“Jules Verne’s protagonist Phileas Fogg burned his ship’s furniture for fuel to reach Liverpool on his way around the world in 80… — Michael Farmer Around the world Copy Share Image
“This is an industry that no longer reflects strategically how to create value in the face of disruptive change.” — Michael Farmer Change Copy Share Image
“Poor leadership” is a major cause of job dissatisfaction and low morale. More than half of those with low morale rated the… — Michael Farmer Leader Copy Share Image
“Holding companies did not kill all the fun, to be sure, but their involvement was like that of a sober spouse at… — Michael Farmer Marriage Copy Share Image
“The auditing of time sheet hours is a time wasting process that can be eliminated if contracts focus on paying agencies for… — Michael Farmer Time Copy Share Image
“Ad agencies continue to believe that improved creativity is the answer for agency and client problems.” — Michael Farmer Creativity Copy Share Image
“Shareholder value became, from the 1990s onwards, a driver of management consulting success and, somewhat sadly, of advertising agency marginalization.” — Michael Farmer Copy Share Image
“Recession, advertising slow-downs, media spin-offs, procurement department investigations, client globalization initiatives, fee-based remuneration schemes and holding company ownership added significant complexity to… — Michael Farmer Business Copy Share Image
“The real agency problem resides in the C-suite of ad agencies, and it is to the C-suite that we must turn to… — Michael Farmer Leadership Copy Share Image
“It was never mentioned at the time, but the widespread pursuit of shareholder value initiatives put marketing in the back seat among… — Michael Farmer Marketing Copy Share Image
“Ironically, the increase in numbers of the strategic planners had the effect of releasing the client service people from any previous responsibilities… — Michael Farmer Strategic thinking Copy Share Image
“The cozy relationship between chief executives and advertising agencies had unravelled, as other strategic advisers like investment bankers and strategic management consultants… — Michael Farmer Investing Copy Share Image
“Agencies need to initiate the creation of marketing and strategic performance partnerships that see themselves and their clients as co-equal partners, each… — Michael Farmer Copy Share Image
“Digital technology did not really lend itself to a simple division of labor between creative (generating the ideas) and production (executing the… — Michael Farmer Creativity Copy Share Image
“The obsession with quarterly earnings came about because personal compensation was increasingly tied to what happened to the share price. Improving market… — Michael Farmer Investing Copy Share Image
“Who is responsible for an agency’s operational response to growing workloads and declining fees? In today’s agency culture, it’s everyone… and no… — Michael Farmer Management Copy Share Image
“Accountability for agency operations is fragmented. Each office in a network is a separate profit center. Each department in an office self-defines… — Michael Farmer Accountability Copy Share Image
“Creativity is to ads as product quality is to cars, airplanes and electronic equipment – it’s absolutely necessary, and it needs to… — Michael Farmer Creativity Copy Share Image
“Acknowledge and accept that clients are governed by shareholder value concerns, and that the mission of the agency needs to be refocused… — Michael Farmer Creativity Copy Share Image
“Agency turnaround plans must be developed by agency top management teams and carried out with vigor throughout their agencies, with a goal… — Michael Farmer Goals Copy Share Image
“There was a new trend for agencies to hire and parade before their clients “strategic planners,” an ideal originally imported from the… — Michael Farmer Customer Copy Share Image
“The cultural divides within the advertising industry became wider when web pages became part of the marketing mix, beginning in 1995. Early… — Michael Farmer Web design Copy Share Image
“Procurement sets fees based on a negotiated agreement about agency headcounts and costs, and (separately) marketing generates workloads for the agencies. Agencies,… — Michael Farmer Procurement Copy Share Image
“Balkanization is a feature of the ad agency industry, but it is not a universal phenomenon across all service industries. Somehow, management… — Michael Farmer Management Copy Share Image
“What has my readers scratching their heads, though, is why advertisers, whose cumulative actions have painted ad agencies into a corner, marginalizing… — Michael Farmer Copy Share Image
“Agencies missed the significance of “shareholder value” and the change in priorities that it represented to their clients. They assumed, perhaps, that… — Michael Farmer Copy Share Image
