When it came to creating the almighty AdNews Power 50 in our in-print September edition, various ideas and themes sprung to mind. Should we make it the ‘Amazon’ issue perhaps? Zone in on the US multinational e-commerce beast and its potential power and influence on our market, get under the hood and pick apart the ways it’ll rupture countless elements of our media landscape?
If it’s secured a country manager, a huge warehouse in suburban Melbourne, is hunting for ‘thousands’ of jobs – not to mention its SVOD offering Amazon Prime taking off and Amazon Music about to launch here, surely such unstoppable power could even make it number one when it comes to market influence, no question?
But no. It just didn’t feel right for many reasons. While Amazon’s tendrils are in – soon to be hook, line and sinker – the fact is its force and penetration cannot be felt just yet. While we can assume and guess that its power is likely to ruffle a few feathers and tip a few boats, it’s too soon as only tremors prevail. The seismic activity is yet to come.
Also, the AdNews 2017 Power 50 List is not about company power. While that is important, our list is about people power.
Power the very word itself can be weighed up in varying ways. Is it he that controls the biggest budget? Or she that has a bigger slice of the market or more offices? The ones that shout loud and call for change or shift cultural norms? Or the ones that are driving change and actively carving out and shaping the industry? Differing opinions will prevail, but one aspect all will agree upon is that power and influence are tied at the hip.
While the industry isn’t short of talent, talent with power is another kettle of fish. It’s not puppet power, it’s much firmer than that, it’s far-reaching and is a force to be reckoned with. That’s why, after months of conversations, research and debates, it’s the 50 in this September edition that have emerged as some of the great idiosyncratic media, marketing and advertising power players of 2017.
In this issue we also cast our eye over the ‘potential’ power players in our Ones to Watch spin-off list, as while a core 50 have been identified, there’s aggressively ambitious undercurrents of up and coming fine minds waiting to surface. We take the compiling of this separate list just as seriously as the Power 50.
Also in this edition we profile one of Australian advertising’s most influential and effective creatives, Tom McFarlane; chat to Domain’s CMO Melina Cruickshank about the rapid growth of the media company, which is proving to influence much more than just property; look at the concept of disposable creative; question if social media is necessary for brand survival; speak with global drinks brand Hendrick’s Gin and zone in on a mix of road safety ads in our campaign deep-dive, Creative Choice.
To see the whole AdNews Power 50 list, as well as 'The Ones to Watch', Top 10 Media Agency CEOs, Top 10 On Air Talent and the Big Five Cos, subscribe to AdNews.