Given the “mind boggling” volume and velocity of change in the advertising and media world, its talent pool needs a reset. “I think it’s been the case for many years now that our talent pool needs to change,” says Wenda Harris Millard of MediaLink. “In all the ecosystem.”
The status quo is characterized by the “rinse and repeat, draw from the usual suspects for the usual assignments,” Millard says in an interview with Beet.TV. “There’s nothing usual about this marketplace.”
At DMEXCO 2016, the global conference and exposition scheduled for Sept. 14 and 15 in Cologne, there will be great value in the broad array of talent that will be on hand, according to Millard, who is President and COO of the strategic advisory and business development firm.
“I hope a lot of our clients meet some fascinating new people with different skills and different opportunities for them to engage from a talent standpoint,” Millard says of DMEXCO.
She believes that what’s most unusual about present times is the combination of the volume and velocity of change. “Either one individually would be stunning but combined it’s mind boggling,” says Millard.
On the buy side of the business, Millard perceives fatigue in the absence of long desired consolidation. She says there are too many companies that are not necessarily companies but features.
“I think buyers are very anxious for a lot of the adtech and martech companies to consolidate just for ease of use if you will. There’s a fatigue factor in there,” Millard observes.
Curiosity and optimism will go a long way in this environment.
“We do need to exercise our curiosity. Stay very optimistic in an environment where there’s lots of challenge and change,” says Millard. “There’s a lot to be concerned about, but there’s a lot to be very optimistic about.”
This video is part of “The Road to DMEXCO ’16,” a lead-up series with key influencers on the topics and trends to be addressed at DMEXCO. This series is presented by YuMe. Please visit this page for additional segments.
