• by Jack Myers , January 12, 2007

The ad business could take a lesson from Steve Jobs. Innovation and disruption are the keys to transformation and success, and Jobs is the master of disrupting traditional business models and technologies by taking giant steps forward. Baby steps in today's market are recipes for failure. Too many companies are too risk-averse to be bold. Most take two small steps forward while holding on for dear life to life vests, represented by traditional business-as-usual relationships. Jobs charges forward with well-planned, well-timed and well-presented innovation.

Holman W. Jenkins' Wall Street Journal editorial on options backdating notwithstanding, Jobs' keynote at MacWorld Expo this Tuesday was arguably his finest hour. While the devices themselves exceeded the hype, it was Apple's robust partnerships with Google, Yahoo, and Cingular (with live appearances respectively by Eric Schmidt, Jerry Yang, and Stan Sigman) that carried the day.

In Las Vegas at CES, Disney and CBS CEOs Robert Iger and Les Moonves were holding forth with their own presentations, though not with the same blockbuster force as Jobs' MacWorld keynote. Still, Moonves especially delivered a relevant message of change with his own set of allies by his side, including Chad Hurley of YouTube and the CEOs of SecondLife and Slingbox. Combine the new iPhone with Moonves' announcements of deals with YouTube and Slingbox, and the potential impact of the third screen (the mobile device) as an entertainment medium emerges.

At MacWorld, Jobs was a proud papa, explaining how the AppleTV (the first TV extender that is plug and play for only $299) delivers on its promise with just enough content (250 films from Disney and new partner Paramount) to create demand and grow a marketplace. The iPhone was literally a wake-up call to manufacturers that have been offering "good enough" technology over the past five years. While there have been incremental add-ons to available cell phone features (SMS, camera, Internet access, music) the overall quality of the user experience until now has been wretched. Last summer's LG Chocolate was a step in the right direction, offering music on par with calling, but its interface was less than sweet.

Jobs' almost-painstaking demo assured his audience that the device was a breakthrough. Expectations of hitting one percent of the global phone market in 2008 and selling through 10 million units seem conservative. That said, this is a premium purchase at $499, but wait until you see Google Maps, the WWW display of The New York Times, and Yahoo's free push IMAP, which will give BlackBerry a run for its money.

Moonves' new relationship with Slingbox is important in its own right for embracing the idea of chopping television programs into small pieces for sharing and storing. Fans of David E. Kelley's "Boston Legal" would love to clip the final summations to the jury delivered regularly by attorney Alan Shore (played brilliantly by James Spader) and forward them to friends. The Diet Snapple embedded-content bit on "30 Rock" is another perfect example of a two-minute segment that many of us would have eagerly clipped and forwarded. The revenue opportunities are unlimited for content clips, from "Best Moments of..." to ringtones.

The concept that TV must exist exclusively in 30- and 60-minute segments is a vestige of the past that is quickly becoming irrelevant. The 30-second commercial will soon give way to 5-, 10- and 15-second spots, plus longer-form extended messages ranging from two minutes to two hours. The problem is that media companies, marketers and agencies remain in the business of holding onto their life rafts while dipping their toes into the dark, murky waters of the unknown. They remain risk-averse and focused on baby steps rather than breakthrough innovation.

With the iPhone leading the way toward instant and elegant access to easy-to-view content over mobile devices, the mobile ad marketplace suddenly is clearly in sight. Broadband video, virtual worlds, Slingbox-like applications, and a new world of opportunities are on the horizon. Who will be the leaders in the traditional media and advertising world to take giant steps to embrace innovation and change? Is there no leader today of the stature of a Steve Jobs or a Ted Turner who can embrace the future and set the agenda for the media and advertising industry for the next two decades?