371: Using Qualifications-based Selection (QBS) for Sourcing Creative Services w/ Leah Power

Marketing is just one of the functions that procurement has a somewhat ‘rocky’ history of past relationships with. When you extend that existing internal friction into the relationship with creative agencies, the problems and disconnects seem to compound.

Leah Power is the EVP, Strategic Operations Consultant at the Institute of Communication Agencies. Prior to this, she served as the COO at Grey Canada and the Finance Director at DDB Canada. Her primary focus is helping agency executives resolve business issues related to new business growth, finances, procurement, and agency remuneration. 

In this conversation, Leah speaks with Host Philip Ideson about:

Why RFPs are not the best sourcing strategy for creative agency spend

Why a ‘price first’ approach drives innovation in standardized product categories but inhibits it in value-based service categories like marketing 

How procurement can help determine a good or ‘best’ fit between a company and the capabilities of a range of creative agencies