CANNES – WPP\u2019s Mark Read says the advertising industry is in a time of \u201cstructural change, not structural decline,\u201d but survival depends on people within the industry making the effort embrace that change. Interviewed by Beet.TV at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, Read points to the event itself as evidence of change, noting its \u201cfresh start\u201d with fewer days and fewer awards entries.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we have a better festival<\/a>, it will prosper. In the same way our industry, and I include WPP, we need to make changes as well,\u201d says Read, who is COO of WPP and Global CEO of its Wunderman digital agency. \u201cWe need to become simpler to navigate.\u201d<\/p>\n When Read joined Wunderman<\/a> several years ago, he recalls some people disparaging the venerable direct marketing agency for being in the direct-response space. \u201cBut actually, today all marketing is direct marketing, so we can do everything.\u201d<\/p>\n Some industry change is imposed by outsiders, for example regulators. Read notes that the recent implementation of the European Union\u2019s GDPR privacy strictures \u201chas had a big impact in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n He contrasts the situation with the United States, where there is a different approach to privacy. \u201cThe EU approaches privacy as a sort of human right, something that consumers come to expect,\u201d Read<\/a> says. \u201cI think the U.S. view is companies can do what they want to do so long as they\u2019re clear about they want to do. As long as they do what they say, they\u2019re fine.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the main, GDPR has been a challenge for companies, but I think it\u2019s been a good thing as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about the ongoing efforts to bring more transparency to the digital media supply chain, Read says WPP\u2019s GroupM media unit \u201chas talked a lot to our clients about what they need to do to make sure that their marketing messages appear next to content that they\u2019d like it to appear next to.\u201d<\/p>\n Other improvements to the supply chain will require more cooperation for mutual benefit. \u201cNo one part of the industry can solve the problems on its own. It requires cooperation between various players.\u201d<\/p>\n In a nod to the dominance of Facebook and Google, Read says there is a need for a market where people can afford to create quality content, particularly news.<\/p>\n \u201cBut then I think it\u2019s incumbent on news organizations to evolve and innovate the way they create news, the way they work,\u201d he says. \u201cEach player in that ecosystem, agency, client, media owner, technology company, has a role to play and actually it\u2019s the sort of cooperation around them and the coalescence of interests that will help us.\u201d<\/p>\n