Marla Kaplowitz Engages Philippe Krakowsky At 4A's Decisions 2022

ContextKaplowitz and 4A39s have over 600 ad agency members who handle 85 of total advertising spend in the US She works closely with her members and knows intimately what concerns they have about the present and future problems of fee levels client churn talent retention talent acquisition depressed salaries and managing the challenges of technology while dealing with the disruptions of the COVID pandemicAs the CEO of a 9 billion diversified public corporation Krakowsky lives breathes and manages efforts to seek solutions for industry problems but there are limits to what any CEO can say in a public forumWithin a few days of this session with Kaplowitz IPG would announce its sterling 2021 financial results IPGamp8217s stock price had already increased by 54 since the day Krakowsky was appointed an astounding performance bolstered by the 2021 resurgence of media spend in the industry Krakowsky must have been musing privately how he could keep this performance goingThe InterviewKaplowitz did not hold back in her questioning of Krakowsky In an intense 25minute exchange she asked six key questionsWhat do you view as the biggest challenge we currently face as an industryCan you talk a little bit about what you and your leaders are doing to address the talent retention and acquisition of talentWhat are your top one or two favorite myths about the industry that you believe we need to do away withYou39ve said that you want IPG to be a high value business partner to your clients How do you really articulate that with themWhat does the future agency model look like How do you envision it evolving over the next few years What do the next few years look likeWhat do you see as the core growth areas for agenciesPredictably Krakowsky39s answers were not entirely direct nor were they evasive They were truthful but general staying within the limits that he felt he could comfortably speak about publicly His edited responses appear belowThe biggest industry challenge That39s a really broad question There are so many things that we need to focus on and and make progress on but I guess if I had to pull it down and try to kind of distill it into one thought I would say that it39s keeping pace with the changes that technology is driving in every facet of our lives He elaborated further on this themeThe talent issue We want our people to be in a company that innovates a company that cares about inclusion and diversity a creative business that on the media side takes a point of view and a stand on media responsibility So itamp8217s a mix of a lot of things I don39t think there39s a moment where you can solve for this issue We need to lean into things that we39re thinking about the things that we need to prioritizeThe myths I don39t think about myths I think we need to shine a light on the breadth and the depth of what we do The sophistication and nature by which we integrate across data and technology and marketing services and creativity needs to be better understood I don39t think that collectively we get credit for thisIPG as a highvalue partner for clients The economy39s becoming more and more digital That requires us to rethink how as a company weamp8217re addressing or leaning into digital ways of working onetoone interactions with consumers putting information to work and using it to make informed decisions We need to show up and be able to say that we can help address that range of issues and that we sit in a place where we39re the experts in a range of marketing services and disciplinesThe future agency model The future agency is more precise more impactful and accountable with a greater ability to understand the audiences that clients are trying to connect with or impact or engage with But itamp8217s not one thing there is no one future modelCore growth areas for agencies Healthcareamp8217s been really strong and I think it probably stays that way There39s opportunity for all our creative agencies because they39re more and more connected I think that some of the businesses that have been hurt by the pandemic like the sports marketing business and the experiential business provide opportunities I don39t see any places where you can39t get to There are many interesting places for growthNo concrete solutions to the industryamp8217s challenges were put on the table but no one hearing the interview could doubt the quality of thinking and energy invested in finding a more stable and valuable future for those in the industryClick 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 MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Marla Kaplowitz Engages Philippe Krakowsky At 4A's Decisions 2022

Author

Publish date

Channel

Archived in

Michael Farmer

FEMA and the Ad Council Encourage AANHPI Communities to Enhance Disaster Preparedness in New PSAs - Ad Council InSites

More Videos:

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Marla Kaplowitz Engages Philippe Krakowsky At 4A's Decisions 2022

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Michael Farmer

Stay in the know with more from MediaVillage

TAGS:

FEMA and the Ad Council Encourage AANHPI Communities to Enhance Disaster Preparedness in New PSAs - Ad Council InSites

Cookies