CMO’s Annoyed by Agencies and Networks

Scott Berg — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:09:00 GMT

Over the past couple of days I’ve received a number of phone calls and emails regarding presentations made by Gary Elliott, VP-Corporate Marketing and Michael Mendenhall, our CMO.

I’d like to add a few thoughts in 2 separate posts… first let’s talk about the article in AdAge regarding the ANA panel that Gary Elliott sat on.

Gary Elliott was quoted in the article in a couple of areas:

“The overall message, I would have to say, with HP, is that I don't think any of these [agency] relationships are satisfactory enough that we would continue them without having some degree of experimentation," said Gary Elliott, VP-corporate marketing at Hewlett-Packard. "We've been experimenting with different agency relationships where we're looking at agency partners and vendors in ways that connect them loosely with each other. We're looking at models where we have everything with one of our key partners." What's lacking in agency relationships now is speed to market, Mr. Elliott said. "I don't think with our current system we're achieving that. ... We're going to pilot a number of different relationships where we go direct with media companies." My thoughts: 1. Business Model – as I’ve blogged about before the media, marketing & advertising business model is changing. It’s not all about advertising and media anymore. It’s about developing projects that have mutual benefit between two companies. I point to the deal HP just did with MySpace as a great example of this. Agencies are still focused on creating ads and placing the media. And for some companies, that’s what they want them to do. But for larger advertisers we must have more. Every single agency presentation I’ve sat through always shows how the “campaigns” they’ve worked on generated revenue. And all of us in marketing say we generate revenue for the bottom line through branding and direct…the problem is there is more to branding and direct than ads and media. A company the size of HP with distinct businesses and different needs for each business requires us to think creatively and continue to explore the best way to structure our agencies to meet the needs of each unique business. 2. Technology -- And what about the way we transact business… we still use an antiquated system to do the upfronts each year…but search terms are being purchased via an auction model every single day through Google and Yahoo! We must learn how to utilize new forms of technology to drive and increase our speed to market. We no longer market 8 hours a day… our customers are doing business/choosing brands/making purchasing decision 24 hours a day. And they’re utilizing all different forms of technology to do it – from mobile, interactive TV, the internet, search, etc. And believe me, I’ve experienced the pain when a media network incorrectly distributes online creative or radio/tv spots in the wrong place or within inappropriate content. These “mistakes” impact our brand in the consumer’s eye which ultimately makes our job of selling product harder.

Relationships – the world is built on relationships. Look no further than linkedin.com, Facebook.com, or MySpace.com to understand how important relationships are to folks. It’s my job to ensure that HP is given an opportunity to look at unique ideas from media partners before any other competitor and/or advertiser in the marketplace gets a chance. And that’s done by having strong, solid relationships with the major media players in the marketplace.

Hey, you might not have liked what the Advertisers said on the panel… but remember this…it’s them and other CMO and marketing professionals inside companies who have to justify budgets and drive revenue to executive management and ultimately the company shareholder. Try sitting in that chair for while and I guarantee you’re view of the world will change. Scott

The Changing Face of Digital Media & Marketing : efficiency, media, ANA

CMO’s Annoyed by Agencies and Networks