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What people are talking about today

Is there “turmoil on Madison Avenue” because of changes afoot in the marketing industry? That’s how the Wall Street Journal describes the state of affairs in a headline wrapping up all of yesterday’s unsettling advertising news. First, weak financial results from WPP sent the stock plummeting; the company says net sales were down last year, and it predicts this year won’t bring any growth. Later in the day, when Procter & Gamble’s chief brand officer, Marc Pritchard, spoke at the Association of National Advertisers conference in Orlando, it was a reminder of the shifts in the marketing industry that are hurting players like WPP. As Ad Age’s Jack Neff writes, P&G has been streamlining its spending and has pledged to cut $1.2 billion in agency and production fees over five years. Pritchard also said the company has cut spending on big digital players by 20 to 50 percent even though they made progress on his demands a year ago that they cut out fraud and ensure brand safety.

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