Adoi Malaysia 2002 June Issue

NS MAGAZINE

ilieL- Malaysia

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June 2002 - What's hot in this issue-

THIS MONTH'S EDITORIAL IS DEDICATED TO A PERTINENT LETTER FROM A READER

Highlights More Ideas, Better Ideas Madvertising The Barrichello In Each Of Us 360 Degree Branding Can It Be Cheaper?

Advertising And Postmodernism

lit 18 18 23 32 i»2

Interactive The Quirks Of What Works

38

Direct Marketing You Do What For A Living?

28

Features/Reviews Saatchi's Slick Creative For A Sleek Car Tackling Incest 2002 D&AD Winners

21#.

26 35

Exclusive Interviews Sonal Sharpens His Pencil Picking the Brains of Tham Khai Meng, Regional ECD, O&M ADOI Campaign Showcase: FCB Does Gas Malaysia With A Flair Clay-Magic By JWT Malcolm Auld Tears Apart The Ad Business Hisham is young, hot and happening Grey gets a haul at the Advertising effectiveness awards

8 12 20 22 30 36

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Notes From The Editor

§&r V •!

REGIONAL PUBLISHER: EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: DESIGNER: OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHER: PRINTER: COLOR SEPARATOR: DISTRIBUTION: HOUSE FONTS FF EUREKA & FF FAGO CONDENSED:

Harmandar Singh aka Ham T. Sivananthi Eric Chun Jen SiowI Jen Studio Far East Digital Prints Far East Offset & Engraving Efficient Lettershop & Data Print alt.TYPE. 32 Pekin Street, #03-01 Far East Square, Singapore 048762.

^3 Audit Bureau of Circulations

© All rights reserved by Sledgehammer Communications (M) Sdn. Bhd. No part of this magazine may be reproduced m any form without prior permission in writing from the "Vhil ' ' * ' "1 r any consequences ot reliance ol information m this publication. The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of the pub­ lisher or editor. Advertisements are the sole responsibility of the advertisers.

ADOI magazine is published every month by Sledgehammer Communications (M) Sdn Bhd

22B, Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad i,Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, 60000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Tel: +603 7726 2588 Fax: +603 7726 2598,7722 5712

Dear Editor, Over the last few weeks, a controversy has been building up over a case of scam ads which I believe deserves the attention of ADOI readers and the advertising industry.

Apparently, the 4AS Council has ruled that a certain international agency should return the six Kancil awards (four bronzes and two merits) it won last year for a public service poster campaign, which was never commissioned or used by the client. Given that this matter came to light in December, it's remarkable that it has taken the 4AS Council so long to come to this conclusion. The agency has so far resisted returning the awards, denying any impropriety, even though it has been more than two weeks since the 4AS Council asked for their return, and amazingly, the 4AS Council is still trying to talk them into complying.

So, what's happening here? The situation smacks of an organization that's embarrassed, at odds with itself and lacking the moral will to do what's right. I think it would be fair to say that, but for the compelling evidence and the fact that the client has threatened to go to the press, this case would never have progressed this far. Some industry notables I know are irate but they don't want to be too irate lest it be pointed out that they have themselves passed off scam ads as bona fide.

Others click their tongues in sympathy because they feel that this one agency had the bad luck to get caught while others have been getting away with it for years.

But there must be no cover-up. In recent years, the 4AS Council has made con­ certed efforts to be more professional and raise its creative standards. But hype and self-promotional blather is not enough. Put to the test, we must act to prove we are what we say we are. Certainly, when we have a situation where an allegation of willful misconduct (fraud, for those of us who take a more serious view of the situ­ ation) has been investigated and proven to be valid, certain things must happen, and happen fast: i) The case must be be made public via the press (this is only reasonable, since the agency went on a media blitz to announce their victory), with a statement from the President from the 4AS, so that all can see that the 4AS Council is not afraid to uphold its standards and discipline its member agencies. ii) A press statement tantamount to an apology should be issued by the MD and the Executive Creative Director of the offending agency, following an internal enquiry into why the creation and submission of scam ads were sanctioned. iii) And yes, apart from being barred from entering the Kancils for at least one year (my suggestion), the agency should return the awards to the 4AS Council.

Someone I spoke to on the inside of the investigation claims that the 4AS Council is treading very carefully out of deference to the agency, as the Council's priority is to protect its members. I'd have thought a higher priority of the 4AS Council would be to uphold its professional standards of integrity and creative excellence. We are not a bunch of freemasons, for heaven's sake. And certainly, the agency must have known that it was forfeiting any consideration from the 4AS Council if it knowingly submitted the scam ads.

So far, from what I've heard, the 4AS Council is persisting with its efforts to get the agency to return the awards, failing which it will issue a statement to the press.

I believe the 4AS Council should go to the press anyway, regardless of the outcome.

And I hope I'm not alone in saying that merely withdrawing the awards is too light a measure to set a deterrent for those who continue to think scam ads are accept­ able and worth taking risks for. We should also put in place harsher penalties for perpetrators of scam ads. We need to check the rot when we find it, or else it will worsen. Kancil Awards won't be worth the paper they are printed on, and 4AS Council's reputation will count for even less.

Lilian Tan Managing Partner, Cricket Communications Sdn Bhd EDITOR'S NOTE: Thank you for the points you have raised in your recent communica­ tion to ADOI, with regards to the 4AS Council's decision to retract a number of awards won at the 2000/2001 Kancil Awards from a member agency of the 4AS. Unfortunately, ADOI cannot comment on this matter because we were forewarned by the4AS Council sometime back in writing, not to publish any of their proceedings without their offi­ cial sanction. We shall have to wait for the 4AS Council to issue an official release before we can publish the facts surrounding this matter to the greater public. However, we have managed to glean some pertinent facts regarding this situation from some of our sources within the industry: The agency concerned is a member agency of the 4AS. The agency is not represented on the 4AS Council.

This matter has been under investigation over the past few months ever since the initial contact from the public service client to the 4AS Council.

Both the 4AS Council as well as the member agency have conducted their own investigations into the matter.

The main issue to be resolved was whether the public service client did in fact put up the materials for public viewing.

The awards were indeed returned within the date specified by the 4AS Council.

Now, that is as far as we can ascertain through the industrygrapevine. We shall cer­ tainly keep all of you informed. Stay tuned.

aDOl MARKETINGC0MMUN1CATI0NS 3

When's the last time anyone "...in addition to oozing style, the iMac offers heady performance as well...with both looks and power on its side, Windows diehards will surely want to take a long, envious look."

- John Lui, CNETAsia

"One of these famous words: "Looks like a butterfly, but stings like a bee" fits this new iMac to a tee. Apple has again demonstrated that computers don't have to be ugly boxes."

-David Cheng, Channel News Asia

".. .the new iMac proves a sequel can be better than the original."

-Matthew Fordahl, The Associated Press

"Apple has yet again provided a Macintosh polish and elegance at prices the Windows world can't match."

-David Pogue, The New York Times

TM and Š2002 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information, visit www.asia.apple.com.

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felt this way about a PC? " When you're actually working on the new iMac, with the sceen lowered so it sits between your face and the base, it's a thing of pure beauty. You feel as if you're typing onto a gorgeous palette that's floating in the air."

-Walter Mossberg, The Wall Street Journal

" It's the kind of thing you'd expect to see in an Architectural Digest photo shoot of Captain Kirk's bed table."

-Steven Levy, Newsweek

" Computer users of the world unite: You have nothing to lose but your eyestrain and stiff necks."

-Stephen Wildstrom, Business Week

" Yes, I love it, it's just too wonderful..."

-David Gelernter, The New York Times

P, *

* •*

The new iMac.

6 Men at Work...

The New York Festivals 2002 Winners List Print Advertising D' Arcy Malaysia

"The D'arcy Creative Forum" Self Promotion

Silver WorldMedal

Dentsu Young £r Rubicam

"Different Journeys" Dunlop Tyres

Bronze WorldMedal

Batey Ads Malaysia

"Apple Cinnamon Boat" Fisherman's Friend

Finalist Certificate

Bozell Worldwide "Graph" Sdn. Bhd. The Edge

Finalist Certificate

Dentsu YoungEr Rubicam

Finalist Certificate

"Bounce" Nutrigen

The New York Festivals 2002 Winners List Radio Programming & Advertising ONE Saturday afternoon, May 4 to be precise, 6 men were hard at work figuring out the creative work from the country. Yes, it was time again for the New York Festivals' Print & Radio 2002 prelimi­ nary judging session. Held at the beautiful, brand new premises of Passion Pictures on Jalan Ampang. Organised by ADOI magazine this

Batey Ads Malaysia

"Federal Battery" Federal Batteries Manufacturing

AMP Radio Networks

"Mosquito"

Bronze WorldMedal

Finalist Certificate

year's panel consisted of from left to right top: Hisham Shahuddin (Publicis), David Sin (Lowe Worldwide), Harold Monfils (Boo Films).

Left to right bottom: Felix Chiam (Brand Energy), Peter Wong (Walk

Bozell Worldwide "Valentine's Smoke Signal" Sdn. Bhd. Celcom SMS Services

Finalist Certificate

On Water) and Kins Lee (D'Arcy).

