Adoi 2002 February Issue

FEBRUARY 2002

ADVERTISING AND MARKETING COMMUN

KDN NO: PP 9995/7/2001

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2002 MANAGING EDITOR Harmandar Singh aka Ham EDITOR T.Sivananthi WRITERS Kelvin Wee Rodney Louis Vincent DESIGNER Eric Chun T.MAIi CREATIVE CONSULTANT Arthur Chan OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHER Jen Siow/Jen Studio ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES Fauzia Sultan fauzia_sm@hotmail.com PRINTER Far East Digital Prints COLOUR SEPARATOR Far East Offset & Engraving DISTRIBUTION Efficient Lettershop (postal) HOUSE FONTS FF EUREKA & FF FAGO CONDENSED alt.TYPE. 32 Pekin Street, #03-01 Far East Square, Singapore 0^8762 Tel: 236 2988.

ADOI magazine is published every month by Sledgehammer Communications (S) Pte Ltd 22B, Jalan Tun Mohd Fuadi, TamanTun Dr. Ismail, 60000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Tel: +60377262588 Fax: +603 7726 2598,7722 5712 "

Notes From The Editor RECENTLY, a double-page spread ad in a major newspaper by a Chinese fortune-teller caught my eye.

The headline posed - "What will you do in the year of the Limping Horse?" The street pundit warned that most of us were betting on a very weak horse this year and urged us to be prepared - by consulting him. Facts and figures handed to us by Zenith Media also remind us that the Year of the Horse is expected to limp in but the question remains - will we gallop out? 2000 was a stellar year for adspend -notching a 21.7% expansion. The growth declined last year to 5% and is expected to bottom-out at 4% this year at RM3.4 billion. The global economic slowdown and the resulting drastic drop in demand for electronic goods as well as the 9.11 incident are factors contributing to this decline.

It would be reasonable to place the nation's adspend within context. The Asia Pacific region shrunk by -1% last year while global major media adspend shrunk by -3.4%. This year, global major media adspend is expected to rebound to a 0.8%, while the region's adspend is forecasted to register 2% growth. The eternal optimist would say - 'The horse is limping but it ain't dead'. However it is good to keep in mind that the economic slump caused many MNCs to shut down and take their business elsewhere such as Thailand and Vietnam

because of lower costs. This is a trend that is expected to prevail in the coming years and the economy has to find alternative sources of funding and income. Secondly, businesses which expanded too fast in 2000 will find it difficult to remain viable without resorting to cutting costs. Thirdly, the can of worms prised open by Osama bin Laden has not yet been shut and disposed of. All in all, it will be an uphill struggle in 2002.

Since survival is not an option, we can only continue trying to make the best .of every situation and seizing every opportunity that presents itself.

Tough times can only make us tougher. More competitive, more innovative and better than before.

It is in this spirit that this month's ADOI includes the creative input of Arthur Chan and alt.TYPE and comes to you with a new look. It is also in this spirit, that this month's cover is about a Malaysian media success story - The Edge - charging in search of a new market in Singapore. With such an attitude still prevalent in the Malaysian mindset - undoubtedly we will be galloping out of this slump.

Respectfully,

3D0I What's New In This Issue...

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Highlights

Horsing Around What's Your Brand's Essence?

Interface Parties To 2002 Underpressure Get A Job. Or Your Money Back.

A Valentine Kind of Graduation Diff'rent Strokes

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Interactive

Consultant is a Four-Letter Word Interactive Trends: BMW stars in films The Edge>4^kes headlines Cover photo by: Jen Siow

Audit Bureau of Circulations

Š All rights reserved by Sledgehammer Communications (M) Sdn Bhd. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without prior permission in writing from the publisher. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication, the publisher and the editor assume no responsibility for errors or omissions or for any consequences of reliance of information in this publication. The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher or editor. Advertisements are the sole responsibility of the advertisers.

You gave RM2500 to the Home of Peace!

Last year, ADOI pleged to give 30% of our subscription fees to make a difference in the lives of underpriviledged children.

You made it happen!

Direct Marketing

Don't Bark Up The Wrong Loyalty Tree

Features & Reviews

Book Review: Asian Branding Young Guns: Institut Sledgehammer's 2001 Graduates Tony Hertz's Takes Radio Online

Exclusive Interviews

Living on The Edge Campaign Showcase: Grey Drives Perodua Creative Character: Poon See Hian Planner Profile: LB's Brand Believers

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aDOl MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 3

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Tan Boon Kean and Ho Kay Tat have helmed The Edge and propelled it to dizzy heights. Boon Kean in his capacity as Managing Director and Kay Tat as Editor-in-Chief have found the remarkable balance between making money and making news. ADOI thought it was high time to find out what gives the edge to this media success story...

Tag team Boon Kean (left) and Kay Tat.

ARMED with degrees from Columbia, New York and Harvard, Boon Kean ventured into journalism as a reporter with Business Times in 1983. Three years later, he would leave the news desk to do business consulting, financial public relations and a PhD. But writing was never just a job. It was a passion that was racing in his veins and all the while he kept writing for regional publications as well as stringing for the Singapore Straits Times. In 1993, he did a feasibility study on starting a financial publication at the request of Tong Kooi Ong, The Edge's Founder. Before he knew it, he was in charge of launching The Edge and has been there since. The latest challenge on his plate is to launch The Edge in Singapore. We ask Boon Kean how living on the edge is like...

Tell us a little about the philosophy behind the The Edge.

BK: Philosophy? We're not philosophers, just doers. Seriously, the main idea of The Edge is to produce, on a consistent basis, good quality business news and information. It should be cutting edge, thoughtful, critical and make a difference for our reading public.

When you first launched The Edge as a weekly business paper in Malaysia years back, many were skeptical about its viability as a business. Obviously, they have been proven wrong. How were the early days for you in this regard?

BK: Like many start-ups, we did well in areas we didn't realise, and found it tougher in unexpected places. For example, news agents and vendors said it wouldn't sell because the cover price at RM3.20 was too high for a weekly newspaper. Yet the timing was right in 1994. The 1993 bull run had just occurred. The economy was still on a roll. And the KLSE Second Board would soar in 1995. So what was RM3.20 a week to a businessman?

But we didn't foresee the 1995 paper price war. The use of high quality coated paper, while appealing to readers and advertisers, is costly and when newsprint prices shot up from USD500 to USD1200 a tonne, so did our type of paper. Everyone suffered. It's worse for a start up. So we made a major change to quality simile paper, which proved to be a pioneering move for a high frequency publication like ours - as we found out subsequently. And everyone welcomed it, so that helped.

CoverStory

It's all about timing. When you come in at the bottom, you can only go up. Then, your potential competitors are also hurting, start up costs are lower. So you do have certain advantages.

But otherwise, our belief that the weekly niche would be profitable proved right, especially for the business news market that we were interested in.

You're launching The Edge in Singapore in the midst of an economic downturn. Is this a good idea?

BK: It's all about timing. When you come in at the bottom, you can only go up. Then, your potential competitors are also hurting, start up costs are lower. So you do have certain advantages.

The flip side is advertising budgets and spending is smaller but you just build your business model around that. The important thing is whether we have the right product and whether it will be relevant for the Singapore market.

Singapore's mega print player, SPH, recently withdrew the Saturday edition of its daily free paper Streats. Do you see this an indication of tightening of belts?

BK: It's a tough market. And we really don't know enough to comment. We have a high regard for SPH and it's easy for some armchair critics to underestimate the resiliency and even quick flexibility that a giant can show.

How will The Edge make a difference to Singapore's business community, considering the explosion of business news sources on tv and the Business Times?

BK: Explosion is the right word. There is an information overload. The Internet is 24 hours, non-stop. What's the reading span of a business reader in the morning?

10 minutes? 20 minutes? That's why The Edge Singapore will be different. We believe there's a niche for a weekly audience, who will set time aside to reflect, get new ideas, get refreshed for the week ahead.

So it's the type and scope of information, the level of analysis, the presentation of the issues; that we hope

6 3D0IMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

will make a difference for the Singapore audience. And if we do it right, the reader will take time to read it.

We did a survey several years ago of The Edge Malaysia readers. More than twothirds told us they spent more than 60 minutes reading the weekly! Of course, our advertisers loved this long attention span.

Coming back to SPH - it is such a huge player in a small market like Singapore.

Do you find this overwhelming or you are carving your own niche market?

BK: We like the niche weekly market. It's just right for a small media group like ours. Actually, we see The Edge Singapore as being complimentary to any daily title.

We are a weekly. The business audience will want their daily TV and print business news which is important for their daily operations. But as other developed media markets show, readers will subscribe to tv, dailies and also weeklies. So in the end it's how good and relevant the weekly will be.

That's our challenge.

What's your expectation for year one in terms of market share/growth?

BK: It's a totally new niche market. The business readership market is also small and focussed. We hope to get at least 10,000 paid circulation in the first year, which should give a pass on readership of maybe 50-60,000 of PBEMs. After one year, we'll go for circulation audit. It's always part of our practice to audit so advertisers know what they're buying.

You have another publication 'Personal Money'. Any plans for it in Singapore?

BK: Personal Money was a supplement with The Edge for a while. Last September, we spun it off as a separate independent title as we felt the personal finance market and audience was there. It's been very well received, and growing more than 20 per cent month on month. There is certainly a

strong personal finances and investing demand caused mainly by the prevailing low interest rate situation worldwide as well as wider choices, more informed investors.

Even very conservative people who used to just put money into fixed deposits or gold now have to think hard about how to grow their savings better. Otherwise inflation will wipe out your paltry 2-3 per cent return from FDs. Personal Money meets that demand. As for Singapore, the personal finances market is definitely even more dynamic and bigger. We're still exploring, but our attention is focused on The Edge Singapore now. Furthermore, personal finance and investment will be covered in the weekly.

I believe you've been getting encouraging commitments with regards to advertising support. Are these established players who have been with you for sometime in Malaysia or are they new players?

BK: Yes, we're very grateful to many advertisers who have placed their confidence in The Edge Singapore, even though the first issue is not out yet! We have also structured packages that are doubly attractive, from joint buys for The Edge Malaysia and The Edge Singapore, to other incentives.

We know it's a tough period, but we're all in it together, and we believe in the long term. We are also determined to deliver on our promise of an equally good weekly for them here in Singapore.

The Edge is well established in Malaysia, but in Singapore, apart from media people and the capital markets people, how will you reach them?

BK: We are working on our major A&P programme now for The Edge Singapore.

We're not presuming anything, so we wish to assure everyone that the weekly will make an impact from the first issue. That's the fun part, launching a new product.

CoverStory

You, and your regional editor-in-chief Kay Tat have been together for many years, and you are bringing this same partnership to Singapore. What's working for you guys as a team?

BK: The newspaper business must be one of the few industries in the world where it's common to have two COOs, or chief operating officers, if you like. In order to move ahead, both must work well together. The Edge's owner, Tong Kooi Ong, is far sighted and sets the directions. He respects editorial integrity, and the rest is up to us. We work well because, I think, we understand that in order to be a good quality, credible and highly regarded newspaper, you also have to be financially strong. Maybe it helped that I was a journalist before so I can see the view from the editorial side. Then I put on my managing director hat!

HO KAY TAT is the man making the business news.

Generating some truly amazing content week after week is not an easy business. We sit down with him about how the newspaper keeps him on the edge of his seat...

Is Singapore ready for The Edge? And are youguys ready for Singapore?

KT: As an international financial city, there is obviously a big market for business and investment news in Singapore. And while it is true there are enough daily newspapers and TV channels dishing information out, there is no local financial weekly serving that important niche in the market. So yes, I think Singapore is ready for us. As for us, we are ready now because we are more experienced, we have built up good brand equity in Malaysia over the last seven years and it's time to move abroad.

I believe Singapore is not new to you.

Tell us more...

KT: I think you are referring to my three years with Singapore Business Times. But I was their KL correspondent so Singapore is new to me.

You must be having a flood of applications for the editorial division, with so many layoffs at other publishers who have downsized and the dotcom fall-outs. Has this made your job of getting good people easier?

KT: We received many applications but it did not make it easier getting good people. You still have to find staff who will fit in and meet your needs.

Numbers alone don't guarantee that.

News has become a commodity these days, with it being prevalent via so many media channels. How will you differentiate The Edge's content from the rest of the pack?

