vertising agencies may depend to a large extent on how they respond to new media options, and some agencies could conceivably be left behind by the sweeping changes taking place in the multimedia age. Advertisers have come to rely on a certain advertising environment which they can view as a given, and they then think in terms of finding new outlets and media for their promotions. However, it may be that advertisers in the future will have to find substitutes for the media outlets on which they have come to depend. Ed Artzt, chairman and CEO of the Procter & Gamble Company, recently described a new media future that he says will not be driven by traditional advertising, and as a solution he states that mass marketers and their advertising agencies are going to have to participate much more actively in creating and distributing the programming they use to reach mass audiences through new entertainment options. His belief in this future is based on the view that the future of advertisement-supported television programming is uncertain. The world that is being created through cable, satellite, and other television delivery systems is a world of video-on-demand, pay-per-view, and subscription TV, none of which involve advertising as a general rule. As these new delivery systems increase their audience, advertisers will have difficulty in achieving the reach and frequency needed to support the brands they promote.
Melanie Wells finds that this vision of the future has particular dangers for the midsize advertising agency. The vision included the idea that advertisers should get control of programming, and this may be most difficult for a midsize agency to achieve. Many leaders in the industry, however, have listened to Mr. Artzt and believe he has opened their eyes to the reality of the information superhighway and both the pitfalls and the opportunities it will involve. Executives from larger agencies see the future as giving ...