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Decideware to Partner with ANA for 12th Straight Year

Posted by Joseph Herrada on Apr 3, 2022 10:00:00 AM

Decideware Excited to Announce Continued Partnership with ANA in 2022

DW ANA BANNER

Decideware is happy to share that we are continuing our partnership with the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) in 2022. Specifically, we are looking forward to sponsoring the ANA Advertising Financial Management Conference May 1st – May 4th in Orlando, FL where advertisers & advertising agencies from around the globe gather to share ideas, learn from one another, and network across industries.

Decideware Continues Long Relationship with ProcureCon Marketing

Posted by Steven Wales on Sep 27, 2021 12:48:49 AM

I am pleased to announce that Decideware is once again proud to sponsor ProcureCon Marketing, to be held in La Jolla, CA. 5-8 December 2021.

The ANA & Ford & Decideware – Webinar; Ford’s Journey in Automating their Agency Management Process

Posted by Robin Seasock on Apr 28, 2021 8:47:19 PM

 

In this webinar, hear from members of Ford's Global Agency Management Team as they share their experience in automating their scope of work and performance evaluation processes globally across all divisions and under tight timelines.

 

Decideware Continues To Grow ...

Posted by Robin Seasock on Jan 28, 2021 8:53:04 PM

 

 

Decideware grew during the GFC.

And through the next decade.

And we’re growing during COVID 2020/21.

That’s because we help advertisers manage their agency relationships – thru’ the good times and the bad.

How to Organise Teams for Scoping Season Success. An ANA Forward magazine article.

Posted by Aaron Mateer on Jun 1, 2020 10:02:49 PM

How to Organize Teams for Scoping Season Success.

 

Ensuring the right people are at the table and working toward the same goals.

 

The following is an extract from an article published May 25, 2020 in Forward magazine by the Association of National Advertisers. ANA Members can access the full article, here:

https://www.ana.net/magazines/show/id/forward-2020-05-decideware-organize-teams-for-scoping-success

There's no rest for the weary. With the 2020 scope season in the rearview mirror, it's already time to look ahead to 2021.

Announcing the 2020 Decideware Advertising Management Scholarship at MSU, Inaugural Recipients

Posted by Robin Seasock on Apr 27, 2020 7:58:47 PM

 

The Decideware Advertising Management Scholarship at MSU. 

 

Decideware is pleased to announce a new scholarship fund has been established with the Department of Advertising and Public Relationships in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences, Michigan State University (MSU), ie the Decideware Advertising Management Scholarship

And we are now delighted to recognise Brandon Crawford and Isabel Perhogan as the deserved recipients of the (inaugural) 2020 awards.

ANA Webinar: Deliver Value Beyond Savings: Helping Marketing Achieve Objectives Using Optimized Agency Management

Posted by Robin Seasock on Jul 17, 2019 11:04:49 PM

Most agency management programs help companies manage their agency relationships, deliver process efficiencies and savings. But did you know there is more untapped value that Marketing isn’t getting that can help brand teams make more informed decisions and deliver insights to the leadership team to help drive Marketing strategy? During this webinar, Decideware and LinkRFx will share with you how to move up the value pyramid to deliver more strategic value. 

In this webinar, you will learn:

  • Stronger marketing investments are possible when Marketing, Operations, Procurement, and Finance collaborate and optimize agency management
  • Marketing Procurement isn’t all about cutting costs, they can be enablers for marketing leadership for brand planning and measuring brand/agency activity against topline marketing strategies  
  • A well-designed agency management program delivers insights for swift decision making

https://www.ana.net/magazines/show/id/forward-2019-07-decideware-beyond-traditional-agency-management


"We Live in Decideware & We Love It"

Posted by VJ Ratnam on Jun 3, 2019 7:45:59 PM
Topics: Scope of Work

One of the many benefits of our long engagement with the ANA’s Advertising Financial Management conference is the opportunity to meet an array of people who work in the business – representing marketing, procurement, finance and agencies.       

What will you take on your agency road trip? A Decideware Snippet

Posted by Richard Benyon on Nov 29, 2018 5:12:23 PM
Topics: Scope of Work

You are about to embark on your agency partnership road trip. What's the most important thing you need to take with you?

