KAMs: a shift in the centre of gravity?

With trade funding growing to some 20% of sales revenue, often at the expense of above-the-line budgets, Brian Moore, managing director of EMR-NAMNEWS, debates the increasing influence of key account managers (KAM) - and asks: are they more important than brand managers? Their vital links with sophisticated retailers, who are in a position to know a great deal about consumers and put pressure on manufacturers, mean that KAMs will wield more power over budget decisions in the future.

KAMs: a shift in the centre of gravity?

Brian Moore

With the growth in trade funding from 5% to 20% of sales in the past 20 years, possibly at a cost to above-the-line budgets in a zero-sum game, it is perhaps useful to explore the possibility that an equivalent shift is taking place in the potential power of key account managers (KAMs) compared to that of their colleagues in brand marketing. Add to this the growth in trade concentration that has resulted in fewer, larger and more powerful customers, and it is probable that a KAM is now managing a...

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