“Jules Verne’s protagonist Phileas Fogg burned his ship’s furniture for fuel to reach Liverpool on his way around the world in 80 days. There is no Liverpool within reach for today’s big ad agencies.” — Michael Farmer 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 its missions.… — 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 ideas). In… — Michael Farmer 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 leadership at… — Michael Farmer 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 find leadership… — Michael Farmer 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 other strategic… — Michael Farmer Copy Share Image
“This is an industry that no longer reflects strategically how to create value in the face of disruptive change.” — Michael Farmer 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, who measure… — Michael Farmer 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 on helping… — Michael Farmer 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 with specific… — Michael Farmer 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 they had… — Michael Farmer 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 to develop… — Michael Farmer 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 jumped to… — 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 creativity and… — Michael Farmer 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 consulting firms… — Michael Farmer 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 UK; but… — Michael Farmer Copy Share Image
