- Shahnaz Mahmud

ORLANDO, FLA. "There has never been a more important time to build brands," said David Kenny, chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe's Digitas, who spoke this morning at the American Association of Advertising Agencies' 2008 Media Conference in Orlando, Fla. The digital landscape has created numerous opportunities -- and because of this, there is a great need for navigation.

"Someone needs to be navigator" in this evolving landscape, said Kenny. He pointed to the media sector as ideal for the job, because it has already aligned itself closely to consumer insights. Of course, there is room for improvement. "We as media need to step up -- we have to use analytics -- this is critical to any media plan," he said.

Kenny further underscored the value of data and analytics as drivers to help brands reach scale.

"We need to be navigators in the core [digital] infrastructure. Yes, that core infrastructure will change and the economics will shift, but if we don't embrace [this role], somebody else will. But, we have a running start," said Kenny.

Earlier, in her welcome address to conference attendees, Nancy Hill, president and CEO of the 4A's, hit home the fact that because of this transformation in communications, "everything changes digital," taking a different stance from this year's conference theme of "Digital Changes Everything."

Kenny's presentation touched upon some of her points, in that the landscape has become so vast. The need for direction is essential, according to Kenny, "to allow for sharp, crisp brands to emerge from this blur."