Dubai: The journey of the advertising industry has been fuelled by tumultuous change, according to speakers at the 40th Annual IAA World Congress here.
Some say the advertising industry is under attack and that it needs to re-define itself, according to Lance De Masi, president of the American University at Dubai.
Others say all the fun has been taken out of the business.
"The dynamics of the business are changing due to shifts in the industry and technology, we have to have successful people who understand the business in order to get a return on investment," said Howard Draft, chairman and ceo of Draft.
The world of advertising is built around the understanding of consumer insight and behaviour.
"We are masters of brands and the relationship built around that brand," added Draft. "Dynamic changes are happening, consumers are controlling how they receive information and we have to satisfy that need,"
In order to achieve this, agency leaders must find driven people who embrace the organisation and easily adapt, said Tom Bernadin, ceo of Leo Burnett Worldwide.
"We prefer not to be simply described as idea donors, we represent agencies that create an advantage for the consumer. There is nothing like a great client, backed up by an organisation," said Bernadin.
Changes also need to be made in the research department in order to better understand the needs of the consumer, according to Draft.
"A few years back, research used to be great, since then organisations introduced cutbacks and as a result many talented researchers left," added Draft.
Marcio Moreira, vice-chairman of the McCann World Group, agreed that through research agencies get a better insight of the consumer that can then be turned into a factor of relevance to them.
"Clients come to us with a problem. We have to crack this problem by providing ads through discipline like any other winning work," said Moreira.
By adopting this approach, unification of brand and the relevant relationship between the consumer and the brand is then achieved.
"The whole point is to provide an array of solutions, brands have to be serviced at their best in order for the business to continue thriving," he added.
"Collaboration is important. We should understand that competition is not within, so we should set people free in order to act as a team for the clients advantage," said Bernadin.
However, Moreira believes collaboration should not be without leadership and that usually there is someone who takes that role.
"We believe that we are co-pilots in this process, it would be a mistake to think that integration happens overnight," he added.
Draft believes that historically, agencies lead the model with a general person who stands and assumes the leadership role.
"I don't believe that as of yet anyone has built an integrated agency. A culture of quality needs to be created where people feel safe and trusted, that's good integration because after all it's a team effort," Draft said.
"Clients come to us with a problem. We have to crack this problem by providing ads through discipline like any other winning work."
