Advertising is dead...long live advertising

Jeff Hicks, CEO of Crispin Porter + Bogusky on DMA News

“We think the future of advertising is great products that have marketing embedded in them"

This is hopeful. Slowly uncrossing my fingers.

Then I read this paragraph and my excitement completely deflates (unclear if Hicks or the reporter is saying this):

"The role of advertising is to push consumers toward products. At thecenter is the product. Advertising is at the periphery, with packagingand customer relationship management and distribution as the layersbetween it and the product."

Shudder. This is just so wrong on so many levels.

At the center is the CUSTOMER and I don't want things PUSHED to me and I don't want to be MANAGED. This strongly demonstrates the dramatic need to create new attitudes and language around how to interact with the customer. This means redefining the traditional silo-ed roles of marketer, advertiser, pr, customer experience, product design.

It also raises a few serious questions:

1. Is Crispin Porter now in the product design business?

2. Are the Agency's and traditional marketers ready to shift their budgets and resources?

3. Are they ready to bring in the talent necessary to shake things up and do it right?

4. What is the best way to educate and bring along the 'old guard' or is it just a lost cause?

5. When will people stop talking about subservient chicken as the answer to an advertisers prayers?

I am excited about all this fuzziness of roles, but many will be very very threatened. Mark Hurst has as a great little example of how this will be impacted internally at client and agency.

You can also check out Chris Carfi posts directly from the Forrester Conference at which Hicks spoke.

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