The Newest Ad Agencies: Major Media Companies†

Marketers Increasingly Bypass Traditional Business Model

Advertising Age, November 3, 2008 — When Procter & Gamble Co. brought hundreds of suppliers to Cincinnati earlier this month for its first "supplier summit," among them were 40 media companies. The message from Chairman-CEO A.G. Lafley, according to one attendee: "We want your ideas, and if we use them, we'll give you a piece of the action."

It should be no surprise that media companies are among the partners P&G is looking to tap for ideas that range from new products to new ways of marketing them. Though it may be the largest, it's far from the only marketer soliciting marketing advice from media companies these days.