Merrill Lynch Panel Predicts Upfront Will Be Different, More Flexible

An advertising panel of senior execs hosted by Merrill Lynch--including media execs from Wachovia, Ford, and Unilever--identified new dynamics in a rapidly changing media world. Among the predictions the execs agreed on was that "upfronts will be different," according to the Merrill Lynch summary, because advertisers have less motivation to enter binding, long-term agreements with old media outlets like TV when new, interactive venues like the Internet allow more flexible ad spending.

But the rise of the Internet does not spell doom for "old media," according to the panelists--Michael Duda, director of business development for Deutsch; Jim Garrity, CMO at Wachovia; Mark Kaline, global media manager for Ford; and Jon Stimmel, director of media buying for Unilever. Rather, advertisers are looking more and more for coordinated campaigns spanning old and new media.

The panel's consensus fits with recent analyses from a variety of sources, including a recent report from Blackfriars Communications that shows increasing interest in "non-traditional" marketing including Internet, viral marketing, and word of mouth. The Blackfriars report predicted further declines in traditional marketing spending and increases in the non-traditional categories.

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There was a bright spot for ad execs, however: although the entry of online advertiser Google into the "old media" ad market has caused widespread anxiety among established media players, Merrill Lynch's panelists agreed that disintermediation of media and ad agencies was unlikely. For one thing, they said, big-spending advertisers will still want the human expertise of experienced planners and buyers.

Media professionals watching Google's expansion have already observed that while Google may turn remaindered ad space to profit by opening it up to bidding from smaller advertisers who were previously locked out--be it in print, radio, or TV--mainstream advertisers will still want professional advice in buying premium ad space on the first go round.

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