Sir Martin Sorrell: I Want Zero Exposure To MarTech and AdTech

Sir Martin Sorrell: I Want Zero Exposure To MarTech and AdTech

Sir Martin Sorrell is back at Cannes and has a glint in his eye and a spring in his step as he shows off his famous raconteur style speaking at a side event for global video marketing platform Innovid.

Speaking on a star-studded panel including global president of Accenture Interactive Operations Nikki Mendoca, Corporate VP, global media, CRM, digital merchandising, McDonald’s Bob Rupczynski and XANDR CEO Brian Lesser, Sir Martin left moderator, founder and CEO, LUMA Partners, Terence Kawaja, with precious little to do as he basically took control and started directing questions at his fellow panellists and offering his opinion on their various businesses and strategies.

Speaking on McDonald’s $300 million acquisition of AI startup Dynamic Yield, Sorrell offered his opinion that the move was one of the fast-food giant retaking control.

“I compare it to Brexit, and that might seem a strange analogy … it was the law of unexpected consequences … it’s not just in-housing, there’s a much broader trend here. Marketers, because of this threat for the control of data [from the platforms Facebook and Google], whether it’s brand safety, or the control of elections, whether it’s a fig leaf or genuine, this battle for control of the relationship.

With the rise of e-tailers [brands] thought it would make it easier to control the relationship with clients, well it’s made it more difficult. Facebook and Amazon are controlling more, and in it’s even China it’s worse, so I think it’s about taking back control.”

When Mendoca suggested it was a matter of building execution muscle and better connected expereinces, Sorrell offered her advice as well. He suggested that the trend to companies building in-house capability was a revenge ten years in the making since the recession of 2009.

“To be efficient is critically important, but in and of itself it’s not efficient, so we’re seeing a revenge.

“Take back control, innovation and branding. To be fair about it, you can have innovation without branding, but you can’t have branding without innovation; innovation is the key. And that got crushed a little bit, not a little bit in the ZBB [zero based budgeting] movement and that’s come off now and we’ll get to ZBB in a better form, because Lehmann and all the others that espoused it are very bright people and they will come back, but the balance is shifting.”

When XANDR’s Lessor discussed the impact of Netflix on television and the entire video market, Sir Martin could once again not help himself and started questioning him as well.

“Do you think Netflix is a sustainable model? With Disney coming in with Disney+ at half the price, do you think it’s sustainable at its current price? I know this is a terrible thing to suggest, but do you think they’re going to have to take advertising?”

Lessor’s answer was: “They will take advertising. What will happen is they will innovate and it won’t look like advertising . . .”

Sorrell then jumped back in and suggested “product placement is the vanguard of advertising”.

However he also offered a very clear insight into his investment strategy.

“I am very sensitive to having any exposure to adtech or martech. I don’t want to have anybody pull the plug on S4. In other words there’s three things when we’re looking at deals. Top line growth: critical. Decent margin, I don’t want top-line growth at the expense of margin, a balance of the two and thirdly, no adtech march exposure. We have to be agnostic. We will resell technology and the ecosystem is the ten companies; the big 5, plus Apple and Microsoft and the three technology companies Oracle, Saleforce and Adobe. Those are the ten that we’re focused on and that’s in our ecosystem.

“I don’t want to have any exposure to it. I am very nervous about being exposed to it.”




Please login with linkedin to comment

Cannes 2019 innovid Sir Martin Sorell

Latest News

The Power Of Nostalgia: Reinvented Macca’s Chant Gets Aussies Singing
  • B&T Exclusive

The Power Of Nostalgia: Reinvented Macca’s Chant Gets Aussies Singing

If you, like most of the country, can’t seem to get the iconic Big Mac chant out of your head and have been seriously craving a famous burger over the last few weeks, you have experienced first-hand the success of the latest Macca’s Big Mac campaign.  Bringing back the iconic chant and last week introducing […]

World Premiere Of Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line To Open Sydney Film Festival 2024
  • Marketing

World Premiere Of Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line To Open Sydney Film Festival 2024

The 71st Sydney Film Festival has announced that it will present the World Premiere of Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line for its Opening Night Gala on Wednesday, June 5, at the State Theatre, followed by a post-screening celebration in the Sydney Town Hall. The Hardest Line tells Midnight Oil’s trailblazing story for the first time […]

Entries Are Now Open For The 2024 Brandies, IntelligenceBank’s Annual Brand Marketing Awards
  • Marketing

Entries Are Now Open For The 2024 Brandies, IntelligenceBank’s Annual Brand Marketing Awards

