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‘For the last 25 years that I’ve been in this agency we’ve been in the commercial business,’ Berg told ADWEEK as he discussed his efforts to interest ad agencies in broadening their involvement with ICM. ‘The client has a requirement, they go to the agency to generate art and copy. They then look to cast and they come to the theatrical agencies to help service that execution.’
Now, however, as the economy has weakened and competition has intensified, Berg figures that agencies and clients have begun to take a second look at what resources bring to the table. He believes businesses such as ICM have been under-utilized. ‘We don’t want to do storyboards, execute creative or buy media,’ Berg said. ‘But we will begin to work more closely with marketing organizations and their agencies. It’s in their interest. It’s not a competition, its cooperation.’
Berg, who said ICM’s message has been ‘well received’ by ad agencies, points to the diversity of the company’s client base – in publishing, film, television and music – but he expects that the relationships ICM will develop with Madison Avenue will extend beyond those traditional alignments.
‘Where we can begin to provide the value-added, is to be working with the corporations and their agencies directly in thinking through a complex set of problems, about how you communicate your message,’ Berg said.
Copyright Adweek L.P. (1993)
