10 Notable Quotes from DIGIDAY: ON MEDIA

By Brian Morrissey • February 24, 2011 •

Over the course of 14 sessions, speakers at DIGIDAY: ON MEDIA held forth on the pressing issues facing agencies. The long and the short of it is: the future is bright but awfully messy. Sean Finnegan, CEO of Geomentum, started off the day by sketching out the industry of the future. Instead of a nostalgic return to the days of Mad Men, this agency is fueled more by data rather than scotch. It’s smaller but more expert; it works well with others; and it looks for creativity from all corners. Subsequent speakers picked up on Finnegan’s theme of reinvention, from reasserting the role of creativity in digital advertising to ditching the click as a measurement standard to automating the cumbersome ad-buying process. Here are some soundbites from the day’s action:

1. “Agencies have a bad habit of being inspired by other people’s content and ripping it off…Being safely innovative is copying something that’s been done before.” Theo Fanning, Creative Director/President, Traction

2. “Clients care about value. They’re going to pinch us as it relates to price and media spend. But if you bring them real ideas, I think they’re willing to pay for that.” Tony Bombacino, President & CMO, Geomentum

3. “We’ve commoditized fans to being worth $1. That’s nuts.” Greg Shove, CEO, Halogen Media.

4. “There’s not a lot of good creativity in our culture and the internet isn’t that different, but the stuff that’s great shines.” Mitchell Reichgut, Founder & CEO, Jun Group

5. “I’m here to tell you traditional media is alive and well — and it’s very profitable.” Sean Finnegan, CEO, Geomentum

6. “I think social media’s the most interesting to happen to media since I’ve been alive.” Josh Rose, EVP, Digital Creative Director, Deutsch LA

7. “In the next five years, the agencies that can’t instill true cross-channel creativity…you’re going to see significant names fail… The CEOs with boards dancing on their heads are more forward thinking than their marketing departments… Brands and agencies have to think like media companies.” Ned Russell, Managing Director, Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness

8. “There’s no correlation between clicks and brand lift.” Florian Kahlert, svp, business insights, Knowledge Networks

9. “We joke we’re not doing our job unless buyers and sellers are pissed at us,” Chip Hall, head of buyer development, DoubleClick Ad Exchange, Google

10. “There is an infinite need for strategy..but most clients don’t know how to value that, so they don’t know how to digest the high cost of strategy in a way that makes it profitable for the agency.” Chris Arens, CEO, Telepathy

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