Following a strong start to our Lunch and Learn series, our second Lunch and Learn session explored an area that many procurement professionals find uniquely challenging: Marketing Procurement.

Led by Nina Chandé, a Marketing Procurement experts with over two decades of experience, the session was a deep dive into the common pitfalls that prevent marketing procurement from reaching its full potential and how we can flip those mistakes into meaningful impact. Nina opened with a simple but powerful thought: “Logic makes us think but emotion makes us act. Procurement needs both.” That quote anchored the entire conversation.

Marketing today is more complex than ever. From digital spend to influencer campaigns and media buying, there are countless decisions being made at pace. When things go wrong, the costs are not just financial. They can impact brand reputation, customer trust and long term growth. That is why getting procurement’s role right matters more than ever.

Nina unpacked five of the most common mistakes organisations make when approaching marketing procurement. These often stem from a traditional mindset that does not suit this fast moving, relationship led category.

The first mistake is chasing savings over strategy. Too often, marketing spend is managed with a cost cutting lens rather than a value creation one. The fix lies in aligning procurement with marketing’s wider business goals. It is not about squeezing suppliers. It is about enabling outcomes that matter like brand reach, customer engagement and revenue growth.

Next, we discussed the tendency to treat agencies like vendors. Marketing success depends on creativity, agility and collaboration. One sided negotiations that prioritise control over partnership can damage outcomes. Nina encouraged procurement professionals to build agency relationships with shared KPIs, mutual transparency and a long term mindset.

Artificial intelligence was another strong theme. A common mistake is ignoring or rushing AI adoption. Tools are often introduced without clarity on why or without assessing whether teams are ready. The message was clear. Get on the bus with AI but do it with purpose. Audit where you are, align your tools with the right people and skills and make sure AI supports your strategy rather than just your processes.

We also explored the issue of negotiating to win alone. Adversarial price only negotiations rarely deliver lasting value. Instead, Nina spoke about the power of collaborative negotiation. This means co-creating solutions, understanding the psychology behind stakeholder needs and investing in negotiation skills. There are plenty of tools available but human touch and trust still matter. Procurement teams should not hesitate to ask for training in this space. It is not just a skill. It is an art.

Another recurring challenge is operating in isolation from marketing and digital. Many procurement teams are brought in too late, often after key decisions have already been made. Nina emphasised the importance of embedding procurement earlier in the planning process. That way we can shape strategy, support innovation and build integrated outcomes that work for the whole organisation.

Throughout the session Nina offered practical ways to reframe how we approach marketing procurement. She spoke about the need to shape strategy with stakeholders, build meaningful partnerships, run purposeful pilots, co create value and embed procurement early where it can make the greatest difference.

This was not just a list of tips. It was a mindset shift. Marketing procurement is not about controlling spend. It is about unlocking potential.

Thank you to Nina for a session full of energy, honesty and actionable advice. A big thank you to everyone who joined us and contributed to a lively and thoughtful conversation. We are now getting ready for our next Lunch and Learn on 11th July at 12:30 pm BST with Verónica Celis, CEO and Founder of Valumia. She will lead a session on “Why Your Supply Chain Might Be a Time Bomb and How to Defuse It”. We will explore supply chain risk and how greater transparency can help organisations act before issues escalate.

Let us keep learning one lunch break at a time.