Recent Accounts Won and Lost AGENCY

EST. BILLINGS

Leo Burnett KL

ACCOUNTS WON Payment Multi Purpose Card (M'sian Electronic Payment System)

US$ 1.5 million Grey Worldwide Melbourne

Clairol (Australia, NZ £r ASEAN)

|

Leo Burnett / M£rT Vietnam

;

J Walter Thompson

Commerce International Merchant Bankers

Impiric Singapore

ABC Stout &• Anchor Beer (Cambodia Breweries)

-

Standard Chartered (Global)

-

Cisco Systems (regional)

Upcoming Events 16 to 22 June The 49th Cannes International Advertising Festival.

Visit www.canneslions.com 27 to 28 June Marketing World Asia-Pacific 2002 Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel.

FMI: (65) 226 3039 or mail kenneth@inmeet.com 26 to 27 July ntvy Creative Workshop with Tham Khai Meng £r Sonal Dabral at Eastin Hotel. Organised by Adoi.

30 July to 1 August DM Asia at Suntec Singapore.

E-mail phila.tan@dmasia.net 23 August 2A's Ad Balle. FMI: Macomm 03- 7660 8535

Qi 2001 Total Adspend Asia Pacific COUNTRY

2002 Q!

China South Korea Hong Kong Australia Thailand Philippines Indonesia Singapore Malaysia

3,262,895 1,168,250

New Zealand Period: Jan to Mar 2002

936,959 745.305 304,067

7 September The Night Of The Ad Eaters Shah Alam Indoor Stadium

32% 17% 8%

17 to 22 September IABC World Congress. FMI: Macomm 03- 7660 8535

3% 8%

26 September Direct Marketing Awards.

273-357 221,263 202,826

34%

194,425

7%

173.413

7%

Source: Nielsen Media Research

6 aDOI MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

YOY% change

6 September MVA (Malaysian Video Awards)

-3% 8%

22 to 23 October Outside the Box Festival.

FMI: Macomm 03- 7660 8535 25 October Kancil Awards. FMI: Macomm 03- 7660 8535

Finished Artwork

Heincken It could only be Heineken

Cov( Story

Sonal Dabral is someone to be cautious of. For beneath his casual smile and chirpy exterior lies a creative titan. No joke, considering he brought home Malaysia's very first Gold Pencil from the recent One Show. But the path to glory doesn't start at the top. With all of life's colourful characters, there's always an intriguing tale to be told, Sonal Dabral began his career as an underpaid visualiser i n^el ^i^( ut^heoon I ised ^that^ t h e

suggestion of Neilwench, Sonal came to KL as ECD of O&M. Once agaffl, he proved his creative savvy.

O&M Malaysia started to make a name for itsellin the international award arena. Last year, his ad for the Indian Cancer Patients Aid Association was awarded 'Best of the Best' at the Asian Advertising Awards. Just recently, Sonars role as ECD was widened to MD. Now hflraddles bot||P>, carrying the responsibility of reinforcing creative thinking across all disciplines. Whilst al^ ensuring that business and pleasure, do actually mix.

I ICT

"We've got a job to doTTNte can't do it in effective manner possible, we should give it 8

aDOl MARKETING

CoverStory

How to Win a old Pencil You've led a very interesting life - do share some little known anecdotes about yourself...

I've led a pretty restless life. Although I started off doing graphic design, acting was something that really fascinated me. The notion of assuming the role of different people was very compelling. Afterall, act­ ing forces you to understand how people behave. Only by putting your­ self in someone else's shoes can you then know how to approach them.

Same rules apply in advertising. I guess that's why after studying graphic design I chose advertising as a career. Believe it or not, Shahrukh Khan and I launched our acting careers together in 1989 (I still get discounts at mamk stalls for that). I guess my experiences on stage and in front of the camera still come in handy especially when I'm asking a client for a deadline extension. Believe you me, in these tough times when everything is wanted yesterday, you've got to be a thespian to do it! While continuing to be in advertising, I was also a VJ on a few television shows. I even scripted a Bollywood feature film that is now in production. A Jack of all trades ...

How did you start off in the business?

I grew up in Agra - a small city in India. After graduating from the National Institute of Design in Film, Photography and Graphic Design, I joined Lintas in Delhi as a visualiser. I stayed there for 5 years before Ogilvy Mumbai beckoned. At that time, the creative reputation of Ogilvy in India was next to nothing. I was informed that I was handpicked to revive the creative reputation of Ogilvy Mumbai. With a part­ ner and leader like Piyush Pandey (who was CD then), O&M became the Noi creative agency in India in 1995 and to top it all, we got our very first finalist at Cannes. After that, nothing could stop us and Ogilvy was riding high in India - garnering major international and national advertising awards like Clios, Cannes, London International Advertis­ ing Awards, AdFest and Media - we were everywhere! To date, it con­ tinues to set the standard.

And now you had a brilliant run at the recent One Show. How does it feel?

Well, my brain is still jet lagged from all that flying and my cheeks are still sore from all that smiling. On a serious note, it was a fantastic experience receiving Malaysia's first One Show Gold in New York. We had the opportunity to prove our creative chutzpah to the world.It confirm-ed my long held belief that we can do it - Malaysia can do it.

What does the winning work look like? Who was it done for?

The work was executed for Mattel- a poster campaign for Matchbox.

Although visually, each poster was very different, the central theme held it all together. The big idea is all about re-interpreting our world in accordance to these little toy vehicles. Hence, one concept featured a worm as road kill. Another had a police car, hidden behind a picture

the most creative and up and ... join a bank!" aDOl MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 9

CoverStory

L-R (top): Case Deenadayalan, Gavin Simpson, Sonal, Lydia Lim, Ngow Fei Fei, James Wong (bottom): Eddie Azadi, Brian Capel and Paul Lim

frame, waiting for the next traffic offender.

And finally, a street sign that reads '0.05 km/h'!

Einstein said "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler". I love that quote. All the ideas in this campaign are very simple but we didn't make them sim­ pler! We took great care in crafting each of these ideas. That's because these ideas were meant to jump up and slap you in the face and you can't really jump and slap well unless the crafting of the jump and the slap is of the highest order. Bang!!!. It was cheeky.

Fun. And above all, very true to what Matchbox is all about.

Which amongst these were the ideas most dif­ ficult to sell to the client? And how did you manage to do just that?

In truth, none of the concepts proved par­ ticularly difficult for the client to appreciate.

The client realised that these concepts, although very different from the usual stuff, could still complement their communication strategy. After all, why go for run-of-the-mill when the proposed direction would be infi­ nitely more impactful? We have a great client in Mattel. They trusted us and trusted our belief in the work and said yes. Mattel has always encouraged great ideas. That explains why they've done such great work for their brands like Pictionary and Scrabble.

Most people believe that work that wins awards and work that is effective are poles apart. Which of these works created mileage

10 aDOl

MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

for the brands and how?

I keep hearing this logic and I find it very superficial and reactive. Our first job as adver­ tising people is simply put, to sell our clients' products. Now the most effective and efficient way to sell in today's highly media saturated environment is to be fresh and original in the way we sell. When the award juries see this fresh and original way of thinking they reward it. Simple. So if some people believe that award-winning work and work that sells are two different things then they are ,in effect, saying that fresh and innovative think­ ing and clutter breaking ideas do not sell.

Doesn't that sound like a joke? Just look at the work done internationally for Nike, Volkswagen and Levi's. Fantastic stuff. Sold the product, impacted the consumers and picked up the metal.

In fact, day in and day out we live by David Ogilvy's belief that we should "Encourage innovation. Change is our lifeblood, stagnation our death knell."

We've got a job to do. If we can't do it in the most creative and effective manner possible, we should give it up and join a...bank!! Not that I have anything against bankers, but you get the plot. I feel we gave the Mattel posters our very best. Unfortunately, it's still too pre­ mature to gauge the effect the campaign has made on sales.

Who was the team that made it happen for your agency this year?

The brief for this campaign was pretty

Sonal and his team receiving their Gold Pencil

interesting so we decided to open it up to more than one team. [And look how well it worked!!!] After some major brain-storming, we had all these great ideas on the table. The team members were Gavin Simpson £r Paul Lim, Brian Capel, Case Deenadayalan £r Eddie Azadi and Ngow FeiFei. Lydia Lim and James Wong also contributed to the whole process.

Overall a fantastic team effort. I feel proud to be working with such a creative and passion­ ate bunch of people.

Is there a formula for success at international advertising competitions?

Yeah! Do great worlc!!!Be curious, passion­ ate and have conviction in your beliefs. Don't ever tell yourself that your idea is too bizarre to see the light of day. I think it was Einstein again who said..."If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it." And at the end of it all when you want to jump and slap at the same time gather a lot of momen­ tum, craft your slap well and strike hard.

(Sonal Dabral will be conducting a Creative Workshop at Eastin Hotel on July 26-27. The workshop is spon­ sored by ntvy and organised by ADOI).

Designing a layout so that every element in the ad is in balance and it communicates the idea in the strongest possible way:

2 hrs 10 mins Provocative statement to help communicate the benefit more clearly:

2 hrs 25 mins

The life expectancy of the press ad is about three seconds.

