Issue 101, 23/09/08

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In Other News

AMI and AANA members - discounts on TV Workshop tickets

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With the announcement last week that National Foods has slashed their marketing budget in the face of weaker trading conditions, we thought it was timely to prepare a list of ways marketers can make their money go further without slashing huge holes in the budget.

So in this edition of TrinityP3 e-news, we look at the top 10 areas of your marketing spend to review for better value.

Top 10 areas to review for better value

The current problems besieging the money markets are causing us all to check the financial health of our businesses. Is all your marketing spend delivering the maximum return? Are current contracts in line with industry benchmarks? Here are just a few suggestions from the team at TrinityP3.

1) Review your roster of suppliers. Especially design companies, public relations firms, printers and the like. Over time you can end up with an inflated number of suppliers providing the same service and in hard economic times there are excellent deals to be had by consolidating these services with one preferred supplier, not to mention a huge reduction in internal supplier management time.

2) Move from head hour rate cards to fixed fee. The production rate card is an easy way for any supplier to achieve incremental revenue, especially in cases of high volume production. By moving from the variable of a head hour rate card, a fixed fee rate card will deliver certainty and value if competitively negotiated.

3) Move to a payment by results model. As National Foods stated in AdNews, suppliers will need to prove their value. One way is to take the profit margin in the current remuneration and make it dependent on business performance. If the client achieves average results the supplier makes average profit, but if the client achieves outstanding results so does the supplier.

4) Consolidating with one selected TV post-production supplier to achieve rebates. Agencies and film companies have been doing this for years. There are selected suppliers that can provide a full suite of post-production services of world-class quality at discounted rates. Rebates / discounts of 15% - 20% and up to 25% are achievable depending on spend. And up-skill your team at our October TV workshops - see below.

5) Warehousing needs a re-think from a cost as well as a carbon emission standpoint. Time in a warehouse will cost money & have a carbon footprint. While traditional economics of 'print more and store' or print for pull distribution were correct historically, print on-demand needs to be looked at again.

6) Negotiate better short term media value. Media owners are nervous, forward bookings are down and short term money is scarce. Most deals for the calendar year were locked away long ago but if you are one of the advertisers who is continuing to spend we would be looking to improve on these arrangements in the short term. Is your media agency improving the current buy with additional discounts and added value?

7) Prepare now for annual media negotiations. Against the backdrop of economic problems, dwindling audiences and media fragmentation this should be a year when negotiations are a discussion about the extent of rate reduction. There’s never been a better time to play hard ball. Make sure your media agency understands your position and be prepared to send them back to do better.

8) Shift direct mail to email marketing. The cost to distribute information to your client or customer database via email is far more economical and environmentally friendlier than traditional DM.

9) Consolidate digital tracking with one supplier. Do you have multiple agencies, technology or internal systems analysing your digital marketing efforts. Take time to review and determine if you are actually getting ROI on your digital tracking expenditure.

10) Before you make broad cuts through your budget, contact TrinityP3. We can provide you with advice and undertake assessments on how to reduce your spend with minimal affect on your marketing plan. Contact people@trinityp3.com to arrange a confidential discussion. It makes sense to know your options.

Knowledge is Power

You'll get more out of your budget with a better understanding of the tv production process - from briefing and approvals, to manging talent and shoot days.

Television Production Workshops for Advertisers
Who: Marketing Managers & Directors, Brand and Product Managers and Procurement Teams
Melbourne - Tuesday 7th October,
Sydney - Thursday 9th & Wednesday 15th October
Where: Nine Network Studios, Melbourne & Sydney

GROUP DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE.

Contact Amanda for more information on 03 9682 6800.

Download Booking Form here

AMI Green Marketing

Australian Marketing Institute Lunch
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
National Press Club, National Circuit, Barton

Carbon: The restless gorilla at the planning table.
With over $500 billion being spent by companies world wide on promoting their goods and services, how will the 'carbon effect' begin to influence this marketing expenditure? TrinityP3's Darren Woolley will outline the way carbon emissions are measured and how they can be embed into media and business planning.

Bookings essential. Contact the AMI for details

Download Booking Form here