HubSpot Video

Why Have A Scope Management Program

Posted by Decideware Staff on Oct 26, 2017 10:57:24 AM
Topics: Scope of Work

You are about to embark on a road trip. You have relaxation on your mind and the destination in your sights.  Your bags are packed and the keys are hot in your hand.  What is missing?

Getting the Most from Agency Partners- ANA June FORWARD Article

Posted by Decideware Staff on Aug 24, 2017 11:30:45 AM
Topics: Scope of Work

Included in the June ANA issue of FORWARD is a thought-leadership article by Richard Benyon, CEO of Decideware, titled "Why the Right Scope of Work is So Important: An Effective Scope of Work Ensures the Right Work Gets Done in the Right Way".

Setting Up Agencies for Success- ANA June FORWARD Article

Posted by Decideware Staff on Aug 16, 2017 9:30:00 AM
Topics: Scope of Work

Included in the June ANA issue of FORWARD is a thought-leadership article by Richard Benyon, CEO of Decideware, titled "Why the Right Scope of Work is So Important: An Effective Scope of Work Ensures the Right Work Gets Done in the Right Way".

Designing & Implementing a Global Scope of Work Program

Posted by Decideware Staff on Sep 22, 2016 11:59:48 AM
Topics: Scope of Work

This year, one of our clients approached us to help them design and implement a global Scope of Work program.  

Managing scopes and production costs: What are the parallels?

Posted by Decideware Staff on Feb 24, 2016 1:00:00 PM

At the upcoming ANA Joint Production Management and Advertising Financial Management, West Coast Chapter meeting on Feb. 25, 2016, Steven Wales will lead a discussion on the parallels between managing scopes of work and production budgets. Participants will be engaged in a discussion about their steps to standardize global data, centralize it and apply analytics to get the most from agency scopes and production budgets.

4 Reasons a Scope of Work System Is Crucial For Your Advertising Agency

Posted by Decideware Staff on Jan 21, 2016 12:48:31 PM
Topics: Scope of Work

Large advertisers need commercials, banner ads, and everything in between.

A scope of work is the crucial document that'll help the agencies you hire and your brand decide what type of advertising work is required and how much it will cost.

Conclusion: 2014 WFA/Decideware Scope of Work Survey Series - 8

Posted by Richard Benyon on Aug 5, 2015 5:12:00 PM
Topics: Scope of Work

As part of the Scope of Work survey, the WFA & Decideware explored the entire Scope of Work process, including skills gap, approval, budget, rate cards and process standardization. Below is a summary by the WFA of peer recommendations regarding Scope of Work management:

WFA Peer Recommendations

What recommendations/ watch-outs would you give to peers managing the SOW process?

  • Be realistic about your starting point. Identify where you want to drive to and phase the best practice behavior that you want to achieve starting with largest spend buckets and work your way down.
  • Align with marketing on a single SOW template for all agencies. (SOW setting + on-going management). Get clear expected deliverables and “priority projects” list per brand. Decide whether this will be global, regional, local and which agencies it does not apply to and why.
  • Design SOW formats that can easily be self-serviced by Marketing / Marketing Operations. Develop common templates, but allow for minor alterations to suit a variety of commodity areas. Get all stakeholders/teams that have vested (similar) interests in managing agencies bought-in to this template.
  • Don't just count campaigns; take other needs into consideration such as required resources. Check agency time sheets regularly (not just to monitor, it’s a learning tool as well). Build the SOW into the same template and process for obtaining the costs.
  • Involve marketing procurement at the beginning to obtain the right balance between senior/junior, rate-card, resource talent, etc.
  • Develop a database for tracking/reporting/comparison etc. Automate where possible. Use system support and contract management tools to assist you and help drive structure and compliance. Set up a regular reconciliation template/process.
  • Be attentive to comparing different agencies, even those that are similar but doing different jobs. (Also watch out for standards like “working/non-working” ratio per project as they are not standard at all).
  • Get a clear RACI on what is marketing’s job and what is procurement’s. Ensure those roles and responsibilities are clearly defined.

For more information please contact Steve Lightfoot s.lightfoot@wfanet.org

Download the WFA/Decideware Scope of Work Survey

Rate Cards: 2014 WFA/Decideware Scope of Work Survey Series - Part 7

Posted by Richard Benyon on Jul 29, 2015 5:12:00 PM
Topics: Scope of Work

As part of the Scope of Work survey, the WFA & Decideware explored the Scope of Work process, including rate cards. We looked to explore rate card usage as well as the level of detail agencies provide for cost. Below are the results as well as commentary from the WFA regarding the findings:

Agency Rate Cards

Have you negotiated rate cards on the following?

