navigate through your media and advertising spend with ... · media and advertising spend with...

Navigate through your media and advertising spend with strategic insightMarketing and Advertising Risk Services

Benefits of our servicesWe leverage our operational knowledge and industry experience by taking a risk-based approach that focuses on the critical challenges facing marketers today.

Our Marketing and Advertising Risk Services professionals have deep knowledge of and experience in the marketing communications industry and related financial and operational processes, including media, creative production, promotions, digital/interactive and all other related marketing disciplines. Our reviews can help deliver cost savings, determine operational effectiveness and assist companies in mitigating risks inherent with their marketing investment, including:

• Rationalizing marketing suppliers and spend

• Obtaining tighter cost control, optimizing cost savings/recovery and recommending marketing process improvements

• Validating compliance to contractual terms and proof of performance (Did you get what you paid for?) and achieving better contract terms by leveraging results

• Benchmarking media costs and quality to the marketplace

• Developing metrics that can enhance measures for vendor performance and relationships

We consistently deliver tangible results and provide valuable insights into contract terms, processes and controls.

Managing marketing investments and advertising initiatives that drive brand equity and sales can be one of the most challenging but important responsibilities a company may encounter. Marketing and advertising spending may be as high as 10% to 40% of a company’s direct costs. Many executives try to maximize returns on their marketing investments by improving their management of specific marketing initiatives, technologies or processes.

Marketing challengesMarketing managers must overcome significant marketing investment challenges, such as:

• Maintaining marketing spend in difficult economic times. As one of the largest corporate spend areas for Fortune 1000 companies, marketing spend is a perennial target for early cost reduction when times get tough.

• Sharing responsibilities . There is a growing trend of Procurement/Sourcing Departments getting involved in the marketing communications space to identify ways to drive cost savings and maximize business relationships.

• Realizing the future is now . Digital marketing channels are growing and increasingly becoming core to a marketer’s media investment, while traditional media are being challenged to adapt to the new dynamic paradigm. This requires better data and new skill sets to manage these more complex, integrated marketing programs.

• Making the numbers . Stakeholders demand greater control, better risk management and stronger business justification for marketing expenditures. Finance wants marketing to deliver “trackable” forecasts and demonstrable results.

• Trusting, but verifying . Marketers may use several providers/agencies and are challenged to develop structured processes to validate compliance against contractual terms and obtain the necessary transparency to control costs.

The Mitchell & Titus differenceA member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited, we are the only CPA firm with a fully dedicated media and advertising practice staffed by former agency media and financial executives. Our engagements are managed by people who offer real-world knowledge gained from years of practical experience working inside marketing, advertising and communications agencies. These professionals are supported by the significant investments we have made in media and advertising tools (e.g., Nielsen, SQAD, Arbitron, SRDS, Mediaplex, ABC, etc.) that enable us to work efficiently and drive value for our clients. We offer “one-stop” shopping by offering a full suite of services related to agency relationships and performance audits. Our services include agency performance metrics/evaluations, creative/workforce (fee) audits, creative production financial processes/efficiencies, media buying performance reviews and cost/quality benchmarking and financial reviews across all media types (e.g., broadcast, print, FSI, direct mail and digital/online).

Investing in marketing should increase your brand equity and sales. Mitchell & Titus’ reviews allow companies to maximize returns from these investments by delivering cost savings and process improvement ideas as well as strategic insights into risk and performance management.

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Spend management and monitoringFocus area Benefits Examples

Contract compliance and financial reviews

• Cost recoveries and savings• Verify contract compliance for all markets • Risk management and fiscal accountability• Centralization — checkpoints (someone

is watching)• Protect intellectual property and

limit litigation

• Evaluate agency’s compliance with contractual terms• Covers all agency types: creative, direct marketing,

public relations, digital/online, promotions, event marketing, media and multi-cultural ad agencies

• Assess rebates for undeclared or undistributed rebates• Review and validate media savings targets

Marketing spend and supplier rationalization

• Supplier/agency consolidation• Use results to get smarter/leverage better

agreements

• Analyze marketing supplier/agency “landscape”• Identify cost-saving opportunities through potential supplier

consolidation, optimizing contract terms and developing standardized marketing procure to pay processes and tools

Marketing business process and operational improvement

• Obtain tighter control over rising advertising and media costs

• Continuous improvement

• Evaluate end-to-end marketing and advertising financial processes

• Identify/eliminate redundant process steps• Evaluate how actuals are tracked against approved spending

ROI performance and marketing mix optimization analysis

• Improve market share• Assess financial impact• Prepare for competitive activity• Enhance ROI• Improve marketing spending

and allocation

• Compare marketing effectiveness versus competition• Evaluate the allocation of marketing dollars among

marketing channels• Analyze the financial impact of different spending levels

Media performance improvementFocus area Benefits Examples

Media buying performance assessments (broadcast, print, digital):• Buying• Quality

• Verify that you got what you paid for• Use results to get smarter/leverage better

agreements• Continuous improvement

• Determine that advertising ran as scheduled and reported by media vendor and agency

• Compare actual delivery to goals and guarantees• Analyze the schedule stewardship by agency and media,

including validation of GRP delivery and achievement of guaranteed CPMs

• Report of owed value by media vendors• Review compliance with buying guidelines

Media cost benchmarking • Allows comparisons of your costs to the marketplace

• Continuous improvement

• Provide data to assist in improving buy strategy and execution going forward

• Provide quantitative basis for agency performance evaluation

Media performance framework

• Use results to get smarter/leverage better agreements

• Respond to competitive changes in the marketplace

• Continuous improvement

• Define and develop a media performance measurement framework

• Co-develop qualitative and quantitative metrics/KPIs• Define performance measurement framework across the

portfolio and brands

Media management review • Obtain tighter control over rising advertising and media costs

• Continuous improvement

• Determine how media communication is currently managed, with a view to identifying ways to efficiently deploy media

• Determine that media planning costs are accurate/actionable

• Review stakeholder input on strategic development: creative agency, media planners and media buyers

• Identify process gaps and risk areas • Benchmark current processes

Service offerings

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Contact usFor more information about how our services can help make a difference with managing your marketing investment, please contact:

Rick Gonzalez Marketing and Advertising Risk Services Leader +1 212 709 4537 rick.gonzalez@mitchelltitus.ey.com

Mitchell & Titus | Assurance | Tax | Advisory

About Mitchell & Titus, LLPMitchell & Titus, LLP is the preeminent minority-controlled professional services firm offering Assurance, Tax and Advisory services in the US. Our inclusive environment and diverse thinking result in creative options for our clients. As a member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited, clients can tap into a wide array of sophisticated, global services. At the same time, Mitchell & Titus’ heritage of quality and seasoned professionals bring varied insight to every engagement. For more information about our organization, please visit mitchelltitus.com.

About EYEY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

© 2014 Mitchell & Titus, LLP.All Rights Reserved.

SCORE no. BT0402

This material has been prepared for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be relied upon as accounting, tax, or other professional advice. Please refer to your advisors for specific advice.

ED None.

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