• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, October 21, 2015

Speaking during an earnings call Wednesday, Interpublic CEO Michael Roth pretty much said he has nothing to worry about and Interpublic is awesome and has nothing to worry about even as PepsiCo Global Beverage Group President thinks ad agencies are dead. 

Roth thinks the current state of confusion in the market is a good thing saying, “Confusion is good for us. We get paid to help make sense out of all of this. And if clients are looking to us to help them do this, we have to be able to respond.” 

After informing those on the call that the current flurry of agency reviews is actually a good thing because it helps agencies "establish a line in the sand in terms of scope of work and fees" (zing!), he said, “In the end we have the resources and capabilities that can compete with any resource out there. And frankly when we don’t have it, yes, we use outside parties. We work well with them. It’s incumbent upon us to know what we do well and what we don’t do well.” 

So you see, it's the same as it ever was; promise the client you can do it all and when you get back to the office, scurry around like a helpless hamster in the midst of a herd of cats until you find several partners who can do all the things you can't. 

It's easy really.