WFA Commentary

    • Naturally almost all respondents have negotiated rate cards of some kind with their agencies.
    • Some remuneration models exist whereby this is not done as part of the calculation of fees, but even in those it is often included in the assessment of the resources needed to complete projects.
    • Staffing rate cards are most common with almost 97% having negotiated these. Deliverable rate cards are less well used (especially in the creative space), but are still undertaken by 75% of respondents.

Standard Process: 2014 WFA/Decideware Scope of Work Survey Series - Part 6

Posted by Richard Benyon on Jul 22, 2015 5:12:00 PM
Topics: Scope of Work

As part of the Scope of Work survey, the WFA & Decideware explored the Scope of Work process, including standardizing the process. We also looked at the existence of a centralized database to store scopes. Below are the results as well as commentary from the WFA regarding the findings:

Standard company-wide method, content & database

 

Does your company have a standard company-wide method of executing their Scope of Work process, i.e. using templates with standardized values, contracts, etc.?

WFA Commentary

    • Although around 40% of respondents have fully standardized SOW templates, the majority (over 60%) do not.
    • This clearly points to an area where some multinational marketers could establish processes that would expedite briefing and campaign development, and bring additional clarity to the way their agencies respond to their needs

Budget & Reconciliation: 2014 WFA/Decideware Scope of Work Survey Series - Part 5

Posted by Richard Benyon on Jul 15, 2015 5:12:00 PM
Topics: Scope of Work

As part of the Scope of Work survey, the WFA & Decideware explored the Scope of Work process, including Scope budget and reconciliation. We also looked at the reporting that the agencies provide. Below are the results as well as commentary from the WFA regarding the findings:

Scope Budget & Reconciliation

Which approach to SOW management fits best with your organization?

WFA Commentary

  • The above results point to some differences around revealing budget against a SOW and the resulting actions.
  • In some cases, revealing budget up front can limit room for negotiation, and if for a newer project, can set artificial ceilings for costs.
  • However, when done in the spirit of collaboration, it can help maximize the return on the marketing investment if the agency is fully aware upfront of the resources it will be able to deploy.

Approval: 2014 WFA/Decideware Scope of Work Survey Series - Part 4

Posted by Richard Benyon on Jul 8, 2015 5:12:00 PM
Topics: Scope of Work

As part of the Scope of Work survey, the WFA & Decideware explored the overall Scope of Work process, including the scope approval process.  Below are the results as well as commentary from the WFA regarding the findings:

Scope Approval, Work & Revision

 

What are the duration types on your scopes throughout a fiscal year?

WFA Commentary

 

    • No clear trend is emerging on the length of time for which respondents engage their agencies.
    • This is likely due to the number of brands within the portfolios of multinational marketers, which results in different (and sometimes concurrent) strategies on roster size, AOR or lead/hub agency, project based work and/or holding company level multi-agency teams.

Skills Gap: 2014 WFA/Decideware Scope of Work Survey Series - Part 3

Posted by Richard Benyon on Jul 1, 2015 5:12:00 PM
Topics: Scope of Work

As part of the Scope of Work survey, the WFA & Decideware explored the Scope of Work process, as well as potential skills gap in the management.  Below are the results as well as commentary from the WFA regarding the findings:

Skills Gap in Scope of Work

 

Do you feel your organization has a skills gap in SOW management? How important are the following?

Do you feel your organization has a skills gap in SOW management? How well do you do the following?

WFA Commentary

  • “Performance” tracks on average 1.3 points behind “importance”.
  • This shows that almost all respondents feel they could improve their processes and practices in this area.
  • The area with the highest gap is “ensuring all work is defined in advance”: a difficult challenge for many multinational marketers who adapt and adjust as brands change their needs, and media channels evolve at pace.

Process & Participation: 2014 WFA/Decideware Scope of Work Survey Series - Part 2

Posted by Richard Benyon on Jun 24, 2015 5:12:00 PM
Topics: Scope of Work

As part of the Scope of Work survey, the WFA & Decideware explored the Scope of Work process, as well as overall participation.  We also wanted to look at the role Marketing Procurement's involvement in this area.  Below are the results as well as commentary from the WFA regarding the findings:

Scope of Work Process & Participation

Who owns the SOW management process?