Debating whether the headline should be upper-case or lower-case:

30 sees

Time taken to select typeface, consult four art directors for their opinions and finally going with a serif face because of its legibility:

Selecting black text against a white back­ ground plus a white border to frame the headline so that the message is clearly visible at a glance:

2hrs 20 mins

55 mins

Nitpicking on the leading and kerning by the smallest fractions:

2hrs 25 mins

Selecting the appropriate typeface size that enhances the headline without cluttering the layout:

lhr 5 mins

Generating the idea from the brief given:

3hrs 50 mins

As most people hate to read, time taken to craft the copy to keep it short, simple and sweet:

Changing the logo's size until all parties concerned were in agreement (especially the client - after all, he's paying for the ad):

lhr 45 mins

45 mins

Master the art of crafting ads. Sign up for the NTV7 Creative Workshop this July 26 and 27. Hosted by two of the finer craftsmen in the advertising business - Tham Khai Meng (Regional Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific) and Sonal Dabral (Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather Malaysia). For full details, please call the organisers, ADOI at 03-77262588.

CreativeCharacter

Creativity pays at the cash till.Creat SPEARHEADING the creative work in the region, Tham Khai Meng, the Regional Creative Director of O&M Asia Pacific, is known for being demanding and relentless in his pursuit of excellence. In his capacity he is responsible for the cre­ ative output of O&M agencies around this region. The net­ work has had a blazing two years - ranking as the best in their individual countries. ADOI picks the brains of this cre­ ative hotshot to find out what makes him tick as he shares his thoughts on the industry and more importantly the highly acclaimed (and highly awarded) work that is being produced at O&M around Asia.

Is it your Anglophile upbringing or your Western training which has given you some advantages in this role as Regional Creative Director, Asia Pacific?

My Anglophile upbringing? Well, that's only accurate insofar as my Western education - and my first foray into advertising is con­ cerned. My background has given me an edge, no question of that. I studied Film at Central, now they've merged with St Martin's. I topped my year there with a first-class honours degree and won a scholarship from the UK to pursue my MA at the Royal College of Art. That was an honour as I met many people who influenced me. I had a great time there. I remember my first term at the Royal, I was asked by Bob Gill, one of my profs, to sit on the College's ) "think

Mhes'w

tank on creativity for the future of business".

I said, "What the hell's that?" Anyway, it became apparent to me that you could not have got a more diverse group of people than that, and we had multiple points of view. We delved deep into many issues. Now, looking back, that diverse heterogeniety was our strength, and that's why the Royal College is able to churn out the top creative thinkers of tomorrow, year after year. I apply that when I hire all the talent in this region. Diverse tal­ ent, diverse background. Consi-der Steve Job's initial group of Apple inventors, they were all completely div-erse, they had soul, they had passion and they had instinct, there's plenty of that at Apple. It's in their double-helix DNA.

What attracted you to Ogilvy 19 months ago?

The immense opportunity that it presented - to raise the standard of the creative product across 23 offices. I saw a huge opportunity in taking Ogilvy right to the top of the creative ladder in the region - it's not been done before and it was a huge canvas to work on. I found that very attractive. The high-growth and sta­ bility of Ogilvy with Miles Young at the helm and his support for creativity were also big plus factors. And with Neil French doing his world­ wide gig meant that I'll get close support. Neil and Miles both had confidence in me.

What is your role?

A large part of my job is spent being the creative conscience of the agency.

Working with Miles as my partner, I set out on my task 19 months ago, and

that was to first, have a strong pervasive cre­ ative presence in Asia Pacific, everyone who works for Ogilvy has to realise that creativity matters. Regardless. Firstly, it is essential that each and every Creative Director and Country Head work as a team.

By definition, that makes them jointly responsible for the creative product that comes out of their offices. That's the second point.

It is essential that everyone understands this, and that clients understand this, I cannot stress this enough: That creativity pays at the cash till. Creativity is the engine that drives sales. Look at all the big global brands that are built on brilliant creative : FCUK, Budweiser, Volkswagen, Guinness, Virgin, Nike...

These brands are all highly awarded for their creativity and then became immensely profitleveraged. They have high creative-profit pari­ ty. That is brand building at its best. As Standford's Paul Romer said, the brand with the tastiest recipe will win. If you fail, that's your last supper. Because we don't care about where products are made in anymore, now meaning­ less, and it's all about made by whom, Brands are on a wartime footing. Brands have to com­ pete on creativity to stand out.

What must Ogilvy look out for?

In Hanoi in October 2000 at the Ogilvy Advertising Conference, I asked each agency head and MD to bring some samples of what they considered to be great work and then some idea of who they thought were biting their creative heels. The spirit behind that exercise was to ask these questions.

CreativeCharacter

ivity is the engine that drives sales!

Stretching the idea of stickiness - the progress of the Fevicol ads from Ogilvy India and up to the one on the extreme right - which reaped awards!

1) Where does Ogilvy stand in your market?

2) And who are they?

It would be interesting to ask 20 months later to date: The people who bit at your heels, how far behind are they now? You see, certain markets have come and elbowed their nearest rival out of the way. Consider, Bangkok, num­ ber two, now number one, Manila, number two, now one. Hong Kong is coming up fast again as number one in their market. India is by far number one in their market. The point I'm making is this: the greatest danger is com­ placency and one way to avoid it is to continu­ ally take stock. Mario Andretti said: "if things seem under control, you're just not going fast enough." It's not forge ahead through simply trying harder. We also need to develop and maintain an ever-deeper gene pool.

How do you work with the local CD's? Do they welcome your presence?

I bite at their creative heels a lot. It is important to show people that you care about good work, about building brands, about origi­ nal thinking. That's the job of a leader. I chal­ lenge others and myself to reach what we think was not possible, that we can go beyond our boundaries. Neil French once told the Ogilvy boys in India, "If you think I'm tough, wait till you meet Khai. You don't want to mess with that man". And it's true, I give them a hard time. I drive everyone hard and I drive myself even harder. Anyone who is not loyal to the cre­ ative product should not be with us, frankly.

That's how I look at it. It'll be a waste of space.

I believe ideas are the lifeblood of your

ads. The most vital part. The difference, in fact, between making ads and making wallpaper, or a music video. When I'm asked what ideas are, in a communication context, I'd say ideas are Trojan Horses. To understand what I mean, consider the enormity of the task that faces you. It's not easy. First, you have to stop some­ one, overcome his hostility, then deliver a mes­ sage that makes him feel good about your prod­ uct. He has to remember it long enough to act on it. And on a good day you have about 3 sec­ onds to do all of this - if that's a press ad. 15 - 30 seconds for tv. That's why you need a great idea - some imaginative vehicle that helps you com­ press and sugar-coat your message into what is little more than a hieroglyphic. A Trojan Horse, in fact, to smuggle your advertising message inside the reader's, or the viewer's defences. In fact, I've just written a book that deals with all these issues.

Are you hired to help Ogilvy win more awards?

Let's get one thing straight, awards are a byproduct of getting incisive communication.

A very welcome byproduct but not one that I allow people to become distracted by. Push for creative standards and you'll get awards. Not the other way round. The real challenge is to build global brands in places like China. Onesize-fits-all-international-templates don't work anymore. What turns someone on in Berlin may have the same effect in Boston, or Birmingham, but not in Beijing. For example, in China, the pace of growth alone fuels more than a million handphone sales a month every month. That's the power they have. Consumer

rules. And they are demanding and are oversupplied with lots of choices, of course there's no loyalty. It's a high-stakes winner takes all game. Motorola is huge in China, that's one of our largest clients there.

What is the main thing that would get a cre­ ative director fired from an Ogilvy Asia Pacific agency as opposed to any other agency?

For fear of not trying, for not taking risks.

Take a look around you: Post-it notes, fax machines, Fedex, CNN, the World Wide Web in 1995... What do they all have in common?

Nothing, except that they were all pretty daft ideas once. Until some mad crazy fool had the courage to champion them, parent them. Or, closer home, take a look at our best work. 19 months into my job and I'm encouraged to see that we are taking more and more risks. We've picked up new businesses because of it. Like our worldwide win for Motorola, which I worked on with the Beijing, Taipei and New York team.

We're also being rewarded for it! But it's getting tougher out there. To stay ahead we need to be the ones who introduce fresh ideas. We need to stick our necks way out. To be in fact, those mad crazy fools. (Tham Khai Meng will be starring in the creative workshop with Malaysia's first Gold Pencil winner -Sonal Dabral on July 26-27 at Eastin Hotel. The workshop is sponsored by ntvy and organised by ADOI.)

aDrenaune 3D0I MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS13

SuitSpecial

More ideas, better ideas.

by Gary Titterton, Regional Director, D'Arcy Asia Pacific

THOMAS EDISON said that to invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. Most of us despair that all too often all we have is the junk.

We look at white sheets of paper, computer screens or empty and intimidating white boards and wonder when the muse will call to solve our problems.

Creating great ideas is all about taking intel­ lectual risks. Being bold comes from having a degree of self-confidence and the support of col­ leagues and clients to smooth the pathway to enlightenment and surprise; to inspire with tho­ ught and action. Max DuPree who created the Herman Miller chair, said that our spirits are big­ ger than the tasks we are asked to perform.

Inspired management creates an environ­ ment where risk is encouraged and where people have, as my friend Marcio Moreira would say, ..a license to dare."

Managers of great Ad Agencies work hard to create the conditions in which great ideas can be

able contributions to the field of the arts, enter­ tainment, business, and physics. The common factor in these respective company teams was that each had a visionary leader, a strong orga­ nizer who worked as a liaison between the visionary and the creative minds. These teams came from different cultures and specialist back­ grounds. This enhanced their ability to see things from different perspectives and allowed the creative process to investigate, understand, distill, and then inspire.

