FCB targets billing growth of 150%

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Advertising company Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB) is targeting billing growth of 150 percent from US$4.7 million last year to $12 million this year.

"The number of multinational and local companies using our promotional services will sharply increase this year. That's why we're very optimistic about reaching the $12 million target," FCB managing director S.K. Biswas said on Wednesday.

Biswas, who was speaking to the press in conjunction with the first anniversary of FCB's operation in Indonesia, attributed the robust growth to Indonesia's economic situation, which he said was improving.

He said that if it achieved this total billing target, FCB, which was formed in the merger of the two U.S. firms Foote, Cone & Belding, and Bozell, would become one of the 10 largest advertising companies in Indonesia.

According to him, in order to spur the company's growth in Indonesia, FCB has tied up with a local partner, Maria Indriani, which has been in the advertising business in Indonesia for 20 years.

He said that after the economic crisis of 1997 and 1998, Indonesia's advertising industry would continue to grow in the future.

Data from AC Nielsen shows that advertising industry revenue dropped by 26 percent in 1998. It jumped by 49 percent in 1999, 40 percent in 2000 and 27 percent in 2001.

AC Nielsen and the Indonesian Advertising Companies Association (P3I) predicted that spending on advertising in Indonesia would increase by 30 percent from Rp 9.3 trillion (about US$1.2 billion) last year to Rp 12 trillion this year.

About 60 percent of this spending will go to television, while the rest will be shared by the print media and radio. The growth is being driven for the most part by spending on consumers goods' advertising.