i20's "Preparing for the Future in 2005" event in Los Angeles last Thursday tackled issues related to media discipline changes, consumer empowerment and advertising opportunities, as well as key lessons learned in 2004.
Read part one here.
The most exciting part of the event featured an Agency Shootout Competition in which three agency executives pitched their vision of advertising's future. In only ten minutes, each presenter had to answer the following three questions:
- How will consumer empowerment continue to increase?
- In what way will advertising be different in 2008?
- What can we do in 2005 to help prepare for the future?
The exuberance and confidence shown by Carisa Bianchi, Chief Strategy Officer for TBWA/Chiat, won her audience cheers. With experience guiding major accounts such as Sony PlayStation, Cherry Coke, Energizer Batteries and Levi's in her back pocket, Bianchi was well-polished and inspiring.
Answering the first question, Bianchi predicted three trends:
- The emergence of ME, Inc. Consumers care about themselves, so they choose brands that do something to better themselves. Diversity will become our social norm and drive fundamental change. Different subcultures will emerge and express themselves through brand choices.
- The demise of "this or that" and the emergence of "and." For example, Target offers style and value. Consumers have higher expectations, increased desire for experimentation and lower brand loyalty. It's a world of "more is more," not "less is more." This implies that marketers must deploy meaningful innovations.
- Customization. Too often marketers think of people as consumers when they should be thinking of them as an audience. There's an opportunity to satisfy this audience's desire to create and control by asking them to create and produce instead of the traditional way of asking them to sit, watch and listen.
Predicting how advertising will be in 2008, Bianchi noted the validation of the media agnostic approach. To put brands in the hands of audiences, marketers must understand their consumption habits and only use "big" ideas that can be deployed through all channels. This will ensure one brand, one voice. Even though channels will evolve, the power of the idea remains.
"Additionally, there will be the demise of the creative ghetto," Bianchi said. All channels will be created equal. "The creative standard will be consistent across all media."
To prepare for the future, Bianchi said we must evolve the business model on many levels, put our brands at the center of all decisions, and ensure that integration becomes a way of life, not just involved at the end of the marketing process.
"Treat your brand as a visceral entity. A brand used to be known as a promise, but going forward I believe it will be known as a relationship," she explained convincingly. "Win the hearts of consumers and you'll succeed."
Cory Treffiletti, Senior Vice President/Managing Director at Carat Interactive, followed Bianchi's presentation. Using the law of three's, he demonstrated how everything is changing:
- People are less attentive to advertising because of clutter. People are being trained not to pay attention to advertising.
- Advertising's sole purpose is to drive sales and marketshare. Now that the accountability of digital media is taking over, we're forced to prove results.
- The market no longer tolerates "wasted" dollars.
The good news, Treffiletti noted, is that consumers are interacting more, contributing to a rise in participatory media.
"Consumer data has become our friend. The more closely we can study our consumers, the better," he said.
The final presenter in the Agency Shootout was Paul Ratzky, Interactive Strategic Director at Team One.
Ratzky's humorous and realistic perspective on the changing media landscape was a welcome attitude compared to the reality denial he described that currently plagues the marketing industry. He offered five suggestions for succeeding in the future marketplace:
- Tear down structural walls in our organizations. The Interactive group shouldn't sit on a different floor than the rest of the marketing group.
- Learn early about technological developments and don't be afraid to embrace experimentation. "Like Doug McCormick said at the iMedia Summit, BOCA."
- Find ways to blur the lines without infuriating people.
- Take ownership of relationship marketing.
- Be honest with ourselves and to our customers.
"Instead of asking consumers to participate with our brands, we should be participating with what they're already doing. And we need to better understand how they multi-task," said Ratzky.
He also highlighted the importance of developing common metrics, especially multi-tiered models that make the most sense for cross-media campaigns. Joking, he added that we should build these models soon because by 2008 our compensation will depend on it.
Ratzky ended his session by suggesting that we use small success stories first to eventually win buy-in from senior management.
At the conclusion of Ratzky's presentation, audience members voted for the person they believed provided the most useful preparation advice for the future. The winner, announced after dinner by sponsor Advertising.com, was TBWA/Chiat Day's Bianchi.
The real winners, however, will be those of us who implement today her suggestions for preparing for tomorrow.
