On this episode of LID Radio Podcast, we're joined by Michael Farmer, author of Madison Avenue Revisited: The Verdict of the Advertising Industry: Murder, Not Manslaughter.
About Michael Farmer
Michael Farmer is a leading commentator and analyst in the advertising industry. Prior to founding Farmer & Company in 1992, he was a strategy consultant with the Boston Consulting Group and a Director of Bain & Company, heading Bain's Munich, Paris and London offices during Bain's decade of European expansion in the 1980s. He is the author of Madison Avenue Manslaughter.
About Madison Avenue Revisited
Madison Avenue Revisited is a critical, deep dive examination of how the advertising industry's media function collapsed from a profitable, integrated department during the Golden Age of Advertising into today's fragmented, less effective and often opaque business. The book traces this decline from an era when media was a low status but high profit "back office" activity fuelled by 15% commissions, through to a current state marred by technological complexity, financial mismanagement and a lack of C-suite leadership. Farmer examines the economic realities facing agencies today, their staffing and metrics, and the influence of the "shareholder value" mindset that has prioritised short term cost cutting over long term effectiveness. The book also looks ahead, exploring the transformative potential and challenges posed by artificial intelligence in the media world.
