Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Who's setting the pace in the advertising market?

We all know and say that the world of advertising is going to change dramatically, that mass media are on the verge of a nervous breakdown, that viewerships and media fruition are shifting from a passive to an active mode (Marketing Charts) with an overlapping of different media fruition.
Well, this is probably the time when we can check if the above is correct or if we have been foolished by our desire. This the time of the year when next year budget are deployed and bigger media choice discussed: this is strategy time.
It's interesting to see the gap between the development of the strategy for the advertisers and the development of the programming for the editors and publisher of the main media.
In this Ad Age article, the Unilever Media VP, Laura Klauberg, says that's going to be tough to negotiate right now with no clear mind on the need from a programming point of view. And she is lucky enough if the TV sales houses know which programs they are going to broadcast.
It seems to me that advertisers need to be strategic while media tend to be tactical and to unveil their programs at the very last minute. This is true in Italy, where the TV programming can change very often. What about other countries?


4 comments:

Bill Burton said...

When I worked for magazines, about 40% of my salary came from advertising, but I wonder how seriously people take ads. I guess some do.

As for me, before I make a major purchase, I check CONSUMER REPORTS. Not perfect, but worth checking.

I like ads that give me logical reasons to buy something. I guess some people like ads that just remind them of the brand name or the company name.

I like Formula One, but I wish Honda and Toyota and the others would not waste money on it. I'd rather see less expensive vehicles.

gianandrea said...

@Bill - thanks for your comment. Effectivness of ads is a longtime debated issue. As well as which target can be influenced with traditional adv rather then with new form of communication. One thing is clear to me: to jump on the bandwagon of the alternative form of advertising is not easy and not to be suggested to all companies and brands, nor it is to be in Internet or whatever form of adv just for the sake of it.

Olivier Blanchard said...

Good observation about the strategic vs. tactical element of this discussion.

gianandrea said...

@Olivier-thanks for reading and commenting. I do believe that with such a huge different approach to the adv market from client and media in a fast changing scenario, we are going to have some big surprise. And media do not seem to me in a strong position as well as their agencies.