Help us through the minefield

Thought for today, from

the New York Times business section:

Y&R, a very

traditional ad agency that recently has lost major clients and also staff, has

appointed a new chief executive. He’s

href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/02/business/media/02interview.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin">interviewed

in the Times, and here’s the first

question he was asked, along with the start of his answer.

Q. How can an agency like

marketing landscape is changing so much?

A. There is an awful lot of

confusion out there. No one knows what will really happen. It’s all up for

grabs now. Clients are crying out, “Help get us through the minefield.”

The rest of the answer is relevant only to

class=SpellE>Y&R’s advertising work. But the question could just as

well have been asked changes in the cultural landscape, which are the reason

why the marketing landscape is changing. Media culture, for instance, is

getting far more participatory. So corporations (as one response to that) are

asking customers to design their own ads. Two major corporations, along with the

NFL, have even asked customers to make commercials to be shown on the

class=SpellE>Superbowl telecast, which of course is where many of the

most important new commercials are unveiled.

So: “Help us through the minefield.” The culture is

changing. And we in the classical music world need just as much help as

everybody else. (Or maybe even more.)