Exclusive: Frenemies Author Ken Auletta Speaks Out on Kassan, Sorrell, Marchese, Ross, Yaccarino and More

In Auletta39s new book Frenemies The Epic Disruption of the Ad Business and Everything Else he quotes an email sent to him by RGA founder Bob GreenbergquotThe Agency Model is dead It39s 70 years old and they39re still holding on to The Art of Persuasionamp160as everything is deconstructing around themquotFilm is dead the 30second spot is dead outbound creative is dead the writerart director model of Bernbach is deadamp160 The DDB model is deadamp160 Magazines are deadamp160 The consulting model is dead amp8230 No vision no investment no restructuring no risk no collaboration no innovation amp8230 Everything is run by accountants and bean countersquotLike deer in the headlightsquotWhile Auletta positions Greenberg as a visionary who has built an agency model for the future he told me in an exclusive interview quotI don39t think the agency model is deadamp160 It needs to be changed and Greenberg is changing to be a VC a design firm a problem solver a new kind of marketing enterpriseamp160 He39s walking the walkamp160 Agencies are still alive but changing dramatically which is a reason to do a book like Frenemiesamp160 In all my books and my work with The New Yorkeramp160I39ve focused on two types of peopleamp160 One sees new competition and says 39Change is a problem Woe is me39 Others say 39Change is an opportunity and I will use it as a spur to change my business or I will die39amp160 That39s what Bob is actually sayingamp160 Change or diequotIn Frenemies Auletta presents a cogent and coherent view of the realities confronting the media advertising and marketing business through the eyes words and experiences of a quotrange of important protagonists in the business including WPP39s Martin Sorrellamp160GroupM39samp160Irwin Gotlieb Unilever39s Keith Weed Bank of America39s Anne Finucane RGA39s Bob Greenberg Facebook39s Carolyn Everson and MediaLink39s Michael Kassan amp160Ultimatelyquot he says quotI try to tell a story of a world whose fate hangs in the balance and why that fate matters to us allquotKassan is the leading protagonist the common thread whose story and relationships are weaved throughout the bookamp160 Why Kassanamp160 quotHe39s a fascinating characterquot Auletta saysamp160 quotHe ignites interest like historic political power brokersamp160 As I39m quoted in the book 39Michael is a maestro at convincing people they can39t do business without himamp160 He is the most powerful of the power brokers in that businessamp160 No one comes close39quotIn many of Auletta39s previous books and his acclaimed series of articles in The New Yorker39s Annals of Communications columnamp160he skewers his leading characters and Kassan acknowledges he was concerned as Auletta became increasingly embedded in the MediaLink organization for more than a year and spoke to hundreds of Kassan39s clients colleagues friendsamp160and detractorsamp160 Ultimately Kassan emerges as a sympathetic character and positive industry force who Auletta acknowledged during a recent ANA conference interview is quotlikeablequotOthers don39t fare as well in Frenemies although no individual emerges as a definitive counterpoint to Kassanamp160 While some of the book39s leading characters have since left their senior industry roles most notably Sorrell and Gotlieb Auletta points out quotIf you39re writing about disruption and change as I have been one of the questions is 39What39s the ending39 amp160A motion picture is always moving it doesn39t stand stillamp160 When you write a book about change happening every day people leaving doesn39t disrupt the flow of the bookamp160 Departures reinforce the thesisquotquotMartin Sorrell is a historic figurequot says Aulettaamp160 quotHe39s an enthralling character and unfortunately his career may be defined by the way he exited vs the 33 years he spent building WPPamp160 Sorrell was eloquent and right about the dangers of shorttermism in businessamp160 The advertising industry is frozen by anxiety and locked into the innovators dilemmaamp160 Companies need to keep margins up but they may be committing suicide as a result Sorrell understood thisquotExpanding on the theme of the innovator39s dilemma Auletta points to several industry sales executivesamp160 quotThe guy at Fox Joe Marchese is a really creative guy trying to think outside the box about how to get messages out differentlyamp160 He39s an interesting guyamp160 Jo Ann Ross at CBS many think is the bestamp160 She39s an amazing