Ad industry moves with the times

Companies that do not have a strong brand presence will struggle in the electronic commerce world, says Marketforce chairman Howard Read.

“Customers are now in control through the virtue of the Internet,” Mr Read said.

“Strong brands are more easily traded online because they often do not require one-on-one contact with a sales person.”

Mr Read said the choice of information distribution channels for advertisers had increased greatly over the past five years.

Pay television has come to Australia, the number of titles in the print market has grown and Internet use is booming.

“This has to reduce the amount of mainstream advertising revenue,” he said.

“Advertisers, therefore, are looking for more value and for companies to be more global.

“Agencies are having to deal with this. They have needed to look at becoming part of big global media buying organisations which also enables them to take advantage of economies of scale.”

Marketforce is aligned with Zenith Media, the world’s biggest media service company, with the agency recently buying Zenith’s Adelaide office.

Mr Read said the purchase helped both organisations.

“It was a good strategic move for us with a number of our existing clients being active in the Adelaide market,” he said.

“Also, it is hard for eastern states-based organisations to effectively take on an Adelaide operation.

“When you’re coming from the west, I think you are more resourceful and can add something to the business.

“I can see opportunities to grab a greater share of the half of Australia most major players aren’t interested in.”

Mr Read started his career with insurance giant MLC, ending his time with the company in Sydney before an eighteen month sojourn with research company AC Neilsen.

“In 1970 I was newly married and decided to return to Perth because a lot of my friends were making a killing from the gold boom,” he said.

“A friend told me there was a stockbroker’s job going. I applied and was given the job of running the firm’s new Perth office.

“While we were driving across the Nullarbor the stock market collapsed. I was told after six weeks the stockbroker’s job was gone.”

Mr Read joined Bond Corp as group marketing manager, mostly involved with the company’s resort operations.

In 1974 he was transferred to Melbourne to be managing director of Universal Flexible Trust. That company was sold and he became Bond Corp’s Victorian manager.

He returned to Perth in 1977, spending a year with television station TVW7 before joining Marketforce in 1978.

“I had been approached to join Marketforce before I went to Melbourne,” Mr Read said.

“But I’m glad I went because the three years in Victoria gave me great experience.”

When Mr Read joined Marketforce it was already a major player in WA’s advertising industry.

It is now the state’s number one agency according to the Business News Book of Lists.

Mr Read said the agency’s success meant it could attract top staff such as Bowtell Clarke & Yole partner Paul Yole and former JMA managing director Iain Rowe.