1. Education for a new communications paradigm EACA Forum, 27 th April 2007

2. In 10 minutes… What is the new communications paradigm What we look for in graduates The graduates we currently hire What should graduates be studying What should agencies be doing

3. Our world

4. Source : Mediaedge:cia Average hours per week media consumption EU Print Internet Analogue TV Digital TV Analogue radio Digital radio Cinema Outdoor Wireless Games 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 1900192019401960198020002020 A mostly digital media landscape

5. The consumer’s media choices

6. Enabling Digital Platforms Consumers are ever more empowered Increased Ability to Access & Sift Abundance of Info. Increased Ability to Interconnect & Congregate Increased Ability to Gain On-demand Satisfaction Increased Ability to Customize Consumption Increased Ability to Publish Self-expression Search Engines / Portals / Aggregators Email / RSS / Mobile Alerts Ad blockers, filters & skippers Email / IM / SMS / MMS Blogs / Web spaces Photo Galleries Email / IM / Mobile Chatrooms / Forums / Discussion Boards Virtual Communities / Social Networks Always on, 24/7 Instant response Access to the long tail PersonalizationPreference Setting

7. Purchase pathways increasingly complex Search Phase [control] Portals (Yahoo!, MSN) Price comparison (Kelkoo, Ciao) Discussion boards Search engines (Google, Ask.com) Review sites/blogs [‘Expert’ opinions] Retailer websites Customer reviews on retailer sites Brand websites Review sites/blogs [‘Expert’ opinions] Search engines (Google, Ask.com) Search engines (Google, Ask.com) Search engines (Google, Ask.com) Search engines (Google, Ask.com) Review sites/blogs [‘Expert’ opinions] Review sites/blogs [‘Expert’ opinions] Discussion boards Retailer websites Customer reviews on retailer sites Brand websites Review sites/blogs [‘Expert’ opinions] Discussion boards Customer reviews on retailer sites Portals (Yahoo!, MSN) Reassurance Search engines (Google, Ask.com) Search engines (Google, Ask.com) Reviewing/ revising/ confirming product choice Comparing prices/deals Identification of product/service Completing purchase DeliveryPost-purchase evaluation Comparing retailers/ suppliers Peak fear period Source: Online barriers to purchasing (MEC)

8. Sceptical consumers

9. 1990 So communications is evolving USPs Same ATL and BTL - still advertising- focused Central idea Channel selection based on merit Communications platform Channel mix to facilitate interaction and engagement Advertising-led 1995 Through-the-line 2000 Media-neutral 2006 Active Engagement

10. Active Engagement changes the way we… work ideas-driven strategic planning and disciplines new revenue models use communication channels accelerating those with consumer-brand interaction measure more rapid feedback optimise faster

11. Working from a communication platform is different Increasingly target known individuals Understand ‘what drives what’ to build a relationship Generating word of mouth from them is key Putting the tools into our consumers’ hands

12. Planning becoming longer- and shorter-term 3-year strategies KPI dashboards to adjust en route Less about reach/frequency, more about effectiveness Behaviour and attitude changes will become KPIs KnowTrialOccasionalMost Often Positive Negative Behaviour Attitude

13. Graduates need a basic understanding of… Marketing & communications channels & audiences strategy development planning & consumer measurement tools & techniques Maths/analytics Financial concepts Workflow management

14. More importantly : skills & behaviours Passion for brands & communications Innovative & strategic thinking Personal initiative Teamworking Leadership Good communication Client responsiveness

15. What kind of graduates do we hire? Communications/marketing plus Arts, languages Business studies Geography History PPE Psychology

16. WPP Fellowship Annual graduate programme Three 1-year rotations in WPP companies 7 selected each year From 500+ applicants Mostly Oxbridge/Harvard

17. What should graduates be studying now? Reading, writing, arithmetic! Active engagement Interpersonal communication Client-service organisations How the industry really works Global business realities

18. Agencies need to Engage more with universities & colleges Promote the industry to the wider public current perceptions not always positive Provide stronger internship and work-sponsorship programmes Pay graduates better

19. Thankyou!