Ariba Helps Companies Rein in Marketing Spend

Marketing and sales go hand in hand. If you don’t market your goods and services, it’s tough to sell them. But, in an increasingly global economy, the costs of marketing have become significant. Which poses a unique challenge to today’s chief marketing and procurement officers: how can we expand our reach through marketing projects and control our costs while maintaining our brand identity and increasing our ROI? On January 17, Ariba, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARBA), the leading spend management solutions provider, will host an interactive webcast to discuss ways in which companies can do just this. The live session will take place at 1 p.m. ET.

"Marketing organizations are under constant pressure to find innovative ways to promote their brand. And they must carefully balance their investments across print, online and broadcast channels," said Kris Colby, Director, Spend Management Services, Ariba. "With budgets typically very tight, CMOs must identify the right mix of programs and work closely with their peers in procurement to maximize their investments and the returns they generate."

During the January 17 webinar, Ariba will outline best practices that companies can implement to achieve dramatic and sustainable savings across their marketing spend while maintaining the quality of their programs and improving productivity, including:

1. Get a grip:
   
   The key to successfully sourcing marketing spend lies in understanding the unique requirements and concerns of key stakeholders and developing an integrated approach to address them. Be sure to allow stakeholders to communicate their needs and be willing to make the trade offs necessary to drive savings without sacrificing quality.



2. Remove the fear factor:
   
   Demonstrate how cost-efficiency and quality can co-exist and increase the value that marketing delivers through re-pricing and aggregating vendors, re-defining specifications, formalizing processes and tying them to contract compliance, and increasing collaboration with key suppliers.


3. Educate:
   
   By outlining the value and opportunities created by effective spend management - for instance, money saved can be used to fund additional projects - you can gain the buy-in needed to drive your program on an enterprise-wide basis.


4. Customize your approach:
   
   Marketing projects have unique requirements that must be taken into account when developing strategic sourcing events. By adapting your approach to account for their nuances and allowing suppliers to outline their creative capabilities, you can adequately compare price and non-price factors to make optimal decisions that align with and advance both marketing and overall business goals.


5. Look beyond technology:
   
   When it comes to effectively managing marketing spend, software alone is not enough. By leveraging solutions that combine technology, commodity expertise and services, you can more effectively compare suppliers based on unique characteristics and make optimal sourcing decisions that lower costs while increasing quality.

"With the right processes in place, companies can maximize their marketing investments and execute innovative and highly creative programs that deliver results," Colby said.

To learn more about Ariba's spend management solutions and services and the results they are helping organizations of all sizes deliver across categories, please visit www.ariba.com.


To register for the January 17 webcast, please visit: https://event.on24.com

About Ariba, Inc.

Ariba, Inc. is the leading provider of spend management solutions to help companies realize rapid and sustainable bottom line results. Successful companies around the world in every industry use Ariba Spend Management™ software and services. Ariba can be contacted in the U.S. at 1.650.390.1000 or at www.ariba.com.