`Benign dictator' of advertising says adapt or die

The future is likely to see advertising becoming more globalised and increasingly taking to the Internet, says Mr Ed Meyer, the president and chief executive officer of Grey Advertising, one of the oldest and largest advertising agencies in the world. Mr Meyer (72), who has almost 50 years experience in advertising and is regarded as America's wealthiest ad-man, says those who have been successful in television and print advertising will not necessarily be successful using the new electronic media.

He was speaking to The Irish Times during a visit to Dublin. He says advertising companies will not survive unless they offer more than a strict advertising service. Grey, which operates as Campbell Grey & Associates in the Republic, offers clients public relations, marketing and media services as part of one package.

Mr Meyer, who describes himself as a "benign dictator", says while Internet advertising now only accounts for 3 per cent of the overall market it will grow to 10 per cent within the next two years at least. "Make no mistake the PC boys are coming and anyone who is not ready will be wiped out very quickly," he says.

This expected increase in Internet advertising has no great implications for print, radio or television advertising, according to Mr Meyer.

"When radio arrived everyone said print would die, it didn't; when television arrived everyone said radio would die, it didn't; so every new media just seems to increase the size of the cake," he says.

However, he says it will be more difficult for advertisers to make their pitch on the Internet than it is with other media. "You will have to get the customer to go to a certain Website, stay there, and then click on a small icon where your advert will be and then you have got to get them to look at a few of the pages," he says.

He says the skill of creative design, needed in all advertising, will change slightly in the new electronic age. "While the idea of selling a product remains the same, the tools will be different and everyone will have to learn to use the new implements as they did the old," he says.

He says the days of people sitting through television advertisements which hold no interest for them may nearly be over as the digital revolution threatens to sweep into our livingrooms. "With digital comes the possibility of people only watching advertisements which they want to see; all others can be screened out," he says. With Grey now in 74 countries, Mr Meyer spends a lot of time abroad and notices changes in the global economy, many of them on a human level. "When I first went to China everyone was on a bike, the next time I went they were still on bikes, but with mobile phones in their hands and the last time I went they were on motorbikes with two mobile phones," he says.

Mr Meyer has proved that he can adapt to changing times, but still retain control. He still has the majority stake in the company which has had its shares quoted publicly since 1965 and posted a turnover of $765 million last year.