Advertising will survive. Not so sure about agencies though.

I was having a chat with a couple of tennis dads on Saturday. One of them, John Bird, is an experienced Ad industry guy. He summed up the position of ad agencies (as distinct from the ad industry as a whole) quite well I thought.
“20 years ago an ad agency made 17% on a client’s media billings. Today they make an average of 3%.”
Or put another way, ad agencies are making a fifth of what they used to, for doing the same work. This can’t last!
The structure of the industry will have to change. It’s only a matter of time.

Hug an agency person

Gruen’s back. This show reminds me that there are some pretty smart people in the advertising industry. The Gruen Transfer brings a sense of pride and professionalism to an industry whose morale is very low. In fact, next time you have an agency meeting, why not give one of the ad people a hug and say ‘thankyou’. Tell them Tony said it was OK.

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/gruentransfer/

Digital Discoveries (or is that Interactive Interpretation?)

If you are sick of being abused for not 'getting' the digital space, I suggest visiting this page. Simon Van Wyk has a spray at ad agencies, clients, media folk, the digital industry and ad agencies again.
It suddenly hit me that digital is like a booming goldrush town: theres money and opportunity everywhere but no one is really sure where. People are digging holes that either collapse on them or yield fortunes. Its a fun ride but there is no certainty. There isnt even an industry as such!

After reading this article I felt quite relived that my knowledge was a bit muddled. It turns out that even the experts disagree, sometimes violently.

http://mumbrella.com.au/2009/03/16/guest-posting-interactive-agencies-need-to-stop-being-digital-agencies/

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