At most media conferences there are at least a few sparks of disagreement during panel discussions. Not so at the Media & Money confab in New York this week. Several speakers at the conference agreed that the pain caused by the credit and mortgage crises is just starting to hit the advertising business, according to Mediaweek. Jessica Reif-Cohen, managing director, Merrill Lynch, anticipates a “long and deep” consumer recession, which is likely to hit the media and ad industries hard. Wenda Harris Millard, President, Media and co-CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, agreed. However, Millard added that her company’s various media platforms (print, TV, Web) should help it to weather the storm. Jack Klues, managing partner of Publicis Groupe Media’s recently formed VivaKi, said the ad marketplace should be less challenging for the more measurable media channels, particularly digital.
