A Changing Industry

Beyond just being a new media vehicle, the Internet has affected our business in many different ways. For example, we’ve used the Internet for doing casting calls rather than traveling. We do the casting calls in different markets and then review them from our office. We can get stock photos, many for free, from the Internet. If we need competitive information, we can get it on the Web. Having that information is really good in such a competitive industry. The tools the Internet has afforded to the business are practically unlimited. The Internet’s only negative impact is that some of us pushed clients into it, but it didn’t deliver the results we expected. So now we’re all looking at it with a critical eye. A few years ago, nobody was looking at business models. There were a lot of sites out there that got hits, but they weren’t quality hits. We’ve all learned from that.

Over the last 18 years, the backside of the industry has changed. We’ve gone from sending things with old fax machines to overnight FedEx to better fax machines to e-mail and the Internet. Everything is fast. We still produce commercials, but today they’re done on computer instead of being developed on drawing boards. The technology side of our business has changed so much over the last 20 years, and it will be even more fundamental to our success in the future.

Television has gone digital. As the Internet flourishes with it, the notion of a 30-second commercial becomes obsolete. I see us developing five-minute stories available on Web sites as a way of selling complicated products such as cars. On the BMW website, they show mini-dramas. They’re not expensively produced – they probably cost as much as a well-produced 30-second spot – but the consumer can see the product in a real-life situation and get more information on the car right there. That aspect of our business is going to change dramatically.

Advertising has an interesting mix of marketing science along with a sense of Hollywood. It’s an industry where you can see marketing problems and develop video or film stories done in 30-second bites. It’s a unique and competitive business. It’s not for everybody: It’s for someone who enjoys a fast pace and can see a project through to a rewarding end. It’s a special business and it all comes back to the research – the science, the art, the creativity.

Ernest W. Bromley was part of the original team that founded Bromley Communications in 1981. Throughout his career at the agency, he has worn many hats -- earning a series of promotions ranging from director of research, executive vice president, and president, Bromley now serves as Chairman/CEO of Bromley Communications. Responsible for development and execution of the agency’s vision and outstanding products and services, Bromley works closely with account teams in developing sound marketing strategies for the firm’s clients. Bromley has also been instrumental in developing the agency’s research and Hispanic marketing approach, AIG (Acculturation Influence Groups). This principle of segmenting the Hispanic consumer into levels of language and culture comfort zones is widely utilized by the industry.

Bromley has been a trailblazer in building the agency to be the leading Hispanic marketing communications company, empowering clients such as Procter & Gamble, Burger King, The American Legacy Foundation, and Payless ShoeSource, in the changing American marketplace.

Prior to joining the agency, Bromley taught economics at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He has a bachelor of arts in political science, and a master’s in business administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

An active community and civic leader, Bromley currently serves as incoming chair for the KLRN Alamo Public Telecommunications Council board of directors, the Free Trade Alliance, AVANCE, Christus Health Futures Task Force, the Advertising Forum of The University of Texas at Austin School of Advertising, The University of Texas at San Antonio College of Business Advisory Council, and the Southwest School of Art and Craft.