Nathan's departure marked the latest in an ongoing exodus of top media research and consumer insights executives at many of Madison Avenue's biggest agencies, some of whom have left the industry altogether, such as former Carat research chief Joanne Burke and former MediaVest researcher chief Maryellen Vincent. Others, like former MediaCom research chief Tony Jarvis (now at Clear Channel Outdoor), MindShare research chief David Marans and PHD research chief Barbara Zack (both now at IAG Research), Universal McCann's Jon Swallen (now at TNS), have simply left the agency business.
advertisement
advertisement
The exodus has come at a time when agencies are more reliant on consumer insights and media research knowledge than ever before, as the complexity of the marketplace and demands from clients have accelerated, not abated.
"I was waiting for all the key media research issues to be resolved, and now that they are I can come back," Frydlewicz quipped about the reason for his 18-month hiatus from Madison Avenue. Actually, he remained quite active during that period, operating RAF Consulting, working for clients such as Mediamark Research Inc., Nielsen's and Arbitron's Project Apollo, and the Council of Better Business Bureaus. He also wrote a regular column for MediaPost.
Prior to Carat, Frydlewicz was a media research and planning executive at N.W. Ayer, Young & Rubicam and Scali, McCabe Sloves.