The AAF Reinvents the Advertising Agency

This article, by Geoffrey Precourt, WARC's U.S. Editor, discusses the future of advertising agencies, based on a panel discussion at the American Advertising Federation's National Conference 2009.

The AAF Reinvents the Advertising Agency

Geoffrey PrecourtWARC Online

For advertising agencies, the numbers are daunting:

  • In 2009, 43 percent of all US national advertising will be created in-house.
  • 91 percent of media agencies bypass the services of traditional agencies.
  • Project fees have become the normal state-of-the-art compensation.
  • 75 percent of all agencies feel increased competition.
  • The auto industry, which represented a "huge share of the national marketing spend just a few years ago," has all but fallen off the ad revenue charts. One agency, Publicis, took a $130 million hit with the loss of one client, General Motors....

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