The Advertising Industry As We Know It Is About To Blow Up!

Fact 1 amp160The transparency issue has put advertisers agencies and media companies in a confrontational zone It was in many ways created by pressures on cost Hopefully we can at least bring it to a resolution that engenders a greater level of trust confidence and collaboration But it will take a significant change in business practices and attitude on the part of all partiesamp160 Agencies need to be assured of a reasonable profit and advertisers need to understand the significant investment agencies are making to deliver what they want in terms of resources and technology Media companies also need to understand the deal flow and that they canamp8217t get in the middle of the advertiseragency relationship to only serve their financial self interestFact 2amp160 Technology has permanently changed the game and nobody has yet figured out how to best deal with these changes With more to come If you think programmatic buying is unsettling with all that goes along with it think about fact 3Fact 3 amp160Ad blocking That really is a problem Digital ad spending continues to outpace all traditional media forms And all traditional media forms are still trying to figure out what to do about digital platforms Sure all media must embrace digital technology and use their assets to enhance revenue and profits amp160But it seems to be a leaky bucket because trying to preserve core assets while creating new building blocks is a difficult task Ad blocking technology can literally take down the industry unless proper solutions can be found Honestly itamp8217s not a legal issue itamp8217s a consumer issue and a business issue Content and creativity including native advertising product placement sponsorship etc will obviously play an important role but ad blocking will change the monetization and metrics of digital media Donamp8217t tell me about DVRs itamp8217s not quite the same thingFact 4 amp160Advertising in all forms is not necessarily getting any better If you spend time with virtually any medium on or offline you can understand why ad blocking is so attractive Sure there are exceptions as there always have been but advertising today seems to be more about getting attention than making genuine emotional connections amp8220Break through the clutteramp8221 thatamp8217s the mantra Even if you have a really good commercial can anyone be expected to sit through all the ones that precede it and still hold the audience Or be interrupted so intrusivelyFact 5amp160 Client relationships are judged to be less than satisfactory Look at any survey among CMOs and you have the answer But what really brings it to bear is the number of agency changes that continue to go on among clients Unprecedented Whatamp8217s even more stunning as was recently announced is that a client who changed media agencies about two years ago changed again last year and recently changed back again to its previous agency about a year later and the press release read about the same as it did the last timeFact 6 amp160Client InHouse Operations Itamp8217s not necessarily new but itamp8217s on the rise Not only media but creative services too With the advent of technology and automated processes client inhouse trading desks and strategic resources are gaining ground Some are even bringing creative people on board The reasons are primarily cost data sharing control and response time Of course many advertisers donamp8217t fully realize the full cost associated with bringing communication and technology amp160services inhouse but once they get started they will be committed to getting it right with plenty of help from ad tech companies consultants and the media who all expect to benefit in their own wayFact 7 amp160Talent Advertising used to be an occupation that at least seemed interesting and often exciting It wasnamp8217t ever ranked up there with medicine or law but at least it attracted some very good talent And the agency business was not just about making money It was art and science as well as financial interest amp160Writers and art directors had strong motives for doing great work not just to win awards and they understood the commercial side about building client sales Big ideas unique storytelling compelling connections that sold products that was the end gameamp160 Media also had an important role and it became as much a strategic competence as it did buying efficiency amp160Now the agency attraction has waned and even worse there is little investment in training young people Get it from the getgo or find a job somewhere elseFact 8amp160 Wall Street Influence Most big advertisers are public companies They need to keep that stock price up Show top line growth and good margins Most agencies are owned by public holding companies too The financial pressure is on both sides So what do you think motivates the business In my view itamp8217s immediate ROI If thatamp8217s the game itamp8217s being played on a quarterly basis Maybe thatamp8217s ok But it becomes a very high risk business with a lot less incentive to invest And that can drag down even the best intentionsFact 9 The rise of the startups Needless to say the digital explosion has perpetuated this trend as specific skills have compelled agencies and clients to add the services they require But several clients have decided to engage these services directly at fees they can negotiate without excessive overhead Personal service and unequivocal commitment has also given rise to smaller creative shops in addition to specialized media agencies consultants and ad tech companies who dedicate themselves to clients in a way that used to be mainstream These relationships have become increasingly important as the big got bigger and agencies became more detached from clients and preoccupied with internal management affairs These new entities also offer full support and flexibility to clients who choose how and when they want to work with vendors And more clients are now willing to manage the process themselvesFact 10 Overwhelming data amp160We are awash with data today Thatamp8217s good as long as we know how to interpret it with the right people communicating it correctly and effectively in simple language The advertising business particularly media has a lexicon all its own And digital speak has made it almost a foreign language Letamp8217s get back to straightforward discussions that all participants can understand Otherwise we subject the industry to misinterpretation frustration and clients who donamp8217t have the tolerance for sitting through meetings with a lack of comprehensionIf you want to add any more facts please go ahead But Iamp8217d rather we all think about how we can make things better and really elevate the foundation we builtThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageMyersBizNet management or associated bloggers

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The Advertising Industry As We Know It Is About To Blow Up!

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Mike Drexler

We Are the Outliers - By Jack Myers

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The Advertising Industry As We Know It Is About To Blow Up!

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Mike Drexler

We Are the Outliers - By Jack Myers

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