Is Anybody Out There? is a review of the industry in relation to consumers, brands and channels in the context of a world facing changing consumer attitudes, a growing resistance to marketing messages and spiralling media costs.
Austin, the Asia-Pacific chief executive officer of Mediaedge:cia, said the advertising industry needed to reinvent itself in tackle the needs of marketers in the 21st century. "The difficulties the industry faces are many and varied. Right now many companies are trying to drive down costs as much as possible and this will stifle creativity and the growth of the brand. We are also seeing the tenure of marketing directors becoming shorter. In Europe, it's only 14 months.
"In the future, we might see non-conflicting companies such as Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble, form their own marketing services company," Austin said.
He said that part of the problem lay in market perceptions that agencies were suppliers rather than partners.
"For the industry to remain relevant, agencies have to possess significant channel planning skills from which to drive the strategic and creative work."
Austin and Aitchison, the author of several advertising books including Cutting Edge Commercials, said that the book would be the first written from both the media and creative perspective.