Modern Marketing Solutions
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Modern Marketing Solutions An Interview with Michael Roth, Chairman and Chief Executive Offi cer, Interpublic Group EDITORS’ NOTE In July 2004, or the U.S., and we have strong pres- But Brazil, India, China, and other emerg- Michael Roth was appointed ence in those markets. So when Europe ing markets are ahead of that and Europe is Chairman and he became CEO in is struggling, we have offsets that make behind it. So when we say we should be able to January 2005. He had been a mem- up for some of the shortcomings. achieve 3 percent organic growth for the year, ber of Interpublic’s board since 2002. Our offerings also aren’t in just one it takes into consideration the stronger markets Prior to this, Roth was Chairman and sector. We have a cross-section of clients as well as the weak markets. CEO of the fi nancial services holding whether it be automobile, retail or farmer. In an increasingly digital world, what company, the MONY Group. He sits How close is the coordination needs to happen for print to remain relevant? on the boards of directors of Pitney among the different segments of There continues to be solid double-digit Bowes, Gaylord Entertainment, the the fi rm? growth in digital whereas in print, you see nega- Committee Encouraging Corporate I try to emphasize what we call tive. Eventually, print will level off because there Philanthropy, the Baruch College “open architecture,” where our clients are is a place for print in our business. The key word Fund, the Partnership for New York Michael Roth entitled to the best of IPG, and within is relevant. We have to be able to use print that is City, and Enterprise Foundation. IPG, all of our agencies and offerings relevant to the particular client situation and the Roth is a certifi ed public accountant and the re- have to come together for that integrated offering. consumer they’re driving – business-to-business cipient of an LL.M. degree from New York When it makes sense, we come together as tends to use print more than consumers. University Law School and a J.D. from the Boston Team IPG. That doesn’t happen all the time, nor There are specialty magazines that are doing University School of Law. should it. Our disciplines also compete with each well in terms of print. Our job is to help our clients other. So we have McCann as a global network, place their ad dollars where they get the best bang COMPANY BRIEF Headquartered in New York, but we also have Lowe and Draftfcb and they’re for their buck. If it’s digital, it should be digital; if Interpublic Group (www. interpublic.com; NYSE: competing with each other. But when it makes it’s traditional media, it should be traditional media. IPG), is one of the world’s largest advertising and sense, we’re able to seamlessly offer clients a So we have a blended allocation of where marketing companies. From global communica- best-of, coordinated IPG solution. those dollars should go and that is where we earn tions networks like McCann to domestic advertis- Are your clients primarily those mar- our keep. ing agencies like The Martin Agency in Richmond, quis brands or do you also have a focus on How critical is maintaining a diverse work- Virginia to global specialists like the events marketer small entrepreneurial brands? force for IPG and is inclusion the next step? Jack Morton, sports marketer Octagon, and pub- We have three global creative advertis- We call it diversity and inclusion. We’re in a lic relations experts Weber Shandwick, Interpublic ing agencies: McCann, Lowe, and Draftfcb and global market – the consumer is well informed agencies span the globe, employing 43,000 people they’re where the big global clients are located. and the market is diverse. For us as an industry to in more than 100 countries, working with clients That said, we also have a number of in- not represent the marketplace would be insane. like L’Oréal, Unilever, and MasterCard. dependent agencies: Hill Holliday, Mullen, and Take women: 80 percent of all consumer The Martin Agency. The only thing they don’t purchases are made by females. Why shouldn’t What is it about Interpublic that makes it have – except Deutsch, because of their rela- our workforce represent a similar percentage? so special? tionship with Lowe – is a global footprint. When we talk about diversity and inclusion, it The parent company takes a backseat – it’s So if you look at our independent agen- incorporates all sorts of minorities. It’s no longer just the people at our agencies that make a dif- cies, you may see more entrepreneurial clients focused on the U.S. – it’s focused all over the world ference. IPG wants to attract the most creative than at our big global networks. because the population is growing signifi cantly. We people who also understand how to communi- There are only a few agencies in the world need people who understand those markets so we cate in a new media landscape, and we’ve been that can handle a global client from a distribu- can put together effective campaigns. able to do that as we’ve worked to transform IPG tion point of view. You can bring in hotshot What makes the Partnership for New over the past few years. Looking at our company agencies, but in the end, if you want global dis- York City so successful and what makes this now, you couldn’t ask for a better mix of people tribution, you need a global agency. city so special? from all walks of life to come work with every Is there still strong growth in the U.S. New York is where our roots are. It’s the day. That’s what makes us special and is why today or is it coming more from the emerg- capital of the world – what happens here affects so many of the world’s best-known brands are ing markets? the world. The individuals in the Partnership willing to trust us with creating their communica- Strong growth is relative. The U.S. is con- believe in New York City and believe they can tions with consumers. sistent. Our forecast is that we should attain 3 per- make a difference in helping maintain its status How is the economy affecting your cent organic growth and a 50-basis point margin on a global basis. business? improvement for 2012; that is blended. So obvi- At the Partnership meetings, you have One of the benefi ts of our model is that ously the United States – since 51 percent of our high-level infl uential members with a common we’re a global company with diverse offerings in business comes from the U.S. – is part of it, and goal – it’s not often you get competitors or diverse locations. Whenever you have an unset- the U.S. is on track on a full-year basis to achieve people of business focusing on a common goal tling economic environment, there are pockets that between 2 and 3 percent growth, maybe higher in other than their own bottom line. And Kathy’s are successful – like India, China, Latin America some specialty areas. (Wylde) leadership is critical there.• 62 LEADERS POSTED WITH PERMISSION. COPYRIGHT © 2012 LEADERS MAGAZINE, INC. VOLUME 35, NUMBER 4.