IntelligenceBank, the platform that empowers global marketing teams to go to market faster, maintain brand integrity across channels and maintain legal compliance, is pleased to announce open entries for the 2024 Brandies. Once again, the Brandies will celebrate the brilliant brand work produced by marketing and brand heroes worldwide. Past winners included marketing teams from […]

The Fred Hollows Foundation Appoints Ardent For PR
  • Advertising

The Fred Hollows Foundation Appoints Ardent For PR

The Fred Hollows Foundation has appointed Ardent, an independent full-service agency, to lead its upcoming public relations campaign, concluding a competitive pitch process. The exciting partnership will see Ardent support The Foundation across earned media relations, ambassador procurement, influencer engagement, and social media amplification for their two major community fundraising events in 2024. With an […]

AI, eCommerce & Marketing Specialists Are In Increased Demand By Businesses, New Data From Fiverr Shows
  • Marketing

AI, eCommerce & Marketing Specialists Are In Increased Demand By Businesses, New Data From Fiverr Shows

Fiverr International Ltd. has released its 2024 Business Trends Index, which is compiled from trending searches for freelance digital services on Fiverr’s platform. Among the millions of searches on the marketplace over the past six months, AI, eCommerce and social media marketing all saw significant increases. The Index shows that businesses are seeking out skilled […]

Perth’s First 3D Anamorphic Billboard Arrives Courtesy Of oOh!media
  • Advertising

Perth’s First 3D Anamorphic Billboard Arrives Courtesy Of oOh!media

oOh!media has launched Perth’s first 3D anamorphic billboard. Located in Yagan Square, the billboard will display ads for local science museum Scitech, created by oOh!’s creative innovation hub POLY. Richard Moore, production and content director, POLY, said: “oOh! continues to invest in adding scalable 3D and 3DA technology to our digital network across Australia. It […]

MasterChef Australia & Crown Resorts Launch Unique Dining Experience With ALUMNI
  • Marketing

MasterChef Australia & Crown Resorts Launch Unique Dining Experience With ALUMNI

Crown Resorts and MasterChef Australia are setting the table to welcome fans and foodies to a new pop-up restaurant and unique dining experience called ALUMNI at Crown Melbourne, the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. ALUMNI will see a rotating cast of MasterChef Australia alumni at a pop-up restaurant for a limited time, […]

Amanda Laing Announces Resignation From Foxtel Group
  • Campaigns

Amanda Laing Announces Resignation From Foxtel Group

The Foxtel Group has announced that Amanda Laing, Foxtel Group chief commercial and content officer and BINGE managing director, has resigned and will be leaving the Group later this year. “Since joining the Foxtel Group in 2018, Amanda has been instrumental to the Foxtel Group’s content strategy and has played a key leadership role in […]

The Lost Letters From Our Diggers: News Corp Unveils ANZAC Day Special
  • Media

The Lost Letters From Our Diggers: News Corp Unveils ANZAC Day Special

After more than 100 years, Australians will hear from the Anzacs of Gallipoli in their own words. Tomorrow, Thursday April 25, in an Anzac Day eight-page special, News Corp Australia’s state and regional mastheads will publish The Lost Letters. Kept safe by the Australian War Memorial, the hand-written letters have been transcribed for this special. […]

Howatson+Company Acquires Akkomplice
  • Advertising

Howatson+Company Acquires Akkomplice

Coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the agency, Akkomplice has joined Howatson+Company. Akkomplice was founded in Melbourne by Kenny Hill in 2014 after leadership roles with JWT, DDB and M&C Saatchi. Since then, the independent creative agency has worked with leading brands, including Kellogg’s, Darrell Lea, Mercedes-Benz, Sirena, Slater & Gordon, Pringles, Choice Hotels, Wesfarmers […]

Google Delays Third-Party Cookie Deprecation Again
  • Technology

Google Delays Third-Party Cookie Deprecation Again

Google has announced that it will be delaying the end of third-party cookies on Chrome potentially into 2025. Google said that there were “ongoing challenges” with the deprecation plans, related to “reconciling divergent feedback from the industry, regulators and developers.” It had been planned to finally kill the cookie in the “second half of Q4” […]

“I’m Still The Same Person That I Was”: Rikki Stern Says “Fucc It” To Cancer Stereotypes
  • B&T Exclusive

“I’m Still The Same Person That I Was”: Rikki Stern Says “Fucc It” To Cancer Stereotypes

Charity organisation Cancer Chicks has launched a powerful new brand platform and campaign, FUCC It, empowering young women living with cancer and gathering support from everyday Australians. “FUCC It”, developed via an integrated partnership between Initiative IMPACT and MBCS, aims to become a cultural catchcry to empower young women not to let cancer, severe chronic […]