Year after year, Wannamaker Associates has proven itself as a leader in marketing solutions. When clients come to us with their business challenges, we roll up our sleeves and deliver the results they need through innovative problem-solving and industry know-how. Within our Case Studies, you’ll find just a few examples of ways we’ve offered effective solutions to our clients’ needs.
- Cost Monitoring & Management – Product Marketing
- Agency Relationship Assessment – Pharmaceuticals
- Agency Selection – Tourism
- Marketing Communications Organization – Telecom
- Marketing Communications Organization – Pharmaceuticals
- Ongoing Consultant Relationship – Telecom
Cost Monitoring & Management – Product Marketing
The Challenge
A major, U.S. multi-product marketer was struggling to control its various agencies’ fees, hours and out-of-pocket charges. Each product team had a unique agency relationship and was charged with managing its own product-marketing budget. However, lack of experience and timely information was too often causing year-end surprises with agency cost overruns. The corporation needed to find a way to manage these costs more effectively.
The Solution
Having seen this same situation many times over the past twenty years, Wanamaker Management Systems (WMS) developed our proprietary, internet-based Agency Resource Management System (ARMS). This tool provides marketers with monthly tracking data on agency hours, by person, function and job, as well as the associated costs. Out-of-pocket expenses are similarly reported monthly by job. Customized reports yield the information necessary to manage advertising agency budgets on a current basis, making timely adjustments possible for hourly overruns, rate changes, unplanned projects, etc. This client is now using Wanamaker ARMS for more than twenty agency/brand relationships with WMS, providing the marketing teams with monthly analysis of the data reported.
Agency Relationship Assessment – Pharmaceuticals
The Challenge
Following several acquisitions, a top-ten pharmaceutical marketer found itself with over 20 Agencies of Record for its extensive portfolio of brands. There was little commonality in contracts or compensation methodology among the agencies. Some agencies had just one or two assigned brands, while some brands were thinly promoted. Managing this diverse roster of agencies had become a significant burden.
The Solution
Wanamaker Associates was asked to review the list of advertising agencies and to make recommendations as to the wisdom, feasibility and potential benefits of roster consolidation. In addition to recommending thoughtful consolidation, Wanamaker designed a process to accomplish it with little disruption of ongoing programs. We also developed uniform contract elements and created a compensation system to which all agencies could subscribe. An important element of that compensation system was an incentive clause to reward agencies for superior performance. This seven-year relationship continues with recommendations for the selection and ongoing management of many of their non-advertising marketing communications resources.
Agency Selection – Tourism
The Challenge
In the politically-charged environment of city tourism, financial allocation and program development can be difficult. Wanamaker Associates was approached by the tourism department of a large U.S. city to help in this process. Funded by tax dollars, various large and small hotels and local attractions, government and tourism staff interests were conflicted over the appropriate allocation and application of advertising funds. This conflict extended to the selection and ongoing evaluation of their agency resources.
The Solution
Wanamaker Associates was engaged as the independent, outside third party to structure an objective agency selection process in which all the diverse interests could have confidence. Having followed that process to a successful, unanimous conclusion, the board of the tourism corporation subsequently engaged Wanamaker for contract and compensation design and annual performance evaluations of the agency, as well as the legislatively mandated, bi-annual, agency selection processes. For ten years, Wanamaker Associates has served this client’s needs, including designing and managing the successful search process for a new President/Executive Director.
Marketing Communications Organization – Telecom
The Challenge
Due to corporate restructuring, a telecommunications company had shifted a majority of their decision making and budget control to regional management. The network was divided into six regions. Each selected a different advertising agency and developed pricing and promotions individually. Wanamaker Associates was approached by the National VP of Marketing to tackle the following assignment:
Tell us how advertising decision making should be structured and how many advertising agencies we should have for maximum efficiency, all the while keeping in mind the retail nature of this business.
The Solution
In reality, this was not at all a simple assignment. In phase one, Wanamaker Associates interviewed top management to better understand short- and long-term goals, including concerns with message management, consistency in look, tone and feel of advertising and timing for uniformity in program and pricing options. Phase two involved interviews with corporate marketing staff, as well as regional presidents, regional marketing managers and, in some cases, their advertising agencies.
After 90 days of research and analysis, Wanamaker helped reorganize the roles and responsibilities of the field marketing and headquarters staff. Following this, we completely restructured the program dealing with the control and payment of their co-op advertising program, in which over $18,000,000 annually was provided to agent/dealers throughout their system. In addition, we structured a strategy to bring media buying into a centralized resource, saving an estimated $2,000,000 in buying fees alone. Thanks to the Wanamaker program, the company saved almost 12% in total costs while decreasing the size of the co-op department.
Marketing Communications Organization – Pharmaceuticals
The Challenge
A Fortune 100 pharmaceutical company was experiencing major inefficiencies in its internal organization. Over 300 field reps were calling on 8,200 specialist MDs detailing more than 11 specific drugs. The volume of materials, sales aids, training documents, audiovisuals, etc. was overwhelming. Each brand group worked with its own agencies, and a majority of this collateral work was going through all the agencies. They hired Wanamaker Associates to evaluate their internal process and develop a more efficient approach to creating and distributing promotional materials.
The Solution
Our study proved the value of centralizing the creation and production of over 80% of the company’s materials with an in-house staff of 35 people. Even in the face of head-count issues, the economics were sound, and management approved the plan. Wanamaker also aided in the selection of a more efficient warehousing and shipping resource. The final element of our study enabled us to gather insights into the materials least used by the field, reducing substantially the total quantity of materials printed.
Ongoing Consultant Relationship – Telecom
The Challenge
Throughout the years, Wanamaker Associates has held a strong working relationship with a leading telecommunications company, performing numerous studies and evaluations of their internal operations. In one of our first assignments, we were asked to establish an internal department to oversee its media investment.
The Solution
Wanamaker Associates helped identify the new department’s specific needs and established one of the first in the industry to be headed by a media professional. We recommended the position after completing an initial study to determine the advisability of a centralized media buying function. It has proven to be a major addition in maximizing their media budget.
Breaking new ground and making the most of budget dollars are nothing new to us. Over the course of our relationship with this telecom company, we’ve performed over 35 different agency evaluation studies, each designed to maximize their agency relationship and budget. In doing so, we’ve made many contributions to the planning and implementation of internal structures and processes affecting both internal and external systems.
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