Will the Ad Business Ever Return to In-Office Norms?

While we all are eager to return to an unknown quotnew normalquot a new study conducted by The Myers Report among advertisers and agency teams uncovers evidence of permanent COVID19 related changes that will alter traditional relationships business models and the work experienceAs media companies increase their online presence through dedicated B2B marketing and educational content passwordprotected sites and automated transactions there is a clear trend away from personal relationships and toward disconnected impersonal decisionmaking For a business that has been built and heavily dependent on close agencymedia partnerships this transition will result in significant disruption and a need to rethink and rebuild selling systems and processes to match planning and buying systems implemented by a new cohort of Gen Z professionals who do not share the perception of media sales organizations as partners but rather view them as inanimate aggregators of data defined by algorithmsInPerson vs AutomationTwothirds of advertiser and agency professionals prefer to continue postpandemic with Online Video Meetings for their relationships with media sellers rather than return to prepandemic in person meetings and events Just onethird say they would prefer to revert to prepandemic inperson meetings and events The data is consistent across males and females advertisers and agency teams and across all age groups and seniority levels Among Hispanic and Asian industry professionals 75 prefer to retain a virtual presence for buyerseller meetingsTwentyfive percent of the 700 study respondents say they prefer presentations and communications focused on preprogrammed PPTvideo presentations and email In addition20 would like to depend primarily on automatedprogrammatic computer transactions with minimal personal contact16 say they intend to limit personal buyerseller contact primarily to industry events gatherings UpfrontNewFront presentations13 prefer to coordinate with sales organizations through QampampASupport at a Supplier39s Dedicated Web PortalAnd seven percent of professionals in the business 8 years plan to depend more on media sellers39 online B2B portals compared to 17 of both advertiser respondents and those in the business fewer than eight yearsAccording to The Myers Report data 57 of advertiser and agency media plannersbuyers in the business more than eight years believe the UpfrontNewFront process will remain the dominant focus of advertiseragencyseller relationships for the next five years down from more than 80 just a few years ago Among all 700 agency and advertiser respondents to The Myers Report survey 33 believe programmaticautomated media buyingselling will be the dominant link between buyers and sellers within five years A market check of trends suggests the acceleration will be more rapid most likely restructuring within the next three years If history is an indicator of the future some form of Upfront buying will remain in place for many years as premium video inventory becomes increasingly rare and valuable However the future definition of quotpremiumquot is still to be determinedIn 1993 as Mosaic the first Internet browser was introduced I predicted a 30year period of radical industry transformation that would disrupt and impact on the full marketing advertising and media ecosystem I wrote quotMarketers may be facing shifts in consumer and communications patterns for which there are no precedents and for which they are ill prepared It39s time to take a hard look at approaches to marketingquot As the InformationDigital Age transformation segues into a new 30year cycle of advanced technology expansion it39s appropriate to adapt my 1993 comment to quotMedia companies are facing shifts in consumer and brand marketing patterns for which they are illprepared It39s time to take a hard look at approaches to legacy advertising sales models that are devolving toward impressionsbased commoditization and computerbased transactionsquotFor brand marketers and agencies 21st century reinvention and innovation has been injected into their DNA for the past halfdecade The pandemic has accelerated transformative shifts in their businesses that are leaving advertising sales teams in their wake and at their mercyNew OpportunitiesAt MediaVillage through our Myers Report research our extensive pool of data on B2B content open rates and site visits and our AdvancingDiversityorg partnership we are witnessing growing demand for online education among a new and more diverse agency and advertiser workforceAs a direct result of the shift to an onlineonly workforce combined with Black Lives Matterinspired activism the percentage of Black employees at advertisers and agency companies in the first two years of their career has dramatically increased from 2 to 17 and among those in the business three to seven years the increase has been from four to twenty percent This data may have been impacted by slight changes in the methodology but it39s consistent with anecdotal data shared by agency leaders Progress in the upper ranks has been less notable and the data reinforces increased prioritization by AdvancingDiversityorg on retention while also expanding talent attraction initiatives The theme of this year39s Advancing Diversity Week hosted by MediaVillage and AdvancingDiversityorg is From Inclusion to Belonging expanding on the organization39s emphasis on Advancing Diversity from Advocacy to ActivismThe specific growth rates of Black agency and advertiser teams is a compelling calltoaction to media companies to look inside their own organizations and assess if they are sufficiently moving the needle and responding to a changing marketplace The question cuts across talent B2B marketing tools and resources outsourced automation and B2B managed services and overall strategic purpose and priorities MediaVillage and The Myers Report will soon issue results from two major surveys among consumers advertisers and agencies providing answers to these questionsOriginally published at The ContinuumPhoto credit Windows on Unsplash

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Will the Ad Business Ever Return to In-Office Norms?

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Jack Myers

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