In these organizations inquisitiveness was a key factor, as was competitiveness linked to teamwork. The organizations that were selected were as diverse as Disney in its formative years, and the Los Alamos project on nuclear physics.

Each organization set itself big stretch goals.

They did this because few Companies exceed their aspirations. They convinced their people through visionary leadership, driven by a pas­ sionate leader, that unreasonablegoals are achie­ vable. They encouraged their people to express themselves and as DuPree would have said, grow their roles to match their spirits.

overcome through physical and intellectual experience.

Ideas are integrated patterns that do not derive from information but experience. Surely it is better for ideas people to observe first hand the activities of those people they are trying to connect with than to sit and listen to a researcher for two hours analyzing the opinions, habits and behaviour of the target audience.

Often those giving the research presentation have not done the research in the first place.

Indexation of opinions takes place and the authentic observation is lost. Much like a copy, of a copy, of a copy.

It is my conviction that ideas are best formed by connecting directly with people and observing their diversity rather than their commonality.

Insights are created that way. As Einstein observ­ ed, "Problems cannot be solved by thinking with­ in the framework in which the problem was cre­ ated That's why at D'Arcy we have created REVEAL. It is a tool that enables ideas to be cre­ ated from stimulus that is derived from experi­ encing and observing behaviour, then putting that behaviour into patterns that connect.

REVEAL looks at the way people behave out­ side the sterile glass bowl of group research.

In everyday life, people behave in unpre-

...new business concepts can be given strategies that build robust Brand equities...

conceived. They also recognize that everyone in that Agency needs to be "Creative" to make the usual, unusual, the unusual, usual. Creativity in the broadest sense is about analysis. Artists, Musi­ cians, Writers are similar to good Businessmen: What they do is look at what exists in their sub­ ject, break it down into its constituent parts and then reconstruct the thing to make it more meaningful.

Everyone involved in the creative process is attempting to create a sharp shift in perception, making more of what at first appears to be pre­ sent. If management creates this renaissance environment it is more likely to spawn vibrant ideas that connect in a more meaningful way with consumers. From this, new business con­ cepts can be given strategies that build robust Brand equities and in so doing reinvent compa­ nies and Brands.

The success of the Saturn Brand in the US is a case in point. Prior to its launch many US motorists were tired of poor reliability in their cars and a lack of understanding of customer needs pre and post sales. The structural changes Saturn brought to bear on the category created an environment that enabled the campaign line, " A different kind of Company. A different kind of car." to have relevance and sustainability. This positioning placed Saturn firmly on the road to success.

Warren Bennis in his modestly titled book, "Organizing Genius" looked at a number of orga­ nizations that had made surprising and remark-

11* aDOl MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

As ideas companies, Advertising Agencies are in the business of producing concepts that com­ municate across borders and across time. William Cheever D'Arcy the founder of D'Arcy said, "Advertising is the power of an idea multiplied."

A big idea has relevance and elasticity. Above all a big idea crosses over prejudice to entertain, inform, inspire, and convince.

Unfortunately advertising suffers from the execution malady. David Ogilvy said that there are few things more destructive than an unsound idea persuasively expressed. To avoid this we at D'Arcy have created the process and discipline of what we call The Naked Idea. This ensures that we have an idea not just an execu­ tion. More importantly it enables the Agency and Client team to see the relevance of the thought and not just the elegance of it. It also ensures that the pattern of thought does con­ nect, to bring a sharp shift in perception to all involved in the process of building robust brand architectures.

Ogilvy also said that logic and over analysis can immobilize and sterilize an idea: "It is like love, the more you analyze it, the faster it disap­ pears." In 1963 Robert Pliskin conveyed to a con­ vention of packaging designers that "Market research can establish beyond the shadow of a doubt that the egg is a sad and sorry product and that it obviously will not continue to sell.

Because after all, eggs won't stand up by them­ selves, they roll too easily, are too easily broken, require special packaging, look alike, are diffi­ cult to open, and won't stack on a shelf." Clearly we should have more confidence in consumers.

They may have prejudices but those views can be

dictable ways. What goes on in their heads may be far from what they are prepared to divulge to some strangers gathered round a table with a microphone and someone taking notes behind a two-way mirror. Even if they believed what they said at that moment, a few days, hours, even minutes later, their views may well have chang­ ed through some event or stimulus they have been exposed to.

In understanding this we are starting an interesting journey of discovery that enables us to walk in the shoes of our consumers and help to create a bridge over ignorance and confusion.

Conventional research can easily drive a wedge between the consumer and the brand by helping to create advertising that panders to the lowest common denominator.

Great ideas divide opinion and in doing so, stretch understanding and acceptance. Great ideas anticipate they don't follow. Great ideas don't patronize they enlarge and enlighten.

Great Ideas connect by reflecting a true under­ standing of people and their deeper needs. By embarking on this process of revealing the depth of our consumers' thoughts and motivations we create a dialogue and make them co-authors of our communication. Perhaps, more meaningful­ ly, we make them co-creators of brands.

The whole process of idea generation is a journey of discovery. Albert Nagyrapolt an emi­ nent physicist once observed that discovery con­ sists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.

What a wonderful business we are in when we are empowered to do that.

HotHappening

A celebration of brands!

L-R"Lim Swee Hoar (GMMarketing), Lim Swee Keat (Group GM) and Abdul Rahman Nasri Soo of Jasmine Rice.

L-R: Syed Hussain Mohamed (Managing Director), Pascal Bellemans (President, Region Asia), Dato' Syed Ibrahim (Chairman) and Rich Horton (Regional Manager) of Jaguar.

L-R: Jacynta Au-Yong (Positive Tone) with Augustine Tan (Marketing Director), Celeste Lee, Kelvin Wong (GM) of LVMH (Watch £r Jewellery).

ON 9th May, marketers gathered together at the Mandarin Oriental Ballroom to celebrate successful brands in this country. Nine Superbrands were recognised in different cat­ egories. In 'Food & Beverage', Maggi was the undisputed winner, in 'Retail, Health & Beauty' - Panadol; in 'Motoring' - Proton; 'Holidays £r Travel' - Malaysia Airlines; 'Media' - New Straits Times; 'Financial Products' MasterCard and in 'Business Services' - FedEx.

The coveted 'Best Malaysian Brand' award went to Petronas while the 'Best Brand Over­ all' was garnered by Coca-Cola. Afterall these brands are part and parcel of everyday Malaysian life.

Amongst the panel of distinguished judges who selected the winning brands were Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing, Dato' Shazalli Ramly (ntvy), John Burbidge (Grey), Jeniffer Chan (BBDO) and Matthew Gorrick (McCann). More than 80

brand stories were compiled and published in 'Superbrands - An insight into more than 80 of Malaysia's Superbrands'. The book was launch­ ed the same afternoon. It was heartening to recognise corporations and clients who had invested considerably in brand-building. It was also a tribute to brilliant marketing which is essential to create a resilient brand in the marketplace. Perhaps this is a harbin­ ger of better things to come for the industry!

The Buzz About E-Mail Marketing Rene E. Menezes, Director, Interactive Communications

Jordan Khoo, Chief Marketing Officer of Netinfinium.com

16 aDOl MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

FOR far too long, E-Mail Marketing has been wrongly connected (and sometimes limited) to spamming. Jordan Khoo, Chief Marketing Offi­ cer of Netinfinium.com explains that e-mail that first and foremost, customers should be given the option of receiving e-mail messages and how often they want to receive. Even then on each e-mail the customer should be given the option of unsubscribing to the mail list. Amongst Jordan's clients who have used e-mail to market their goods is Royal Selangor. Wendy Heah, ECommerce Executive at Royal Selangor tells how Royal Selangor used the tool to promote their recent Lord of The Rings collection. Royal Selan­ gor attracts about 150,000 to 300,000 visitors a year to their website and has been voted by CIO Magazine as one of the top 5 e-commerce sites in Asia. Through the data collected via their web­ site, they sent out an e-mail directing people to visit the Lord of the Rings microsite. They gath­ ered a database of 15,000 new people through referrals. December, when the e-mail promotion was carried out, was a record month for the Royal Selangor webiste. Despite all the skepti­ cism surrounding e-commerce Wendy notes that "E-commerce accounts for 5% of the business but

the amount doubled from the previous year.

Next year, it is expected to double again." In the case of Royal Selangor they are looking to revamp their website to include life-style ele­ ments like home decoration. For this company, e-mail marketing has proved to be a good promo­ tional medium to consider to help create an inte­ grated marketing campaign. Another agency which has been using e-mail marketing to good effect has been Grey Direct Interactive. Rene Menezes, Interactive Communications Director at GDI explains that the agency still sees e-mail as a "complimentary medium which works very effec­ tively especially when you send the e-mail before the pack." According to him, e-mails record a 60% open rate and a click through rate of 13% com­ pared to banner ads which record a 0.5% click through rate. GDI has used e-mail for the Kent Clubbers and in the past year the agency would have sent around 45 e-mails to the members. For the Kent, programme email is not a promotional tool. Instead the catch is about privilege of infor­ mation. "E-Mail marketing cannot replace direct marketing it's better to look at it from an inte­ grated marketing approach and see how every­ thing fits in well" said Rene.

