EVERYTHING BEGINS WITH THE COMMITMENT TO MAKE THE MESSAGE MEANINGFUL TO THE INTENDED AUDIENCE.

The first research and development programs initiated by the Institute for Advanced Practices In Advertising were established in 2004. They were inspired by Procter & Gamble Global Marketing Officer Jim Stengel, (who commands a $5.5 billion marketing budget,) addressing advertising agency heads at the American Association of Advertising Agencies' Media Conference and declaring the existing business model "broken" -- not just the ad model, but the content model as well. In his opinion, advertising was no longer meaningful to the consumer audience it was meant to serve.

John Hayes, Chief Marketing Officer for American Express, has also stated of advertising and content options, "There isn't the off-the-shelf capacity today. You have to create it. You have to build them. You have to come up with the ideas. To access the talent, you have to basically construct solutions. As in any industry," he says, "those who are unprepared for change will obviously suffer the consequences."

The establishment of the Institute for Advanced Practices In Advertising was motivated by a compelling need to address those potential consequences in an innovative, proactive and aggressive manner.