Close-Up: Live Issue - Evolution or extinction: the fate of media giants.

Investment and innovation are key for media groups ready to address an ever-changing consumer culture.

From tiny and distinctly dodgy beginnings in the US in the mid-60s, the media agency world has come a long way. Those early beginnings were based largely on opportunism rather than professionalism, but interestingly, they thrived because of the reactionary, slow-moving agencies. That bit hasn't changed, but the rest has - dramatically.

Until only three years ago, the key business trends were increasingly intense competition, driven by globalisation, and technological change. Complexity, speed of change, increasing transparency and pricing have been the key issues, and agencies have been pressurised by these as much as any other suppliers. (Note that the professions have not been under the cosh in the same way, and agencies continue to be frustrated by their perceived role by clients as 'suppliers' and not 'business partners'.)

The rapid consolidation of media agencies from 1998 reflected this. The client thinking went: 'Global competition necessitates global suppliers - as comprehensive a range of media services as possible, in as many places as possible at the lowest price.'

Clients in search of a global campaign need only visit one of six holding companies. With very minor exceptions, there is not one company outside the big six credibly offering media planning and buying on a global basis - just about every medium-sized player has been bought and absorbed by these big players.

There is now no middle ground - it has been fished to extinction by the big groups. But does this matter? After all, there are only four accountancy practices capable of providing a global service - is the world disadvantaged by that?

However, in the past three years, there has been a further vitally important change of direction and pace. I remember in 2000 writing about 'the consumer as editor' and their increasing ability to avoid our messages; we talked of 'viral' and 'buzz' marketing. But underneath it, we always felt, if we were smart, we could still control things.