Turned upside-down by technology and trampled by TiVo, the $150 billion ad industry is looking for answers.
Television advertising, a $60 billion cash cow that has put generations of ad execs’ kids through college and bought many a vacation home, is looking feeble.
The so-called “upfronts,” the $9 billion worth of TV ads purchased in advance of the new fall season, fell slightly for the second year in a row.
And Internet advertising, which has confounded many on Madison Avenue, is fast-growing but remains a fraction of the ad marketplace.
Print advertising? Don’t even ask.
The uneven state of affairs is causing a lot of agita on the avenue – which will be the focus this week when the industry descends here for some glad-handing and hand-holding, otherwise known as the third annual AdvertisingWeek.
The gathering is expected to draw some 60,000 people for a series of events.
While a parade of ad icons will get much of the media coverage, the executives will focus on more important issues, like how to reach the American consumer. Perhaps no one knows this better than Ron Berger, the chairman of this year’s event and a head honcho at global ad agency Euro RSCG.
“We spend a lot of time talking to ourselves about change in this industry,” Berger said. “What we need to do is understand how people’s lives are changing and then be smart enough and quick enough to adapt.” When Berger landed in the mailroom at the Carl Ally agency in 1982, the industry cranked out 30-second spots to a captive TV audience.
Today, those eyeballs are scattered – watching video games, surfing the ‘Net or listening to their iPods-and Madison Avenue is struggling to learn how best to reach their wallets.
Berger, 56, has plenty of company trying to figure it all out – even around the breakfast table.
His sons, Ryan and Cory, are both in the ad game – getting their start at Euro alongside their dad.
Ryan, 29, stayed at Euro, but, unlike dad, has almost nothing to do with creating traditional TV ads. He specializes in generating buzz for brands, like the time he turned a lyrical mention – “Shake it like a Polaroid picture” in Outkast’s wildly popular tune “Hey Ya” – into tons of publicity for client Polaroid.
Younger brother Cory, 26, left Euro to join Mother, one of a new breed of creative agencies that is giving the large shops that once dominated the business a run for their money. A “strategist,” he recently created a campaign for 10 Cane, a luxury run brand.