Trouble In Paradise: Like everyone else, I am thrilled that the esteemed soothsayers, Mssrs. Coen and Perriss have taken a look at advertising future and they like what they see. Now that we
seem to be on better footing, it’s time to consider the role that agencies will play in this comeback. Data shows that agency employment rolls are down. They should be up. I’ve heard talk of squeezing
rates for some agency fees. Heard talk of asking agencies to do less work. Seems to me that an ad recovery should be a time when an agency should break every tool in the kit. Direct marketing.
Grassroots marketing. Product placement. Cutting edge planning and buying. Most agencies are up to the task of providing clients with most everything they need to take a product to the next level. And
let’s not forget. The ad comeback is well and good. But it needs to lead consumer spending along with it.
PIB Numbers: I actually thought the 12% increase in magazine revenue reported
by the PIB today was more proof of a settling ad market than yesterday’s presentations at some brokerage house conference whose name escapes me. I say PIB revenue figures will be higher when 2003
wraps. But I think the fuel will come from video games, movies and beverages. If I were a magazine publisher I’d stay up nights figuring how to get that money.
Parting Shot: You have to
admit, Forbes revenue spiking 45% in November is very impressive.
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