Here's an edited recap of my in-class presentation for the first session of the "Future of Advertising" course at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD). Please note the Creative Commons license. Thanks.

1. The Future of Advertising
Class #ADV 3041-01 | Spring 2009 | Mondays 1-6pm | Rm 416
Instructor: Tim Brunelle
SESSION #01—“‘IDEAS FIRST’ IN THE AGE OF INTER-ACTION”
Creative Commons Attribution & Non-Commercial License

2. Introductions
BREAK
Course description + discussion
Housekeeping
BREAK
What is Advertising?
_ Chaos Scenario 2.0
_ Inter-action + Relevant Data +
Empowered Consumers
BREAK
Ideas first.
Next steps

3. Course description + discussion
Advertising is still very much about the primacy and supremacy of ideas.
But the industry and its craft are rapidly evolving. Technology, media and the
consumer are dramatically effecting financial, strategic, creative and
production decisions. Think of this class as preparation for a trip abroad.
What’s absolutely critical to know in order to survive? What do you need to
be fluent in? Where and who should you visit? What’s your place in the
grand scheme? The Future of Advertising is as much about you—the future
advertising practitioners, clients and consumers—as it is about cutting edge
techniques and practices. This semester-long course will arm advertising
students for a career in the era of digital as well as elicit their thoughts and
opinions about the trip we’re all taking together. We’ll study and develop
online ads and campaign websites. We’ll participate and see how social
media (blogs, microblogging, widgets, MySpace, Facebook, etc.) can play
an effective role in new marketing. We’ll delve into the inescapable role of
metrics and analysis. And content strategy. We’ll immerse ourselves in
gaming and mobile. We’ll talk about how public relations, customer service
and HR are becoming marketing. We’ll hear from and meet the new
advertising leaders to learn what they think your portfolio should say, be and
do. Above all, we’ll focus on the power of ideas in a digital age.

4. Course objectives + discussion
This course should practically and philosophically prepare students for the
realities of advertising as it evolves from traditional to digital. Portfolios will
be enhanced and broadened with integrated ideas that include online ads,
campaign sites and other digital tactics. We’ll encourage empathy and
passion for these newer forms, as well as provide direct experience with
cutting-edge examples and personal experience.

5. Attendance + Grading
Advertising is a service industry.
Service = Respect

6. Curriculum:
1. “Ideas first” in the Age of Inter-action
2. Building your portfolio for the future
3. Evolution of the ad agency
4. Building blocks: Paid search + online ads
5. Building blocks: Websites
6. (Building blocks?) Social media
7. Content strategy
8. Utility
9. Relevant data: Getting to know you
10. Client perspective
11. Portfolio review
12. Agency tours
13. Empowering the user
14. Mobility and gaming
15. Ideas first, redux

7. Conversations About The Future Of
Advertising (CATFOA)
Specific Mondays
6:00 - 8:00 pm
Free
Fine Line Music Cafe, Minneapolis
catfoa.blogspot.com

8. What is Advertising?
_ Chaos Scenario 2.0
0. “Forever and immutable...”
1. People don’t like ads... (Technology helps
them skip ads.)
2. ...But they crave information.
3. The consumer is in control. No really.
4. The problem: There isn’t enough (new)
digital media inventory or available
bandwidth to satisfy the existing marketing/
advertising appetite.

9. What is Advertising?
_ Chaos Scenario 2.0
_ Inter-action + Relevant Data +
Empowered Consumers

10. The LuchAddys
January 15, 2009
The future of
advertising in 8
minutes or less
Presented by Tim Brunelle
Video background by Robert Hodgin Creative Commons Attribution & Non-Commercial License

11. What’s the future
of advertising?

12. What’s
of advertising?

13. “I define it as a conversation starter. Interruption
doesn’t cut it anymore...you either get people
talking...or nothing happens.”
—Marshall Ross, CCO, Cramer-Krasselt

14. “I still think it’s about finding a big idea. You just
have more ways to (express) it now.”
—Woody Kay, Managing Partner,
Chief Creative Officer, Arnold

15. “Seems like when it’s annoying it’s advertising,
and when it’s not annoying it’s called something else.”
—Harvey Marco, CCO, JWT NY

16. What’s wrong
with advertising?

17. According to Adweek’s February 2008 coverage of a
TNS Media Intelligence/Cymfony poll of more than
60 marketers in North America, France and the U.K.:
“Agencies don’t get it.”
“You get the sense that agencies talk a good game,”
said Jim Nail, chief marketing and strategy officer at
TNS Media Intelligence/Cymfony. “But...(agencies’)
day-to-day management skills are not meeting
marketers’ expectations.”

