WOW! MEDIA AND THE PERFORMANCE OF MEDIA AGENCIES

This is coming to you from New York, the home of modern advertising. It seems a little outdated as a claim since Madison Ave is no longer the home of advertising agencies. And places like Silicon Valley and Zhongguancun are having a greater impact on advertising. But most of the news I noticed this week was specifically about media and more importantly media agencies.

But before that the personal good news is that CIO Review has named TrinityP3 Marketing Management Consultants one of the ten most promising Procurement Consultancies in the World for 2019 due to our expertise in managing the marketing category for sustainable growth.

Now back to media and media agencies. Since the K2 ANA Media Transparency Report in 2016 media agencies have been under huge pressure from advertisers to address the issues of the media supply chain.

Between the revelations of the agency rebates and the report we witnessed the Mediapalooza of 2015 with many major advertisers reviewing their media accounts.

But reading the trade media this week it looks like media agencies continue to be under stress and that in fact we are heading to a new Mediapalooza in 2020. So here is what caught my attention and made me go WOW (What’s Outstanding this Week) in Marketing Management.

A WILD RIDE IN THE MEDIA AGENCY PITCH DEPARTMENT IN 2020

Fasten your seat belts media agencies and get ready for a bumpy 2020 reports MEDIAPOST, based on the forecast of ID Comms who can see at least a half dozen multibillion-dollar media pitches in the first quarter alone. While the three year contract cycle aligns the question is will this be another race to zero or will advertisers be looking for more?

PUBLICIS SHARES PLUNGE 12% AS MEDIA AGENCIES STRUGGLE

In The Drum, Publicis Groupe shares dropped 12% overnight after reporting lower-than-expected results in the third quarter and warning that organic revenue would likely decline. Most of this is attributed to the lagging performance of Publicis Media, a natural consequence of the industry challenges. The stark outlook led one analyst to say the French advertising giant now looks “vulnerable”.

WITH A NEW LEADER, GROUPM EMBARKS ON A TURNAROUND PLAN

The economics that allowed GroupM to become one of the ad industry’s main power brokers are changing to the point where GroupM’s high-volume, low-margin business is at risk. The question is will the new CEO Christian Juhl be able to make the right changes in time?

GROUPM ALONE IS WORTH AS MUCH AS WPP'S STOCK MARKET VALUE

Ex WPP CEO is at it again suggesting that the potential break-up value of WPP is a key reason for him keeping hold of approximately US$210 million worth of the ad group’s shares. So is all this negativity he has been sharing about his past employer simply trying to expedite his prediction?

PRIVATE EQUITY AND CONSULTANTS CIRCLING COMMS HOLDING COMPANIES

Meanwhile on the other side of the world, Hamish McLennan, deputy chair of $92bn investment group Magellan, tells Paul McIntyre he thinks private equity, consultants, or a combination of the two could break up communications holding companies within the next three years. And the tougher the market gets, the more likely that outcome.

3 MARKETING LEADERS ON HOW A RECESSION MIGHT AFFECT BUSINESS AND OTHER FINANCIAL DECISIONS

Speaking of tougher markets, with the possibility of a recession on the minds of executives across industries, Ad Age was eager to hear what the current economic climate means for their marketing plans. So the last word this week goes to the marketers with the budget to spend.

Meanwhile my journey continues. On to Toronto this week, to provide coaching and feedback to agencies on how more effectively to pitch their credentials. Then back to NYC and on to Singapore for the Mumbrella360 Asia in early November, with a session on the Game Show called Pitching, plus attending an IABC Roundtable.

As always, if any of this information or issues have piqued your curiosity or raised concerns for you or you simply want to discuss the implications and opportunities let me know.

Cheers

Darren