It is now in bands that intend to hunt new advertisers

Was he conscious In presenting his resignation October 9 to Maurice Lévy, Chairman of the Executive Board of Publicis, accompanied by one of the two managers of the subsidiary, Marcel, Frédéric Raillard and Farid Mokart, Christophe Lambert, Publicis France boss, triggered a mercato feverish in the French advertising market. A month later, it was the turn of Nicolas Bordas, Chairman of TBWA/France, to receive notice of departure of the pattern of his Parisian Agency, Arthur Sa'dun, thus replacing Christophe Lambert in the direction of Publicis Paris. And now talking of Guillaume Pannaud, Chairman of the Group FCB France, to resume his chair... The market is too and the game does that begin as strategic opportunism of Bolloré joins a movement: the rise of the quadras.

Many are then convinced: by agreeing to make financial assistance (30 of capital) to the future sign, FFL, is planning to launch Fred, Farid and Lambert, Vincent Bolloré, pattern of Havas, seized seizes the opportunity of weakening its competitors. "It is in the heart of the mercato, as a spider at the centre of his canvas...". "He has seen an unexpected opportunity to destabilize the advertising market starting with Publicis and to remove the fruit", says even an observer. Attractive hypothesis... but almost too summary.

Of course, over the weeks, exchanges between Havas and Publicis by interposed media became more accurate, more incisive, more powerful. And the face of the new advertising landscape, such that it should arise in the spring, will no longer much to do with the current panorama, a number of signs located, de facto, weakened by the changes of managers sometimes followed by the departure of advertisers.

But if it was less simple than that Because, for one year, the market has entered a phase of reinvention, accomplished first of deaf, almost anecdotal way before the flamboyance of the last few days. Even if it was each time, a common feature: the generation of the quadras as engine of all initiatives.

Since 2005, amount of small creative structures, ultra-réactives M & C Saatchi GAD, the thing, Marcel (Publicis), soon FFL arose so unexpectedly, mounted by some quadras Gilles Masson, Daniel Fohr and Antoine Barthuel (Leo Burnett), Pascal Grégoire (CLM/BBDO) and Alain Roussel (BETC)... Which have not hesitated to leave the direction of prestigious signs for flowing water. With, upon arrival, encouraging results, whether the budget Orange won by Marcel, indented and impertinent "Télérama" and Médiamétrie campaigns signed by the thing, or the surprising route done by M & C Saatchi GAD.

In eleven months, the Agency held predominantly by Maurice Saatchi has achieved his stalled by aligning the conquests: launches the "Jasmin" Axel Ganz and the Museum of the quai Branly, Collective of wine from Bordeaux, Yves Rocher, Havana Club (Pernod Ricard), TNT... "This, I applaud with both hands." exclaims Jacques Séguéla, Vice-President in charge of the creation of Havas, and new "sherpa" Vincent Bolloré. For twenty years, everything was paralyzed: crises are chained, advertisers have not stopped to tighten the screws, compensation agencies ceased to decline... Today, the quadras said: "Finally, we can go there!"

"When one feels that a market begins to stir again, it is difficult to not be tempted to jump in turn in the fight," intervenes Gilles Masson, President of M & C Saatchi GAD, former President of Leo Burnett. Which nevertheless receives a non-negligible dose of frustration in the entrepreneurial fever today. "Fundamentally, resumed, there are in the quadras at the head of agencies belonging to networks a discontent...". Even the feeling that the decision making authority exercised is unreal, reduced to its simplest expression because of the extreme financialisation of advertising.

The alliance of all trades

Wedged between the financial requirements of the holding company the "management fees" supposed to be returned to the network and can reach between 5 and 7.5 of income , the requirements of profitability "short-termistes" echoing stock constraints advertisers... flexibility of local managers would be reduced to the minimum portion. His side, Elie Ohayon, ex-DG BETC Euro RSCG and McCann Paris new President, said: "we continue to live on commercial models creative a commercial born in the 1940s, with quadras managers who were not rewarded for the creation of value to their sign and have not been associated with their success." Hence the flowering of agencies, be independent as the thing, either with an association to the capital as M & C Saatchi GAD.

Quadras But where are therefore passed the quinquas, those who ought to be in command positions and conspicuous by their absence They are found everywhere many in the Council, some in the advertiser, in branches of communication... but rarely in the pub. "It is the sacrificed generation, admits Jacques Séguéla. She was too young to take advantage of the boom in the pub of the 1980s and, when it acquired the necessary level of maturity, it is taken head-on the crisis of the 1990s, and then the collapse of the dot-com bubble.

An ex-publicitaire fifties, converted in the Council, is: "I speak rather of generation"zappée".". The 1980s correspond to the time where large patterns from baby boomers Maurice Lévy, Bernard Brochand, Jacques Séguéla, Jean-Marie Dru... took power, there remained long and begin to date, for some, to organise their succession. They transmitted their knowledge but not the power, to the point of squeezing their mates and constitute a "glass ceiling" for those who wanted to evolve. "A barrier that is defeating the quadras, little to run on a"glass ceiling"rarely denounced.

With the lively Waltz of managers, Gilles Masson refutes the traditional term of "mercato". And collects the unprecedented combination of situation the frustration of many managers and a new situation, linked to the explosion of new technologies in this game of musical chairs: "Internet has accelerated the movement by requiring other expertise." We operate more in the generation of stars advertisers, but in the new alliance of all trades. And returning to a phenomenon of team, after a long period of personal strategies. "Witnesses, in addition to the AFAS, the coming of the"dream team"Arthur Sa'dun/Valérie Hénaff, defectors from TBWA, at Publicis Board. Or even the fact that Elie Ohayon join President of McCann Paris, accompanied by a dozen employees of BETC Euro RSCG. It is now in bands that intend to hunt new advertisers.