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Bill Duggan

Member since December 2005Contact Bill

Marketing and advertising trade association

Articles by Bill All articles by Bill

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  • Changing The Guards: Duggan To Retire From ANA, Succeeded By IAA's Szulce by Joe Mandese (MediaDailyNews on 01/27/2026)

    NO ... I am NOT retiring, Joe.  Athletes retire. But time to spend more time with my wife and get that work/life balance back.  Dagmara will be awesome. 

  • When It Rains, It Pours: What WPP's Troubles Mean For Marketers by Maarten Albarda (Media Insider on 11/14/2025)

    Maarten – I always enjoy reading your perspective. You note “the suggestion of nontransparent practices” which made me smile (sort of). As we all know, this is way more than a suggestion. Non-transparent practices in the world of media are common and now increasing further. I worked on the team that released the infamous K2 report 10 years ago which called such activity “pervasive.”  Rebates were the big news back then. Agencies denied and attacked ANA.  But we all know the truth. Many marketers were unaware and their poor agency contracts did not provide proper protection. That report mentioned principal media, but in hindsight a bigger deal should have been made about that. We know about non-transparency in programmatic media where perhaps 30-cents of every dollar spent ends up reaching the consumer with the rest eaten up by transaction fees (DSPs, SSPs) and loss of media productivity (ad fraud, non-viewability, MFA). Now, we see principal media just exploding and threatening to become the new norm, replacing agent-based relationships. And we find many clients to be uneducated (or at least under educated) on that. Also now creator/influencer marketing is booming and there is murkiness there re: the split between agency compensation and talent fees.  Non-transparent practices yet again. The advice to marketers is to “lean in” to these media issues.  Educate yourself.  Hire internal media experts. Talk to peers. Talk to your agencies.  Review your contract. See how ANA can be a resource too. But take an active role in your media investments. Otherwise, it will be media spending. I personally prefer investments over spending!

  • What's On IPG's Mind: Media, Especially The Principal Kind by Joe Mandese (MediaDailyNews on 07/24/2024)

    I am sure readers of MediaPost would appreciate hearing commentary by CLIENT SIDE MARKETERS who believe that principal media is a good thing ... for the clients, that is.  Are there any takers?

  • What's On IPG's Mind: Media, Especially The Principal Kind by Joe Mandese (MediaDailyNews on 07/24/2024)

    Clients are advised to be well informed of the benefits (usually cost savings) and challenges of principal media. In my opinion, the key challenge is potential conflict of interest. That is, is the agency recommending a specific media partner because that is in the best interest of the advertiser ... or is it in the best interest of the agency? Read the ANA paper -- www.ana.net/principalmedia ... and make sure your media agency contract addresses principal media. 

  • Obit: Industry Journalist, PR Exec John Wolfe, Dead At 72 by Joe Mandese (MediaDailyNews on 05/20/2024)

    I knew John for 20+ years, meeting him soon after my arrival to ANA.  Our paths crossed during his tenure with the 4A’s and later when he was with GroupM. We both went to Boston College and that “BC bond” connected us. When John joined ANA eight or so years ago we got to know one another better and worked together on the press strategy for many important reports – programmatic media transparency, advertising fraud, and the rise of in-house agencies, to name a few. We debated a bit and even disagreed at times. But I always respected him and his opinions. Johnny Boy … you will be missed by many, including me! 

  • The Principles Of Principal by Joe Mandese (Planning & Buying Insider on 05/14/2024)

    All good, Joe. Thanks for the conversation and debate! 

  • The Principles Of Principal by Joe Mandese (Planning & Buying Insider on 05/14/2024)

    Joe, regarding the comment on the report, “… it is incomplete and not representative of the greater world of media-buying, because it is only shows what the biggest U.S. advertisers know and think about the practice.” ANA membership is comprised of approximately 900 client-side companies.  Yes, that includes many of “the biggest U.S. advertisers.”  But it includes many, many small and mid-sized companies as well.  As an example, going to the list of ANA Client-Side Marketer member companies under “A” you’ll find big companies including AB InBev, Allstate, and American Express. Yet there are many small and mid-sized companies including Alabama Power Company, American Red Cross, and ASPCA. Further, the respondents to the ANA survey that was featured in the report reflected this diversity. One-quarter of respondents had 2023 annual U.S. media budgets less than $50 million. Regarding the comment, “The reality is that in the digital media-buying world, the vast majority of all buys are based on a principal buying the media: long-tail small and medium size advertisers who buy it directly from the platforms themselves.” The ANA member survey asked, “Over the past year, roughly what percentage of your company’s total media budget do you estimate to be comprised of principal media or other forms of non-transparent media activity?” The finding – principal media represents a fairly low percentage of a company’s total media budget for most respondents — under 10 percent of the total media budget for 55 percent of respondents. Only 8 percent allocate 50 percent or more of their total media budget to principal media. For most ANA member companies who use an external agency, those agencies are primarily buying as agents. Yet principal-based buying is on the rise … hence the need for our report.

  • Industry Veterans' Call To Action: Make Advertising Great Again by Maarten Albarda (Media Insider on 04/26/2024)

    "Ad fraud, MFA sites, etc."?  Sounds like my career highlights at the ANA! Brian and Nick ... count me in!

  • My Nomination For The ANA's Marketing Word Of The Year: MFAs by Joe Mandese (Planning & Buying Insider on 12/07/2023)

    Joe – “MFA” is indeed one of the finalists for the ANA 2023 Marketing Word of the Year. And the winner is … we hope to tell you on Monday!

  • Ad Tech Is Back In Ukraine! by Dave Morgan (Media Insider on 06/15/2023)

    This is inspiring, Dave. And very courageous of you.

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