KT: As earlier mentioned while there is information overload, demand for quality news,

analyses and opinions delivered at the appropriate time to the consumers will always be there.

Equally important is quality of content. We will work very hard on that because in the end that's what counts.

What lessons are there to learn as a new player in the Singapore market?

KT: I am sure there are many. We have to discover them and probably make some mistakes along the way. Our editorial team will make up of both local and non-local staff so every one will have something to bring to the product.

If The Edge was a famous person, who would it be?

And why?

KT: Probably Steve Jobs of Apple. He's made the brand cutting edge, it's a niche player, profitable, and they have a market share that they can comfortably say they own. And he can live with the giants, like Microsoft. The same thing happened to us in Malaysia. Many people, including the newspaper vendors, did not think we could succeed when we started seven years ago because everyone said the idea wouldn't work. Like Apple, we are fulfiling a niche that the more established players did not.

Tell us about your website, www.theedgedaily.com.

How will it figure with your expansion into Singapore?

KT: Our website is virtually operating like a news wire. We have a dedicated team filing stories every market day and throughout the day. So we do have a daily presence in Malaysia over the internet. We think the internet offers tremendous possibilities but has to be developed in a manageable and sustainable manner. As for Singapore, it is something to look at for the future as our priority is to get the weekly going.

How's your working relationship with Boon Kean?

KT: It's great for me! While he has to find the money, I get to spend it! Seriously, we have a very good working relationship. Although he looks after the business side while I am responsible for content, we poke our noses into each other's areas quite a bit. We don't always agree, of course, so sometimes he gets his way and other times he goes with me. But the fact that we welcome each other's views works well for both of us and for the paper.

... many people, including the newspaper vendors, did not think we could succeed when we started seven years ago because everyone said the idea wouldn't work...

What do you do in your spare time, if youhave any?

KT: Outside of work and family, there is just enough time left for an occasional game of golf with friends. I play a bad game, but I am still out there hacking away as that's the only time I can shut my mind off work and relax.

aDOl MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 7

JlLetters to the editor Dear Editor, I would like to invite you and your readers to participate in the 5th Asia Pacific Advertising Festival 2002 this March 14-16.

In the new century, I believe that the diversity in this world has greater meaning than ever, and that Asian creativity will become more and more important in the creative world.

The AP AdFest is a great opportunity to see and learn about new creative works from all over Asia, and I assure you it will be an event at which you will experience something new and exciting.

I advise you to cancel all your work and participate in this brilliant opportunity!

Finally, it is a great honour to be appointed as the Chairman of Panel Judges, as it is the first time for an Asian to take the post.

I am very much looking forward to seeing you in Pattaya this March.

Akira Kagami Chairman of the Panel Judges/AF AdFest 2002 - Executive Creative Director/Dentsu Inc Website: www.asiapacificadfest.com

We invite organizers of events for the advertising and marketing industry to submit information for publication in this monthly Upcoming Events column. Publication of information is based on availability of space, preference will be given to events taking place closest to the date of publication.

8 aDOl MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

Frustrated Small Agency Employee K.L Dear ADOI, Thank you for my latest case of stomach cramps, cold sweats and teary eyes. Every time I think about Paul Loosley's Shut Up About Advertising column in your December issue, I find myself rolling around laughing uncontrollably. Great Knockers is certainly a hoot! His play on words and creative use of select double entendre made this one of the funnest things I have read in a long time.

Thank you for including it in your publication. I am eagerly awaiting your next issue to see what this crazy man comes up with next.

Joyce Tee Yishun

Accounts Won & Lost

Upcoming Events 22 February PRISM Awards sponsored by the Institute of Public Relations of Singapore (IPRS) at the Fuller ton Singapore. Details: (65)236-2903.

14 to 16 March Asia Pacific Advertising Festival in Pattaya, Thailand. Details: Call (662) 722-3202 or email boonsri@plannova.co.th or visit www.asiapacificadfest.com 21 to 21 March Ad Tech World Asia 2002 at the Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Center.

Details: (65) 322-2700 or (65) 222-8550.

26 to 27 April IdN Fresh Conference 2002 at the Singapore EXPO Hall. Details: (65) 8460934.

16 to 22 June The 49th Cannes International Advertising Festival. Visit www.canneslions.com.

eliminated and won't have the chance to even be considered for the larger accounts.

Just who do you think you're representing here, 4AS? Are the people at the 4AS so bored that you need to come up with such drivel?

Why don't they do their job and leave our jobs to us?

Dear ADOI, I was flipping through your January issue when I came across a page entitled 10 Point Pitch Guide. I was shocked, and rather appalled, that this came out of our own 4AS office. Who do those people think they are?

Not only was the "guide" horribly pretentious, it was insulting. At first, I thought maybe I was being oversensitive.

So I made copies of the page and distributed it amongst my co-workers.

When they all came back with the same concerns, I realised that it wasn't just me.

While there many of us had concerns with different parts of the "guide," we all agreed on one point. This is the he section entitled "Invite Up To Three Agencies To Pitch (or Up To Four If Incumbent Included."

Just who the hell do they think they are? Hello? Are the folks at the 4AS in cahoots with the larger MNC agencies?

Why are so they willing to sell out the smaller agencies? Let's face it, if you only limited the pitching to three companies, the smaller agencies would immediately be

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ADOI/MEDIABANC Horsing Around New TVC Debut - Dec 2001/Jan 2002 Brand: SSamsung Harmonix Hand Phone Title: La,i ser Harp DuratioiQ; 30 seconds Client: SSamsung Electronics Agency: Foote, Coone & Belding Creatives Director: Chris Kyme Art Direi\ctor: Dali Meskam Copywri\Iter: Raymond Kuah Languagre: English Summarry: With the new Samsung Harmonix hand phone, y/ou will have 16poly ring tones to choose from.

Brand: Shell Helix Title: Protection Duration: 20 seconds Client: Shell Malaysia Agency: J. Walter Thompson Sdn Bhd Creative Director: Lee Gaik Bee Art Director: Lee Han Heng Copywriter: Ida Rahman Language: English Summary: Use Shell Helix to protect your engine and get to enjoy the free gifts of Cartoon Network items.

Brand: Pizza Mega Lada Title: Sneeze Symphony Duration: 30 seconds Client: Pizza Hut Agency: Ogilvy £r Mathers Creative Director: Sonal Dabral Art Director: Gavin Simpson Copywriter: Paul Lim, Sonal Dabral Language: English Summary: Only the new Pizza Mega Lada can make you sneeze and compose a symphony at the same time.

Brand: Perodua Title: Maaf Duration: 120 seconds Client: Perodua Agency: Grey Worldwide Creative Director: Edwin Leong Art Director: Andrew Fong, Sandy Lai Copywriter: Lisa Ng, Kamil Language: Malay Summary: Let bygones be bygones. Forgiveness works both ways.

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Brand: New Straits Times Title: Nasi Lemak Duration: 30 seconds Client: New Straits Times Agency: Leo Burnett Advertising Creative Director: Yasmin Ahmad Art Director: Zaidi Awang Copywriter: Iska Hashim Language: English Summary: Even when used to wrap nasi lemak, newspaper can still attract attention. It's better to get your own copy rather than share it with an unwilling somebody.

Brand: Celcom Title: Celcom Mobility Solutions Duration: 40 seconds Client: Celcom Agency: Bozell Worldwide Creative Director: Dharma Somasundram Art Director: Dharma Somasundram Copywriter: Dharma Somasundram

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mediaBonc For more information please call Izza Ismail ofMediaBanc at 03-79836668

103DOIMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

UNTIL recently, in my ignorance of the finer points of the Chinese horoscope, I'd been champing at the bit in anticipation of my own Year of the Horse in 2002. But after some further research on the subject I've learned that, of all the twelve animals, we equines are alone in not being guaranteed good fortune in our anniversary year. So that now that Chinese New Year is upon us, I have a nagging concern that the next twelve months may not be the dream ride I'd been counting on.

In fact, instead of what I'd been looking forward to in 2002 kicking up my heels, having my fickle way with the fillies, generally performing like a show pony and ultimately finding myself in clover -1 could be facing yet another year on the trot as nothing but a work horse.

But if the worst comes to the worst, at least I won't have to hack it alone. Though opinions appear to differ a good deal among the experts, most agree that the typically "turbulent and chaotic" Year of the Horse will prove a decidedly ratty time for rodents, and possibly a fair cow for oxen. Nor from anything I've seen is 2002 likely to go down in hisssstory for snakes, or prove a particularly swinging time for monkeys. And again depending on who you listen to, roosters may find little to crow about this coming year, and pigs could have trouble bringing home the bacon.

For the rest of the menagerie, on the other hand, most of the pundits seem to predict that 2002 should be an absolute gift horse of a year. Dragons will find themselves even more fired-up than usual by all the challenges and change. Tigers will have a riproaring time charging at every opportunity in sight.Rabbits/cats should be all set to shine despite their usual shyness. Sheep/goats will feel free to frolic and flaunt their artistic temperaments to the full. Faithful, home-loving Dogs will devote themselves to enjoying a year off the leash.

But as assiduously as you can see I've researched all these horoscopes and horrorscopes, I really can't find it in me to take them too seriously. I'm a horse at heart, after all, and therefore not terribly superstitious. True to the nature of my species, I'm more inclined to put my faith in hard labour and sweet reason than signs, stars, cards, lines, leaves, crystal balls and other such mumbo-jumbo. But despite our down-to-earth practicality, we horses are also, as you may have observed, flighty to a fault.

Creatures of impulse, freedom, novelty and variety, there's nothing we fear more than endless repetition of the status quo, or a life of steady predictability. So for better or for worse, the highs, lows and upheavals of our Year should suit us just fine.And in the event that things don't sit so well with us, of course we can always fall back on our instinct for anarchy, and set about bucking the system.

Dean Johns is a partner in the regional creative hotshop CreAsia and strategic consultancy StrADegy.

Email: stradegy@optushome.com.au

• II Growth of ABRS readership of arty international title, 88% • #1 Regional title to reach CFO's • it 1 Profile for I.T. Business Decisions •HI Increase in First 8t Business Class Travellers, 265% ABRS 6 to ABRS 7 For information contact: Stuart Elson, Advertising Manager, South East Asia (65) 428 2670 Dan Cater, CFO Asia Representative (Malaysia) (603) 4044 7384

NEWS BRIEFS: M'SIA • Perodua goes viral Perodua test drove a new marketing technique called viral marketing and found that they gained some good mileage for the effort.

Relationship marketing company Rapp Collins (M) Sdn Bhd, ran a teaser campaign for Perodua Kelisa prior to its launch on Aug 24th last year. But unlike most teaser campaigns that utilise television or print media to build up people's curiosity about the product, this one used the Internet instead.

As opposed to the word of mouth, viral marketing uses "word of mouse". About two weeks prior to the launch, Rapp Collins staff sent the first batch of a total of about 900 e-mail messages to people known to them. Perodua did not surface as the sender at all.

Rapp Collins did not rely solely on e-mail to spread the word; it also planted "agents" to chat with people in the Internet chat rooms.

"The market response was very good and the client was happy," Rapp Collins, Client Servicing Director, Sam Sim said. "Don't forget that this was more of a test case and there was not much initial invest­ ment. Within the two weeks prior to the official launch, the website got 280,000 hits."

• Programme change in TV3 TV3 is now airing 12 new programmes, and has cut down on its for­ eign programs, with only three sitcoms to offer. For a start there is an addition of two and a half hours of Chinese programs which totals 17 and a half hours per week. The Japanese drama serials have been moved from Saturday to Monday and Tuesdays. All new programs enjoy a lower tier rate for the first four weeks of telecast if there is more than one spot in the same programme during the whole cam­ paign, allowing the advertiser the chance to save between 6% to 26% per spot.

• Newspaper wooing readers with focussed segments New Straits Times is now able to accommodate creative buys. Also, the paper is now providing its readers with different sections, help­ ing to segment the news. Apart from that, NST has also embarked on a loyalty card programme - the Buy'N'Fly card.

Batey Ads Has A Snack URC Snacks Foods, the brand owners of Jack 'N Jill Potato Chips brands, Cloud 9, Laussane £r NIPS confectionery brands, has appointed Batey Ads Malaysia as their advertising agency for their entire range of snack products. The assignment is worth around 4.5 million Ringgit.

