FOCUS: 2000 Previews - Challenges still remain the same in 2000

<p>Many of us are still trying to digest the prophecies and hype the </p><p>new millennium has generated. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The demise of advertising is certainly one such theme. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>While the new millennium will see many businesses becoming obsolete, the </p><p>ad business will not be one of them. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Advertising will survive, trust me, and it will continue to grapple with </p><p>the same issues - proliferation of choice, rapid technological change, </p><p>clutter, fragmentation and the insatiable desire consumers have to be </p><p>treated as individuals. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But while advertising will survive, not all agencies will. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Those that do not adhere to the following time-tested principles will </p><p>fall by the wayside: </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Our fundamental role is to create success for our clients by building </p><p>their brands. What we do must result in better value and better business </p><p>performance. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- We must stay committed to offering the highest creativity in </p><p>everything we do, regardless of how it is delivered. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- We must put the consumer at the centre of everything we do. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Only by recognising the importance of these fundamentals can we begin to </p><p>address the new challenges of the millennium; be they about the </p><p>convergence between advertising and information, the unbundling of media </p><p>services, the confluence of branding and corporate strategies, </p><p>ecommerce, database marketing or any such other intense subjects. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In seeking solutions, we must admit that the ad business is inherently a </p><p>reactive, not a proactive, one. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>To ensure we stay ahead of the game, we need to ask some basic </p><p>questions: </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Are we investing sufficiently in training and retaining our stars or </p><p>acquiring new talent? </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Are we prepared to take risks, whether to explore untested methods or </p><p>a new media option to reach the ever-elusive consumers? </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Or are we thinking every solution comes in the form of a TV or print </p><p>campaign? </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Are we being tenacious enough to work out integrated solutions for our </p><p>clients - developing an understanding of the new tools such as </p><p>data-mining, digital branding or customer relationship marketing, so we </p><p>can produce more measurable results for them? </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Are we confident enough to forge new alliances with outside partners </p><p>to deliver more value to our clients? </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Are we brave enough to ask to be rewarded on a performance-basis, not </p><p>just on the amount of media we purchase? </p><p><BR><BR> </p>