The leaders of WPP, Viacom and Twitter have each re-configured the media landscape more than once - and it appears from their discussion at the Cannes Debate that they're not done yet.

1. TWITTER
viacom
Wpp
of the
Chat
t i ta n s
Martin Sorrell of WPP,
Phillipe Dauman of
Viacom and Dick Costolo
of Twitter have each re-
configured the media
landscape more than
once - and it appears
from their discussion at
the Cannes Debate that
they’re not done yet.

2. Chat of the titans
The leaders of WPP, Viacom and
Twitter have each re-configured
the media landscape more than
once - and it appears from their
discussion at the Cannes Debate
that they’re not done yet.
TWITTER
viacom
Wpp

3. The
HostSir Martin Sorrell ever tires of running WPP, a stellar career awaits
him as a television host, he’s that good. Witty intros, insightful
questions, thorough research and a willingness to keep stirring the
pot were on display as he led Dick Costolo of Twitter and Phillipe
Dauman of Viacom on a fast-paced, hard-nosed, numbers-laden
dance through the business side of the media business.
He even brought his blackberry on stage, casually announced his personal
email, solicited questions from the audience (against express instructions
from the organizers) and wove them expertly into the discussion.
1
Chat of the titans
TWITTER
viacom
Wpp

4. The
PitchViacom is selling itself on reach, pure and simple. If you want to get
to someone, you’ll probably have to go through them. Twitter, on
the other hand, is all about the now (quite literally). They’re putting
psychological distance between themselves and other social platforms
by owning real-time like no one else. Even their nascent e-commerce
offering is called in-the-moment-commerce. Catchy, yeah?
2
Chat of the titans
TWITTER
viacom
Wpp

5. The
evolutionDauman described an evolving Viacom that is rapidly building production
capabilities to match its formidable distribution infrastructure. Costolo is
hitching Twitter, ironically, to television, establishing itself as the ultimate
second-screen companion to life’s live broadcast moments (think: Oscars,
Olympics or whenever Kanye West says something ridiculous in public).
3
Chat of the titans
TWITTER
viacom
Wpp

6. The
Mary Meeker
SlideY’know, the one that points to mobile as a $30 billion+ opportunity? Sir
Martin asked each for an explanation and got “lack of measurability
and accountability” from Dauman, and “no-one truly anticipated the
rate of mobile take up would be quite as fast as it is” from Costolo,
who should know something about hockey-stick growth charts.
4
Chat of the titans
TWITTER
viacom
Wpp

7. The
planetThese are both global companies, but in very different ways. Viacom
makes 75% of revenue in the US, while Twitter’s ratio is almost exactly
opposite. Both, however, believe future growth will largely be from
countries like India and Brazil, with maybe Africa somewhere down
the track. Costolo says China is “not something we would compromise
for” while Viacom is placing very strategic blockbuster movie bets in
the Middle Kingdom. “We expect our mainland China box office to be
almost as big as our US box for Transformers 2, starring Mark Whalberg,
opens next week, you should go and see it,” Dauman advertised.
5
Chat of the titans
TWITTER
viacom
Wpp