Batey won the business in a hard fought 3-way pitch between JWT and Lintas before emerging victorious. Batey will also be han­ dling all media planning and bookings which were previously handled by Mindshare.

Paul Chan, the General Manager of URC Snack Foods (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd said "All the 3 agencies presented great work, but in the end, it was Batey that impressed us with their strong brand build­ ing abilities, keen strategic insights and sound creative work. They understood the market and consumers well. What started out as a pitch for our Potato Chips business has evolved into us handing Batey our confectionery business as well. We feel that Batey has what it takes to further build our brands and help us realise our marketing goals".

12 3D0I MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

'Consultant' is a Four-Letter Word

by Josh Sklar, global Chief Creative Officer CCG.XM, New York -jsklar@ccgxm.com

IF it weren't for the fact that hundreds of thou­ sands of people's lives are directly affected - and millions indirectly - this constant beating up of our collective nations' economies might be a little funny. Just when a person finally takes a peek from out of his or her bunker and begins to quietly breath the statement, "Whew. It can't get any worse." the inevitable happens and off comes the head. This year's opening gambit of course belongs to the now insolvent mega-corporation, Enron, and their bedraggled former accounting firm, Arthur Andersen.

This is a column about the interactive advertising industry, not a place for editorializing the woes of big business (Damn it Jim! I'm a designer, not an economist!). However, the Enron/Andersen situation most unhappily does directly impact weavers of brand and technology.

And the way it does is that many of us in this area of marketing are keen to label ourselves as 'Consultants' (yes, with a capital 'C'). Consul­ tants, Consultants that dirty word, Consultants. Individuals who march into a client's offices, poke around for a few weeks or months and tell them - each and every time - with a slow shake of the head mind you, that everything they've been doing has been WRONG! All happily wrapped up in a document no less than 5 inches thick that no sane person would ever have the stomach to read through. Our differ­ ence is we generally provide recommendations that our companies can implement ourselves whereas the more traditional types tend to wipe their hands and move on to the next group willing to pay hundreds of thousands for an equally chunky document (Perhaps sometimes the very same one with a quick switch of the logo? Mmm could be.). Or, at best, they'll say they can do it and then outsource the whole pie to smaller companies they can then point fingers at when things go awry.

Look, I'm not here to bury traditional consultants but I won't praise them either. The fact is when the big 5 accounting firms play on both sides of the fence, it gives all of us a black eye. One division will look at a client's books as an auditor and then another division will come in and scoop up buckets of money by proposing changes as a consultant.

Insider trading, anyone?

We may be far removed from the playing field of double-dealing accounting firms, but as I've discussed in many other articles, percep­ tion is reality. Many interactive companies have tried to hop, skip and jump away from the limited word "agency" to the murky world of "pro­ fessional services" as Consultants. Clients so far have not been patient enough to try and understand the subtle differences between what 'they' do and what 'we are into but who can blame them? There's so much crossover as we both delve into technological infrastructure, process-reengineering, supply chain management, CRM and on and on.

The fact is, the only real differences these days might be the size of the organization, the bulk of the methodology and whether the Consul­ tant is wearing a dark suit or black jeans.

The 'C'-word has been met in the past within many organizations I've had the pleasure to do business with as a four-letter epithet. With the hugely public exposure of the despicable practices these accounting firms employ - under the graces of politicians on the take - it will be harder than ever to walk into a client with that word associated with our industry. Perhaps we should take some time to collectively invent our own lexicon to set ourselves obviously apart from these guys (as well as the memory of the dot.coms). I guess the trick there is to make sure the terms can be easily understood so we don't get sucked into a new world of buzzword bingo and further hurt our credibility.

A.nd walked into a new Malaysian agency - Lowe. This move is far more

embracing the Lowe vision that creativ

significant than simply rebranding the old Lintas. There is a fundamental

And good is the enemy of the great. Willi over USD 12 billion

change in values. In 160 agencies, in 80 countries over 14,700 staff are

it s clear that a great number of clients are equally prepared to walk the talk

ALPO • BREEZE • CAREFREE • CARLSBERG SPECIAL BREW • DELO • DUMC

EKONOMI HANDALAN • FAIR 8C LOVELY • Fox'

JOHNSON'S PURE ESSENTIALS • Kir KAT • KAPAL API • LADY'S CHOICE • MITSUBISHI AIRTREK • Ni

CLASSIC • O B. TAMPON • Oi

HSBC BANK

NEWS BRIEFS: ASIA • Thai PM the star in global Tourism ad campaign Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will appear in a new ad campaign by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). An approximate budget of US$6.4 million has been allocated for the ad campaign called "Be my guest".

The campaign aims to attract more foreign visitors to Thailand, and at the same time convey to the Thais that they should be good hosts if they want to see an increase in the number of foreign tourists vis­ iting the country.

Grey beats 2 others for Carrier US$2m India brief Grey Worldwide has snagged the US$2 million Carrier Aircon adver­ tising account in India from incumbent Bates, which held it for the past seven years.

Grey India senior vice-president, Ashutosh Khanna, said the agency beat McCann-Erickson and DY&R in the four-agency pitch. On top of this, its media sibling MediaCom has been picked as the agency of record. "There were a few factors that Carrier took into account, including the organisational fit of the agency with the Carrier busi­ ness. Our integrated marketing solutions were also a factor because Carrier wants more than just advertising"

• Coke drops DY&R and Saatchi in Philippine realignment Ace Saatchi £r Saatchi and Dentsu Young & Rubicam have emerged as the biggest casualties in a review of roster agencies handling Coca-Cola Philippines.

The biggest winners were Hemisphere Leo Burnett and Dentsu, which between them took the lion share of the assignments.

Burnett snatched the Magnolia Fruit Drinks, Fun Chum and Junior Juices from Saatchis, while Dentsu grabbed the Wilkins Mineral Water assignment, alone worth US$1.2 million, from DY&R.

• Unilever regroups Bestfoods media Unilever has consolidated the Bestfoods media contract in AsiaPacific with MindShare and Initiative Media as part of an interna­ tional alignment.

The move comes 15 months after Unilever s US$20.3 billion take­ over of Bestfoods, which is strongest in the US and Europe and has household brands such as Knorr soups and sauces, Skippy peanut butter and Mueller pasta. "Unilever is using its strength in AsiaPacific to extend the Bestfoods franchise in the region" the con­ sumer goods company said in a statement.

City TV Closes City TV, the MediaCorp TV channel which ran both English and Chinese programmes, is now history. According to MediaCorp COO Kenneth Tan, "CityTV was shut down after the close of trans­ mission on Friday, nth January. We decided to consolidate our resources into our well-watched and established channels - Medi­ aCorp has maintained 75% share of terrestrial viewership in Sin­ gapore. Sports programmes will move to Channel 5 and Channel News Asia. Chinese programmes will all be shown on Channel 8."

• AdSociety closes Another company working in the dot com area has bitten the dust.

Ad Society, which started in August 2000, has closed putting 100 employees in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Japan, Korea and Taiwan out of jobs. PCCW, who owns 79% of the shares, cited current difficult market conditions.

ft 3D0IMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

Asian Branding

A Great Way to Fly

IAN BATEY

A GREAT WAY TO FLY

By Andrew Kef ford, Managing Director, Advertising Advisory Centre and Regional President, Results International Consulting.

AS we all know, Ian Batey successfully built the only Advertising Agency Brand in Asia outside of Japan. The success of Batey Ads has been synonymous with the success of Singapore Airlines, South East Asia's only truly global brand. Who is better qualified to write a book on Asian Brands? Last year, Ian who was appointed Chair­ man Emeritus and whilst being a tireless ambassador for Batey Ads, has put down his thoughts, learning and predictions on Brands in Asia in this book which informs while written in Ian's easy-going style.

Ian certainly has great ambitions for Asian Brands and predicts many will succeed in building a worldwide identity but rather than just concentrating on the future, he provides the student of adver­ tising in Asia a comprehensive review of where the industry has come from in these 30+ years.

His own agency mirrors this growth and he reveals the most success­ ful brand he has been intimately involved with (Singapore Airlines).

Other brands include the quite success­ ful (Tiger Beer) and not successful (Changi Airtropolis). The section on SIA makes the most interesting read, reminding us how great success can come from a product dedicated to excel lence, a strong Brand Guardian and a Client who is committed and truly understands the value of strong branding.

When it comes to potential global Asian brands, Ian provides us with what he believes it will take to build Asian brands. These not only compete but surpass Western and Japanese Brands, by focussed application of the three C"s: Creativity, Courage and Confidence. He provides a comprehensive country-by-country review of where each country currently stands and a list of potential brands. As always with Ian, he has stuck his neck out and made some interesting pre­ dictions. I think we can all agree with the possibilities for Hyundai and Indomie but branding Philippine Overseas Contract Workers could be expecting too much. Each example is well-researched and thought out and should be compulsory reading for the owners of each and every brand described.

In addition to the development of Asian Brands, there is plenty of practical advice and guidance on how to develop strong advertis­ ing including the Batey Ads advertising development process plus interesting anecdotes on marketing in different categories, com munication in China and Asian verses Western values.

Asian Branding is a good read for students of marketing and advertising, marketers of Asian brands and all those in the adver­ tising industry in Asia to remind us all of where the industry has come from and the opportunities for the future.

The New York Festivals. America'most international awards shows. Currently accepting entries for these 2002 competitions: Print/Poster/Design, Radio Advertising & Radio Programming. And later this year, The Globals (Healthcare Communications), New Media, TV & Cinema Advertising,TV Programming & Promotion, Film & Video & AME International (Advertising/Marketing Effectiveness).

For entry details, log onto nyfesta.com or call (914) 238 4481, fax (914) 238 5040 or e-mail info@nyfests.com

What's Your Brand's Essence?

• Top Global New Biz Winners 2001 For the second year in a row, BBDO Worldwide won more regional and global creative accounts than any advertising network in the world during 2001, according to Ad Age Global s exclusive ranking.

Among media buying and planning specialists, Starcom MediaVest Group won the most multi-country business. Also for the second year running, the No. 1 holding company was Omnicom Group.

Novartis unites US$250m global media biz in MindShare Novartis, the health care company that markets products from Gerber baby line to a new Alzheimer's treatment, has tapped WPP Group's MindShare for its US$250 million global media buying and planning account. The move represents a consolidation for Novar­ tis, which had split media buying among four shops.

• Spanish telecoms giant calls O&M for US$9om global biz Spain's biggest advertising account review has ended with Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica's appointment of Bassat Ogilvy. Other finalists contending for the country's top account - worth an esti­ mated US$90 million - included Publicis and Tandem DDB.

• Heineken Dismisses Lowe Heineken has dismissed Lowe, its agency since 1998. The White Plains, N.Y. client does not plan to put its US$so-6o million account into review, sources said. Rather, a shift to another agency most likely D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles is expected.

• P&G Shifts Part of Clairol Business to Ericsson-Fina Procter & Gamble is shifting part of its newly acquired Clairol busi­ ness to Ericsson-Fina, a division of Grey Global Group. Estimated billings on the hair-color products line, which includes Ultress, Natural Instincts, Nice 'n' Easy and Hydrience, are US$75 million in the U.S. Sources say the account is a global one.

Cannes Lions announces 2002 jury presidents Jeffrey Goodby, co-chairman of Goodby Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, is president of the Film and Press & Poster Juries. Mal­ colm Speed, chairman/CEO of Rapp Collins Worldwide, New York will be president of the first ever Lions Direct Jury. The president of the Cyber Lions Jury is George Gallate, CEO of Euro RSCG Inter­ action. John Perriss. Chief Executive of the Zenith Optimedia Group in London, is president of the Media Lions jury.

Founder Thomas's death poses dilemma for Wendy's Following the death of founder and chief pitchman Dave Thomas, Wendy's must rethink their future. With more than 800 commer­ cials featuring Thomas making him one of the most recognizable spokesmen in the world, Wendy s must decide whether to stick with their homespun ads as square as its trademark hamburgers or come up with a whole new concept.

• Lowe Glows 2002 Looking for a fresh start after a rough couple of years, Lowe Worldwide is reintroducing itself as a shop that s creative, aggres­ sive and more outwardly focused. The shop has taken several steps recently to redefine its image both to the outside world and to its staffers.lt has a new name (changed from Lowe Lintas & Partners), new mantras ("Stretch" in the U.S, "Creativity pays" globally) and even its first logo - a box containing the letters LO stacked over "WE," a twist on Robert Indiana's famous "Love" design.

