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Y&R CEO and VML Creative Director issue pleas for change to adland at Dmexco

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This week, the Digital Marketing Exposition & Conference (Dmexco) hit Cologne and saw 50,700 visitors, over 1000 exhibitors and 570 descend on the Koelnmesse centre. The expo is one of the most unique of its kind in Europe, with its focus on innovation and the digital economy. This year, two of the Y&R network's more respected figured spoke at length about some of the necessary changes the industry needs to consider making if ti's going to survive the 21st century in tact.

First, David Sable, the global CEO of Y&R, issued a plea that the industry loses its obsession with the term “Disruption” and instead that real innovators should look elsewhere for inspiration. Sable said in his “In An Age of Disruption, What Are We Really Disrupting?” keynote address, that the industry’s obsession with claiming that technology and data was causing disruption and innovation was inaccurate. Using examples from retail, education, politics and the app based economy, he pointed out that in many instances so-called disruptions had been anything but that. Instead, they were just new ways of doing things that had been done before.

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David Sable

Citing the example of Amazon, Sable said that Amazon’s mission statement was almost identical to that of the 1897 manifesto from Sears. He also pointed out that apps were no longer the panacea that they once were believed to be; with downloads diminishing at a remarkable note. In order to refocus real innovators, Sable said that the buzzword “Disruption” should be abandoned in favour of a more meaningful term; that of “Dissidence.” A dissident, in case you were all wondering, is described as “A person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy or institution.” Sable argued that only by adopting a dissident mindset, rather than using the broad application of data and algorithms to try and solve existing problems, can innovators truly change the world.

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Later in the week, Frederico Roberto, Creative Director at VML London, also part of the Y&R network, told agencies that they face extinction if they aren’t bold and savvy enough to become the business partners that clients need them to be. Roberto warned agencies that it is only a matter of time before consultancies start coming up with comms and branding ideas. As part of the “Redefining Bravery” panel debate on Wednesday at Dmexco’s Creativity Summit, Roberto told delegates that agencies are in a particularly vulnerable position because they are trying to be jack-of-all-trades shops. As he put it: “A bit of digital, a bit of above the line, a bit of below the line, a bit of design, a bit of social.” As a result, he implied, they are not doing anything outstandingly well.

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Frederico Roberto

He said: “I’m lucky enough to work for an agency that still looks at digital as an expertise; unlike what major agencies are saying, which is that any idea can go anywhere and that everything is digital.” He advised agencies to be brave and, instead of buying smaller highly specialised shops, to focus on the area where they can be of real added value; ideas. He warned that if agencies don’t focus on ideas they won’t be able to adapt to survive. He added: “We’ll realise that we couldn’t adapt, but we also weren’t brave enough to lead the way; to be bold and savvy enough to be the business partners that our clients need and want us to be.” Roberto was speaking alongside fellow panelists Courtney Buechert, the CEO at Eleven and Krishnan Menon, the CEO and Co-Founder of Phenomenon, for the debate, which was presented by Dmexco’s Wolfram Kons.

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