Madison Avenue Manslaughter: An Inside View of Fee-Cutting Clients, Profit-Hungry Owners and Declining Ad Agencies - Hardcover

Jon Bond, CEO Tomorro; former CEO, Big Fuel; co-founder, Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners: "It isn't manslaughter, it's industry suicide in slow motion, one FTE at a time." Gary Lee, Global Chief Financial Officer, McCann Worldgroup: "It's more like Madison Avenue Massacre, and the bullets are falling prices, incentives that do not incentivize, mystery benchmarks and scope theft. We need strong and fair economic partnerships to fund creative and strategic brilliance. Michael Farmer's expos should ignite the debate. Bravo!" Deborah Wahl, Chief Marketing Officer, McDonald's USA: "A great and engrossing read. This book is as relevant for advertisers as it is for agencies. After years of CMO tenure declining faster than agency turnover, the work of the CMO has had to refocus on delivering brand growth and profitability. This book highlights how our most valuable partners can refocus too and develop a more productive partnership to master the challenges of the VUCA world in which we operate." "Finally someone has written a book about everything I believe in. Farmer identifies the causes and dynamics of the industry's issues and woes. He understands the economics, the behaviors and the causes of an inevitable talent drain. Solutions are scarce and they require a keen understanding of the business. Farmer has this understanding."--Richard Roth, President and Founder, Roth Observatory:

The advertising industry has reached a critical, even dangerous point in its development - agencies destroy themselves by doing increased work for declining fees - so what are the logical consequences of the failure to act? Growing workloads and declining fees have created a 'recipe for disaster'. For the first time, Michael Farmer offers a solution to avoid this seemingly inevitable disaster. This book offers the world's first effective definition of "the real agency problem". Once the problem is understood, then the author offers corrective solutions. The book is a call to action for the 21st century breed of 'mad men', to outline the industry problems and encourages agencies and their clients to take management actions to keep this disaster at bay. These actions form the basis of a strategic response by agency CEOs as well as corporate chief marketing officers.