WFA Commentary

    • Responses point to a split in the approach taken by members.
    • Although 50% rely on marketing to manage the SOW workflow, as many as a third leave this to marketing procurement.
    • Over time we will see how this evolves, but for now we can see that ownership of this process has no clear trend.

Overview: 2014 WFA/Decideware Scope of Work Survey Series - Part 1

Posted by Richard Benyon on Jun 17, 2015 5:12:00 PM
Topics: Scope of Work

The World Federation of Advertisers, in conjunction with Decideware, conducted a survey to provide a better understanding of how major advertisers manage their scope of work programs.

The survey was conducted as a partnership between the WFA and Decideware in early summer 2014. Nineteen companies took part in this global research with responses coming mainly from marketing sourcing specialists. While results are not statistically relevant, they are indicative of the thoughts and actions of global multinationals within WFA membership.

In an eight part series, we will overview the results of the survey as well as concluding commentary from peer WFA members.

WFA Executive Summary

 

The World Federation of Advertisers created an overview of the survey and concluded:

All respondents feel that there is a skills gap in terms of SOW management.

  • Over 60% of respondents do not have fully standardized SOW templates.
  • Around 1 in 3 respondents do not reconcile approved Scope budget with actual agency fees.
  • 30% of respondents let their agency begin working as soon as a scope is signed off.
  • The most common way to reduce the costs of a SOW is by simplification, finding alternative creative ideas, or by commissioning fewer executions etc.
  • Top recommendation from members is to align with marketing on a single SOW template for all agencies.

Applying Scope of Work to Deliver Value

Posted by Richard Benyon on Apr 23, 2015 5:58:00 PM
Topics: Scope of Work

Decideware 's paper Beyond Costs and Rates - a practical guide to understanding value, discusses the cutting edge of Marketing Agency Management - i.e. measuring Agency Cost, Resource Planning and Agency Performance data to determine Agency Value.

This release in Decideware's "Innovation Series" looks at the important issue of using Scope of Work to manage agency value, and how to understand if you are getting the most from your agency spend.

Integrated Agency Management Using Scope of Work and Agency Evaluation

Posted by Richard Benyon on Apr 23, 2015 11:10:00 AM
 
Last week I had the pleasure of participating in an  ANA procurement series webinar in conjunction with Stuart Sueltman, Assoc. Director – Agencies, J&J Consumer Companies and Yoandra Mordan, Manager - Global Marketing Group, J&J Global Corporate Affairs.
 
Stuart and Yoandra were involved in the J&J implementation of the Decideware agency lifecycle platform, managing the scope of work and evaluation components respectively. The webinar focused on components needed to deliver programs in one of the largest advertising organizations world, addressing both both process and human issues.

2013 ANA Trends in Agency Compensation & the Importance of Scope of Work

Posted by Richard Benyon on Oct 14, 2013 10:28:00 AM

Fee-Based Compensation Dominates

 

In a recent survey by the Association of National Advertisers "2013 ANA Trends in Agency Compensation, 16th Edition" one of the key trends is the inexorable rise in compensation agreements to use labor-based or fixed fees as the primary basis for agency compensation.

This year 81% of all client-agency agreements are fee-based, up from 75% in 2010.

This is even more pronounced in larger advertisers (spend > $500 Million) where a full 94% use fee-based compensation as their primary model. 

Scope of Work & Agency Evaluation: 2011 ANA Thought-leadership Magazine

Posted by Richard Benyon on Jul 1, 2011 11:05:00 AM

This June 2011 issue contains two articles: 

"Beyond Cost and Rates: A Practical Guide to Understanding the Value of Agency Relationship" by Steven Wales, which overviews the value of agency relationship and looking beyond the traditional theory of cutting costs. The article explores the "value equation" which views the overall worth of each individual agency relationship. 

In "Driving Performance: Key Insights on How to Maximize an Agency Evaluation Program", Richard Benyon interviews Ken Lloyd, author ofPerformance Appraisals and Phrases for Dummies for his perspective on agency evaluation programs and how to maximize the evaluation process.

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