Tough Times for Advertising

" Basically the academy for example people buy things they make things that they sell -- that's about it. But selling things when people aren't buying a lot is a huge challenge advertisers. After try to make things so appealing that folks believe they can't live without something so. How and where they do that is a challenge faced every day by a man who's been called. The Monty hall of Madison avenue miles the doll is CEO of advertising giant MDC partners. And he joins us -- is very good to -- him. Pleasure being here here by the way why Monty hall what kind of deals what's the toughest deal would you ever had -- well we've we've been privileged to. --"

" Or interest in about forty different advertising and marketing firms and we've had a different structure -- else. We have a partnership structure we shall we never buy all of the businesses we partner with people so and I gotta say -- you've got a terrific reputation not only as a person who keeps his word but also as a person who's who's not a micro manager and you get in. Twenty to 80% of a company and even if you have a majority shared you're not doing a lot of micromanaging -- No I mean our philosophy is about empowering brilliant people to do great work. To help clients sell more products to more people for more money and to share the wealth in partnership with our partners so. If you pick great talent you empower them you feel very confident if you have economical words and a line of behavior now I've noticed even folks who have that attitude which I believe -- percent of the right attitude to have. When times are tough to get nervous everybody gets nervous when times are tough you can't help but when some people dropping like flies around you. Isn't that temptation there to get a little more into somebody's business we actually think that adversity is the opportunity to prove the intestinal fortitude and your partnership so it really is the opportunity to demonstrate the commitment and dedication. But if people own half the equity they're very well aligned did we think that people act differently in our organization as owners they would as employees of another firm. And it's proven over twenty years that it actually -- right let's talk about what works in this environment. You we have all kinds of promises about however ties Internet going to be expanding tremendously it but so far I haven't seen it play out of -- I've been missing something has. Advertising particularly tough times in channeling more towards alternate. Means like like the Internet will look. Do we we had a strategy that's been exactly counter to where the industry was going and we basically believe in what we called -- ostracism that the world was going away from the mainstream of radio newspaper and TV. That the growth of social media did you dole a branded entertainment of blogs at ten truck. Was going to have a greater impact on getting people to take action. By the way we're looking at Coke zero. The the way in which some of some of the what -- on the viral labs that have appeared. Have you taken already that we that we have been probably a number of our firms including Crispin Porter because he had been on the forefront 70% of our work is. Viral direct response digital -- 70% 70% how does that how how has that changed over the past two years it's probably. Gone up double over the last three years -- over 25% of our business that he is just digital zapped because you get a lot more bang for your bark. -- target boards more measurable it's more immediate more cost effect of and it actually residents to get consumers to take action so how do you judge the effectiveness of the viral lives although return on investment. And how much you judge RY. Basically. It's based upon sales comparable sales comparable. Profitability comparable. Market share at -- But the great thing about about the big ads on the Internet is you can actually count the number of yes that's something you don't always see if it's their broadcast television. Yeah I mean what we care about -- is helping our clients sell more product I mean it's about growth and in this economic environment where you've got adversity in the marketplace the fundamental need for actionable strategies -- produced wrote. And return on investment points is greater than ever before. There's a famous expression that. I -- half my advertising doesn't work or just don't know which half our clients want to know which half right right they want to you can you can actually explain. For example we're looking now audible swagger that I mean how do you how do you explain to the the decline how this is work -- that. This particular one well I'm not a created by myself OK so I'm just think that I happen to be the person who owns interests in these forty businesses. But at the end of the day what we did was we figured out what was going to resonate with consumers I mean look. It's been since the beginning of time of advertising it's been about telling a story that would get consumers to take action. Weather was the Coke zero work they did with the lawyers whether it was the work they do wood Volkswagen whether it's the Burger King stuff. The the the truth campaign for anti tobacco smoking where cigarette smoking declined 23% amongst teenage kids. If you can't measure it it's."