Sir Martin Sorrell and Barry Frey, Command DPAA Video Everywhere Summit

Commanding the DPAA Video Everywhere Summit

OOH Today, an official Media Partner of the yesterday’s DPAA Video Everywhere Summit, was treated to over 29 speakers addressing a standing room only house. Throughout the event and in between speaker breaks, our host, DPAA President and CEO, Barry Frey worked the audience in his personal brand of high energy and enthusiastic talk show host, encouraging intimate audience participation.  Funny, insightful and a master of sincere stroking banter, Frey twists and turns between tight rows to conduct the seconds long, one on one ‘interviews’ with attendees. It is difficult to distinguish who enjoys it most, the audience, the interviewee or MC Frey. 

The event provided expert speakers who are both knowledgeable and entertaining. The topics were relevant, generating active discussion by way of audience questions via Twitter.  

Each of the 29 speakers, held their own in content and delivery, keeping significant number of butts in chairs. One expectantly stood out, commanding the room beginning with his presence walking on stage and continuing hanging on his every word. Sir Martin Sorrell was in the house.  Sorrell is Executive Chairman of S4 Capital, but we all know as former chief executive of WPP Group. 

Sorrell is a complex man providing simple explanations to the state of today’s advertising. For example, in the on going debate of the future of advertising’s holding companies; one of which he was instrumental in building as WPP, he fires at the mammoth organizations as ‘catastrophic’ and lacking the ability to change. He complains they have to “report every quarter and (are) under the microscope.” And yet, he inconsistently appears (all the while denying) to be building another via S4 and get this, praising WPP’s pending sale of Kantar to private equity firm, Bain Capital.  Does anyone believe Bain will not expect quarterly reporting and direct by micromanaging Kantar?  Ask the folks at Clear Channel.

Ad Age Editor, Brian Braiker, chaired the two person panel for the session. Interested in more about Martin Sorrell’s talk at the DPAA Video Everywhere Summit? Click here⇒ Sorrell Airs