Skip to main content

Prediction: Major Ad Agency Stumbles in 2007

I was asked to contribute a prediction of a major event in the coming year that is based upon my observations of evolving trends, and submit it for inclusion in the book Happy About Knowing What to Expect in 2007.

Unlike prior years, I submitted only one prediction because I believe that all others I considered truly pale in comparison. The following is my contribution.
"The notion of a mass-market is finally laid to rest, as marketers uncover effective ways to reach clusters of individual consumers that have similar lifestyles, interests and behaviors. At least one big multinational ad agency will fail to evolve, by embracing this transformation. As a result, they will be disregarded as fossils from a bygone era."

Now, before I receive angry emails from the folks at Omnicom Group or Publicis Groupe, please let me explain two things before anyone jumps to conclusions. First, I didn't have a specific multinational ad agency firm in mind when I wrote my prediction. Second, I am not implying that failure means anything more than 'lacking relevance' -- granted, that alone may lead to other repercussions. However, I did not consider the financial implications, so don't bother asking me to tackle that issue.

So, why choose this one topic, from all the other ones that are top-of-mind? It's about perspective, or the lack thereof. Meaning, ad agencies are still thinking about an 'audience' with readers, listeners and viewers -- essentially, the exploitable model of the last century where 'consumers' are held captive by a limited number of mass-media closed-loop delivery channels -- the print, radio and television.

My point: it's difficult to make the transition to acknowledge the free spirited individual participating in an unlimited number of micro-media interactive open-loop communities of purpose -- the social networks of self-expression. Some legacy ad agencies will be unable to guide their employee populous of 'creatives' along this journey. Frankly, the fundamental need for a traditional agency model may very well be questioned by some forward-looking marketers.

If everyone is ultimately capable of being a co-creator, co-arranger or co-marketer of media content -- with meaningful talent assumed -- then why not take the current multinational agency model to the next level of evolution? Several of the large agency groups are merely aggregations of relatively independent and locally-oriented smaller talent pools. Thoughts of assimilating these entities into some form of corporate Borg has been dismissed by the leaders of these companies.

Therefore, why not engage all potentially qualified creative 'participants' to collaborate on a project -- for isn't this in essence the free spirit, freestyle, and all inclusive freelance world of unlimited micro-media? Ask yourself, is your ad agency prepared to embrace this change in the coming year? And, there you have it.

Note, 85 percent of the contributed predictions were accurate last year. Also, other contributors to this year's book include Jay Conrad Levinson, Patricia Seybold, Jim Sterne, and Amy D. Wohl. You may purchase online the paperback version of the book, at a 50 percent discount.

Popular posts from this blog

How WLAN Transforms Industrial Automation

The industrial sector is on the eve of a wireless transformation, driven by an urgent demand for greater network capacity, reliability, and deterministic performance. Historically, manufacturers and mission-critical operations have relied on wired networks — favoring their predictability — because spectrum congestion in legacy 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands limited confidence in wireless for operational technology (OT) environments. However, with the introduction and rapid adoption of the 6GHz spectrum, compounded by significant advances in Wi-Fi standards, industrial facilities are now poised to embrace wireless LANs as the backbone for automation and digital innovation. Industrial WLAN Market Development Recent research from ABI Research forecasts that over 70 percent of industrial-grade wireless LAN access points (WLAN APs) shipped in 2030 will support the 6GHz band. This is a leap from 2 percent in 2023, highlighting a rapid and profound technological shift. The market for ruggedized indust...