Dyson Has Much to Teach WPP

Web Guru: 'Permission Marketing' Will Dominate Cyber Ad Business NEW YORK - Next week, Internet pioneer and venture capitalist Esther Dyson joins the board of WPP Group, a sign the agency holding company is preparing itself for the unfamiliar world of new media and the Internet. The 47-year-old Dyson, who is chairman of the information technology and new media firm EDventure Holdings in New York is a prolific writer and editor. Last year, she published her first book, Release 2.0: A Design for Living in the Digital Age. She advises governments around the world and is currently the interim chair of the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers. She is also a member of President Clinton's Export Council Subcommittee on Encryption. Fluent in Russian, she has focused her company's investments primarily in emerging Central and Eastern Europe markets. "Esther obviously helps expand our operations in new media. She can help develop our more traditional channels like OgilvyOne and Thompson Direct and give us insight into new investments," said WPP CEO Martin Sorrell. WPP has invested in concerns like Wired Ventures, BroadVision and HyperParallel. The company also has stakes in online grocery service Peapod, e-business shop Syzygy and NewsEdge Corp., a provider of customized news. WPP also invests in two venture capital funds, Media Technology Ventures and Media Technology Equity Partners. "We're working to stimulate our existing businesses through the Internet and we're making direct investments in companies that have relevance to our clients' businesses. These investments are intended to generate knowledge. We're not making them because we want to go into the venture capital business," said Sorrell. While Dyson will be teaching WPP about new media, she'll be learning the advertising game - about which she does not presume to know a great deal. Dyson started her career as a reporter at Forbes. Sorrell's link to Dyson is largely due to Pam Alexander, a well-connected Silicon Valley pr consultant who sold her shop (now called Alexander Ogilvy) to Ogilvy & Mather. Dyson also knows Steve Hayden, Ogilvy's president of worldwide brand services on IBM, from his days on the Apple account in a previous incarnation. Yet despite her status among the digerati, Dyson does not have a phone at home and will not use a cell phone, preferring to control interruptions to her life. There lies a clue as to what marketers can expect in cyberspace, she believes. "We'll see more 'permission marketing' . . . Because of the Internet, marketers will have to find a way to reach out to consumers in a way they want to hear the message." Before heading off to St. Petersburg last week, Dyson took time to share her thoughts with Adweek. Adweek: How do you plan to contribute as a WPP board member? Dyson: I'll certainly share my experience and ideas about technology. A lot of chief executives in the advertising business say they have a net strategy and they don't. Unlike them, Martin [Sorrell] is very interested in technology and has a point of view. But I'm a whole person interested in other things like financial strategy and people issues as well. WPP is allowing me to define my role. Adweek: How will the Internet change the nature of marketing? Dyson: Fundamentally, the Internet changes the balance of power between the consumer and vendor. Consumers see lots of choices and they can exert price pressure. As a marketer, people can talk back at you and to each other about your products. No amount of [pr] can drown that out. Adweek: What new opportunities come with the interactivity of the medium? Dyson: The Internet elevates direct marketing to a higher standard . . . People expect more because of the interactivity. You have to think in terms of adding real value. If I'm a Delta Airlines frequent flyer, for instance, I'd like to be able to go on the company's Web site and be able to find my mileage. FedEx Internet package tracking is another example. Adweek: What are the most common failings of marketers on the Web? Dyson: The Internet is a retail channel, but people still want attention. Marketers may see them as consumers, but they see themselves as humans. You can't just post a Web site. The Web gives you the ability to communicate one-on-one. For you, as a marketer, not to use that capability is like putting a salesperson in a store and then having them ignore customers. It's just rude. Adweek: Should marketers give higher priority to data privacy issues? Dyson: Marketers have to give consumers control over what happens to their data. I'd like British Airways to know how much I fly on Delta, for example, but I don't want my travel schedule plastered all over the Web. I would hope that WPP will work on this with their clients. Already WPP client IBM has said it will not advertise on sites that don't protect privacy.

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Dyson Has Much to Teach WPP

Noreen O'Leary

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Noreen O'Leary