Chance of a Lifetime

Why this is the best time to be in advertisingIs this man mad? Has he completely lost it? A quick glance at any of our trade magazines confirms an industry under siege. Layoffs, consumer fatigue, corporate meltdown, fragmenting media, recession and, dare I mention it, the ever-looming shadow of TiVo. Right now it might just be easier to sell Ford Explorers kitted out with Firestones than a career in advertising. Are the glory days behind us? Have we seen the best the industry has to offer?These and many more questions are asked of me whenever I give a talk to students who are considering a career in our business. And as you can gather from the title of this article, I am incredibly upbeat about our industry's future. I have to warn you at this juncture that I am a serial optimist. Billy Connolly once said, "There's no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothing." It takes an optimist to fully appreciate the profundity of that thought. Why am I so upbeat? First, you have to accept that at moments of great change there are moments of great opportunity. And right now there is enormous change in our industry. More than I have ever witnessed before. I don't need to repeat that particular list. But this is true of any industry: When it's in the middle of change, it's rich with chance. Look at the computer industry of the '80s. The established order was challenged, and new brands appeared. Those who saw the future and grabbed it developed the brand names of today. I don't need to name the names—we all know them. Which path will IPG go down?The other reason for my optimism is the increasing power of "the idea." More and more, we're living in a world where we're trading things we can't see in a "thin-air economy," where the value of communication becomes ever more powerful. In this environment, marketing is more central to a brand's success. When we worked for the cell phone operator One2One in the U.K., its marketing director would constantly remind us, "We're in the business of selling vibrating air." How we package and market that "air" is crucial to the brand's success. In this new world, ideas are the currency, and where they come from doesn't matter. The old-fashioned corporate hierarchies are being broken down. Ideas flow more easily than ever before. How far can an idea go? How big is your imagination? Our business has always been about the idea, but in an those ideas get traded faster and wear out quicker. Establishing them and nurturing their vibrancy becomes paramount. Alongside all this we are seeing the fragmentation of media, the breaking down of traditional franchises and the establishment of new ones. Again, this creates opportunity. How people consume media is evolving—patterns of habit are changing, creating new ways to communicate. The chance to integrate brands intelligently into entertainment formats opens up an exciting development for marketing opportunities. There is also a change in the balance of power between the advertiser and the consumer. We are moving from an era of interruption to an era of engagement. The public's relationship with brands and their advertising is becoming more demanding and inventive. Have agencies the courage and vision to grab this new future? Those with imagination will. Does this not bode well for an industry whose lifeblood is creativity? The management of brands is ever more exciting. It demands more of its custodians, its creators and its communicators. Look beyond the headlines, stand back from the immediate gloom, and you see an industry with amazing opportunities, enormous influence and an expanding means of delivering that power. Donald Rumsfeld, in talking about the Iraq conflict, recently referred to the "old Europe" as opposed to the "new Europe." I think the same could be said of our industry. Which part of it are you in? Which future do you see?

Brand Marketing

Chance of a Lifetime

John Hegarty

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John Hegarty