the future is open--free your agency

john partilla, president, global media group, time warner

a webcast of this presentation is here.

symptoms of a crisis: general dissatisfaction, conflict and frustration, more reviews
=
fewer long-term partnerships

agencies: before 1990
protected by commissions, decades-long incumbency and expertise in a more limited media marketplace

what has changed?
the corporate client + the cmo

in the ‘90’s, we became a consumer-driven economy. the consumers are in charge. they’re driving, and we’re listening.

self-inflicted commoditization
people started to look at this business as incredibly commoditized.

there’s erosion. there’s an opportunity to reinvent. there’s a chance for planners to take a critical lead here.

planners helped people consumed with the day-to-day stop and see.

we (media) have to be an inch-deep, mile-wide business.

we are complementary to each other because we need guidance about where the business can go.

we create unique ideas to help drive business growth for our client partners, horizontally leveraging time warner’s premiere assets from the center.

diy and ugc
there’s just too much stuff out there. to the collective you: most of you suck. just because everyone has a kitchen doesn’t mean everyone can have a restaurant.

agencies have communication expertise, creative expertise, alliance expertise, filtering expertise and consumer expertise. you know the consumers better than anything.

tommy means
nike plus (motivation) campaign
20-person shop beats out nike roster agencies around the world to win the job. he’s now created his own preferred-access relationship.

the clock is ticking. for us, change is constant.

time is the enemy and the ally. people don’t have enough time in the day. people have to bet against known talent.

it’s not transforming an industry. it’s transforming your agency.

copywriter–art director partnership. it's not wrong if it’s working, but media has to be a part of that conversation along with people who are expert in design.