Use your space creatively. Tailor-made ad packages from TIME add stopping power to your advertising, especially when developed as part of an AOL Time Warner campaign. Singapore Airlines, for example, used a microsite featuring an online contest, PDA downloads and customized advertorials to promote a new route to Chicago. We believe that providing added value for our clients is one of the reasons why we remain number one in the marketplace.* Get a little closer to your TIME representative today. *CMR International 2001

Inside Japaifs Idol-Making Machinery

http://mediakit.timeasia,com

YESTERDAY an art direc­ tor in one of the agencies I freelance for, madden­ ed beyond en­ durance by management meddling in a layout he was working on, finally, as he himself later put it, "spat the dummy". Call it what you will throwing a fit, flying off the handle, chucking a wobbly, whatever - episodes like this are far from uncommon in our business. This one, like most, didn't hurt too many feelings, and will soon be forgotten or eclipsed by the next flareup. But it got me recalling a few blasts from the past.

Perhaps the most famous hissy-fit in adver­ tising history wasn't performed by an adperson at all, but by movie mega-icon Orson Welles. You may have heard a copy of the tape, on which Welles grows increasingly grim as an agency person nit-picks his read of a dairy product commercial and makes him do take after take. Finally the great man loses his tem­ per, growls that "No amount of money is worth this kind of s..t" and walks out.

Madvertising.

Of course except for the fact that a super­ star threw it, this tantrum is tame compared with lots that we've witnessed or heard about first hand. Like the one by the studio manager of a big Sydney agency years ago who brought a big heap of finished art to the creative direc­ tor for approval. The CD found fault with nig­ gling little details on every piece he looked at.

Came the point at which the studio manager snapped, hurled the whole lot out the window, and watched with his horrified boss as it flut­ tered down four floors into the George Street traffic.

Then there was the creative director of another agency who, working late in his office one night, ducked out for a coffee and came back to find himself locked out of the building.

So he smashed the plate glass entrance doors with a municipal rubbish bin and went back in to work. Another evening, enraged, frustrated or just plain off the planet, he prised open the doors of the elevator shaft and dumped his office furniture down it.

As much of a hot-head as I've been in my time, I never managed anything in that league. My top effort was the time I lost it in the face of a major client's bloody-mindedness and informed him in a very big meeting that he was a "f...ing idiot". A gesture that turned out as ineffectual as it was unoriginal, as my victim's response to frantic apologies by the group account director after I'd left the room was "No problem...it's great to see a guy so involved in his work."

He really understood, apparently, that we creative people are so crazy about doing what we do as well as we can that some of us can't always play it cool. And that, what with the inanities and insanities of the business - the politics, power plays and ego trips, not to men­ tion our own failings - it's no wonder we some­ times get a tad mad.

Dean Johns is a partner in the regional creative hotshop CreAsia and strategic consultancy StrADegy. Email stradegy@optushome.com.au

The Barrichello In Each of Us

By Julie P. Lingan

IN a battlefield where there is supposedly no such thing as "fixed" - "it used to be a profes­ sional race" one devastated sports writer glared, echoing the world's disillusionment last weekend's Formula One race in Austria fatally ran over long-held ideals of fairness, integrity and professionalism, leaving behind a thick dark dust of disgust and controversy.

While it was actually a deja vu of a team management's faux pas exactly a year ago at exactly the same place and involving exactly the same drivers, this time everyone seemed to be harshly judgmental and intensely unforgiv­ ing. The fans, the journalists, the drivers them­ selves, everyone said enough was enough. From the final seconds leading to the checkered flag, the thumbs down signs from fans who, if they had eggs and tomatoes, would have flooded the race track enough to send even slow moving cars into collision, the obviously embarassed numero uno handing over his winners' trophy to an unabashedly crying numero dos, the commentators' venom splattering the screen with virtual blood, the interviews after the awards ceremony - the movie was pathetic, contrived, chaotic, unsalvageable.

Suddenly, the world was in an uproar.

Rubens Barrichello, the undisputed leader

18 0DOI MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

throughout the entire race, could have dis­ obeyed orders. But he did not. In that split sec­ ond, his passion for victory was mercilessly aborted, enough for him to instantly subdue his emotions and switch gears towards his rational self. Michael Schumacher, as one commentator put it succinctly, could very well have dis­ obeyed orders, given his track record which gave him the license to do what he deemed best and the powers- that- be would probably have listened and understood. But he did not. So the will of the gods prevailed and what followed was, to me, just as bad if not worse, than a fatal racetrack accident. To millions of idealistic viewers who believe that fairness and integrity go hand in hand with victory, Barrichello was robbed of hard earned victory, the joy and ful­ fillment of which no amount of money can ever buy.

When finally my blood pressure started to go down to normal, I reflected on the incident until something painful hit me: perhaps we all have been in Barrichello's driver's seat, at one point or another in our lives.

How many of us can empathize with Barrichello in our very own rat race, as we do jobs that should clearly put us on the podium yet credit is given to someone "more senior" or

even someone's blue eyed boy or whatever.

How many of us do the dirty job backstage and the one with immaculately clean hands gets the applause. How many of us have put up with this same underdog movie, and having gotten used to it, we don't even think twice about com­ plaining anymore because " that's life and that's the way things are."

Indeed, the Barrichello in us has taught us through time that it's ok to be treated like a sec­ ond class citizen - after all if it's any consola­ tion, Thoreau says most men lead lives of quiet desperation. And so we go on outwardly show­ ing patience and practicing "professionalism" or "teamwork" while deep within, our gastric juices are in volcanic turmoil and there is deepseated angst brewing in our soul.

In retrospect, perhaps this could be the reason why we all reacted strongly and nega­ tively that one race day in Austria. It was not really Barrichello we were sorry for. It was for ourselves.

F

A

C

T

Malaysia's

weekend and daily newspapers * Mingguan Malaysia - 527,888 copies weekly (Malaysia's No.1 newspaper)

* Utusan Malaysia

(No. 1 Malay daily newspaper)

a

Source

- 235,483 copies daily

Audit Bureau of Circulations

* Combined readership: 3.56 million (AC Nielsen Readership Survey Q4/01) * No. 1 Malay newspaper Adex 2001 (UM/MM :RM 112.4 million)

To build your brand, contact us today at...

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UTUSAN MEDIA SALES SDN. BHD. (187152-U)

11-3, The Right Angle, Jalan 14/22 46100 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Tel: 03-7956 3355 Fax: 03-7958 1860

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CampaignShowcase

Clean, Pure, Efficient Energy

Credits: Client - Gas Malaysia • Agency - Foote Cone Belding • Creatives - S.P.Lee, Ken Goh, Monica Chen • Acc Management - Zamri, Yasmin Mokhtar, Fiza Rahman, Chris Chia • Production House - Pegasus Works • Director/DOP - Michael Joy • Producer - Rajay Singh • Agency Producers - Sam Yong , Hazel Fernandez Music - Wasp • Editor - Terence Manual, Liquid

One of the visually stunning and beautiful

This is quite an ethereal ad? Was it intentional?

commercials on television today has to be

The product being, well, gase­ ous, we were looking for a soft, light quality. I suppose ethereal is a good way of describing it.

the Gas Malaysia tvc from FCB. Not only does the tvc communicate the uses of the product but also conveys the ethereal feel of the product. ADOI talks to SPLee, Creative Director of FCB to find out how this commercial came into being ...

20 aDOI

MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

What was the brief handed to you?

Awareness of the brand and what it does is low. This is the first hurdle. Unlike water, electricity and telecommunications, the infrastructure of gas is invisible.

What they do, where they are, you don't see. Which is why, in the campaign, the brand is re-presented by a hand you otherwise don't see, filling in a void in homes and factories.

They also bring energy to shop­ ping complexes. More important,

it's not a mere utility, but an ener­ gy solutions provider, because the applications are wider. A cleaner alternative for a new century, as the line suggests.

The idea of gas piped into homes is foreign to most Malaysians ? Is that an obstacle for the product?

Did the ad aim to familiarise/ edu­ cate the audience as well?

Piped gas has been used for decades abroad. Most Malaysians we're talking to are comfortable with it. Apart from associating the brand with quality service, you want to influence developers to consider piped gas, and the end user - you and I - to be familiar with it. Questions about safety are managed below-the-line. It has

Campaign from FCB

By T. Sivananthi

had a good safety record, so the average aunty should not be more apprehensive about gas than she should about electricity.

Both commercials look clean and efficient ? Is that reflective of the brand values?

Yes, a glossy and premium feel. Even their office is shiny, clean and spruced. Every little thing goes a long way in making the right impression. The public needs assurance that here is company that is well run and profes­ sional.

Is this the first time that Gas Malaysia is being introduced to the public? How was it like to work on the campaign? Did you feel nervous about the whole thing?

There was some communication in the past, on a small scale. This is their biggest cam­ paign. Nervous? Yes, a fun kind of nervous that comes from having to choose one of many

possible directions. I think we thrive on this panicky excitement. Doubt and worry make you question what you do. If you're absolutely certain you're right about everything, chances are you're probably wrong. Comfort is fine for sofas and beds, not cut-through. You know what they say about sweaty palms.

How did the initial date turn out? What has the response been like thus far?

