Advertising agencies need local, multinational strength
Advertising agencies need local, multinational strength
NUSA DUA, Bali (JP): The biggest challenge for advertising agencies in Asia is to achieve a good balance of local and multinational strength, says the chief executive officer of the world's largest advertising and marketing services company.
Martin Sorrell, of WPP Group, said during sessions on the second day of the 19th Asian Advertising Congress here yesterday that because many companies in the region are about to expand globally they require ad agencies which are strong locally and in other countries.
"Hence, the biggest challenge is to have the strategic thinking on a worldwide basis. A locally-based multinational ad agency," he noted.
Some ad agencies are strong locally but they lack strength internationally and several others are the other way around. Most multinational ad agencies are now based in large cities, like New York, in developed countries.
Sorrell felt the need for more multinational ad agencies to have a stronger representation in Asia as the center of the world's fastest growing economy.
The WPP Group, a London-based multinational company, with total turnovers of US$9.3 billion in 1993, includes such ad subsidiaries as Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, J. Walter Thompson, Hill & Knowlton public relations company.
The group's affiliates in Indonesia include a J.Walter Thompson tie-up with ad agency Adforce and Ogilvy & Mather with Indo-Ad.
Sorrell reasoned that as companies now often have to operate in several countries in order to continue growth, ad agencies must possess the capability to serve their clients in different markets because although the strategic thinking could be the same the execution should be adapted to the specific local conditions and environment.
"Global branding is very rare now and in fact there are only a few truly worldwide ads," Sorrell told The Jakarta Post, citing Coca-Cola, Marlboro, IBM and American Express as examples.
Ad agencies should be able to execute strategic thinking according to the needs of the different markets, he commented. Even Asia cannot be classified into a single regional market.
"There are, I think, at least seven different markets in the Asian region, namely: Japan, South Korea, Indochina, greater China, the ASEAN countries, India and Pakistan and Australia and New Zealand," he said.
These different markets need different approaches, different designs, identities, creative ideas and the capability to coordinate campaigns.
Especially, now as a result of the interaction of the multimedia, advertisers can now reach the consumers in a totally new way, in a highly individual way.
"For example, the television, though remaining a powerful instrument, no longer has the power that it had many years ago; that is a monopolistic power," he noted.
There are now a number of other alternatives for communication which have become increasingly important. (vin)