Procurement people are still people. They are just doing their job. But they are going to have to get smarter too. Because creative is not a commodity and the uptick is coming. And when it comes Australia will be showing the region, if not the world, the future of advertising and the new agency model.
That's the view of Tom Carroll, president and CEO of TBWA/Worldwide. He's in Sydney today “because I keep getting their stuff sent back to me, my guys keep telling me that there is something going on in Australia, that they are getting it. And that is true. They are writing the future here.”
Carroll, flanked by Whybin TBWA Sydney boss Paul Bradbury, said he was not “blowing smoke up his ass... but they are the modern agency in action."
“You watch the Digital Arts Network sitting right in the middle of the creative department, right next to the Integer people [the firm's shopper marketing unit] and it is proof positive of the creative. These guys have it firing on every cylinder. When the economy comes back these guys are going to be poised. Is it perfect? No. But when [creative directors] Matty [Burton] and Dave [Bowman] are more excited about a shopper marketing experience than a TV commercial because it is a great idea, I know we are on the right track.”
For now though, agencies are still being squeezed. Carroll says it's business, not personal.
“Here's the deal, you live in a no growth environment, everybody is in the same boat. The big corporations need to promote some kind of positive message [to shareholders] and they cut costs. So the first place they come is suppliers. That is reality. And what do we do? We cut costs because we also have to show some positive momentum. In a no growth environment all you can do is cut costs and grind it out."
Even when ad firms are delivering they are getting squeezed, he said, but so is everybody. “We can't take it personally, because they are getting squeezed too. Look at the earnings reports. Everybody is eeking out single digit organic growth. How does that happen in a no growth environment? Well, somebody got squeezed."
In the big squeeze, that means “procurement is dominating everything … you can hate them but they are still people, trying to do their jobs like everybody else.”
But he said that eventually “people will will have to invest in the future... you cannot just exist in a grind.” When that comes, procurement will have to adapt.
“Procurement is part of the future except that they are going to have to get smart too. We are either a commodity or not. I don't think creative is a commodity. And once things start turning in the right direction, creative will be more important than ever and we will be back where we were before the crisis.”
When the economic pick up comes is anyone's guess. Last year Carroll reckoned it would happen this year.
“It kind of broke but we are still in an adjustment. I don't know but I think next year it has to break. Listening to clients, the conversations are much more positive. It's not as dark as it was two years ago and it is not as grey as it was last year. It is less cloudy.”
Read a full interview with Tom Carroll and Paul Bradbury in the 15 November print issue.
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