16 aDOl MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

I WRITE this connected to the most remarkable piece of design and technol­ * ogy launched in the last five years - the Apple iPod. MP3 players are nothing new, of course - and even Creative Labs - Singapore's own - has had a similar product our for over a year. But this Apple product is so small, so complete so.. .goddamn sexy...that you look at it and think 'Who else but Apple?'

Advertising people love Apple. Unfortunately the broader market and Wall Street in general don't feel the same way and it's market share is around 5%. But as Steve Jobs says 'BMW and Mercedes offer a similar niche, but no-one dismisses them as niche players.' What Apple have found is what we call their brand essence, but in a category where vol­ ume is god (the PC market) and big players dominate - so they've done what makes sense - take that essence into new areas (such as with the iPod).

Few brands leverage their essence to their advantage all the time.

Virgin is one with tremendous elasticity, but the further it gets stretched these days, the looser it feels. Singapore Airlines, on the other hand, has 'stuck to its knitting' and remains the world's favourite air­ line. Great Asian brands like Tiger Balm have come to grips with what makes them special and built upon it.

Most agencies have their processes for analyzing brands, but few have made the investment that we have over the last 15 years in Brand Essence. Developed in the US, it's now been implemented for hundreds of companies. It involves detailed quantitative research amongst a brand's customers and the customers of the competitors. Based on a theory that every brand is made up of component parts, it distills these parts to flow into the one or two words of a Brand Essence — the heart and soul of what makes a brand tick. And Draft is now extending this research methodology to Asia Pacific.

By looking at a brand in terms of what it is , what it does for con­ sumers, how consumers feel when they interact with the brand, and what the brand personality is, we gain greater insight into what 'share of mind' and what space we own and can potentially own. Consumers only have the bandwidth to take in and position a handful of brands in each category based on their needs and wants - getting on that list is every marketer's mission.

A recent study, for example, for our client Avis in the US revealed that the car rental market was not just segmented on price and speed but in a number of other key factors as well. And that Avis's Brand Essence of 'The Professional Team,' was under threat from an unlikely source - a small player below the radar that remained true to its essence of 'Unparalleled Service'.

Another research study in the credit cards sector highlighted to American Express that it was in danger of allowing its perceived Brand Essence of 'Sophisticated Partner' to marginalize the brand in a catego­ ry where accessibility is everything - Apple knows the dangers of this.

The launch of Amex Blue fell out of this study and the brand has since become far more approachable.

It's a constant challenge in our business to focus on the short term tactics and create immediate sales opportunities. But in doing so, we must stay cogniscent of the power of a Brand s Essence to distance it from the competition, and to bring it more 'worth' and eventually higher margins.

1 1

Greg Paull is Regional Director of DraftWorldwide Asia Pacific, the world's largest marketing services company.

atch the seeds of creativity blossom at AP AdFest 2002.

Asia Pacific Adv-er-tie/np Festio-atf

Come and be inspired with bright ideas and award-winning advertising from across the Asia Pacific region.

Asia Pacific Advertising Festival, U-VWch 2002, Pattaya Thailand • Register now to be the first to see the innovation and evolution of creativity in Asia Pacific in 2002.

Register online at: www.asiapadficadfest.com • For more information, contact the AP AdFest secretariats Official Organizer: PLANNOVA CO., LTD. Tel:(662)722-3202 Fax:(662)722-3203 Email: boonsri@plannova.co.th

A P AdFest -"The otnjy one"

Interface Charges Into 2002!

INTERFACE Malaysia launched with a bang on the 17th of January at Avanti Ristorante, Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel. Although the agency is supposed to be relatively new, it has successfully notched up RM48 million in billings in the past year. Bhaskar Rao, Area Director of FCB/Interface Southeast Asia, commented that the new business recruited by T.Renganathan, MD of Interface, was beyond expectations.

FCB Asia-Pacific president £r CEO Ben Barnes said the creation of Interface in the region provided the network with an opportunity to manage conflicting client accounts, as well as to offer greater career opportunities to staff. "By unifying Interface with Grant Advertising under one name - Interface - we are establishing a true network," said Ben. "Aside from solving client conflict issues, Inter­ face also allows us to effectively manage personnel issues: we don t want to lose qualified, skilled talent, and Interface opens up new

Interface will share resources with FCB in the areas of adminis­ tration and media, but will otherwise operate as a standalone, fullservice agency handling its own clients. Bhaskar Rao added that ideally the companies should in the near future - be pitching against each other.

FCB/Interface also took the opportunity to introduce their new chairman - Dato' Dr Hj Zainal Abidin bin Hj Mohd Ali - who is the younger brother of the late Dato Jaafar Ali. Staff, friends, clients and members of the media were invited to party like never before with the new agency.

avenues for them."

Renganathan, MD of Interface Malaysia, was optimistic about the year ahead and is targetting to make his agency rank amongst the top 10 in the country in the next three years.

Interface, which has already been operating with great success in India where it ranks in the top 20 in terms of billings, will now officially be launched in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.

In both Hong Kong and Singapore, Interface will effectively be the new name and face of Grant Advertising, taking over Grant's operations and accounts; while the China, Taiwan and Malaysia Interface set-ups are brand new.

0 f f t 6 I •'

1

"I think I need a drink - don't worry Nathan, I'll help myself.

Anthony Yeap keeps everyone smiling.

The Interface line-up.

18 3D0IMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

YoungGuns

L-R: Steven Lim tr Helen Lim (Imagescan) with Nathan.

L-R: Ray (PosAd), Ang (FCB), Siew Yee (Thong Fook) & Shan (Barkath).

Pretty maidens all in a row..

Janice Wee £r Aliya Ghonos (Interface).

Officii*

L-R: Bhaskar Rao (Area Director FCB/Interface), Dato Dr Hj Zainal Abidin (Chairman FCB/Interface M'sia), Ben Barnes (CEO& President FCB/Interface Asia Pacific) with Nathan.

Guess who turned up at the party?

•alure agency

L-R: Woo Ah Chaiwith Ken Foo, Yu Peng & Himani (Interface).

W

And then it started to rain..

Toasting to the future of the new agency.

The food was good but..

Jiro Tomotani (NationalPanasonic) is all smiles with Liza & Sim Su Wan (TM Touch).

..the drinks were better!

Gerry Beh is strikes a demure pose

Sokhbee Singh (EON) chats up Elizabeth Yam (Interface)

dDO! MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 19

Under Pressure

ADS in danger of being flushed away as reported in the world's ad press. Oh dear it looks like a lot of ads are getting dumped on these days due to complaints from small but noisy parties.

In AdAge, it appears a TV commercial that showed two Jeeps, being used to save wild deer from hunters, has been pulled by the Chrysler Group.

The automaker said the ad was killed as a result of protests from consumers who com­ plained the spot was anti-hunt­ ing. In the spot a couple of dri­ vers save a couple of bambies

from hunters by carrying them to a no hunting area on the bon­ nets of their Jeeps.

It seems Chrysler received hundreds of complaints from outraged hunters complaining about the spot, so Chrysler apologized and pulled it. Red­ neck blood lust should not be underestimated. Especially as the automaker had gotten sever­ al individual communications that the apology wasn't enough; they want Chrysler to do prohunter ads to redress the bal­ ance. So if this is to be the trend then advertisers better get ready.

For every Lux 'Soap of the Stars' ad they will have to do a 'Soap of the completely boring nonentities' ad. For every Oil of Ulay beauty ad they will have to do a butt ugly old bag ad. For every Coke great feeling young folks ad we'll need to see a miser­ able old buggers ad. B£rT reports that an ad for Meat & Livestock Australia which promotes lamb

as the "Australian national meat" and which used a re-worked ver­ sion of their national anthem, 'Advance Australia Fair', as its soundtrack may be pulled off air.

This is due to pressure from the RSL (Returned Serviceman's League). The ad features a lamb chop bouncing across new words to the old tune.

The RSL president Rusty Priest (You have to be joking. Ed) "The Australian character can apply to anything you like, except the two symbols of our nation, the flag and the national anthem."

The marketing general man­ ager of Meat & Livestock Aus­ tralia, David Thomason, said, "Most people are enjoying [the campaign]." Unfortunately Dave, most people don't make noise about ads they like. Most people aren't fanatics and so easily upset by what is only a silly little ad. Who in their right mind would put pen to paper because they wanted an ad not to be taken off air? Although, from the sounds of it, if they really want­ ed something to complain about, it sounds like a really crappy ad.

But if it's controversy over national anthems you want, wait for Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee later this year and the inevitable reissue of the Sex Pis­ tol's 1977 version of "God Save the Queen". I don't expect the BBC will play it this time either.

I don't mean to pick on Chrysler but AdAge again reports that there were complaints about a Concorde sedan TV spot that referred to sexual activity in the sedan's roomy back seat which led to a revamping of the spot (I have no details about the actual offending bits but 'leg room', 'head space' and 'ease of entry' are phrases that leap swiftly to mind).

So ads get it in the pants again. Soon there will be so many small pressure groups with no other outlet than to find soppy stuff in ads to moan about that agencies and clients will be scared totally shitless. Which is silly really when all we really have to do is draw ourselves up to our full heights and tell them all just to 'sod off'.

PS. Sod off

Get a Job or Your Money Back.

Ahhijeet Dutta Ray, Strategic Planning Director, Ogilvy&r Mather Thailand.

I was on a flight to Delhi, and was brows­ ing through the vener­ able Times of India newspaper. My eyes wandered onto the cov­ eted 'front-page solus' position. The leading computer education firm of the land (one of many who are responsible for the prolifera­ tion of IT savvy Indians across the globe) had an ad which had a headline which barked "You get a job. Or you get, your money back".

To say that my interest was piqued would be downplaying what I felt. This could not be happening. Like chewing gum which could offer breath fresh enough to seduce with...or your money back (leaving could have put lovers in the lurch) here was a computer firm, and that too the market leader, who actually 'guaranteed' a job if you enrolled in one of their courses. Had the last bastion of decorum and righteous­ ness finally fallen to the crass "genius of capitalism"?

20 aDOI MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

I searched the ad for disclaimers in fine print...and sure enough there it was. It said, "Look at page 17 for details". It appeared to have been a media planner's nightmare (imagine getting the right page number inserted in the first ad on front page - to match the page number of the sec­ ond one). Page 17 turned out to be the Sports page rather than a R.O.P position (so it was all part of an ingenious media placement strategy after all).

The rest of the ad remained as incredu­ lous. It continued to guarantee the first 1,000 students to enroll - a job! I did the math and figured that it was not possible for the firm to have recovered the cost of the ad from the fees from the course, unless of course they expected several thousands to enroll...of course with the hope of landing that dream job.

As the plane touched down at IG Inter­ national Airport, I realized that it was not so strange after all. The entire purpose of any education course was obviously to advance into that hallowed state of gainful

employment. However what amazes me no end is that thanks to rabid commercialisa­ tion of everything (well, almost every­ thing... I still could not find an agency or a tout who could renew my Indian driver's license without my presence for a fee - and precisely the purpose of this journey back to my hometown) here was a company, who in the interest of commerce were willing to guarantee a job to a person not based on merit (as one would expect) but on the speed of his/her response to an ad in the newspaper!

Was this merely a case of unregulated advertising or a good example of a con­ sumer insight that society has come to expect that almost everything can be achieved ...for a price? I could not be simply over-reacting. After all, those who sell chewing gum have never really guaranteed sexual conquest upon product usage...the allure of sex is after all only a cliche weapon of mass advertising. But guaranteeing a job simply because they enroll in one of your education courses. Now that's even better than notional sex.

YoungGuns

On Januaiy 19th 2002,13 young men and women walked down the corridors of these hallowed halls to receive their scrolls.

The blood, sweat and tears shed in the past two years at Institut Sledgehammer culminated in this day.

It was a day to commemorate their achievements.

They had not only studied textbooks, they had bloomed as responsible individuals ready to make their mark Malaysian ad industiy.

But the question is - are you ready for them?

