I know the Media Owners hate it when I have a go at them. I realise my car is now going to get mysteriously scratched. My dog will disappear and indignant screams of “Ja, but what about you guys?!?” will echo through the corridors of Media Agencies.
Goodbye to all the wonderful Xmas presents, or to be politically correct, holiday season gifts. No bottle of wine (non-vintage, re-labelled). No bottle opener cum portable radio. No tog bag or hammock or golf umbrella! As an aside, I have received 26 golf umbrellas in the past five years, and have never ever played a round of golf.
All that said, even given the heavy price I have to pay, I’m going to have a bitch.
It seems to me that Media Owners are confused. They have difficulty in defining the role of the “Sales Executive”. Actually this must be true, as no-one who calls on us uses the word “sales” in terms of their job description or title anymore. We get a suit of executives, boardrooms full of client service, and ledger books of account managers, plus marketing executives and then a whack of people whose business cards carry no title at all. But bugger all sales people!
So I’m then forced to work out the function of all these people. I know it’s not the dissemination of any workable information. How? Well when asked “What’s happening, what’s new?” The standard response can be chosen from the following:
“Same old – same old.”
“Different day – same shit!”
“Different shit – same day.”
“No man, busy!”
“F?!ck all!”
No mention of sales volumes, new products, some research findings, special offers or deals, movements in circulations, changes in readership or viewership. Nothing that one could use. No sign of any insight or thinking and the conversation, I promise you, is only really taking place because the individual is doing their monthly duty and dropping off voucher copies, or if you’re lucky, the new rate card. (Which will contain increases that they have no explanation for.)
And why are we in this sorry situation? Well, the good times have been rolling, haven’t they? Media Owners have seen fat order books with no effort required. The “Sorry, house full” lights have been blazing. No alternatives have been offered when clients can’t be accommodated. Just a “nothing available” e-mail. End. Finito.
Not in a year have I had a Media Owner approach me with a specific sales/promotional/tailored sponsorship for a client. Rather I can recall numerous examples where ideas are rejected for a litany of pathetic reasons.
Ok, well here’s the bad news. Things are DEFINITELY going to get tougher over the next 12 months. Budgets are not going to be growing as they have over the past three years. Clients are going to see the bottom-line shrinking and are going to be demanding more value. Interest rates, rand decline, and inflation are going to fuel this scenario.
And Media Owners just aren’t equipped to handle it. Helpless expressions and hands thrown up in frustration will result. And the fat cat mentality will change very bloody quickly.
As far as I’m concerned it can’t happen a moment too soon. The heat in this industry is created by hungry, competitive media. Clients then can insist on, and get, the best deals and most value. Great ideas and strategies are conceived in times of adversity, and are allowed to happen that much more often. And arrogance and slothfulness just aren’t tolerated any longer. Now who can argue that this isn’t a better paradigm?
Harry Herber is group managing director at The MediaShop Group.