A Master Class in Brand Planning: The Timeless Works of Stephen King

18

A Robust Defence of What Brand Advertising is For

By Stephen Carter CBE, Chief of Strategy and Principal Advisor to the Prime Minister

 

 

 

 

 

Like a number of contributors to this book, I had the good fortune to work with Stephen King and to know him a little personally. Re-reading this article reminded me of how visionary a thinker Stephen was. How fortunate the advertising industry, and J. Walter Thompson in particular, was in the 1970s and 1980s to attract and retain some of the most original thinkers of the day on the longer term aspects of commercialization, competition and the role of communications.

By contrast, at the turn of the twenty-first century the advertising industry’s clients and practitioners find themselves beset by bad news and challenge in equal measure. We see traditional broadcasting fragmenting from the mass channels of coverage and cultural dominance, to literally hundreds of niche channels that increasingly seem to better serve individuals viewing preferences. The large advertisers are questioning the value of broadcast television, radio, print display and classified advertising which inevitably changes the role of the agencies that provide them with strategic advice and creativity to exploit these channels.

 

The Challenge of Digital Underlines the Power of Advertising

This is leaving many traditional media owners and agencies (as well as their shareholders) wondering whether their business models will survive the transition to digital. Furthermore, ...