YoungGuns

Graduating Class of Inst L-R:Nor Mujahid bin Dato' Jamian, Wong Ai Wen, Angeline Rose, Kiranjit Kaur, Christina Lee, Nur Esmi Zaharah Yusof, Ro

22 aDOI MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

YoungGuns

QupmpRi

ut Sledgehammer 2001!

ney Louis Vincent, Charlene Maria Sakthilingam, Nicholas Ong, Michelle, Wong Sai Meng, Geraldine Phillips, Kelvin Long.

aDOI MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 23

YoungGuns

Celebrating The Next Generation of Ad Stars! no

ii

Harold Monfils (Boo Films) and Kins Lee (D'Arcy)

,-R: Geoff Millichamp (APV), Jerry McKenna(TBWA-ISC),Christina Low (Rediffusion BHD.), Danyal Malik (ACNielsen) and J.Matthews (MACOMML

Stephen Bong shares his joy with Eric Pringle

Adi Satria (Utusan) and Sabri (TAS).

Bumvputra-Commcrce

•Jmtitvr

(jraduaticn Uas* % i&n

to *«««*>< Dentsu \o»#S & Rub,casn***W Lawyer Divakaran and interactive pro WengKeong.

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jr1®! •

Rishya pulls the coup of the day - he says the students earned it!

1

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Lecturers occupy the front row...

§11

fl l!

m Students crowd around their favourite mentor, Janet Lee.

IT was a day that none of them would forget. The sun bathed the grounds of the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club as last minute plans were ironed out to ensure that everything would be perfect for the guests who would soon be arriving.

It was Graduation Time. The golden mom­ ent that 13 young men and women had spent the past two years dreaming about.

The moment that made the endless nights of burning the midnight oil all worthwhile.

They were the first graduating class of

2<f aDOI MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

P.Kandiah and Zainuddin Noh (2AS President.

Institute Sledgehammer, a history making class of job-ready individuals ready to take on the advertising industry.

That morning there was a clear indica­ tion of the difference between Institute Sledgehammer and other business colleges.

With only 13 graduates in its first graduat­ ing class, it was obvious that the students strongly bonded with their teachers.

As each graduate was invited to step forward to receive the diplomas, the many instructors who spent time with them over

L-R: Jerry Rajendram (Draft), Rishya Joseph (DYErR) and Tony Savarimuthu (MBF Cards).

the past two years greeted them on stage.

With emotions running high, tears were shed as the graduates were given the chance to thanks their lecturers.

The ceremony ended with a grand surprise for the students. Dentsu, Young and Rubicam's Senior Vice President and Regional Director Rishya Joseph presented a cheque for RM.6,500 reflecting a generous gift of RM500 for each graduate.

After the ceremony students, parents and guests mingled .

A Valentine kind of Graduation IT was January19th but it might as well have been February14th. The first ever graduation ceremony of Institute Sledgehammer that lovely Saturday morn­ ing at KLGC showcased a deluge of passion and a roomful of dreams. Maybe I was particularly touched by it all, seeing it as the magical amb­ ience of spring especially after a month-long winter hiatus.

The event was unlike any other I've seen, causing my mindset (about graduation being formal, grand, pompous) to crumble, as I witnessed the Institute's very own style of gradu­ ation: personal, warm, uplifting. Love hung like a festive canopy, as reassuring as Linus' security blanket - a perfect send-off for the 13 graduates as they leave the comforting walls of this extraordinary school and are pushed to the edge and challenged to fly.

Ham was pure oxygen, breathing new life into the audience's advertising-weary hearts hardened by downright campaign rejections or umpteen mediocre revisions or an infinite number of presentations that breed repressed anger and put-on civility, or all of the above.

With his opening speech, he turned on the tap from which love flowed like drinks from a favourite watering hole on what my art director calls a thirsty afternoon. And as he reminisced about the school's early days all the way to gradu­ ation day, it was clear that passion has always been the driving force. His touching declaration of "I love you, Father' to his father-in-law who came all the way from Penang for the event, beautifully captured the loving feeling of the day.

He acknowledged the dedicated lecturers, the supportive audience and above all, he paid tribute to each and every graduate.

Two of the Institute's leading lecturers kept the love flowing. Steven Bongwas poeticabout the magic of "the first time". With his eloquence, I am certain he transported the audience to those times in their lives when they basked in the memories of their significant "first times", young and fearless on the threshold of something new, exciting and unknown. Lecturer Janet Lee, a lady who radiates goodness of mind and heart, was overcome with emotion as she talked about the fulfillment of enriching people's lives. The softspoken, multi-awarded CD recalled how Ham inv­ ited her to teach his students about life and love and how happy she has been in helping lay the career foundation of tomorrow's advertising stars.

by Julie P. Lingan

The graduates' outpouring of love and admi­ ration for Ham and their lecturers was as beauti­ ful as flowers on Valentine's Day. Speaking on behalf of their fellow graduates (especially Rodney Louis Vincent and Wong Sai Meng who won the 'Kancil Students' Award) Kelvin Long and Michelle Fernandez sparkled with confi­ dence and enthusiasm. It is as if they borrowed fire from the noonday sun, matching the intensity of their mentors' quest for adverti­ sing excellence.

And after the awarding of diplomas, just when I thought the morning was about to end, Ham announced the perfect ending to a beautiful beginning. RishyaJoseph, Senior VPand Regional Director of Dentsu, Young £r Rubicam Southeast Asia, went on stage to give RM500 to each of the graduates! It was the ultimate gesture of encour­ agement and inspiration, made more meaningful as it came from the creative-driven agency that won the Grand Prix in last year's Kancil Awards.

Rishya's thoughtfulness, sincerity and warmth opened the tap till it could no longer turn, a fitting finale to a valentine kind of grad­ uation.

Valentine's Day came early to our industry this year. If only we could make it an everyday affair considering the way we feel about this highly addictive world we call advertising.

If you see, hear, taste, smell and feel, you have all it takes to create great ads.

It's true.To study advertising, all you need is to be human. It isn't about being able to draw pictures, logos or invent eye-catching graphics.

Only visualisers do that. The rest are strategists, thinkers, copywriters,art directors, designers,idea generators who create concepts that make or break the success of a brand.The very people who could end up managing companies.

At Institute Sledgehammer, we'll train you to use your senses to the fullest potential, with our Job Ready 2-year Diploma in Advertising. It is

designed not just to give you an understanding of what advertising is,but to also let you experience the real thing.

From the moment you walk into our college (which actually looks more like an ad agency) until you graduate,you'll be working on real-life assign­ ments and projects, which will be evaluated by top advertising professionals. After all, they are your lecturers.Don't be surprised if you have class­ es in a production house one day, or go treasure hunting in KLCC the next. Or perhaps a tour to the A

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institut SLEDGEHAMMER nrniiiiuiiJin.il

top advertising agencies like Leo Burnett and Ogilvy & Mather. After that, there's still time to party - like when they announce you as a Kancil winner, one of advertising's most prestigious awards. That's exactly what happened to our students last year.

It'll be a rollercoaster ride, and after just 2 years, you'll be able to leap straight into the industry. So stop waiting and start living.

Call Ragoo at 03-7722 5710 to come in for a chat.

22B, Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad Satujaman Tun Dr.Ismail, 60000 Kuala Lumpur.Tel: 03-7722 5710 Email:ham@pop.jaring.my

aDOI MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 25

Campaign

Pricking Your Conscience the Perodua Way,-

1* "Dan perbuatan kaniu bermaaf-maafan (halal mcnghalalkan) itu lebih hampir kepada taqwa Surah AlBaqarah, Ayat 237

GREY Malaysia has been putting out some really provocative work for Perodua on the roads. The agency has been building the corporate brand for almost three years now and as Edwin Leong, Creative Director at Grey, himself admits, the client has become a favourite of the agency. Which creative wouldn't like a client like Perod­ ua? Look at the commercials that have been created over the past two years. The work is so brutally honest that it really requires a client with courage to have such work associated with their brand.

The series of corporate ads recently culminated in the Hari Raya ad which had the whole town talking. The ad tackled the taboo topic of men who abandon their families for their second wives. Shot by Steven Ang of Axis Films, the ad spoke of a simple, brutal truth in a world predomi­ nated by the artificial babble of festivities.

Rather than celebrate the beautiful things in life, Perodua seems to have become a celebrity for talking about taboo subjects.

Such as racism, ingratitude and polygamy.

Edwin elaborates that the advertising is very much in line with the brand's corpo­ rate positioning - "What a brand means sets it apart and builds preference. Since we do not have a hand in the advertising of

26 aDOI MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

the cars, we relied on festive advertising to build the brand positioning of Perodua.

We're not courting controversy for the sake of it. Perodua's corporate ads reflect its positioning which we derived from the products themselves" Is it possible to be popular by holding up the mirror to society wherein society's ugliest face is revealed? It seems so. When you watch the Perodua ads, a feeling of relief washes over you. You're often glad that someone is finally talking about these problems openly. Because these problems exist and we've seen the scenes being reenacted in lives around us. But more often than not, we have to pretend that such things are not part and parcel of daily Malaysian life. In touching the topics that lie so close to the home front, Grey seems to be scoring points with the consumers.

Edwin points out "Our brand positioning 'Maverick'- clearly defines Perodua's role and that's what guides us when we ideate.

What can we say that 'Big Brother' would shy away from? By daring to be honest, by NOT trying to win popular votes, we've somehow come to embody the spirit of a younger driving public - all of whom are potential owners of an entry level range of cars. It also allows us to manage a consis-

Agency and client sit down together. From far left: Sandy Lai(Junior Art Director) , Donovan Chew(Writer), Suzy ChiangfProducer), Jackson MahfVenacular Writer),Waisulqurni(Manager, Public Affairs), Erlina(Manager, Public Affairs), Rajan(Executive Director, Perodua Autocorporation Sdn Bhd), Raja Noor Ima(Manager Public Affairs), Louise Kwan (Producer), Sulaiman(AVDirector), Andrew Fong (Senior Art Director), Sabrina Clyde(General Manager), Steven Ang (Film Director), Edwin Leong (Creative Director), Azari Kamal Albakri (Account Manager),Kamil Yacob, Lisa Ng and Hasnah Samidin (absent from pix).

tent portfolio as far as cars are concerned.

Keep them small, keep them economical, keep them affordable and make them every bodys'."

But that doesn't necessarily boil down to becoming everything to everybody. The Perodua brand has emerged as a Malaysian brand with verve and attitude. And unimaginably, it is this rather ordinary car which is selling attitude. "When you're up against a brand leader you can't win the numbers game head on. What you can do is become a thought leader - you assume a role that differentiates you from the rest.

The right to that role has to be earned - you have to stand for something without being wishy-washy about it. The consumer is cynical nowadays, brands have to work a lot harder. Perodua the brand, is honest - it isn't afraid of sharing the truth to make things better - even we succeed just a little, it'd be more effective than any corporate chest-thump" adds Edwin.

To keep the edge going it helps that at Grey, the creatives work as a team. On top of that, they are receptive to ideas from others. Like the directive from the client "Make sure we don't judge" for the Raya ad.

Undoubtedly, that must havehelped in the execution because the audience is left to

Product: Tenaga Nasional Production House: Passion Pictures

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The Christmas tvc and ad.

A nasi lemak seller and a disgruntled cabbie are the focus of the Merdeka tvcs.

The Deepavali ad two years ago which was much misunderstood.

think for themselves and draw their own conclusions. Edwin adds, "Ultimately, advertising ideas are only as good as the clients that sign off on them. Perodua is a great client that loves ideas and allows the agency full leeway to explore. They don't delegate decision-making to a representa­ tive public in research. There are few clients that have the courage to do this.

They are rewarded with a bevy of adfolk willing to go the extra mile for love of the brand. Not too shabby a result for simply allowing agencies to do what they do best create ideas that build brands."

Last year's Chinese New Year ad, shot by Joe Hasham, created ripples in the country. It was a true story of a woman abandoned by her son in an old folks' home when he got married. Edwin recounts the experience: "The creative team prepared a guide script which was used to prompt her.

Joe hid the camera and we just kept it rolling." The story did have a happy ending as the old lady's son returned to take her home. "Andrew, Lisa, Jackson and Joe were also awarded at Cannes (a finalist), the

MVA (Best of Show) and the Kancils (bronze), which was nice - but not quite as meaningful".

For National Day, Perodua urged the people to reexamine themselves. There were two ads which were about Malaysians who focussed on the half-empty cup and complain and whinge - non-stop.

