• Advertising Age, Wednesday, July 8, 2009 10:14 PM

Martin Cass, who took over as head of Carat's U.S. operations some nine months ago, has had his eyes opened regarding social media and the role of network TV. In a Q&A session, he explains that "the really interesting thing about social [media] and the vehicle that carries it is this idea of earned media -- the idea that in the social world you can get pass on and that can incrementally increase your reach and effect.

"This whole principal of bought, earned and owned media is going to be a really powerful model for the future, and social is one big chunk of it," he says. But the trick is how to get your message amplified through pass on. "The digital and social-media world is definitely the place to do that with scale," he notes.

As for TV, "there will be a very significant place for traditional media channels, but media owners are talking more about their brand than just their channels. People are becoming more concerned about the content and less about the distribution mechanism," Cass says. He thinks network TV and magazine brands will go through a "right-sizing like in the newspaper industry, but really good distributed content is what it's all about."

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