Predicting the future of advertising is a vacuous exercise, but one that the business press consistently puts forward because people are concerned about the jobs they have today, and the jobs they may or may not have tomorrow. There's no question that the agency business fighting through a period of radical change to the business model. Last year, I interviewed Joe Olsen, CEO of Rova. He said, “Agencies …
Advertising Royalty Vie For The Crown In Cannes
Two of the ad industry's most iconic leaders spoke from the stage in Cannes this week. According to The Guardian, Sir Martin Sorrell used his first public appearance since being forced to leave the advertising group WPP to criticise the board of his former company, dismiss suggestions that he paid for a sex worker on company expenses, and complain he was not treated fairly. Is anyone surprised that a …
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Mark Read’s “Read” On the State of Advertising Today
The Adverati are once again gathered in Cannes for the annual ego festival. The business press is also in place, in case anything important happens. If nothing important happens, the press will fall back on what someone said. https://youtu.be/gdVh_HRcvZ0 According to Reuters, Mark Read, Co-Chief Operating Officer of WPP, and the holding company's former digital boss, said some things. The world’s biggest …
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There’s A New Aggregator of Boutique Agencies in Town
What if small agencies with amazing talent combined forces under one umbrella? Might that improve creative output at scale? According to The Wall Street Journal, Plan A, a new advertising-holding company based in New York City will bring together a wide range of creative boutiques. MT Carney, the founder of ad firm Untitled Worldwide, and Andrew Essex, the former CEO of Tribeca Film Festival and Droga5, are …
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Talent Is Talent, But Senior Creative Talent Is A Precious Human Resource
For clients who have it all figured out, I suggest working with a junior creative team. The client will dictate his or her desires, and the creatives on the account will do their best to please while spinning their wheels and costing the client more in the long run than the more experienced team. So, why are agencies and clients slow to hire senior creative people? You'd think that the most experienced people, as …
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Frenemies by Ken Auletta: The Adpulp Book Review
Does Michael Kassan single-handedly control the advertising and marketing industries? Now, I don’t shuttle between New York City, Cannes, CES, and AAAA conferences, but apparently Kassan does. As CEO of MediaLink, a “strategic advisory and business development firm,” he’s a svengali/consigliere/media whisperer-type guy who’s a conduit between the biggest players among ad agencies, media buying firms, holding …
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Future Ad Makers of America Get Schooled In Pasadena
When you want to study advertising today, where do you go to school? Depending on your educational and professional objectives, there are a handful of excellent options. There's VCU Brandcenter, University of Texas, University of Oregon, University of Colorado, and the portfolio schools. Another path can be found at Savannah College of Art and Design (where Luke Sullivan teaches). Finally, future ad makers will …
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ANA To Acquire DMA, Forming Largest MARCOM Trade Group in U.S.
The ANA (Association of National Advertisers), one of the oldest and most venerated trade association in the marketing industry, announced that it is acquiring another leading trade group, the Data & Marketing Association (formerly the Direct Marketing Association). The move was approved today by the board of directors of each organization, subject to formal approval of the voting members of the DMA. The …
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