But not all of their ads have been that well received. Their Deepavali ad two years ago was much misunderstood and thus much maligned. It was seen as reinforcing racist ideas of the Indian community when it was actually challenging those ideas. This was the ad with sayings such as 'This man beats his wife...'

It's Edwin's firm belief that for a Malaysian brand to compete regionally, it needs to take on wider issues. "Filial piety (or the lack of it) isn't unique to Malaysia.

Racism isn't unique to Malaysia. Only when our brands start looking out and becoming relevant to a wider group of people can they stay competitive when the trade barriers are lifted - that is a certainty we must all prepare for now. AFTA is at our doorstep.""

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Copywriter: Tan Yew Leong

AgencY

Producer: Shirren Lim

Cinematographer: Low Soon Keong Film Director: Kamal Mustafa Producer/f AD: Brian Francis Post-Production : APV

DIRECTOR REPRESENTATION and PRODUCTION SUPPORT No.210, Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur Tel: 60 3 2166 6448 Fax: 60 3 2166 6468 www.passionpictures.com.my

IMP Comes to Town . „ Chew, A.P. Subramaniam, Weina Chen and Carmen Toh.

the thorns

Matthews sharing a moment with Teng and Amarjit

TMP knows how to keep its guests happy!

The best smiles of the day go to Allan Bohlsen and Gurdeep Singh

The manhunt is on. Who's the fairest of them all?

L-R: Sarjit Singh, Daljit Singh Gill, Pardeep S. Dhaliwal

Bob Seymour and Lim strike a pose

TMP Worldwide launched with great style on 21st January at the Mandarin Oriental. The event had all the right ingredients: great food, an amazing crowd and a wonderful ambience.

TMP is off to a good start!

4A'S Comes Up Fair Remuneration

By Rodney Louis Vincent

THE Association of Accredited Advertising Agents UA's) has prepared a tool to help agencies and clients develop a win-win relationship. It aims to help in the fair

28 aDOI MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

management of an agency remuneration system, by stressing the importance of planning and monitoring a program that features clear logic, consistency, and understandability by both agency and client.

The document which is adapted from similar documents by the Hong Kong 4A's and the Advertising Federation ofAustralia, consists of two sections - "Principles for Negotiating" which covers building cost structure, adjusting of proposals and rem­ uneration negotiations. "A Guide to Alter­

native Forms of Agency Remuneration" is a II part guide that covers both standard and reduced commissions, various fees, trends towards 'Hybrids', incentives and etc.

According to Khairuddin Rahim (left), Chairman of the 4A's Agency Management Services Committee, "The 4A's strongly believes that advertising agencies should be compensated fairly for the work they provide their clients as inadequate 'reward' ultimately impacts the quality of creative and the client/agency relationship."

by Rodney Louis Vincent

IN order to replace former national bank notes and coins in European wallets, the Euro has been made a star on television.

More than 50 tv commercials are currently running in the 12 European countries which have adopted the common currency. Only Denmark, Sweden and U.K are not using the Euro. Advertising agency executives estimate about 200 million—222 million Euros is being spent on advertising and marketing campaigns, to educate Europeans and visitors to Europe about the new bills and coins.

Though each country set out with a common objective, the ideas for the adver­

tisements are diverse. This level of creativty is sure to boost the European ad industry in a way. The biggest effort is a $72 million pan-European campaign from Publicis, part of the Publicis Groupe. Their campaign called the "Euro Launch" for the European Central Bank carried the tagline "the EURO, OUR money."

The challenge was to deliver a coherent pan-European message while acknowledg­ ing local concerns. The campaign adopted the point of view that the people of Europe now have another thing in common - Their money. This campaign was translated into 11 languages.

Though most of the countries in the euro zone are running their own national ads, marketers such as credit-card companies and retailers have jumped on the bandwag­ on and run euro-inspired messages.

Some of the agencies involved in the Euro launch campaigns throughout the dozen countries include Focus Business Communi­ cations Oy, Demner Merlicek £r Bergmann, Publicis Conseil, Adept Creative Facilities with their campaign tagline "Think EuroThe change is in your pocket", Opera S.R.I, Publicis Dialog Marketing GmbH with their tagline "True Values Prevail" and Binsfeld Conseils. See them at www.adforum.com.

Does E-mail Marketing work?

E-MAIL marketing is said to be a fast and cost effective way to communicate with ones target market. According to reports by Jupiter, the average response rate for print advertising ranges from 0.15% and 0.60%, direct mail typically draws a response of i%2% where else e-mail can garner a 5% resp­ onse rate.

Digital Impact's chairman William Park

said at Jupiter's Online Advertising Confer­ ence 11 E-mail marketing has high ROI, it's measurable and it's gaining traction among Fortune 1,000 companies", which is why spending on e-mail marketing is expected grow into a $9.4 billion market by 2006".

Radica Solutions a leading consulting firm that provides marketing, training and career services to businesses and profession

Sllsf ifitBiipitf IlilllMI

by Rodney Louis Vincent

als worldwide says that the biggest draw­ back to advertising and direct mail is the cost. In terms of CPM, e-mail marketing is more effective. Also, this medium of communication is permission based.

Through e-mail marketing, newsletters and promotions can be sent out to commu­ nicate the latest news, announce events and launch new products and services.

Month

or bearer

T IS Dollars,

• 68.5% of CFO Asia Readers are involved in their company's I.T. purchasing decisions highest of all regional titles » 73% increase in IT decision makers - ABRS 6 to ABRS 1 • #1 Growth of ABRS readership of any international title, 88%

|For information contact: I Stuart Elson, Advertising Manager, South East Asia (65) 428 2670 Dan Cater, CFO Asia Representative (Malaysia) (603) 4044 7384

InteractiveTrends

High speed dramas, World class directors & BMWs on one website.

Reviewed by Rodney Louis Vincent

Ambush.

DEFINITELY makes you think "How the heck this agency did it?" Not only did they use the interactive medium for some heavy brand building, but they got their client to spend some 'real' money. Fallon Minneapo­ lis, the agency that handles BMW North America came up with this brilliant idea of showing short movies online. The site is called 'The Hire'.

Five BMWs were given to five renowned movie directors - John Frankenheimer, Ang Lee, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Wong Kar Wai and Guy Ritchie. And trust me, the cars go through a lot with these directors in the course of the movies. Each movie has a different theme, according to how the direc­ tor himself sees and responds to the BMW. The one consistent feature is the driver Clive Owen. This is one of the rare sites which demonstrates how creativity can be pushed to the limits while the product's branding is still powerfully conveyed. This is the best example ever of how the brand­ ing can be both artistic and effective. Let's look at some of these movies.

30 aDOI MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

'Ambush' was made by John Frankenheimer. The movie sets with the BMW in the middle of a robbery. A van swerves close to the driver, the door slides open and a masked gunman threatens to fire. The reason? A harmless passenger carrying diamonds. The movie culminates in a dramatic chase with unexpected twists and breath-taking stunts. Personally, I feel that 'Ambush' best displays BMW's product attributes: powerful braking, sharp reflexes and an extraordinary performance.

'Chosen' by Ang Lee is a tale of mystery.

Set in a shipyard, the driver is entrusted with the task of safely transporting a young boy who is the chosen Tibetan monk. But trouble soon sets in. There is an amazing scene in this movie: three cars flow in smooth unison and beauty while classical music plays in the background. This is superbly choreographed.

'Star' has a humorous take and focusses on the car's handling and manoeuvring abilities. Madonna who plays the lead makes the movie more meaty. The driver is

faced with the challenge of driving a primadonna. But wait till she finds out what's in store for her. The film was made

by Guy Ritchie who has directed critically acclaimed films such as Hard Case; Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.

'Follow' was directed by Wong Kar-Wai. This story revolves around the Driver who is hired to follow a woman accused of cheating on her husband. Discover acclaim director Wong Kar-Wai's ability to play heart against mind in this drama of mistrust.

'Powder Keg' is my favourite. The cine­ matography is excellent, the story is heart­ warming, the dialogue is clever and the song "Unna Pallabra" just sticks in your head. The story revolves around a photojournalist who is being hunted by soldiers, for snapping an incriminating photo that could lead to the ousting of their leader.

The UN, sends the Driver to get the photojournalist out. Innaritu directs. All in all this idea does a completely revolution­ ary take on the traditional tvc.

CreativeCha racier

The Challenge of Chinese

The Hazeline Snow ads capitalised on happenings in Hong Kong.

The Guinness man welcomes the Year of the Snake.

RECENTLY, O&M appointed Poon See Hian as a Creative Group Head. Poon is probably the second Chinese creative who has risen to the position of Creative Group Head in Malaysia. Despite the fact the Chinese market is a commercially important one and that there are a number of Chinese media especially newspapers and radio stations, Chinese creatives still find it a challenge to be recognised for the work that they do. Occasionally some management teams do realise and reward the contribu­ tion that Chinese creatives make towards

the agency. ADOI chats with Poon about the joys and the creative challenge of being a Chinese creative conceptualiser...

32 dDOi MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

You started off life as a teacher. How did you get into advertising?

I taught Maths, Mandarin, Geography, Science and after a while I found that the money in teaching was not enough. I had to find a job where I could make a little more and since I knew Chinese, and they were looking for someone who could write Chinese copy, I decided to get into advertis­ ing.

Your first job was with the Lion Group wasn't it?

Yes, they were the ones looking for a good Chinese copywriter, so I just tried my luck and applied. The one who interviewed me the second time was Tan Sri William Cheng himself. I was really lucky to be picked because on the spot they test your language - they even tested my BM! Back then, there was no Chinese typeset and everything had to be hand-written. That was my advantage over the rest, I had really neat handwriting!

But you were not only writing copy for ads.

For Tan Sri William you even wrote speech­ es and handled his correspondence...

Yes, just imagine, once within three days I wrote eleven speeches for him. In just half

an hour, I wrote a speech for Tan Sri when he had to address the Taiwanese MPs. You know Tan Sri, he's very busy so he won't brief you. He'll just call you in and say "Write a speech for me and send it to the KL Hilton. I don't have time to read your work so before you send it - get a professor from Taiwan to vet it and if he's fine with it, it's fine with me." He never briefs you so I had to get to know his way and the style in which he likes to deliver.

Every time you had to think about an audience - and the audience was always different?

I always had to understand what the audience was about - because the speech had to be up to the standard of the audience.

This must have been great training for copywriting...

Yes, I learnt a lot at the Lion Group. They also had different businesses including Parkson. At that time the A&P department at Parkson was very dynamic, they would run ads every week, the whole year through. So our creative had to be up to the mark.

CreativeCharacter

Creative

by T.Sivananthi

Neil French thoughtthat these ads for Lipton were among the best he had seen in Malaysia.

Do Chinese copywriters translate or do they conceptualise ads as well?

Chinese copywriters do conceptualise ideas in Chinese but they are still called by the generic term which is 'Chinese copywriter'.

After all these years of working in the industry I think we need to look further and fly higher. Look at Singapore. The Chinese market there is smaller than the Chinese market in Malaysia but it's very easy for Chinese copywriters to move on to become CDs. This actually depends on the management's outlook as well as the copywriters ourselves. Because if we don't ask for it, we won't get it. We actually have the market power. Chinese copy is necessary as there are Chinese radio stations and newspapers which means there are many commercials to be made and written. Why can't Chinese copywriters create their own Chinese commercials, their own Chinese advertisements? When we look at a product like Peter Stuyvesant, most of the smokers are Chinese, so whether it's above the line or below the line, the advertising is very Chinese driven.

These will probably be more effective right?

Exactly. Sometimes what works in English may not work in Chinese. To me, a Chinese copywriter has a big challenge, to fight for recognition, to fight for an opportunity to create their own advertisements.

Can you tell us some examples of how Chinese advertising makes it more effective?

0£rM clients like Nestle and Maggi know that the decision-maker for their product is the Chinese housewife. And though the client is Malay, she said to me "The Chinese have 5 thousand years of culture and histo­ ry, don't tell me you don't have anything to write. There must be a lot of ideas that you can create." So we created a campaign which centred on Chinese festivals such as the New Year, the Ching Beng, the mooncake festival and the dragon boat festival.

The Chinese language has many dialects do you find that to be an obstacle?

Nationwide, Mandarin is used. MyFM uses Cantonese, but they still accept Mandarin

ads. In Penang, Hokkien is dominant while in Ipoh and KL, Cantonese is prevalent.

