Procurement – seeks to reduce price or cost of an expense.
Strategic Sourcing – seeks to understand and positively influence the dynamics (internal) and forces (external) which control the rate of return on investments.
Many Agency heads might be willing to admit the world of DMPs and DSPs and their potential impact on campaigns is still kind of a mystery to them.
They know somehow this is supposed to help them more strategically target an audience. How that works exactly is still a little fuzzy but someone is somehow tracking what you do and buy and where you go on your phone – supposedly.
They also know it’s supposed to save money but once you tack on a buyer to evaluate it and track it and see if it’s working and tag the creative and pull the Moat verification and review the 30 page site list of 3000 sites they’ve never heard of….. it doesn’t sound easier.
It actually sounds horrible?!?
They’re supposed to be procuring this media to reduce cost but none of that feels like cost savings to them.
And that’s because it’s not. Many clients aren’t going to pay you a higher agency commission. They expect the work at whatever rate they normally pay.
SO HOW DO YOU FIX THAT?
You change the strategy from procurement (which is the way media is typically bought) to strategic sourcing (which is the way effective DSP campaigns are developed).
To do so, principles and owners need to adjust their mindset to understand what it means and how to execute it.
In essence, it requires the selection of an outside group specializing in the curation of cultivating the right data partner and the dynamics (internal) and forces (external) which can best impact the rate of return on that digital investment.
Then it just takes the time to educate yourself and a willingness to ask questions – I try to learn something new in this space every week!
