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Old School Ad Execs Sweat as Data Geeks Displace Them

With a sense of wry review to a reasonably interesting article in today's WSJ (by Suzanne Vranica and Christopher Stewart--one that profiles the certainly-changing advertising industry landscape, and the diminished roles of wannabe Don Draper-types, below is one of several dozen comments posted to the WSJ online version of the article:

Accusing the ad industry's embracement of technology for being the cause of the downfall of martini-drinking creative geniuses in the ad industry makes for a great story, but the lamenting by those profiled in the article, i.e. those who find themselves without a seat is part sour grapes and part "I'm in the 80-20 Club" mindset...i.e. those that thought punching a clock without being truly relevant was a ticket to that second home in Aspen.

To best frame my observations re: a good snapshot, I should first preface that I speak from perspective of someone who spends considerable time on the fringes of Don Drapper’s Madison Avenue—but only after a more-than 15-minute career within the bowels of Wall Street, where my role as a “exchange floor specialist” had me bringing buyers and sellers together.  That role has long since become “electronified” and to a great extent, very specific human tasks associated with that role have been diminished, and in many instances, extinct from human interaction.

As poignantly observed by one creative blogger’s posting immediately subsequent to the announced merger between Publicis and Omnicom, the CEO of Omnicom referenced the combination of these two firms akin to building the next NASDAQ Stock Market; which was actually a somewhat narrow view of how the advertising industry will likely evolve.

Two of the 2 dozen online comments posted below your website edition of today’s article—those made by Mssrs. John Hooper and Bill Brown-- were perhaps the most well-thought out.

Notwithstanding the evolution of the global equities markets, the role of those who provide marketplace insight has remained a critical component. Buyers responsible for allocating significant capital remain reliant on trusted relationships, albeit those folks now necessarily need to be equipped with metadata talking points; but the human relationship remains paramount.

The buying and selling of highly-commoditized products obviously lends itself to automation and “AI”. Mid-level ad buyers will deservedly need to re-tool or seek other roles; much of what they do is better done via transparent electronic platforms. But, the creation of compelling, response-inspiring ad content that must not only conform to microscopic-sized screens or 70-character shout-outs or single images, but actually convert the viewer into an on-line shopper is, in this opinionator’s opinion, a holy grail that is still far from the reach of ET, AI or any other form of unearthly intelligence. The odds of someone introducing an insertable device that prompts delivering electronic messages to the brain that in turn, causes purchases to be made, are less slim than any AI will create crisp content that compels a call to action. Caveat: Simple phrases like “Buy this now, you schmuck! Because you deserve it!” will still inspire broad brand recall and the consumption of billions of dollars worth of burgers, cigarettes and booze.

The take-away: much like the way computer algorithms have become a defacto part of the financial market world of buying and selling, and much like similar tools and processes since embraced in other industries, the buying and selling of mid-level advertising placement budgets will be consigned to computers. The ability to deliver content that (I) creates recall and (ii) most importantly--converts into consumption within a new “Honey I Shrunk The Kids” landscape is wear the rubber will meet the road for those neuroscience-induced lab rats hiding behind quant guru pocket protectors. 

Delivering the right ad at the right time to the right place is as simple as securing an exclusive sponsorship deal with FB; tell me your story and why I should buy you within a 1 inch square space is not going to happen easily or quickly. And just as important, bulge bracket buyers—those allocating tens of zillions of dollars are always going to require a big fat, medium-rare steak..and ideally, front row seats at the next Knick game. The Advertising King is Dead, Long Live the King. 

P.S. Facebook actually doesn’t seem to have ‘exclusive sponsorship’ opportunities—such as a flower industry sponsored call to action that any marketing guru would expect to appear within the same ‘alert notification’ that’s displayed when  your mom, your daughter, your wife, your girlfriend, your mistress is about to celebrate a birthday or other occasion. “Today is your mom’s birthday—click here for the Facebook Endorsed Florist—It’s Low-Priced and High Quality!”… Trust me when I suggest that a computer can’t come up with that idea and a computer can’t pitch it to the knuckleheads at FB that think they’ve now got their mojo in mobile. 

       

Jay Berkman

JLC Group