‘There’s an enormous lack of trust’: Agencies need to clean up their acts, warns former Carat boss
The way major holding companies have been treating clients’ media money without their knowledge is the key factor in the loss of trust by marketers in their agencies, a senior industry executive has claimed.
In a hard-hitting panel at Advertising Week New York, Martin Cass – who ran Carat in North America until 2013 – suggested that the big agencies had been engaging in arbitrage behind their clients’ backs, and that they still need to “clean up” their acts.
Cass: The top five holding companies need to clean up their act
Cass, who is now CEO of independent media operation MDC Media Partners and was a few months ago named executive of the year by MediaPost, told the debate on adtech and transparency that media agencies have been capitalising on marketers’ lack of understanding of the complexities of digital media.
I’d need to request leave at work to read this story it’s so long
Depending where you are in Australia, there’s a long weekend coming up, Jack…
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
I think everyone knows there is a problem, what would be more helpful would be someone with a POV on how to solve it. Its easy to point fingers at media agencies, but clients, procurment, pitch consultants, media companies, tech companies etc are all complicit….
Thanks Open Mike
Your comment is a bit like discovering a man stealing your car who, when confronted, says “I think we both know what is going on so let’s not make this any worse than it already is, you left the car here and nobody has stopped me from breaking into it so we are all really to blame. I’ll be on my way….”
Great reporting.
Would you buy a used car from this bloke? He’s now an independent, same old wolf now in sheeps clothing.
The problem comes when clients find out how much they have to pay for a clean transparent service.
Seismic shift for the big agency groups, hard to make a fast u-turn in the Titanic, need to get into the life boats fast.