Leo Burnett looks to capitalise on Asia's branding success

Bangkok, The Nation/ANN

The increasing popularity of Asian brands in the global marketplace has advertising firm Leo Burnett looking to cash in on the trend.

It has set out on a new tack, first introduced in the United States last year, to better represent the offerings of Asian companies internationally.

This demanded a few changes.

Leo Burnett has gathered its four business units - iLeo, Leo Activation, Frankel and Semaphore - into what it describes as an "arc" business unit.

This arc specialises in all forms of marketing, from interactive presentations to direct-sales tactics. "From now, Leo Burnett will be a company that offers a one-stop-shop service for advertising," said Asia-Pacific Arc Worldwide regional managing director Charles Cadell.

"There are 1,000 messages from various brands that must be sent to consumers. Advertising agencies and marketing consultants today have to find the best way to make the particular products [they represent] the most outstanding," he said.

He added that revenue from the services offered by its arc unit currently represented 15 percent of total revenue taken by Leo Burnett in the Asia-Pacific. It expects to increase that share to 25 per cent within two years.

Focusing on Asia is no whim, as the group is driven by predictions of the region's economic growth outstripping both the US and Europe.

Leo Burnett Asia-Pacific president Michelle Kristula-Green said the four biggest markets globally by 2050 would be China, the US, India and Japan. She quoted Morgan Stanley research.

She said the advertising industry in the Asia-Pacific was this year expected to grow by 8-9 per cent.

Products originating from the Asia-Pacific are now recognised among the top brands in the world.

Such is their growing popularity they look set to replace US and European products, which have dominated markets globally for decades.

Kristula-Green said this swing-shift in consumer attitudes had begun a few years ago.

She said fashion, food, movies and technology were key fields in which the Asia-Pacific region was making its presence felt.

Japan and South Korea are dominant in technological fields, particularly mobile phones and computers. Samsung, a Korean company, has become one of the top brands in Asia and is well known globally - it is now gunning for the No-1 position globally in electronics. Japanese auto-maker Toyota is already the top brand in the world.

TCL, a Chinese company and maker of the world's largest flat wide-screen TVs, is very well-known in the US and is looking to penetrate more markets.

India, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar are dominant in the food industry - there are restaurants everywhere throughout the U.S .and Europe. China is coming to the fore in cinemas, as seen from the performance of "Hero" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

One of the main factors that makes the Asia-Pacific more and more important globally is developments in technology that make give people far easier access to the media.