character and great sales personamp160 A presence in the industryamp160 CBS may be wrong though to not change the number of ads in its programsamp160 One reason showrunners are going to Netflix is they can craft programs without commercial breaks more like novelsamp160 They can write for binge viewingamp160 Linda Yaccarino of NBCU is trying to do new thingsamp160 Facebook is competing against TVamp160 NBC is competing against Facebookamp160 There are unintended consequences to this competition that are a reflection of industry turmoil and insecurityamp160 The industry is not effectively responding to the challenges surrounding itquotIn the TV world you can make the argument they all face the innovators dilemma amp8211 they have a lucrative business and every year the money comes in and yet they39re selling to a smaller audience every yearquot Auletta continuesamp160 quotThey39ll respond that roughly the same people are viewing their programs but they are not viewing the adsamp160 When I wrote Three Blind Mice How the TV Networks Lost Their Way 1991 about ABC CBS and NBC advertising represented 95 of CBS39 revenues vs 46 todayamp160 If it drops to 25 they39re in troubleamp160 Where39s the 54 come fromamp160 Content sales which feeds more OTT viewingamp160amp160Retransmission consent but as cable bundles shrink will cable continue to pay for lessamp160 The idea that subscriptions will offset advertising declines is a pipe dreamamp160 Netflix deals go to the bottom line but the networks are building a frenemyamp160 Is it in their longterm interestamp160 I don39t think soamp160 And how do we deal with the problem of young people not watching advertisingamp160 Advertising needs to take different and better formsquotAuletta also challenges the marketing and advertising business on its lack of diversity and inclusion amp160quotThe business is not changing fast enoughquot he assertsamp160 quotIn a LinkedIn study marketing ranks eighth among eight industries in compensationamp160 If you have copywriters in the 50000 salary range who may be talented but are inexperienced and you39re sending them to represent you to a client the client may ask why is this person not the best But the industry can39t afford to pay like the consulting firms Google or Facebookamp160 A young person who goes to Harvard or Rutgers doesn39t dream of getting into the advertising business anymoreamp160 As an industry we need to address the problem of not attracting the most creative and talented peopleamp160 That39s a real problemquotOf the many topics Auletta could have considered for his next book why did he decide to tell the story of advertising and marketingamp160 quotFor many years I examined advertising as an aspect of some other story I was tellingquot he saysamp160 quotIt crept up on me that there was much to be learned by turning that around and looking deeply into the advertising industry itself and through it out onto the wider world a world of AI and algorithms and Big Data amp160These raise fundamental issues including issues of privacy issues of whether the science of advertising can replace the art whether relationships still matteramp160 Advertising is an industry under existential assaultquotQuestioned on the potential interest to people outside of the narrow world of marketing he responds quotI don39t see Frenemies as a narrow bookamp160 Most of the rest of world is dependent on advertisingamp160 I go back to the point of leaning forward and seeing change as an opportunity to redefine the business and make it healthieramp160 But there are no answers no clear solutionsamp160 It39s arrogant to proclaim whether advertising will grow especially as the builtin conflict between privacy issues and wanting more data work against advertisersquotThe core thesis in Frenemies is that the advertising industry39s biggest frenemy is the public and that media agencies and marketers are not doing enough to figure out solutions and prepare for the futureamp160 The 2 trillion global business is quotstruggling amp8230 to figure out how to sell products on mobile devices without harassing consumers how to reach a younger generation accustomed to dodging ads how to capture consumer attention in an age where choices proliferateamp160and a mass audience is rarequotSee Ken Auletta39s MediaVillage commentary on Frenemies hereClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Exclusive: Frenemies Author Ken Auletta Speaks Out on Kassan, Sorrell, Marchese, Ross, Yaccarino and More

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