As more and more brands, using empowering new ad tech and marketing software, begin to perform some of the functions of their media agencies, what will be the impact on those agencies?

“I frankly don’t know,” ad company GroupM’s chairman Irwin Gotlieb tells Beet.TV in this video interview. “Most agencies were truly agents on behalf of a client. The world has moved along quite a bit.

“As soon as clients began to nudge us in to guaranteeing performance, in to putting our remuneration at risk in return for performance criteria … I think many of us ceased to function as agents do.

“If one were to fast-forward for five years, the fundamental nature of what we do … is a major question.”

Gotlieb was interviewed by Beet.TV at the 4As’ (American Association of Advertising Agencies) Transformation 2015 event in Austin, Texas. Our coverage is sponsored by Videology. Please find more coverage from the conference here.

He was interviewed for Beet.TV by David J. Moore, Chairman of Xaxis and President of WPP Digital. The interview took place in January at the Wynnin Las Vegas during the Consumer Electronics Show.