Client: Golden Arches Restaurants

It's too early to tell. It broke May 17.

How many media is the campaign running in and for how long?

TV, print and outdoor, for most of the year.

Agency: Leo Burnett Executive Creative Director: Yasmin Ahmad Art Director: Shafiee Othman

I

Copywriter: Khairyl Yassin Agency Producer: Iskandar Siva Cinematographer: Cheong Yuk Hoy Film Director: Teck Tan Producer/f AD: Brian Francis Line Producer: Penny Woo

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

Special Effects

The 'Kung Fu' Tvc.

JWT's 'You'll never want to give it up!' „ JWT decided to do things a little differently for its client and came up with the first full claymation campaign ever. ADOI decided to go be­ hind the scenes with Lee Gaik Bee, Creative Group head of JWT...

There's something unique about this campaign - tell us a little about it.

I reckon this is the first full claymation cam­ paign that was developed locally. I am sure we can all recall the Levi's claymation commercial but that was an international concept. So we are chalking up a first for Malaysian advertising with this commercial.

Why did you decide to use claymation? What difference did it make?

The underlining concept for both "Kung Fu" and "Wrestling" is that Vita C fruit-flavoured candy is so delicious you won't give it up, no matter what. Hence, in each of the TVCs, the hero and the villain are locked in a fight. As we didn't want the commercials to appear macho and violent we used claymation to give it humour and charm. We believe it worked very well. There is something mesmeric about watch­ ing puppets in action, especially when it involves plenty of physical movement and facial expressions.

Who did you work with for the technology?

How long did it take?

We have to give credit to FRAMES for the claymation of these films. We actually started working on concepts last year. But we went thro­ ugh a culling process both internally and with the client. Finally we created the two boards that we were happy with. This was in January.

22 dDOl MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

We went into a whole series of pre-production meetings to finalise the look, costumes of the puppets and sets. Although we worked on both boards almost simultaneously, it still took us about 5 months before the films were complet­ ed. Stop motion work is very time consuming.

We could not do more than 3 seconds per day when it came to the actual shoot. Every move­ ment, every facial expression had to be careful­ ly manipulated to make sure that the puppets did not appear jerky. If you have an eye for detail you will discover new nuances each time you watch the commercials. There is just so much happening.

Last but not least, there was the sound engi­ neering. I think that the sound engineers, Jeffri Omar, Lee Chan Choong and Yong, did an excel­ lent job.

What was the brief handed to you?

At this juncture, I must commend the clients.

The brief was simply to create spots that push the creative envelope. There were very few mandatory requirements to be mindful of - all we needed to sell was the great taste of this new fruit-flavoured candy. This helped free our minds. We were not straitjaclceted by a whole list of constraints. We were allowed to explore wild and wacky ideas as long as we did not neglect the fact that Vita C tastes good. What more could an agency ask for? It takes a brave client to write such a brief.

Who was the team who worked on the cam­ paign?

The creative team consisted of Soon, the ECD, Hans Lee, the Art Director and yours truly.

On client management, I must mention Nick

Khoo, Husna Zain, Doris Lo who worked very closely. Suffian Tan and Chen Lee Ling of cre­ ative services also played an important part.

ADOI also talked to Sunny Chew Weng Hooi, Diethelm Malaysia's Senior Product Mana­ ger, about how the client feels about this campaign ...

What did you like about the claymation idea that made you 'go with it'?

The use of claymation is a first in the con­ fectionery category! Plus it also fits in with the overall storyline & execution. The use of clay­ mation ensures a clear delivery of our intended message, at the same time, delivers an endear­ ing and entertaining commercial, that con­ sumers would like to watch it again & again.

You also liked the humorous approach - does it work for you?

Yes, we've done equally successful ads which used humour before with our agencies - for example the Halls' "The Sun" commercial, and the Clorets' "The Hero" commercial. And of course, our sales figures show the results!

The problem with animation is that sometimes the end result does not meet the expectations do these commercials meet your expectations?

The commercial started airing on May 14.

Thus far, I have received positive feedback from people who have seen it - and the general con­ sensus is that "they love it," and they under­ stand the message very well, i.e. "Vita-C tastes so good, that you won't want to give it up". And I have full confidence that this Vita-C commercial will deliver the sales results as well.

Planner'sPoint

360 degree branding

By Lara Hussein, MD, Brand Energy

I HAVE heard this marketing buzz word over and over again in almost every client meeting and often wonder why it has become a new catch phrase when the core concept or raison d'etre has existed in every advertiser' s marketing plan for years. Perhaps the idea of integrated marketing which is really what 300 degree branding is all about was never really formalised as an objective or goal for a brand, but became a spontaneous expression in different advertising mediums.

300 degree branding is really the expression of the brand in various multi-level touch points that are accessed by the consumer. In other words, it is allowing the consumer to have more than one point of contact with the brand at any given time. This means creating multi-dimensional branding that requires converging all media under one core idea.

The difference between integrated marketing as advertisers traditionally were accustomed to, and 300 degree branding, is the addition of the web and content/programming as another consumer touch point.

Traditionally, brands would embark on integrated or multi-level marketing that would involve TV/Print advertising, Event, Direct, Radio, Outdoor, POS, etc. This became the accepted norm amongst advertisers, until the advent of the Internet and the powerful role of TV content.

The role of 300 degree branding is to give consumers immediate multi-touch points of the brand so that at any point in time the brand or campaign becomes ubiquitous, connecting exponentially with the consumer.

In the US, integration with the web has become an interesting dimension to create more interactivity. The NIKE "whatever' campaign used to re-launch their new line of cross trainers integrated the web and TV. TV was used to as an emotive medium to build excitement and awareness. Viewers were asked to click on the customised web site and create 'whatever ending' they liked. Online ads complemented the campaign by directing viewers to the 'whatever' site. The result was a peak clickthrough rate of 9% compared with the 1% industry average. The combination of online and TV advertising bro-ught a total of 4.26 million visitors. Inadvertently it gave NIKE the 300 degree touch points for the consumer.

Locally, the recent Celcom Starwars 'Ultimate Fan' campaign is a good example of 300 degree branding. The campaign involved TV/print to build awareness and emotional connection with the consumer. The 'Ultimate Fan' contest entries involved the web and SMS service. Winners were invited to attend the premier event live cross-overs on TV. Content was used in a docu style to feature the winning fans . Hence Consumers were able to have different levels of touch points with Celcom.

Advertisers should look at creating a brand campaign that spans the new ad continuum. They should adopt a more holistic approach to branding by creating an environment that gives consumers more than one touch point, in other words make convergence a reality and integrate the web or content/programming into the traditional advertising formula.

New Line up for MACRO and POSTAM MACRO President: VP: Hon Seer.: Hon Treasurer:

Council Members:

POSTAM Abdul Aziz Hamdan (Radio Lebuhraya) Borhanuddin Osman (Measat Radio Comm.)

Hj Bakhtiar Hj Arshad (Suara Johor) Thanabalasingam Manickam (Maestra Broadcast) Hj Affandi Tahir (Kristal Harta) Christina Low (Radio Rediffusion) Yasmin Yusuff (Quest 7.com) Suradini Abd Ghani (Malaysia Airports)

President: VP: Secretary: Treasurer: Committe Members:

Geoff Millichamp (APV) Yoki Chin (One Degree North) Terence Manuel (Planet Films) Alain Zaugg (Optidigit) Steve Bristow (Fat Lizard) Evelyn Lee (EL Videographics) Peter Chin (Shiroku Production) Ahmad Khalili Ragib (VHQ)

Clienr: KFC Holdings Berhad Agency: BBDO Executive Creative Director: Huang Ean Hwa Art Director: jules Tan Copywriter: Kym Chong Agency Producer: joanne Lai Cinematographer: Zainuddin Mohd Film Director: Teck Tan ProducerIt ' AD: Brian Francis Line Producer: Penny Woo

PASSIONPICTURtS

CampaignShowcase

So fast... print ad for Aids.

ogsL

Toyota Corolla Aids commercial -4Distracted'

Saatchi's S

• ;•> - 0

You're better off driving the Corolla Altis with Vehicle Stability Control.

Tackling wet roads and »hai> corners can be tricky business Hence. Vehicle Stability Control (VSC). This safety feature prevents your car from skidding and spinning. Even before it starts to. Simply by regulating wheel-spin where it matters. So if 100* control Is what you're looking for, what better place to start than a Toyota showroom?

So stable ... another print ad for Aids.

® TOYOTA GET THE FtELING

UNSER Spacious.

So spacious ... a print ad for Unser.

2i*aUH MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

THE impact of the 2005 AFTA agree­ ment on the Malaysian car industry is yet to be fully determined. It's safe to say however, that leading foreign brands like Toyota stand to benefit.

ADOI caught up with Matt Seddon (left), CEO at Saatchi & Saatchi, to find out how he plans to ensure that his Client - Toyota - is in the best possible position to benefit from the expected lib­ eralisation.

Toyota is the leading non-national car manufacturer in the country. Top selling models like the Corolla and the Camry have met with considerable success, and in 2001, the company had almost 30% market share of the non-national segment. Toyota's renowned quality and ability to provide leading-edge technology across their entire range of vehicles has proven the foundation of their success.

