New eBook on media negotiations available on Kindle

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Drawing on her three decades of specialist media negotiation experience gained across the full 360-degree media supply chain and her successful media negotiation coaching business, she shares her knowledge and insights with the global marketing and media community.

Current media negotiation mind-set

The current mind-set that the marketing and media industry has on media negotiations is a trading one, driven by both advertisers, their media agencies demanding best pricing/optimum ROMI (return on marketing investment) and by media owners wanting increased spend commitments with higher margins.

In reality, these media owners are competing fiercely to achieve ambitious top-line sales targets set by shareholders, while trying to protect further margin erosion. This has resulted in the value of media being commoditized and business relationships not being fully leveraged.

Options in negotiations

There could be another approach to conducting media negotiations in which everyone understands that while cost remains a key component in the deal, it is not the driver. There is an accountability to deliver measureable value beyond cost KPIs, aligned to advertiser brand and business growth.

Marketers and media agencies would reportedly benefit from this new approach by unlocking additional value for their brands and their brand's consumers, ultimately driving brand growth beyond cost savings. It has been proven that it is not possible to deliver equally on both cost and innovation at the same time. By thinking beyond a quantitative approach, the quality of the buy will be improved as well. This strategy should also lead to a more collaborative communication partnering approach with media owners.

New approach

When advertisers and their media agencies shift their media negotiation mind-set to being firm - yet fair - on price, media owners will be able to move their focus from price protection to that of creating media solutions for clients that change consumers' behavior and grow share. The new approach should also enable media owners to manage their media inflation better and, ultimately, their media costs, which in most cases are driven by discounts (not necessarily value or demand). This impact would need to be carefully monitored over time. Overall margins should increase as advertisers will be more likely to pay a premium for what they perceive has value, compared to a commoditised buy.

The book goes on to discuss the measurement of success and suggests options within each media segment.

Endorsements

The book has drawn industry endorsements both internationally and locally, based on preview copies.

"A must read for anyone involved in media negotiations. This will substantially upgrade your skills by providing the right framework, the tools and techniques, and the mind-set needed to create real value in media negotiations. Thank you Debbi for continuing to elevate standards within the media industry and improving the impact of media negotiations on the business," Luis Di-Como (Senior VP, Global Media, Unilever)

Benefits

By reading the book, the reader will discover:

• Why it is critical for all parties in media negotiations, to shift the current mind-set from a client/supplier trading approach to a true brand communication partnering one
  
• What the unique needs of each marketers, their media agencies and media owners are when negotiating with brand communication budgets, and why
  
• Why it is important for marketers and their media agencies to create value other than cost savings to measure the success of brand communication investment - placing brands and consumers at the centre of the media negotiation conversation
  
• How media owners can create and package real value that will wow marketers and excite consumers, thereby driving brand growth