And so Media 360 begins. WPP's Mark Cranmer opens proceedings noting how
the world has changed. "We are now coming out of this age of
consumption... and into the age of construction".
"As professionals this is quite tricky, but as consumers it's exciting."
Said advertisers
need to understand what needs reconstructing out there within our media
communications and our media environment. The audience has changed too,
no longer can we assume that
they're sitting there like a bunch of muppets ready to clap. Whether
we're providing them with media content or advertising.
"Awash with Pollocks"
Said
the media world didn't have very much colour from 1920s up until about
1989. It used to have very clear boundaries, and a very ordered
structured environment. It was easy to assume where the audience was,
what the cost might be and what the effect might be - and then this
happened... Using a Pollock painting by way of backdrop, Cranmer went
on to describe "explosion of diversity, colour, texture and truly
magnificient constructive abilities that are out there" - as an analogy
for changes in the world of communications.
But
don't worry, apparently we don't actually need all that colour, but
instead just need to be sure about what you are doing with the colour
that is available. (Genius) - Individual bits of colour with the right
integration can make a beautiful, coherent picture - his Pollock
painting has morphed into a Monet (clearly not a Pollock fan).
"There
could be money in the Monet" - but warns of tough decisions as we
wrestle with this new environment. Agencies and advertisers need to
know how to make the most effective use of budgets and media owners need to know what they should be investing and marketing to create and engage with consumers.
"There's never been a more exciting place to be... the
reality of media is that audiences do love media... we just have to be
really sure what it is we're gong to be doing with it."
Said
the challenge is deciding how we nurture that audience how do we keep
it coming back and how do we tend to it so that it continues to grow.
Arif Durrani
