Jim Dalton, president and CEO of the Dalton Agency, was elected to serve as president of the North American Alliance of Advertising and Marketing International. The alliance is a global alliance of independently owned advertising agencies with member networks in North America, Europe and Asia. Dalton will lead a nine-person executive team and 27 member organizations representing the North America agencies.
What will it mean for the community for you to lead the network?
AMIN recently held a conference in Jacksonville attended by more than 100 members, many that had never been to Jacksonville and were very impressed with our community. Several planned to return with their families. Overall my presidency brings more exposure for our community to the organization’s 1,700 employees located in offices throughout the U.S. and in 30 countries.
What marketing trends or changes should consumers expect in the coming year?
Digital is clearly the biggest trend in our industry. Digital channels like social media, the Internet, mobile devices, tablets, etc., all have revolutionized our industry by putting the control of information in customers’ hands, allowing them to determine what information they want and receiving it wherever and whenever they want it.
What is the Dalton Agency’s top challenge, which would be reflective of the industry?
The top challenge for the Dalton Agency and our industry as a whole is reflective of the current economy. Clients have had to continue to reduce costs, including advertising budgets, which makes it more difficult to communicate their messages to customers. Agencies have to be smarter and utilize new methods and technology to reach more people with less money.
You are based Downtown. What’s the one element of Downtown you would change?
Our move Downtown has allowed us to truly experience the positive changes that have occurred Downtown over the past several years. The one element I would change would be to assist in attracting development on the land between the Main Street Bridge and the stadium. Downtown Jacksonville needs an entertainment corridor and the property along the river, if developed, could spur growth throughout Downtown.
When do you expect the economy to reach its pre-recession strength and what will it take to reach that?
I have seen small signs of improvement over the past 12 months. The retail industry has started to increase spending and other industries tend to follow. The increases are a small percentage of what was lost and it will take several years before returning to pre-recession levels. But increases in the auto and department store categories are encouraging.