Media Management

Media: What really matters to marketing procurement now

Making the headlines

Google was found responsible for anti-trust violations by the Department of Justice and may face some kind of break-up.

Google was again in the news for finally deciding not to abandon cookies, despite preparing the entire industry for their demise for five years.

Meanwhile Meta have announced that they will allow media agency groups to buy their inventory on a ‘principal’ basis, adding gasoline to a practice that is already highly contentious.

Also noteworthy are the Q1 2025 results for the big Holding Companies, showing that they grew by only 1% collectively year-on-year, an anaemic rate of growth.

Artificial Intelligence continues to carve a swathe through the advertising industry, and is largely responsible for the woes of the Holding Companies.

The deal between Open AI and Shopify could transform people’s behaviours.

A recession is a real possibility, affecting consumer spends and marketing budgets.

All of this adds to the uncertainty caused by US tariff proposals and their reciprocal effect, disrupting supply-chains globally, not to mention the geo-political situation and its effect on European stability.

What this means for marketing procurement

All of these news items are of real significance for marketing procurement people. They will determine the future of the marketing, advertising and media world imminently.

The Marketing Procurement iQ conference touched on some of these items but it is hard for anyone to keep up with the daily news affecting our industry.

This was one of the key points that I made in my opening address on Day Two of the MPiQ conference, dealing with media; what goes on in the world affects consumer behaviour that has a direct effect on your marketing procurement activities.

Consumer behaviour leads the advertising industry in ways that are unprecedented and the rapid arrival of AI agents that are changing the discovery and even buying process are allowing people to by-pass search and websites entirely.

All of these trends should lead to a re-appraisal of marketing strategy in all of its manifestations and especially in media, as people’s use of channels changes to become more transactional.

In particular we are seeing Social Commerce playing a bigger role.

One important role of marketing procurement is to ask the key questions based on these emerging trends.

How future-proofed are we? How are we driving growth in a difficult market? Is our marketing strategy a good use of our capital?

What help do we need externally to help us be leaner but more effective?

The plain truth is that advertisers are no more certain now than ever about the return on their investment, despite the much-vaunted claims of the digital age.

You are probably less clear than ever on how your money is being spent, where your ads are appearing and whether they are working.

Putting effectiveness first

One aspect I referred to is the connection between Day One of the conference (creative and production) and Day Two (media).

It’s possibly obvious that if 80% of your budget is spent in media without much or any effect, the 20% investment in creative and production is wasted, too, but this point is often overlooked.

In an industry worth $1 trillion, how much is ineffective? We know that in the Open Web programmatic market some 60% is wasted through transactional costs and poor ad exposure, but that’s just the media. Nobody knows how much extra goes to waste, nor the environmental effect.

And we don’t know the numbers for any other media channel.

My message in my opening address was simple: put effectiveness first and maximise your chances of success.

The word ‘marketing’ is in the title for a reason. Learn everything you need to know about it, especially in media, work as co-pilots with your marketing colleagues and educate them in the vital role of procurement.

Look for optimisation to save money and take the benefits of growth. Treat ‘value’ as being about effectiveness, not what you bought.

If you attain more effectiveness, the return on your total budget is greater and you save money by cutting fat, not muscle.

You will be able to streamline your own organisation and operations as well as your external provider base: fewer, better contracts, more compliance, a better ratio of fees to business performance.

Day Two of the Martketing Procurement iQ conference contained a lot of great content and much great thinking on how to improve marketing procurement.

The key question is “will this make our marketing more effective and by how much?”

We live in dynamic, uncertain times. It is vital to have the right people on board to help navigate through stormy waters, so make sure you have right crew and a clear direction to calmer seas.

There are plenty of people who can help you and have your best interests at heart, so hopefully the Martketing Procurement iQ conference provided you with the navigational tools you need for the choppy year ahead.

About the author.

Nick Manning is a Media Agency co-founder, ex-agency CEO, Founder at Encyclomedia International, Non-Exec Chairman of Media Marketing Compliance (MMC), Adtech advisor, commentator, investor and writer.

In 2024 he co-founded ‘Advertising: Who Cares?’, a movement that aims to improve advertising and the advertising industry while providing guidance and education for advertisers.