Nevertheless, throughout the country, Mandarin is accepted and understood by most Chinese.

You have won a few awards for your Chinese New Year ads from China Press £r Nanyang Siang Pau haven't you?

Our Nestle corporate ad is usually a champi­ on every year. And we've won this award for the past three years. These are ads which are voted for by the readers themselves.

What's the best ad that you've ever done?

The best I've ever done is a campaign for Lipton. Neil French said that these ads were some of the best he has seen in Malaysia.

One ad talks about the philosophy of teadrinking and the other simply says, 'TeaLeaf'. Both visuals incorporate the visual of tea-bags within the Chinese character. This was at a time that Lipton was introducing Chinese teas to the market, and because Lipton is commonly associated with Western tea, they wanted to make it very Chinese.

aDOI MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 33

Seasoning the Young

by Rodney Louis Vincent

SEAS©N

USUALLY Asian drinks target the older and more traditional consumers. SEASONS has done an about turn and decided to get a bite of the younger market.

The Asian drink brand of F&N Coca-Cola unveiled its new brand proposition called Refreshing Asia. The new platform is an attempt to distinguish the brand in the generic' environment that exists within the category of Asian canned drinks. This will result in brand loyalty and build strong relationships with customers.

"Of late, we have observed a strong sense of self-pride and confidence emerging among the new age Asians. Asia now has a distinc­ tive, unique style which is refreshing" said Ng Jui Sia, Managing Director of F&rN CocaCola Sdn Bhd. In line with SEASONS' new strategy, an intensive advertising campaign is currently running in radio, tv and print. Apart from above the line media, this concept will also be reflected in some point-of-sale materials.

The campaign will last two years and

though billings are undisclosed, the sum is said to be substantial. Jui Sia also mentioned that road shows will give the additional punch to the campaign.

In the campaign, ad agency Bozell uses the traditional, harmonious Asian way of settling disputes - the '1-2-zoom' way as the big idea for the tv commercial.

SEASONS has around 20% market share in the Asian drinks category, and is hoping to record double digit growth rates at the end of the campaign.

What will you discovet next?.,-.

DATE : 10th Jan TIME : The Party Hasn't Stopped! DESTINATION : Unknown.

SEXY women lounged around the place dressed in traditional attire from all over the world. People in glaring orange t-shirts were busy making friends with the incoming guests.

Asia's best percussionist and a zany chap called Ian Wright kept the crowds enthralled. All this as Discovery Networks kicked off their new channel - Discover Travel & Adventure.

Discovery Travel and Adventure Channel

3k aDOf MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

officially started airing in Malaysia on January 1st, offering exciting yet informative entertainment about people, journeys and countries around the world. They offer worldclass travel documentaries and global adven­ tures.

The launch also introduced a "Be a Host" contest for one of the channel's key program­ ming initiatives, Destination Week. The best

'host' will be chosen to host Malaysia Week as part of Destination Week on Discovery Travel & Adventure Channel. Interested viewers should send in a threeminute videotape of themselves talking about a destination, better still tune in to ASTRO Channel 11 and find out how. Contest details will also be aired on WOWfm, the official radio station for the contest.

gettyimages presents

1 >:;L

Jerry Goldberg comes to Kuala Lumpur!

Gerald M. Goldberg, President of The New York Festivals will illustrate the dynamic between creativity and marketing effectiveness through international award winning ads and campaigns utilising all media. He will share his opinions, insights and the knowledge he has accumulated in 23 years of organising awards competitions with the attendees with the objective of improving the winning ratio of Malaysian entrants. His talk will cover Creative vs Effectiveness and tips on winning international awards.

ADOI is the NY Festivals representative for Malaysia and Singapore. to

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PlannerProfile

Spotlight on Planning

by T.Sivananthi

Of captives, Ferraris, injections, pubs and wannabes.

MOST agencies have begun focussing on planners as being integral to advertising and marketing strategy. Planners are the guys with the bird's eye view in the agency scenario. While account management is deeply involved in building relationships with the client and creative is concentrated on improving craft, planners come from a different angle all together. They reflect the consumer's perspective and bring consumer insight to the process. As the focus shifts more and more towards making an impact, building and keeping relationships with consumers - planners are slowly moving into the spotlight. More often than not, planners are not mired in the day-to-day running of the business and that allows them to bring a fresh perspec­ tive to the table. Of course, it is a known fact that today, strategy is becoming increasingly difficult to write as markets mature and more brands enter the playing field. One has to find more subtle entry points, stick to them more consistently in order to gain a

36 3D0IMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

point of leverage. Planning also provides the sound conceptual basis - giving structure and discipline - that more and more clients are demanding from their agencies. ADOI sat down with John Woodward, Leo Burnett's Regional Plann­ ing Director of Greater China and ASEAN, and Navonil Roy, Director of Brand Planning, Leo Burnett K.L to talk about how and why the focus is shifting to planning ...

Looks like the time is up for traditional advertising thinking...

JW: The whole idea of a campaign against the target is a strange way to talk to someone whom you actually want to feel involved with you. And that I think is an example of all traditional marketing language. The new language is to recognise that we're not in control anymore, that consumers have this remote control and they can switch off or change channels when they choose. There might be 5 different brands in the same category,

delivering the same benefit and speaking the same message. So the whole idea is to create a bond that really locks them in, so that irrespective of all the other brands that provide the same benefit - they choose you.

So if you were to say that the benefit of Jay Leno was that he makes you laugh. The bond is something that's much more profound the bond is that Jay Leno and his viewers share a wicked sense of humour, share the sense of putting someone on television and making fun of them. Now that's something that can't be taken away from Jay Leno.

Regardless of whether another comedian comes along he's still Jay Leno. It's really developing that kind of depth for the brand.

And there are different types of consumers...

JW: We found was there was a marked difference in group of consumers. There are captives (who are people loyal to the brand but have no affinity), believers (who are loyal and have affinity in terms of their

PlannerProfile economic value to the brand) and wannabes.

We've got a databank right now, something that includes 500 brands, where we can demonstrate these differences.

When you talk about wannabes, captives and believers, who do you want to concentrate on or do you have different strategies for all three?

JW: It depends on your brand situation.

Each brand is made up of a different mix of consumers. At Leo Burnett we have a proprietary research tool called 'Brand Stock' which allows you to go in and look at what your user base consists of. You can look at the shape of your brand in those terms and find out what the barriers and the opportunities are. For example, Amazon has very few captives - most people seem to love Amazon, so the opportunity for them clearly isn't in trading. If you look at a brand who has a lot of captives for example, a phone company - then you need to fix some things because there are no barriers of leaving your existing phone company. It's habit and nothing else. If you had a lot of wannabes you'd look at what the barriers were, for example the barrier might be price. Ferrari has a lot of wannabes. But Ferrari isn't going to drop the price just to get some more people in.

Or if you're Gucci you're not going to drop the price but you might launch a range of fragrances that more people can buy. The barrier might be distribution. It might be you don't have the right product. It might be someone who likes the idea of Virgin as a company, but the Virgin phone plan might have all the wrong tariffs. That's a barrier you can overcome by redesigning the product. Each situation is a little bit different. But the opportunity and the ability to go in and look at these situations in a scientific way is tremendously powerful.

Then much of the advertising that is currently being done has got to be a lot more subtle, it's just not a picture with a tagline - people have to interact with the advertising almost like they interact with a real person.

JW: It's a difference between the injection theory of communication and real communication. You can't just inject messages into people, and expect it's all there and they'll just take it in. You've got to consider the response that they have to the stimulus.

How would advertisements change?

Obviously they're going to...

JW: There is no particular one answer to

this question. A lot of it depends on understanding the softer side, as you say and being more subtle. Occasionally you hear clients saying 'I don't care if they like me as long as they buy me.' For the first time really we've got statistics proving that that's not the right way to look at it. Liking and buying is more profitable that buying in itself. The whole idea of relationships is a really powerful one. The Delta Airlines case study is based on the idea of a broken relationship between Delta and its customers. All the American airlines had been making grand promises but not really delivering in terms of service. So the communications strategy was to actually make small promises and deliver on them.

It was how you tried to rebuild a broken marriage - you wouldn't just simply say 'Wonderful, I've changed. This marriage is important to me and I love you so much.'

But that's not enough in itself. If you wanted to rebuild a broken marriage, you have to let your actions speak for you as well. And that begins with making small promises and keeping them like agreeing to go out for dinner and then turning up. It's no good to be in a pub with the blokes and calling three hours later and apologising for being at work. That's the entire approach that the communication comes from and it was inspired by thinking about marriage guidance actually.

Are there any Malaysian examples of this?

NR: Petronas' campaigns falls under a similar territory. By talking about issues that the country faced - the company built a relationship and the brand evolved with the relationship. The important thing is to try and do this sort of thing in a more

consistent manner across every part of the client's business. For Sony Walkman (which carries the tagline 'You'll never walk alone') we did stuff in a LRT station and primarily that's where people are feeling lonely. It becomes very pertinent to the consumer to place the message there.

In this case you have a relationship with the user and you're finding newer ways of developing that relationship. In the good old days one would have thought 'Let's start with a tvc and a press ad.'

With these examples, you seem to be reaffirming the 80/20 rule. But people are always chasing new people to go and buy their stuff and ignoring the vital 20%.

NR: 80/20 works. Statistics that come from Harvard Business Review reveal that a 5% increase in retention can lead to 25% increase in profits. This is the same principle that people in direct marketing know - it costs 4 dollars to retain a customer, it costs 7 dollars to get one back and 11 dollars to recruit one. People tend to think that that's not true in the real world.

But it's exactly true in the real world.

Profitable growth is more likely to come from people who already has some relationship with you because you don't have to build the relationship from scratch. And it's especially true in the agency world. The most profitable and least stressful way to grow an agency is to have deeper relationships and build more believers. The hardest way to grow an agency is to pitch, pitch, pitch the entire time. It's expensive and it's hit or miss because you don't really know the people you're talking to and they don't really know you.

aDOlMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 37

Tony Hertz Gets Radio-Active!

The guru's outfit Hertz:Radio goes online I

Do a storyboard ... or a key frame, or an image of any kind, and then find the sounds - words, SFX, music - which make the picture. It works.

2

Write a one-sentence description of everyone in the commercial, including the announcer. Give them names,- flesh them out a bit.

A dialogue featuring MVOt talking to MV02 doesn't give actors anything to hang a performance on, which means it won't give the listener much either.

3

Simple is usually better. If you've got a good message, try not getting in its way,- there's something really exciting about a beautifully crafted and presented straight commercial. But if you do write a two-hander, ask yourself the next question:

4

Take your time. (I) Here's a foolproof method for determining how long a commercial should be: a. Write it. b. Read it out loud. c. Number of seconds taken for step b. equals length of commercial.

Any media type, account person or client who tells you a radio spot must be any particular length is talking rubbish.

How to 7,; write a great radio ad. 8

Write a tumper' - a line or bit of atmosphere that helps the listener separate your ad from the rubbish that's likely to precede it.

Do the same at the end.

Everything depends on the writing. Everything. These are some of the ways i go about it.

Not the Sermon on the Mount, but they work for me.

Is it really dialogue? , A monologue di­ vided into two parts isn't. Make sure that there's a relationship be­ tween the characters, and a reason for the conversation. Ask yourself, "Would a real person say this?" And don't forget the spaces between the words.

5

Well-observed real moments are the source of great writing and great advertising.

So watch people yourself and write what you see. Then you'll never have to write another Quiz Programme, Courtroom-Scene, Phone-in, Psychiatrist-and-Patient, or Film pastiche as long as you live! And the world will sound a lot better.

by Rodney Louis Vincent

i

4

How to briefa great radio ad.

6£

~-

Take your time (2). Good radio needs as much creative time as good TV and press, more if you're not used to it.

It's worth fighting for.

9

When you present your spot, act it out for the client before you show a script. Don't just read it, perform it. I began to sell more radio ads to clients once I stopped worrying about my dignity.

10

Would you make a TV spot without a director? 'Course not.

Well, the same goes for radio.

A good director's vision and experience can help even simple commercials. And the earlier you involve him (or her), the better your chance of making it special.

