It used to be that new clients for a media agency prioritized speed and agility to market with new campaigns, or even when choosing an agency through the request-for-proposal (RFP) process. But over the last five years, there’s been a subtle but important shift to approaching new business with greater care and scrutiny and less emphasis on speed.

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“I think procurement has played a much bigger part in the client world than it did a decade ago,” added Jon Lefferts, evp of integrated investment at IPG’s UM. “Everybody wants to be profitable and everybody wants return on investment. Everybody wants to be… smarter with their dollars. Clients are feeling that pressure, and it’s our job to make sure that we are leading them down the path where we’re making every dollar count so they can reap the rewards.”

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