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WPP Group Chief Executive Martin Sorrell on Monday claimed
that as addressable advertising becomes more prevalent, it needs to remain up
to the companies that implement the technologies to regulate themselves in
terms of privacy issues.
"It has to be self-regulation, we musn't get
into more regulation," he said during a keynote session at the NATPE
conference in Miami.
And Sorrell lauded the importance of the emerging
addressable advertising platforms, noting that his organization has
"become a VC company" in terms of investing in companies in the
space.
"It gives us the ability to understand [media
consumption] in a far, far more effective way," he said of the
technology.
In an hour-long session at the media confab, Sorrell also
called smart phone mobility the most disruptive development currently, and said
that technology companies "are not really technology companies,"
noting they are basically media companies now.
Among other topics, Sorrell said the US is "going to
have to grapple with its deficit, maybe not before the next general election
- that will put some pressure on their economy." However he noted
that to "write off" the U.S. economy would be a mistake.
