers to work on so they can overtake change in the industry.
Speaking yesterday at a AANA event hosted by PwC, John Broome shared his key takeaways from a recent visit to the UK on what Aussie marketers can be doing better, noting there is a “clear beacon” for them follow, but thy need to get “some of those fundamental things right first”.
First and foremost, Broome said marketers should expect a paywall for better quality.
“If we drive up standards, then it’s only to be expected that that’s probably going to cost more, but then go to your outcome, go to your output. What’s my ROI doing? Am I getting a better ROI as a result?” he said.
The ANNA boss said marketers should also deliberately favour providers who offer and adhere to better standards.
“I think we should let our dollars to the talking. Make sure that the marketplace demand and supply actually has a role to play here,” Broome said.
Another recommendation on Broome’s list for marketers was to better understand their tech stacks and invest more time in this space.
“Typically, marketers may spend 10 per cent [or] 15 per cent at most on their media budget, yet in their P&L after product-per-service cost it can be the next biggest line item,” he explained.
“We have a responsibility there to ensure that we understand what we’re spending our money on.”
As all marketing is now digital in some way, Broome said distinguishing between digital and non-digital marketing should no longer be happening, and marketers need to be accountable for their contracts with agencies.
“We need to take control back from procurements. No longer is it about driving cost savings – it’s got to be about creating value,” he said.
“When you look at it from that point of view, you actually have a meaningful conversation with your partnership.
“At a similar theme, whether you do things in-house or whether you continue with agency relationships, we have to expect that our agencies need to make money, and if that is visible and transparent to a contract, then fair’s fair.
“We need to make sure that the whole ecosystem is healthy at the end of the day.”
