The Search for Marketing's Soul: Report from the Monaco Media Forum - By Jack Myers

Behind the scenes at the recent Monaco Media Forum, at this month's Association of National Advertisers Conference, and at other industry events, the search for the soul of marketing is on display. In Monaco, Publicis CEO Maurice Levy, commenting on the many early-stage digital companies in attendance (although both Googleand Microsoft were event sponsors), pointed out that advertising cannot be depended upon to fund an endless supply of companies and services. He estimated that advertising can support only 15% to 20% of the opportunities. The Forum offered compelling evidence that we are at a turning point in the advertising industry – and the decisions being made by major marketers and media companies over the next two to three years will define the fundamental future of media throughout the world. At MMF, Rishad Tobaccawala, CEO of the Denuo division of Publicis' VivaKi group, argued that the business structures of the future do not fit into the containers of the past. "All our businesses and clients' businesses have been optimized for the past. How," he asked, "do we optimize businesses, structures, talent and systems for the future?" Today's special Jack MyersMedia Business Report offers a response to Rishad's question and a path for the future that requires a bold re-envisioning of the relationships among marketers, retailers, media distributors and media content producers.

Jack Myers Media Business Report is published  exclusively for corporate subscribers. If you believe you are a subscriber and should be receiving the extended subscriber-only version of this report, please contact Jack Myers at jack@mediadvisorygroup.com. For subscription information click here.