18. “The quid pro quo between the marketer and the
audience, for several centuries, has been free or
subsidized media in exchange for inundation with ad
messages. In the Brave New World, the value
proposition will be similar but the barter items
very different. A marketer needn’t pay for episodes
of ‘24’; it need only provide value—whether in
entertainment, information, discount or utility.”
—Bob Garfield, AdAge

19. Sapient’s September 2008 survey of more than 200
chief marketing officers (CMOs) and senior marketing
professionals tells us:
“Ninety-two percent of respondents said it was
‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ important that agency
employees use the technologies that they are
recommending.”

20. Sapient’s September 2008 survey of more than 200
chief marketing officers (CMOs) and senior marketing
professionals tells us:
“...agencies need to have a greater knowledge of the
digital space in order to thrive. 45% of respondents
have switched agencies (or plan to switch) for
one with greater digital knowledge. 79% of
respondents rated ‘interactive/digital’ functions as
‘important/very important.’”

21. Now what?

22. “The possibilities for this industry are limitless
if we stop focusing on making ads—and bring big,
bold, game-changing business ideas to our clients.”
—Jeff Graham, Account Director
Crispin Porter + Bogusky

23. “Advertising going forward is about turning big
ideas into personal experiences that change/
reinforce both perceptions and behavior.”
—Jan Leth, Vice Chairman/Global Digital Creative
Ogilvy & Mather

24. “...It’s still about creating ideas that people respond
to. But...brands have to work a lot harder. More than
ever, brands have to offer something of value.”
—Albert Kelly, ECD, Fallon

25. Ideas first.

26. Technical
Media
Content
Functional
User-Generated

27. To succeed
in the future,
ideas must
include:

28. #1. Inter-action

29. Marketing then

30. Marketing now

31. Inter-action is...
An expectation
Reciprocity
Courtesy
Conversation
Response
Measurement
Research
Understanding
Dynamic
Involving
(Above all) Human

32. Inter-action takes form as...
Sharing
Crowd sourcing
Blogging
Micro blogging
Commenting
Embedding
Linking
Tagging
Rating
(Above all) Participation

33. Facilitating
inter-action
involves the
audience.

34. It says, “Your
role/opinion is
necessary.”

35. To succeed
in the future,
ideas must
also harness:

36. #2. Relevant
data

39. Thank you, Jan Leth:
Data = Better stories
Data = “Value exchange” beyond
entertainment
Data = Optimized performance
Data = Massively distributed
personalization of brand
experience.
Data = Enables “Listening” as core
competency of marketing dept.

40. To succeed
in the future,
finally, ideas
must:

41. #3. Empower
the audience

42. Business Week (Mar 3, 2008)
“Consumer Vigilantes”
“Callaway (left) put his Cingular complaint to music and posted it on
YouTube. Comcast customer Salup (middle) has decided blogs are the best
bet for getting action. Dee (right) started firing off e-mails to US Airways
brass while waiting for hours on a runway.”

46. 1
2

47. “...the number of blog readers has jumped to 57
million American adults, or 39% of the online pop-
ulation,” according to a July 2006 Pew Internet Study.
Technorati currently states it is tracking over 112.8
million blogs (April, 2007) and, “120,000 new blogs
are created every day.”
“YouTube reports serving over 100 million videos
per day,” according to TechCrunch, July 2006.

48. Listening = Customer Service = Marketing
Listening is a positive, useful reaction to
Consumer Empowerment.
“Beyond being able to pay our bills and make our
financial goals, we're not actually that focused on
getting customers to shop and purchase from us
whenever possible. Instead, we’re interested in
forming lifelong, meaningful relationships with
our customers, so the more engaged our customers
are, the more likely that will happen.”
—Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos

49. 1. Inter-action
2. Relevant data
3. Empowered
Customers

50. What’s the future
of advertising?

51. Ideas first.

52. “Ideas first.”
At the core of any website, widget, banner
ad or mobile app created for advertising
should be a distinct, singular, compelling
idea which connects you with a company,
product or service. The best ideas, even in
the digital space, should cause you to say,
“I hadn't thought of it that way before.”
They should change our perceptions.

53. Monday, February 2:
“Building your portfolio for the future”
1. Bring in your portfolio (whatever shape it’s
in) to the next class + identify two campaigns
in your portfolio that you want to evolve
2. Guest speaker: Joseph Rueter
usefullunacy.typepad.com
tim_brunelle@mcad.edu

54. Thank you.
Creative Commons Attribution & Non-Commercial License