Maximizing efficiency in a competitive growth environment
Optimizing Marketing Expenditures: How a Fashion Retailer Achieved 8.5% Savings and Fueled Growth
In today’s rapidly evolving digital marketplace, high-growth, digital-first brands face the dual challenge of scaling their operations while optimizing marketing investments. Rising advertising costs and intensifying competition amplify these pressures, making it imperative for businesses to maximize the value of every dollar spent.
Our client, a fast-growing fitness apparel and accessories provider, epitomized this challenge. Digital marketing was the backbone of their expansion, driving brand visibility and customer acquisition. Yet, without structured supplier agreements or a strategic framework to guide marketing spend, they were missing critical opportunities to unlock value and drive efficiencies.
Retail
Objectives: Optimizing marketing spend and unlocking strategic value
This project was designed to demonstrate how procurement principles could elevate marketing investments into a strategic advantage. It focused on two core objectives:
The first was to maximize financial returns by securing cost benefits through strategic supplier negotiations. Opportunities such as ad credits, bonuses, and other incentives were targeted to optimize costs and improve marketing return on investment.
The second objective centered on enhancing strategic partnerships. By aligning supplier incentives with the client’s long-term growth goals, the project aimed to foster collaborative relationships that could unlock additional qualitative value, driving both innovation and sustainable success.
Together, these objectives sought to transform the client’s marketing expenditures into a source of competitive advantage, blending financial and strategic gains into a cohesive framework for growth.
Approach: Strategic marketing negotiations for immediate impact
To achieve these objectives and translate them into actionable outcomes, INVERTO implemented a targeted and structured program. This initiative was designed to address the client’s challenges and unlock untapped potential in their marketing spend by engaging major digital platforms, including Meta, Google, and TikTok. Recognizing that the absence of formalized agreements limited the client’s ability to optimize value from these partnerships, the approach focused on three key priorities.
The first step involved formalizing spend-based ad credit agreements. By negotiating contracts tied to annual spend targets, we secured additional advertising budgets at no extra cost. This initiative significantly enhanced campaign efficiency, allowing the client to achieve greater results with the same level of investment.
Simultaneously, the team sought to unlock ad-hoc incentives and bonuses that had previously been overlooked. By leveraging these opportunities, we not only delivered immediate financial benefits but also advanced the client’s innovation agenda, positioning them as a forward-thinking partner on these platforms.
Finally, the negotiation efforts extended to embedding long-term financial benefits into contracts. This included securing signing bonuses and achievement rewards that would provide sustained value over time. These carefully negotiated terms ensured the client could reap financial rewards that extended beyond the immediate campaign periods.
By integrating these priorities into a cohesive strategy, INVERTO’s approach achieved immediate, tangible results while simultaneously establishing a framework for long-term growth, innovation, and value creation.
Impact and Results: Unlocking tangible savings and strategic gains
The initiative yielded impressive results, showcasing the transformative potential of procurement in marketing investments.
- Significant Financial Benefits: The client achieved 8.5% savings on marketing spend through ad credits, bonuses, and incentives. These savings were reinvested into growth initiatives, fueling further expansion and strengthening the client’s competitive position.
- Enhanced Supplier Relationships: Structured, collaborative partnerships were established with platforms like Meta, Google, TikTok, and Snap. These partnerships ensured sustained value creation and positioned the client as a strategic partner for future opportunities.
- Strategic Alignment: Access to advanced promotional tools, campaign insights, and platform innovations (e.g., AI tools) supported smarter, data-driven marketing strategies tailored to the client’s growth agenda.
- Foundational Shifts: A procurement-led approach to marketing was introduced, equipping internal teams with the skills and frameworks needed to sustain these benefits long-term.
These outcomes not only delivered immediate savings but also laid a solid foundation for sustained success in an increasingly competitive digital-first market.
