Commercial ratings, pressure on advertising budgets, the tidal wave of new media... it's all here as Bob Liodice, president and CEO of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), discusses some of the most burning issues in the advertising and media industries.

What's top of mind with ANA members right now?
Bob Liodice: When you think about the field of marketing, you could talk about fifty different things: Global branding, agency relations... the list goes on. The ANA doesn't believe that having a conversation around fifty things is productive, so we're trying to frame the conversation around four key areas: brand building, integrated marketing communications, marketing accountability and marketing organization (ie: resources and support teams).

The explosive growth of new media is nearly overwhelming (ie: podcasts, online video, blog, mobile). What are advertisers looking for from their agencies?
We need the agency arena, as well as the research arena, to provide insights into what works and what doesn't. Marketers recognize that the plethora of communication vehicles is only going to enhance the relationship with consumers. In some cases, up to 20% of an advertiser's marketing budget is used to experiment with new media opportunities. This is exactly why the integrated communications dimension is an important part of the ANA's work.

What type of metrics would ANA members like to see?
I'd divide it into two parts: Internally, advertisers have a growing need for customizable metrics that provide answers as to whether a particular marketing program is working, and also help understand cause and effect relations between investments and results. The ability to use this common set in the U.S. market as well as abroad is particularly critical for multinational companies.
Externally, we need the research industry to give us the next round of research. It's as simple as that. For example, we're finally moving from overall TV program ratings to TV commercial ratings, which will help marketers understand cause and effect relationships in TV advertising. Similarly for print, I want to know more than circulation: How is my advertising influencing consumers ? Agencies will also have a major role, as they'll have to make sense of a swarm of new data and decide on which audience currency to negotiate prices. The ANA and other similar organizations need to continue encouraging the research industry for a greater degree of granularity, while keeping an appreciation and understanding of existing barriers.

Do you see cost as a big barrier?
You can't simply argue that cost is a barrier. It has to be addressed but there are significant benefits and paybacks for marketers. For example in 2006, Procter & Gamble spent more than $3 billion on advertising. If they had intelligence that made their advertising even half of a percentage more productive, that's a $15 million saving. As these gains are annualized, it adds up quickly and very soon you're looking at some real money. The investment in this knowledge enables marketers to make better decisions and ultimately helps pay back its cost. I can't see any risk in getting more information.

What's your perspective on how budget pressures are affecting the relationship between advertisers and their agencies?
For marketers, the important piece isn't so much the budget but an understanding of the outcome and whether agencies can give them what they need to help grow the business. You can't pay an agency enough money if they're going to come up with brilliant, creative, brand building advertising. When advertising helps increase sales, then the relationship opens up to new possibilities. From an agencies perspective, we're seeing a transformation to alternative compensation schemes. Anytime a relationship changes, you're going to have transitional bumps. it used to be the 15% commission, then it was free-based and now it's moving into a less-clearly defined world of value based compensation.

BNP Paribas, a daring and innovative communications approach bolstering the bank's expansion. Interview of Antoine Sire, Head of Communications at BNP Paribas.

Where is BNP operating today?
Today the company operates in 85 countries and 60% of its turnover is abroad compared to 20% in the past. In 10 years, the bank has grown four fold. This expansion started in 1999 with the takeover of Paribas. It continued with some 60 acquisitions and internal growth. Although France is still the biggest entity in terms of employees (60 000), Italy is in 2nd place with 20 000 followed by US (16 000).

Do you still have a home market?
Since the birth of the Euro, Europe has been our home market for most of our activities and more especially in business banking, asset management and financial services. And in our high street banks, our home base has been franco-italian since the acquisition of BNL.

BNP Paribas bet on an innovative communications policy with great success. How did you manage to have this audacious communications approach in the different countries?
To build an international commmunications strategy, it is essential to focus on common points while at the same time respecting differences. By advertising these common points, we have attracted a kind of client and employee to our bank who are tha same everywhere and this was our goal. Another important point is that when your company takes over another one or is itself taken over by a company, the new situation must be embraced by all.

What exactly is the message of BNP Paribas?
Our company has one very dominant trait. We are "the bank of a changing world". We help our clients cope with the challenges of 21th century and we proclaim this everywhere. This means that we have to have the most innovating bankers communications policy although it is not always done exactly in the same way everywhere. For instance the Turkish subsidiary is one of the most advanced in terms of banking and communications methods. They use the Internet and cell phones extensively. At the same time, they are developing a literacy programme which is consistent with their positioning of closeness to clients.

Is the personality of the brand supported by common messages?
There is one thing that is common to all of us and to all our activities, our logo. Understood and recognised everywhere it is always associated with a name change. When we acquire a bank, which is not so well known, our logo appears immediately. In other cases it is placed beside the name when the idently will be kept temporarily.
Sports sponsorship is another method of communication used worldwide which is deep in our genes particularly Roland Garros, the Bercy Tournament, the BNP Paribas Davis Cup and the Rome Tournament.

How do you guarantee the integrity of the brand? Is there any flexibility?
I prefer to allow some flexibility in the application of our guidelines rather than sacrificing international quality standards. Regarding concept, message clarity and finalisation each action should be up to the very highest level especially when we advertise in magazines specialising in luxury goods. We demand the same level of work as that provided by the major professionnals in this field. As for the content of the message, we have guidelines: innovative, informal, visible, enthusiastic, exuberant but never cynical. we prefer positive to negative marketing, enthusiasm to threats.

Is this communication territory the same for B to B and B to C?
B to B is global. The people we target travel a lot. So communications have to adopt a single tone and message. The message is simply translated.

What is your attitude towards the new media?
I am very keen on the message and I use the media in a tactical way. Today, I am very involved in trying to understand social media.
Here again BNP Paribas was a pioneer with L'Atelier, our intelligence centre for new media. This enables us to take the pulse of the new attitudes in terms of communications not only in France but also in the United States and very soon in China.

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