Online Communications Infrastructure Will Facilitate Continuing Conversation, Building Upon Recent World Producers Summit
By Robert Goldrich
NEW YORK --From in-person to now online communication–that’s the transition that will ensure that dialogue among commercial producers from around the world continues year-round so that issues can be addressed and notes compared on a real-time basis. This plan crystallized and gained approval at the third annual World Producers Summit held by the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) and the Commercial Film Producers of Europe (CFP-E) last month during the International Advertising Festival in Cannes.
The Cannes session brought together 89 commercial filmmakers from 28 countries. The participants, all significant stakeholders in production houses, exchanged ideas and considered issues they have in common. But just as, if not more, importantly, they agreed to continue their discussion using an online international bulletin board.
AICP president/CEO Matt Miller dubbed the dynamic as a World Producers E-Summit. “Our intent is to always have a channel open so that producers from around the world can engage in meaningful dialogue and exchanges about their concerns and industry issues,” he said.
For example, the subject of WPP-owned production shop Plush was discussed at length during the half-day Cannes summit, according to Miller and CFP-E president Francois Chilot. It’s a topic that figures to generate plenty of follow-up online. Plush competes with independent producers, yet relies primarily on directorial talent from production companies around the world. This is in sharp contrast to generally failed agency in-house production entities of the past, which recruited their own exclusive lineups of staff directors.
World Producers Summit participants expressed concern over the precedent being set by Plush and the impact such a business model could have on the production process and the ability of independents to compete fairly. Most of that impact has been felt Down Under. But a number of producers outside Australia said they had interactions with Plush, demonstrating the reach such entities could have. Most contended that their experience was negative and counterproductive for the advertiser.
As exemplified in Plush, what goes on in one corner of the world has the potential to impact the business at large in today’s global marketplace. Thus, reasoned the AICP and the CFP-E, it’s imperative for producers around the world to update each other, compare notes and share concerns and ideas on a regular basis–not just at an annual face-to-face gathering, which will continue at Cannes.
The online discussion board is being hosted at AICPtalk.com. The hybrid blog/chat room/bulletin board had been put through its test paces prior to the World Producers Summit. The board facilitated exchanges among producers who offered input as to what issues and developments were of particular concern to them, helping to set the agenda for last month’s in-person Summit.
Other points of discussion during the recently concluded Summit included the possibility of establishing global guidelines relative to basic business practices and expectations, and the ways in which production companies work. Though nothing concrete emerged out of initial dialogue on that topic, Miller said the clear consensus was that eventually putting such guidelines in place would be “a good idea.”
Also discussed during the Summit–and what could emerge as blogging fuel–was production companies sharing bad business practices they have encountered in the marketplace. “As production houses, clients and advertisers start to work more globally, this sharing of experiences and information could prove valuable,” assessed Miller.
Google Opens Its Defense In Antitrust Case Alleging Monopoly Over Online Ad Technology
Google opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology Friday with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government.
"The industry has been exceptionally fluid over the last 18 years," said Scott Sheffer, a vice president for global partnerships at Google, the company's first witness at its antitrust trial in federal court in Alexandria.
The Justice Department and a coalition of states contend that Google built and maintained an illegal monopoly over the technology that facilitates the buying and selling of online ads seen by consumers.
Google counters that the government's case improperly focuses on a narrow type of online ads — essentially the rectangular ones that appear on the top and on the right-hand side of a webpage. In its opening statement, Google's lawyers said the Supreme Court has warned judges against taking action when dealing with rapidly emerging technology like what Sheffer described because of the risk of error or unintended consequences.
Google says defining the market so narrowly ignores the competition it faces from social media companies, Amazon, streaming TV providers and others who offer advertisers the means to reach online consumers.
Justice Department lawyers called witnesses to testify for two weeks before resting their case Friday afternoon, detailing the ways that automated ad exchanges conduct auctions in a matter of milliseconds to determine which ads are placed in front of which consumers and how much they cost.
The department contends the auctions are finessed in subtle ways that benefit Google to the exclusion of would-be competitors and in ways that prevent... Read More