• by adam.m , Michael Deibert , September 29, 2005

What's your favorite future?

That was the question that Carat Americas CEO David Verklin posed to a roomful of advertising professionals in Manhattan on Wednesday, at the second installment of Infinity Broadcasting Corporation's Advertising Week 2005 series "Infinity Innovators" at One Time Warner Center.

"We can shape the future of advertising if we talk about it and have interest in it," Verklin--who was also recently appointed CEO of Carat Asia-Pacific--told his audience. "Companies that are in fierce competition must come together in areas of mutual interest."

Verklin painted a picture of a high-tech future for advertising, where Internet search history and viewing habits would combine with innovations such as TiVo to create a window of opportunity for new potential advertisers who ordinarily would never advertise on television.

"Thousands of advertisers are going to use television who could never afford to use it before," said Verklin. He added that the end of the 30-second ad was "not something to lament," as the new technology would enable "advertising to the interested" to take hold.

While 66 percent of advertising spending currently goes to television, Verklin said he thought that number would fall to around 50 percent in the near future--a change that he said would leave some $40 billion available for other media. Verklin also opined that he foresaw the advent of a company that will manage the serving of digital ads on the Web.

During a discussion of "open participation," Verklin told attendees that Carat and Meredith Publishing have joined forces to develop the Magazine Research Forum--a symposium that will focus on magazine accountability, and will help to foster an awareness of the resources and ideas that are available to advertising professionals.

Verklin's comments come during the same month that a branch of Carat Americas--Carat Interactive--announced it was changing its name to Carat Fusion, and would henceforth focus on utilizing its interactive marketing expertise through the addition of Carat Direct, and with a revamped focus on new methods of sparking consumer engagement.