"Toyota is one of the most "trusted" brands in the world, earned through a commitment to the latest technology in car design and engineering over many years. The huge opportu­ nity as we see it is in forging deeper and more meaningful relationships with our customers. Moving our brands from a position of trust and respect to a position whereby we enjoy an emotional monopoly. Toyota has fantastic products and is widely respected as a result, but we need to go beyond this because at the end of the day car specs are important but not everything. The car purchase decision begins with a func­ tional requirement but in reality is driven by emotions -

CampaignShowcase

Toyota Unser commercial - 'Playing Catching'

ck Creative For A Sleek Car What will my friends think of me? How does owning a particular model make me feel? . II etc.

"Take a look at any of the leading newspa­ pers in Malaysia on a given day, and chances are that there will be at least a dozen car ads.

I would suggest that chances are even higher that most of these ads feature a shot of the car, a dubiously "witty" or "clever" headline and loads of spec information which appears to have been written by an engineer!"

"Rather than chest-thump about how great our cars are or how many 'extras' have been thrown in, we think it is critical that potential customers are offered an emotional­ ly powerful message which builds true desire for ownership. This is the real challenge for the advertising."

Two of Saatchi's most recent campaigns for UMW Toyota - for the Corolla Altis and the Unser - appear to bear testimony to Matt's words and obvious enthusiasm.

For Corolla Altis, Saatchi's has dug up the 1960's classic "Can't get my eyes off you" and rescored it for their latest TV spot for the topselling Toyota Corolla Altis.

The 6o-second spot is the first major TV work to come out of Saatchi's in KL since the

arrival of Lee Szu Hung from BBDO at the end of last year to partner ECD, Edmund Choe.

The film draws a parallel between a striking young woman (who creates utter chaos sim­ ply by walking down the street) and the styl­ ish new Corolla Altis.

"We were totally blown away when we test drove the new Corolla Altis. Toyota really had made significant improvements to a model which had traditionally been their Number 1 selling model worldwide anyway."

With regards to the new TVC. Matt Seddon continues: "The challenge was to bring these exciting product changes to the attention of the Malaysian public in a simple, impactful way. The (creative) guys focussed on the fact that the enhancements really are 'surprising' and it is this feeling which we hope will be left with our customers."

Saatchi's have also produced a number of print and DM ideas, talking about key prod­ uct technologies in the Corolla Altis like WTi and VSC, although again these functional messages are presented in an emotionally powerful way.

For the top selling Unser utility vehicle another Saatchi spot has also created a big stir since it was launched 3 weeks ago.

The 6o-second TVC opens on a frenetic chase, with two men tearing around a build­ ing, up and down stairs, along corridors etc until the character being pursued runs down an alley and jumps into the back of a parked Unser. Almost immediately the guy chasing catches up, and he too jumps into the back of the vehicle.

The viewer is left wondering what will happen next when the back door of the Unser slowly opens, and the guy who has been chas­ ing clambers out, reaches for his walkietalkie, and tells his boss woefully "Sir - I lost him!". A super appears on screen "Unser.

Spacious."

"The best ideas are inevitably the sim­ plest. They are also often entertaining. In the Unser spot we took the category benefit (more space) and put it in front of the cus­ tomer in a memorable and entertaining way.

There's so much rubbish on TV nowadays that it's really not that difficult to stand out"

aorenaunG aOOl MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 25

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ProBono

Tackling Incest

By T. Sivananthi

You gave her life.

Huck Seng & Azalina

WHEN Puteri UMNO decided to champion young women's issues, they stumbled onto the thorny subject of incest. For long the issue had lain dormant - not only because it was diffi­ cult to get families to unearth the skeletons in their closet - but also because it is an issue that is largely race-based and one that challenged patriarchal power. "No political party has ever touched the topic - and although NGOs have been talking about it for donkeys' years it was never dealt with because NGOs lacked the resources to make the issue count" said Azalina Othman, the straight-talking chief of Puteri UMNO. She continued "Whatev­ er little that we knew of the topic was brought up in the media again and again - in the sto­ ries that journalists and reporters wrote and that was about it. But even then the topic was never picked up by the powers that be." It is precisely because the issue is both race-based and gender-based that it becomes the right cause for a wing like Puteri UMNO. The initial thrust of the campaign is on cre­ ating awareness. "Incest stems from the thoug­ ht that men still consider women as property.

Most perpetrators believe they can do it becau­ se the daughters belong to them. Nevertheless, we have to point out that that's exactly what makes it so wrong. The issue is one that strikes home at the Malay community especially in the rural areas." The campaign's second step is to mobilise the Puteri to act as the eyes and ears of the community. Incest is a hidden secret in most girls' lives - "girls are usually powerless in their relationships with fathers, brothers and uncles. This campaign focuses on how heinous the crime is - and drives home the point - both to perpetrators and victims that girls do talk about such things. The point is if the perpetrators think that they can get

26Mil MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

away with it - they have to think again. In the past, research has indicated that mothers, believe or not, cover up the acts of incest with­ in the household. What we want to tell girls is that even if you can't tell your mother about it - you can tell your friends." According to Azalina, roughly about i in 10 girls who have approached her are victims of incest and that speaks volumes for the prevalence of the crime.

Huck Seng, CD at Uptown Communications met Azalina by pure coincidence and ended up creating the campaign for Puteri UMNO. He figures that this is one of the most economical advertisements he has ever made - "Basically we had very little budget and we decided to see how we could stretch the ringgit. We used tal­ ent photos and then just took it to the editing house." Huck Seng admits that this is one of the more meaningful commercials that he has ever done. He offers "It was really difficult to find talents because most parents didn't want their child identified as a victim of incest. And if this was just about appearing in an ad - can you imagine how difficult it would be to bring the matter up in a real life scenario?"

"Previously it was the media who helped sur­ face the issue and we hope that the media will continue to take up the cause and help make this campaign a success" said Azalina.

There are both print and tv executions in the campaign.

Client: Puteri UMNO Title: The Missing picture Duration: 30 seconds Agency: UpTown Communications Creative Director: Huck Seng Group Head: Jane Yong Art director: Adrian Wong Copywriter: Huck Seng Servicing: Alan Yeoh

You fed her.

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DirectMarketing

You do WHAT for a living?

Kurt Crocker, Creative Director Drayton Bird, Crocker & Mano Sdn Bhd

CROCKER'S my name. Direct Marketing's my game. Huh? Normal folks — the people who believe marketing is a shopping trip for groceries — get all glassy-eyed when I tell them I'm a Direct Marketer. ("You mean you go directly to the grocery store?") But even those wild and crazy people in the ad biz sometimes blur. In fact, one hot shot marketing exec once asked me, "Yeah, you do Direct Marketing. But do you do CRM?" And believe it or not, this guy had regional responsibilities for Direct Marketing.

(For the uninitiated, CRM, or Customer Relationship Management, is an integral part of the Direct Marketing process. To be a Direct Marketer without CRM expertise could be likened to a spouse unable to consummate a marriage. Needless to say, I was shocked and appalled by the guy's question.) So as a primer for those not in-the-lcnow — or who should be in-the-know but aren't — I'll start with an overview. There are, broadly, three things a Direct Marketer does for a living:

Looking for a KlangValley audience of

18-35

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Here's a KLue where fo look...

1. Find customers 2. Keep customers 3. Make customers more profitable Now let's take it step by step ... Find Customers. Advertising is a marketer's attempt to find customers. It represents a fervent hope that a prospect will remember the brand and, soon thereafter, buy it.Direct Marketers also use advertising — in virtually all media — to build brand awareness and increase sales. But with a twist. With Direct Marketing, there is a direct measurement of a prospect's response to the advertising.

A Direct Marketer may want a prospect to become a customer immediately, and offer him or her an opportunity to purchase a product "off the page". That is, to complete a coupon built into the advertising, give up some credit card information, and request direct delivery.

Or call a toll-free number and do the same with an operator who will complete the order. Direct Marketers also use a two-step process to find customers. For example, we might ask a prospect to request more information, especial­ ly if the product is expensive or complicated.

Then, follow up with the prospect through a mailing or sales call. If a prospect doesn't become a customer after step two — and it is

believed he or she could still become one — more follow-up steps are added to the process.

A Direct Marketer will take as many additional steps to convert a prospect into a customer as are economically feasible.

We also find customers by other means. A mailing targeted to a consumer profile deemed to be likely prospects is one of these other means. A website that offers an opportunity to request information or updates via e- or landmail is another. There are more.

Keep Customers. A Direct Marketer's job should not stop with the happy conclusion of a prospect/customer conversion. The ultimate marketing objective would be that once you acquire a customer, that customer never buys a competitive brand again. While this may not be totally obtainable, you can at least aim for the purchase of your brand more often than not.

Again, a Direct Marketer's strategic approach to this objective depends on the potential return-on-investment. That's a little easier to do if you first determine the lifetime value of a customer. Then it's a matter of designing communication opportunities that in some form or another — encourage contin­ ued loyalty to your brand. A Direct Marketer engenders loyalty in many ways. A simple "thank you" after a measured first-purchase is always a good idea, and one of the easiest to accomplish. Clubs often work, especially if they are linked to sales. A series of communications, consistently offered with relevant content, can be effective ... even if they are not purchase driven. There are more.

Make Customers More Profitable. Let's assume you are fairly confident that a cus­ tomer is favorably impressed with your brand.

