AAAAgent of Change, Part II Q&A with Burtch Drake

Nov 19, 2007

The AAAA membership includes huge, global ad agencies as well as some very small shops. Obviously these two constituencies have different needs and concerns. How have you managed to keep both groups happy during your tenure as president and CEO?

DRAKE: Keeping your large members and your small members happy is a perennial challenge for any great association. But when all is said and done, if you're not providing value for the money, if they're not getting something for their dues money, you've got a problem. In the case of the large agencies, the main thing they want from the AAAA— the one thing they can't do for themselves—is lobby on behalf of the industry in Washington, D.C. They have great information on compensation, on the cost of running an ad agency, and they don't really need a lot of the study work we do because they have their own. But they can't lobby, and we do an outstanding job in that regard. For the smaller agencies, the studies we do, the employee benefit programs we provide, the Forum program that we have, these are immensely important for them because they don't have the resources of a holding company behind them. We provide them with valuable information on how to run their agencies—information on agency operations, compensation, and other issues. We help them run their business profitably and efficiently.

What's the next big shift you see taking place in the ad agency industry?

DRAKE: Well, I've never been a very good futurist, but first and foremost, I would certainly keep an eye on Google. I'm not the first one to say that, but they're incredibly smart and a little scary. I don't think they're finished doing what they're going to do to our business and they're kind of turning it upside down. The second big change I think is how agencies get paid. I think we're seeing more and more agencies looking at getting paid for their ideas and not for the number of hours it took to create those ideas, and I think they'll go more toward the Hollywood royalty–type payment. It's not going to happen overnight, but it's a trend I see coming and I think it's very important to the future survival of this business.

Hasn't the industry been trying to do that for a while?

DRAKE: They have, but it's very hard to establish. A lot of the start-up agencies are going this way, and I think we'll evolve toward that. The current system really doesn't make a lot of sense, and I think clients are beginning to realize that, and even the procurement folks are starting to realize that.

What are the biggest changes you've witnessed in the ad agency business since you took over at the AAAA?

DRAKE: Wow. There's obviously been a lot. I'll try and tick them off: The rise of the holding companies. The loss of the 15 percent commission system. Unbundling. And the use of computers. When I first came to the AAAA, we didn't have a lot of computers. And when you add to that the Internet, cell phones, Blackberries—the technology part of the business has changed incredibly over the last 10 to 15 years.

How would you characterize your accomplishments at the AAAA? What's going to be your legacy?

DRAKE: I don't know if it's a legacy, but I think what I'm most proud of is the AAAA staff. I can't tell you what an outstanding group of professionals this organization has, across the board. When all is said and done, be it a trade association or the advertising agency business, it's all about the staff and the people, and I think the AAAA staff, certainly from an association standpoint, is as good as it gets. And I hear that echoed by many of my contemporaries who are running other trade associations in our business. I also think I successfully reshaped and grew this organization within a period of enormous change in the business. I frankly think I'll leave it well positioned financially, with an excellent staff and, from a stature standpoint, as one of the most respected advertising trade associations out there. In terms of our programs, I'm particularly proud of the national conferences that we've launched. When I came to the AAAA, there was one meeting at the Greenbrier, which later attracted some negative connotations. But then we started the vertical conferences. The first was the Media Conference, which was an enormous success and has grown to be our largest conference. And then beyond that there are separate conferences for account planning, account management, and creative. We recently had two here in New York during Advertising Week—one for Chief Financial Officers and the other for HR people. We're heavily into the conference business, which I think has helped the different segments of the business to have a voice and to share information with their peers, whatever segment of the business they're working in.

Salute to Burtch Drake Welcome Note
Q&A with Burtch Drake Part I
More Q&A with OBD part II
More Q&A with OBD part III
What's the O For?
Ahead of the Curve Part I
Ahead of the Curve Part II
OBD Camera Ready
Jerry McGee's Last Word