As he prepares to return to his native U.S. after nearly two years in Canada, outgoing ZenithOptimedia CEO Frank Friedman cited the creation of a “unique and transparent” programmatic trading desk as one of his key accomplishments with the agency.
In a wide-ranging “exit interview,” Friedman also bemoaned a lack of decisive industry action on key issues like measurement, and downplayed suggestions that these are turbulent times for the Publicis Groupe network.
Friedman, who succeeded industry icon Sunni Boot as ZenithOptimedia Canada CEO in January 2014, described his time in Canada as “extremely rewarding and challenging.”
Outwardly, he appeared to face a daunting task in following a colourful and outspoken personality like Boot. However, he said the industry has changed profoundly in recent years, with leaders no longer defining their agencies.
“These are different days,” he said. “The time of having an agency personified by one person is long gone. What will succeed in this environment is having a team and being heavy on data science. That’s what we’ve investing in and what we need to invest in to succeed and grow our clients’ business.”
Friedman said he interviewed 55 candidates before selecting Kristine Lyrette as ZenithOptimedia’s next president. He called Lyrette “a master” at building client relationships and said her working style is similar to his.
“If you look at what my foundational truths are, it’s working with integrity, honesty and professionalism,” he said. “It was important to me to have somebody who embodies that, but also has the working knowledge to get into the weeds or be up in the clouds setting a vision. She’s used to doing it all.”
Friedman, meanwhile, is set to take an undisclosed role in ZenithOptimedia’s New York office he said has been “99% stamped,” with just the details and timing to be worked out. “I’m really excited about it,” he said. “It’s in my favourite space.”
His departure comes amid a major period of change for ZenithOptimedia, which has seen high-profile members of its management team, including executive vice-president of activation Judy Davey and Zenith Media president Julie Myers, depart this year, while losing two high-profile clients in Home Depot and the Ontario Government.
The agency did recently win the TV and print business for beauty brand Coty as part of a global mandate, as well as “a couple of really nice wins” that Friedman cannot yet disclose. “Along with everybody else, we’re in ‘pitchapalooza’ right now,” he said.
Asked if there was any concern the departures of staff and clients paint an outward picture of ZenithOptimedia as an agency in turmoil, Friedman was quick to respond. “I think it would be easy for anyone to look at the optics and have a negative thought,” he said. “As a typical contrarian, I look at it the opposite way.”
He said Home Depot enjoyed more than a dozen consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth, while ZenithOptimedia played a key role in its ongoing transition from a bricks-and-mortar retailer to a major ecommerce player.
He said the Ontario government benefited from the agency’s “made-from-scratch” programmatic buying offering, and noted that more and more accounts are on the move in an “unprecedented” period of transition for the industry as a whole.
“Every holding company in the country now has some of its largest accounts up for review,” he said. “The optics are, business moves around. It wouldn’t take you too long to go back and find the last holding company that had some accounts leave and changes in management.”
He described new hires at the agency as “curious in thought, challenging convention and full of honesty, integrity and professionalism,” all criteria that he uses as a lens to find the next generation of leaders.
“The need to have different talent with skills is not a reflection that the skills of the past were incorrect, it’s that they have to be upgraded for the time we live in,” he said.
Friedman said his proudest achievement in his year-and-a-half with the company is building what he called one of the most “unique and entirely transparent” programmatic trading desks in Canada.
Among his biggest frustrations was an inability to further industry discussion on media measurement, which he described as one of his “hot-button issues.”
“Nobody really wants to talk about those unsexy ideas, so when I bring them up with my cohorts on [the Canadian Media Directors’ Council board] I can’t say everyone wants to wrestle through those issues,” he said. “They definitely need to get addressed in this country, and the people I’ve brought on board are entirely curious. They will ask the questions and I think clients will demand we give them answers.”
