Barter's about face

John Wolfe

In the 1980s and 1990s, the media barter business was viewed with scepticism by many marketing executives, but since then the industry has undergone a transformation, and is now valued at over $1.5 billion.

Barter's about face

John Wolfe

If Hollywood had made a movie about the media barter business a decade ago, the title could have been lifted from a Clint Eastwood spaghetti western: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Today, an old cigarette ad slogan -“You've come a long way, baby” - might be a more apt movie title.

In the 1980s and early '90s, the barter industry was viewed by marketing executives with skepticism and, in many cases, outright scorn. The reasons included unscrupulous barter companies, broken promises, and a lack of transparency that spawned mistrust. Since...

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