News Corp's James Murdoch, Publicis' Maurice Levy and NBCU's Ben Silverman Share 2009 Strategies

NBC Entertainment cochairman Ben Silverman predicts the economic downturn will cause a quotrush to premium content by advertisersquot He believes quotthe NBC Universal model of quotleveraging specific pieces of content with specific advertisersamp8230 to reach specific audiences and creating platforms for worldwide exploitationquot is the best strategy for growth as marketers reduce and refocus their ad budgetsquotIn TV todayquot Silverman commented at last week39s Monaco Media Forum in Monte Carloquotit39s difficult to manage an advertising downturn but we39re developing other businessesquot He warned that advertising sales teams must adjust and bring the quotsiloedquot nature of different businesses together by developing quotbespoke ideasquot and embracing the resources required to push them forwardNews Corp Europe and Asia CEO James Murdoch also speaking at the Publicis Google and Monacosponsored forum argued for organizational transformation and longterm commitment to strategic investmentsquotPeople underestimate the importance organizational transformation can havequot he commented quotThe sharpness of the economic experience today causes you to get a handle on your base It39s an urgent priority to get the organization fitquotIn considering future acquisitions Murdoch suggested a goslow strategy quotWe cannot predict today the opportunities that will emerge There will be real pressure and consolidation Opportunities will come up in the next two years that might not be available today Things will be possible we never thought would be possiblequot Murdoch39s shortterm strategy is to quotpush for shareamp8230 move faster than the competitorsamp8230 and push our advantages organically where we have them But we want to be flexible and prepared to respond Companies that have thrived are those that accelerate the pace of changequotInternet expansion could be a risk because of the explosion of inventory Murdoch believes The solution is to develop more assets around quotcommunities of interest the core audiences you want to engage with and ramp up customer engagement in a big way If we don39t understand how to reach out to customers and be more data driven we cede the ground to othersquot he saidquotI hope we never reach the day when emotions can be put through an algorithmquot argued Publicis Groupe Chairman Maurice Levy who delivered the event39s closing keynote quotData is good for reassuring advertisers that people are receiving and relating to messages but you cannot use quotmathematics and clicks to measure the emotional aspects of communicationsquotParisbased Publicis the second largest advertising and marketing agency holding company in the world is moving from a quotcommunications servicesquot company dependent on hourly fees to a business model that emphasizes value creation beyond communications said Levy quotWe39re changing our business model to get more value for services we are providing and to share in our clients39 successquot He pointed to the Denuo unit of Starcom Mediavest Group as an example of the company39s embrace of a new strategy for generating growth by providing intellectual capital in exchange for equity in emerging companiesIn its third year the Monaco Media Forum was considerably more subdued this year as attendees focused more on monetization and strategies for a recessionary economy than on the euphoric enthusiasm that accompanied the rise of the Internet economy Since last year39s Forum media and agency valuations have declined precipitously and several attendees and speakers warned of continued adspending declines and industry consolidation in 2009 While several entrepreneurs touted their innovative VCfunded efforts a few of which were very well received most notably news aggregation service DayLife amp8211 wwwdaylifecom the focus was less on dealmaking and more on survival strategies Several registered attendees failed to show up using cutbacks in travel allowances and the need to stay quotclose to the officequot as their excuseArguably those who attended gained advantages intelligence and potential business opportunities While the MMF could do more to attract senior media agency and marketing executives and hold them throughout the twoandahalf day conference the content was generally thoughtful and relevant Jack Myers led a panelfocused on projected streaming video economics for 2009 featuring Henrique de Castro Managing Director European Sales for Google Nancy Cruickshank CEO VideoJug Dina Kaplan COO bliptv Mike Volpi CEO Joost and Dan Scheinman General Manager Cisco Media Solution Cisco announced plans to launch an online video platform in 2009 His Serene Highness Prince Albert of Monaco hosted the event and presented his annual MMF Media Prize to Stanford Professor Lawrence Lessig who developed Creative Commons as an alternative to restrictive copyright protection lawsPeertopeer file sharing of content has increased since the Supreme Court declared it illegal Lessig pointed out Prohibition of alcohol failed in the 1920s because it made otherwise law abiding citizens into criminals Similarly file sharing now renders a whole generation criminals quotA new architecture of business is requiredquot Lessig recommendedJack Myers publishes Jack Myers Media Business Report and wwwjackmyerscom and provides market strategy advisory services He can be contacted at jmjackmyerscom

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News Corp's James Murdoch, Publicis' Maurice Levy and NBCU's Ben Silverman Share 2009 Strategies

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News Corp's James Murdoch, Publicis' Maurice Levy and NBCU's Ben Silverman Share 2009 Strategies

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