“I personally think there is an opportunity for optimism,” said John Osborn, president-CEO of BBDO New York. Osborn was talking about the recession during his speech at Davos. Oddly, he pointed to Condi’s opening statements as a sign of good cheer about the downturn in the economy. “The U.S. economy is resilient, its structure is sound and its long-term economic fundamentals are healthy,” Rice said in her speech. Yeah. You’re going to believe Condi? Really?
Osborn also said that BBDO’s clients have yet to cut back their marketing budgets or plans. “I’m not seeing any clients pulling back. They are still launching new campaigns and rolling out new products. Clients who continue to invest during these times will succeed in the long haul.”
That’s one way to handle the recession. Get a megaphone and scream, “Keep giving us cash and it’s all going to be okay!” Seriously. We’re not kidding.
He also has some advice for other agencies to keep that money pump flowing: “We have to be careful about how we spend, be selective about where we spend and make sure that all marketing activity has a sense of purpose and impacts behavior change.”
Did you hear that? No more over billing the client on the production hours. Meanwhile, other folks like Michelle Bottomley, COO of Ogilvy New York, are saying that yes, the ship is still upright and that brands are focusing on more programs with serious ROI. Hell, they should be focused on that anyway.
The video above is from Osborn’s turn around Davos in 2007.
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