ACA boss Tony Hale warns of 360-day payment terms: ‘agencies are not banks’
Breaking overnight, US beverage conglomerate Keurig Dr Pepper has attracted scrutiny for demanding payment terms of 360 days, which has now prompted ACA CEO Tony Hale to warn any Australian business of similar conduct.
In a statement released by the ACA this morning, Hale endorsed a red alert issued by global agency association VoxComm as a result of Keurig Dr Pepper’s (KDP) conducting during the pitching process for its PR account.
Whichever way you look at it, it’s a disgrace. It’s an insult to the agencies and the people within that do the work.
Whilst I have never been exposed to 360 day credit terms – our big brands with high profile CMOs regularly have 90+ days on payment – provision or securement of a Purchase Order can take a month alone!….meanwhile the work is done months back, meaning its 90 days after the work is done. Its ok if a ongoing retainer, but large brands also manipulate their suppliers as credit facilities.
I don’t know how any business can claim to have a “partnership” with an agency and do this kind of thing at the same time.
Simples.