Advertising: Who Cares? Who Wouldn't?

In April Nick Manning and I had one of our regular twooldguysinacoffeeshopmoaningaboutthestateoftheadindustry sessions This one was a little different amp8211 for two reasonsFirst we joined the dots Maybe it took us longer than it should but it finally struck us that one reason for the overall poor quality of creative output these days is because advertisersamp8217 focus directed there it must be said by those who should know better is more on the numbers reached than on the message deliveredAnd secondly we decided to try to do something about it To be fair we were a bit like a couple of cartoon characters thumping the table metaphorically you understand and shouting amp8216something must be doneamp8217 rather quietly so as not to upset the good citizens of Putney without having much idea of what exactlyWe settled on a blog amp8211 thereamp8217s revolutionary for you amp8211 and in that original post wrote amp8220We intend putting on an event whose shape and scale will be driven by the interest we generate Maybe weamp8217ll need a conference venue maybe a large table maybe a small deskamp8221We laid out our manifesto and decided on five key topics In a nutshellBusiness models nobody thinks the current model largely unchanged since the 1970amp8217s worksTrading transparency and trust trust in advertising is in short supply shining a light on how the industry works can only be a good thingMeasurement and accountability metrics that mean little and are often wilfully misinterpreted need to be replaced by meaningful validated dataRecruitment and wellbeing starting salaries in agencies are virtually the same as they were 20 years ago and thereamp8217s less satisfaction and enjoyment to act as a counterbalance A career in advertising isnamp8217t the attraction it once wasBrands and journalism shouldnamp8217t we consider the societal benefits of original professionally produced content when deciding where to spend budgetsThe aim is for a group of likeminded people to discuss and debate and to emerge with pragmatic forwardthinking positive ideas on how best to move the industry aheadI find it hard to think of a single reason why anyone would have any problem with any of thisDo we really think that the current business models work Not if you listen to the moans around the industry on how weamp8217re not appreciated not properly rewardedIs spending someone elseamp8217s money without explaining exactly why weamp8217re suggesting whatever weamp8217re suggesting and the benefits professionalAre we happy with the obsession with numbers that have little connection to business effect and the lack of a full debate on what to do about itIs it acceptable that todayamp8217s graduates simply donamp8217t consider advertising to be an attractive enjoyable professionAnd shouldnamp8217t we at least consider the consequences of breaking the ties between ad spend and original content creationThe old virtuous circle amp8211 do great work attract more clients grow the business by doing great work for those clients has been replaced by a linear model driven not by admen but by money men Identify an opportunity invest grow cut costs sellItamp8217s said of social media that you as the user are not the customer but the resource In todayamp8217s ad world the client whose business weamp8217re there to grow is it seems no longer centralThe Advertising Who Cares movement has attracted 340 individuals whoamp8217ve volunteered to help recentre the industry There are some interesting things about this groupFirst they are individuals who care Theyamp8217re not corporate shills noone is being told to do thisIn fact just the opposite a fair few wish to remain anonymous Many of them work for large advertising businesses We are delighted to have their support and to protect their identitiesIsnamp8217t it strange that the largest advertising businesses on the planet are not actively supporting an attempt to make advertising as an industry work betterNot only that but some have created a culture within which freethinking individuals working for them feel they have to go undercover to support this initiativeThe same is true of the platforms although I do sortof get why theyamp8217ve done extremely well on the back of what might politely be termed a lack of buyersamp8217 curiosityItamp8217s also true of some amp8216The Media Leaderamp8217 is an honourable exception of our trade press and weirdly the ad agency trade body which disappoints me as an IPA FellowWhat drives Nick and me is a desire to do what we can to make the ad industry a better place One that attracts the best people so that they can bring their skills to bear on clientsamp8217 businessesWe amp8211 and those many people and organisations helping us in one way or another are doing this for free If we do make anything weamp8217ll donate the balance to NABS If we donamp8217t cover our direct costs well so be itOur launch event in September has attracted attendees from all over including the US Australia Europe Scandinavia China and New Zealand With two weeks to go we have 9 tickets leftWeamp8217re sure initiatives will emerge but just what theyamp8217ll be we wonamp8217t prejudgeWe hope the largest players will join usPosted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership selfpublishing platformClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageorgMyersBizNet

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Advertising: Who Cares? Who Wouldn't?

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Brian Jacobs

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