It's Spring. Winter is Coming. Join Our Economic Zoom Conversation this Wednesday.

In June 2017 MoffettNathanson senior analyst Michael Nathanson told an IRTS Newsmakers audience, "Winter is coming." As moderator, I urged the 500 industry leaders to heed Nathanson's warning. At the 2017 event, Nathanson was joined by Omnicom's Catherine Sullivan, MEC's Carl Fremont, Bank of America's Lou Paskalis, IPG Magna's David Cohen and Horizon Media's Dave Campanelli. There were several references to an overall concern about the state of advertising. The core question I asked then, "which business models will survive in an economic downturn and which companies and executives have the vision to invest now before it's too late?" We'll soon know the answer as the media and advertising community confronts a very cold spring, summer and autumn. It will be Summer 2022 before we're able to fully assess the impact of COVID-19. How prepared are we for two-to-three years of winter? Read Advertising Economy 2021: Recession or Depression?

Like some politicians, executives will argue that "no one could have seen this coming." Wrong. We need to hold government leaders accountable for disregarding warnings and dismantling resources required for survival. We equally need to hold business leaders accountable for their failures. The fundamentals of marketing have radically changed over the past quarter-century; the media and advertising business infrastructure has been eroding for decades. A recession has been inevitable. (Even Donald Trump warned us in 2017). The questions today are how effectively will our industry respond and how dramatically will our leaders adjust their business strategies to adopt to a radically new future?

On Wednesday April 15 at 1pm ET, Michael Nathanson and I will explore that future and strategies for surviving the long winter ahead. Register for our ZOOM Collective Leadership for Renewal and Growth conversation or watch the live stream at MediaVillage.