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HERTZ: RADIO and otherclever advertising 3 Kingly Street, London W1B 5PD Tel/Fax: 44 (0) 20??34 8123 and at 2 Greenfield Crescent, Edgbaston B15 3BE Tel/Fax: 44 (0) 12145S 3188 e-mail: Tony@hertzradio.com www.hertzradio.com

TONY Hertz is a heavyweight, brand orien­ ted CD/copywriter, who is also a multiple award winning radio specialist- Tony is a rare beast. His first radio outfit, The Radio Operators, was the UK's leading creative radio house for 13 years, winning 22 Clios, 2 Gold and 16 ILR Awards, London International, D&AD Silver and the first ever D&AD Gold for radio.

Tony hasn't been in radio all his life, after The Radio Operators he went on to be creative director in McCann-Erickson Tokyo, Brussels and Birmingham. This gave him the big picture of brands, strategy, tv, press, consumers and trade. Hertz:Radio came about because radio has always been in his blood. The guy is nuts about it!

Hertz's websites, is 'radio friendly' and

38 3D0IMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

has a unique sense of creativity. The website is simple, non-cluttered, human and more importantly, doesn't try too hard.

The website is divided into five sections.

'Hertz' - (No chest banging here, but this guy knows his goods). The site radiates confidence, especially in the 'Other Clever Advertising' and 'Not Advertising but still Clever' sections. There are some tv ads and one creative element that uses the laptop as a communications medium. Well, to find out more you know where to go. 'Radio' is definitely the heart of this site. Tony has put some of his best work here. It took me an average of 1-2 minutes to download the radio ads, so do treat yourselves. According to Tony, 'H&M' and 'Persil' are great exam­ ples of building brands on radio. The mis­

conception is that radio can't commu­ nicate colours, textures, shapes, flavours, landscapes, patterns and relationships.

The section on 'Radio' has also added some "How To's" - How to write a great radio ad; how to brief a great radio ad; how to listen to a great radio ad and how to produce a great radio ad. All this is worth 30 years of Tony's experience in the industry.

The site www.hertzradio.com makes it very clear that radio is more than a support medium. It can do a job just as good as television and print. Creativity and great execution is the key.

Tony Hertz is scheduled to give a 2-day radio workshop in KL on August 26 £r 27.

Product: Pizza Hut Production House: Passion Pictures

The Problem of Credibility in Advertising-Part II byKapil Sethi, Director of StrategicPlanning, Bates M'sia

IN my last article, I looked at the lack of brand differentiation in the advertising agency business, resulting in an all round decrease in the value of agency brands and the subsequent lack of credibility of agencies in providing brand building solutions for their clients. In this article I look at the notion of brand value from a client perspective and the importance of placing the brand at the heart of the corporation.

In the past decade we have seen that consumers want branded goods more and more and will pay more to get them, because brands engender trust, an expectation of quality and most importantly serve as an aid to carving out an individual world view for consumers using the attitude that brands represent as a surrogate for their own desired personality attributes.

By contrast, an industry that under-invests in brand development will lose customers' share of wallet. Russell Shor, in a piece on the LVMH-De Beers website says "statistics show this is already happening with diamond jewellery despite an 18% growth in the population of high net worth individuals around the world. Worldwide sales of luxury products, which are all about multiple, competing brands, increased nearly five-fold between 1980 and 2000 while diamond jewellery sales rose by half that rate. The reason why diamonds have lagged well behind the luxury sector is clear: The luxury industry spends between 6% and 10% of its sales on advertising worldwide; the watch industry spends 5%to 6% while historically only 1% to 2% has been spent on advertising diamond jewellery, although this is now changing. In addition, branded pieces â&#x20AC;˘ *M| comprise only 13% of diamond jewellery sales I while fully half of all watch sales go to prestige brands. Prestige brands dominate the â&#x20AC;˘ fragrance market with an 80% market share".

We know brands are important in con­ sumers lives as well as in corporations profit making ability. But what is less well known is the notion that in order to succeed in the new world order, everything that the corporation does needs to be structured around the brand BP* 1 and the attitude that the brand represents to consumers. As products, pricing and distribution are fast becoming commodities, companies are discovering (or not, to their m J peril) that strong brand relationships are the only way to sustain growth. This entails a serious shift in focus of the mindset of corporations from the "we have a product, let's try to sell it" to " there is an opportunity in this category for a brand that promises to make people more confident of the way they live their lives, let's exploit it". The only way to achieve this is to first and foremost invest in work that allows corporations to understand consumers at a fundamental human, social, cultural and finally individual level.

In a large part, the crisis of credibility in advertising today stems from the fact that consumers today can see through the difference between mere posturing and a genuine corporation wide, consumer insights driven brand proposition. Nike is just recovering from the cognitive dissonance created in consumers' minds between "Just do it" and the perception of the use of sweatshop labour in the manufacture of its products.

Governments in business the world over can cry themselves hoarse through advertising about their service/product and brand offering, but consumers can see through the posturing to the reality that these post offices and airlines can never back up their brand claims with the reality of their service/product offering as compared to the FedEx'es and Virgin's of the world.

In the information age, every aspect of the corporation's operation is open to public scrutiny, and only those that genuinely embrace their brand proposition in every aspect of their business, including manufacture, distribution, service, HR, financial management and leadership will in turn be embraced by consumers, and only then will the credibility of advertising in the eyes of consumers be restored.

In the final analysis, dynamic consumer insights based branding coupled with deep commitment and adherence to the elements of such branding by corporations in their entirety is the only way to creating sustainable profit growth today.

Client: KFC Holdings (M) Sdn Bhd Agency: Ogilvy & Mather Executive Creative Director: Sonal Dabra Art Director: Gavin Simpson

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Kamaruddin, Eric Yan, Jaee Tee

Cinematographer: Zainudin Mohamed Film Director: Steven Ang Producer/f AD: Bryant Low Producer: Karen De Silva Post-Production : APV

DIRECTOR REPRESENTATION and PRODUCTION SUPPORT No.210, Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur Tel: 60 3 2166 6448 Fax: 60 3 2166 6468 www.passionpictures.com.my

DifPrent Strokes:

the hidden opportunity in audience fragmentation

I'M from India and I remember a Sundaymorning in 1988 when I went out at 9 o'clock to buy a pack of toothpaste. I couldn't - all the shops were closed.

Everyone was at home watching a TV production of the great Indian epic - the Mahabharat - on the one and only TV channel available at the time. When I started working in media that Sunday became a watershed in my mind - the highest TV rating ever on Indian TV - 95%!

In most countries across the world, there was a phase when a mass medium (usuallytelevision) is exactly that reaching most of the consumers in the market. We could

ko aDOi MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

By D.Sriram, Managing Director (Singapore), Starcom WorldWide.

create one message for everybody and put it out there to work its magic.

Today, we all talk about fragmentation and how it has become incredibly difficult to achieve 70% reach - how we need to buy more stations or publications to get to that level. How the Web has taken time from TV viewing and magazine reading and made fragmentation even worse. Optimisers and fancy media buying systems have come up (even on the Web) which try and find ways of taking one message and getting it out to as many people as possible.

And that is the missed opportunity.

Why take one message and kill ourselves

trying to put it in front of everybody when consumers are clearly telling us that they are not one, homogenous group any longer? Why not create different mes­ sages, targeted at very specific sub segm­ ents of our larger audience, take into acc­ ount their particular motivations,intere­ sts and usage opportunities and enhance the effect of our communication?

What about cost - how sensible is it to produce different pieces of advertising for four sub-targets instead of one piece for one broad audience? Anybody who asks that question is still living in the world of television - where this is a very relevant question - and the answer is that it depends on the size of the opportunity and our ability to improve the response rate of consumers to the advertising.

But outside of television - which is not as selective and targeted as most other media anyway - the opportunities are huge. On radio, in magazines, even out of home, and especially on our beloved Web which combines the opportunity to communicate and the opportunity to tran­ sact.

The opportunities may not always be measurable, they may not always be justifiable with reams of research data but a little insight and common sense can lead us to them nonetheless, and a little risk taking can start teaching us which ones work and which ones don't.

Ultimately, it comes back to understan­ ding consumers - and in this case, not looking for similarities but for differences that are relevant to the brand we're think­ ing about, and then finding ways to lever­ age those differences in both the content and the medium of our communication.

What it calls for is putting the identifica­ tion of subsegments and consumer contact points right at the beginning of the process of developing communication.

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Don't-Bark Upthe Wrong Loyalty Tree

By Kurt Crocker, Creative Director Drayton Bird, Crocker £r Mano Sdn. Bhd.

THE only living things in this world that are loyal without effort are dogs. Even then, you must feed them regularly, and treat them with a measure of kindness.

Some dogs are more tolerant of neglect than others. But more often than not, if you lay down a bowl of canned mystery meat on a daily basis, they will love you like you're god.

Note to loyalty marketers: Your customers are not dogs. Laying down a regular bowl of tidbits is not nearly enough to keep customers loyal.

Most loyalty "schemes" in this market involve a card, points and reward redemp­ tion. This may be a good start for some bus­ iness categories, enough for a few, but dangerously inadequate for many. When you judge the value of any loyalty scheme, you need to take a long, hard look at your customer profile, and the long-term value of their loyalty.

Even loyal customers, the ones who choose your brand consistently, may often dabble. Why? A price promotion perhaps.

Or special offer. Many brands have a generic value. And even when there are clear brand advantages, customers don't see the totality of value on a daily basis. Brand value is engendered over a long period of time, and only then, if an effort has been made to confirm the brand's undeniable role in the lives of each and every customer.

To identify value that would appeal to your customers, you must determine what they need and want. Everyone wants to pay less and get more. But what else? What value can you add to your brand? It doesn't have to cost you money in discounts, and probably shouldn't. Discounts regularly attract the customers you already have — who would happily pay you the normal price anyway.

If you're managing a loyalty scheme for petrol, for example, you might logically assume that partnerships with driving/carrelated marketers would add value to your brand. That would certainly be a safe assumption in this market, where petrol loyalty schemes are becoming increasingly identical.

Banks might also safely assume that credit card holding customers might naturally appreciate sound financial advice

(your products) in addition to the accustomed rewards. Your assumption becomes more valid if you segment your database to identify particularly attractive spenders and payers.

But while logic and experience may help identify needs and wants, don't rely solely on assumptions. Research it by auditing your customer database. In fact, asking for someone's opinion is an effective way to strengthen loyalty. It's also an easy and relatively inexpensive task that pays off in valuable information.

Whatever you spend on loyalty should be in direct proportion to both immediate returns and the long-term value of your customers. Yes, it's important to make a sale, here and now.

It's also vitally important to encourage — and realize — future sales. When you rationalize your loyalty marketing investment you have to factor in both, or any scheme becomes financially indefensible.

Justifying your investment in loyalty, however, is far easier than maintaining a programme that is lovingly devoted to customers. So while you're keeping a watchful eye on your bottom line, make the care and nurture of customers a top priority. Serve them more than mere tidbits.

Centuiy of opportunities for Asia NEWLY-ELECTED chairman of the Asian Fede­ ration of AdvertisingAssociations (AFAA) Goutam Rakshit has labelled this a century of opportunities for Asia despite the econ­ omic downturn being experienced in most markets.

"This is an opportune time to reflect, review and take stock of the situation and we have to reinvent instruments and methods to satisfy the 21st century consumers," said Goutam, who was elected AFAA chairman at the 12th General Body meeting held in Taipei, Taiwan recently.

Goutam, who is a thrice-elected president of the Advertising Agencies Association of India, is well known for his successful benchmark approaches and campaigns

k2 3D0IMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

especially among the Asian advertising and marketing fraternity, having spent 27 years in the industry.

The Managing Director of his own agency, Advertising Avenues in Mumbai, Goutam was representing the Standing Committee of Advertising India, when he was elected AFAA chairman last week.

In outlining the future directions of the AFAA with emphasis on its primary focus of networking among member associations, Goutam said that AFAA members could work together to find solutions to help recovery of the advertising industry.

"Opportunities will be abundant when the lethargic economic market recovers and Asian consumers would shape the global

economic recovery. Asian values need to take the center-stage and we need to exercise caution and insight when treating the new consumers as they have different needs and desires," said Goutam, adding that with the rural population entering the market, there was a need to understand social marketing.

"The AFAA can help by the synergy of information among members and there should be a greater shared understanding of the communication process," he added.

The AFAA is an Asian partnership of advertising organisations representing 13 countries. It unifies all Asian associations involved in the various aspects of advertising and organises the annual AdASIA Congress.

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