You know he or she has purchased your Product A and likes it. Why not offer a "+" accessory and turn your customer's purchase into Product A+. Or let's say you know that a lot of customers who bought Product A also bought your Product B. Just look into your database for Product A buyers. Select the ones who have not yet purchased Product B and send them infor­ mation and an offer for this complementary cross-sell.

With upgrades and cross-sells, a marketer benefits through greater and continued profits.

But these tactics can also build overall brand loyalty. That's especially true with financial institutions with a portfolio of services: the more relationships a customer has with a bank, the less likely he or she is to shop around for other financial solutions.

This 3-Stage Process — find customers, keep customers, make customers more prof­ itable — is what Direct Marketers do for a liv­ ing. And, yes, when you keep customers and make them more profitable, you are managing customer relationships. CRM. The nice bits beyond the nuptials (in case you didn't know).

HotHappening

Cutting Edge Author Back in Town!

Richard Joyce (Regional Advertising Director), Theresa Yeung (Pacific Director), Jim, Angie Santha Maria (Associate Regional Advertising Director) together with the turbanned stranger.

L to R: Josephine Shim (Next Media), Josephine Har (Starcom), Angie (Newsweek), Karen Thang, Tan Yi-Ling and Karen Thong, Suhaini Omar (all of Starcom).

L to R: Saraswathy Nadarajah (TV3), Robert Saw £r Patricia Ng (Star Cruises), Gallie G (air.y) £r Paul Yap (UPD)

L to R: Paul Jack (N.E.W.S Advertising), Rajesh Mulani & Palani Pillai (Crush, Singapore)

KUU6 Magazine www.KLJUe.com.my KLJUeSMS KLJUeWAP

Danyal (ACNielsen) with Gunasagaram (ntvy).

Ito R: Lily Lee (Tops), Christina Low (Redifussion)£r Ray (PosAd)

AWARD-WINNING adman and best-selling author, Jim Aitchison was in town to launch his latest thesis on advertising - 'How Asia Advertises'. A record crowd of 4oo-odd industry people turned up to listen to the talk. Jim offered some nuggets of wisdom on what truly creates great work in Asia.

The audience had the opportunity to see some of the region's best tvcs that were also showcased in the book. Jim reminded the crowd that the best work in the region stayed true to its cultural identity. At the same time it was single-minded in its propo­ sition and in most cases humour worked

well in most countries. The title sponsor for the event was Newsweek, 'The Internatio­ nal Newsmagazine' while the co-sponsors were ntvy, MMT and Passion Pictures. At the end of the evening, people helped them­ selves to tea, mingled, caught up with gos­ sip and had the opportunity to get Jim's autograph on their personal copy of the book! Some posed for photos as well!

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DirectMarketing

NEWS BRIEFS: WORLD • LABOUR PARTY IS UK'S TOP ADVERTISER

The U.K.'s governing Labour Party is now the advertising industry's biggest client spending US$211.9 million in 2001, according to new figures released this week to AdAgeGlobal.com by ACNielsen MMS. The British government has risen for the first time to the head of the U.K.'s ad spending ranks, topping such marketing mights as Procter £r Gamble Co., British Telecom and Ford Motor Co. In 2001, the difference between the gov­ ernment's ad spend and that of No. 2 adver­ tiser P£rG is, at US$45.9 million, only slightly less than Unilever's entire ad budget for the year (US$56.5 million.)

It's time for advertising to cha agencies cope? Will they? Do Direct marketing is often perceived as the unglamorous cousin of advertising. What's your take on this?

• ULTIMATE LUXURY WHEELS?

Apparently Mercedes is no longer luxurious enough for the seriously rich and the Benz is not being used by Daimler Chrysler to gain entry to the super luxury car market where the starting price for hand-built automobiles is US$200,000.

Instead, DaimlerChrysler is reviving the Maybach brand with the help of an international print campaign to refresh memories after a 60-year absence. The Maybach provides a unique brand history for wealthy consumers to buy into.

Since the Maybach name today is known only to car enthusiasts, historians and pensioners, the first advertisement shows the profile of Wilhelm Maybach and his son Karl and the headline: "These two gentlemen were so far ahead of their time. That their ideas remain even today part of every car we build. The new Maybach is on its way."

The body copy tells about their talents and visions. Karl Maybach made car history, by developing the first luxury vehicle with a semi­ automatic transmission and the first passenger car with a 12 cylinder engine. "After more than 60 years we still share the vision that drove Wilhelm and Karl Maybach to ever greater achievements: to build an automobile that sets a standard."

• NO BONUS FOR MARTIN SORRELL

WPP Group Chief Executive Martin Sorrell declined his short-term incentive bonus of US$1,391,137 for 2001.

His decision occurred after a year which the company described in its annual report as a "brutal one" for the world adverting industry in which the company's "biggest disappointment" in terms of its performance was a 12% fall in its share price.

Mr. Sorrell's total remuneration for 2001 was US$1,257,207. He also received US$488,194 in pension contributions.

• VODAFONE RINGS JWT

J. Walter Thompson Co., London, has emerged tri­ umphant and will handle the international branding business for Vodafone which has put 14 of its 16 subsidiary networks worldwide under a single Vodafone brand. The company did not dis­ close budget figures or details of competing agen­ cies, but it is thought that Publicis Groupe, London was one of the contenders for the account which last year was estimated at $75 million.

While Vodafone says the appointment does not affect Vodafone's one-year relationship with Wieden & Kennedy, industry sources suggest JWT will eventually emerge as the lead creative agency later this year.

30aDOl MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

MALCOLM AULD is a pioneer and guru in direct marketing in this region. He has worked in Sydney, Melbourne, the US and Asia in the course of his 30 year career. At one point he was the National Marketing Manager of TNT for four of their companies.

Previously, he was also the Managing Director of Ogilvy & Mather Direct, Regional Partner for South Asia of Euro RSCG Partnership and Executive Director of ThompsonConnect Worldwide. In 1991, he founded his own agency Malcolm Auld Direct (also known as MAD) which has evolved to encompass marketing training and education services.

In 2000, Auld launched BuzzMail, Australia's first specialist e-mail marketing consultancy.

Malcolm Auld had authoured both Direct Marketing Made Easy' and E-Mail Marketing Made Easy. ADOI talks to Malcolm about the new trends in direct marketing...

The only people who see it that way are advertising people. To me, people who get bogged down by that argument are looking at it from the wrong end. I have researched thousands of consumers around the world and not one of them has heard of the term 'the line" -the only ones who talk about above-the-line and below-the-line are adver­ tising people. But it means nothing to the customer, the customer doesn't look at an ad and say, 'Oooh I feel emotional' and then receive a mail pack and go 'I don't feel any­ thing'. The most powerful brand communi­ cation is a personal communication. You have more powerful branding communication in direct mail than you do in traditional adver­ tising especially so nowadays with e-mail and sms. This is proved by the fact that if I get your name wrong in a letter or if you get repeated mailings you get really upset. But the reverse is also true. We've done research and testing to prove the efficacy of direct mail as compared to television. For American Express, we tested people who saw the television commercial alone, people who received only the mail pack and people who had both watched the commercial and received the mail pack. The people who had the best predisposition to the brand following that were those who had received and responded to the mail pack. And why not?

They got involved.

Integration is one of the new trends in the industry isn't it?

17 years ago I was what is called today an Integrated Account Director. I worked in Ogilvy & Mather and Ogilvy & Mather Direct and I worked in both offices on the Shell account. I even had two business cards! But the client is the one who is responsible for integration not agencies. As more and more of the budget slipped out of traditional adver­ tising, agencies came up with more depart­ ments to try to control things and keep the client's business. Today, clients are doing the research themselves, booking the media themselves, running the databases them­ selves. The only thing agencies are doing is creative.

DirectMarketing

nge - but can they want to?

By T. Sivananthi

The Big Idea in advertising has always been the most important factor, one of the reasons is because you need the idea to create the interest in the minds of the consumers.

But that was in the days that the cheapest way to reach people was in mass media through tv, press and radio. And therefore you had to constantly have the big idea. But let's move it along - let's compare it to personal relationships. If I was dating a girl, I'd be doing everything to impress her. But once we really get to know each other, it's no longer about impressing her with the big idea. It's more about relevant communi­ cation. For example if she doesn't like me slurping my Coke, I won't do that.

The big idea works when the brand wants to start identifying itself. In actuality, the brand is then built through the one-to-one communication. And today because marke­ ters have e-mail and sms, they have more opportunities to build and strengthen their brands. I believe that it's what other people say about you that builds your brand and not what you say about yourself.

What are some examples of customers who are moving into one-to-one communication?

One of the largest packaged goods manu­ facturer in Australia has a database close to 2 million names, of opt-in email addresses. This is larger than any group they can reach out to by buying advertising space in any magazine or television programme. She now doesn't have to waste money in other people's media and keep the media barons rich. She can now publish magazines or booklets just as hotels, airlines and some automotive com-panies have done and deliver in the same magazine her brand advertising. She can also do a digital version through email. The best thing is that the customers build on the database them­ selves - they enter data such as 'I'm interested in sugar, margarine or toothpaste', etc.' and she can deliver relevant content to customers far better than any traditional advertising.

And the customers can dictate the terms of that relationship - for example whether they want the infor-mation on a daily, weekly or monthly basis and how they want the infor­ mation deli-vered - via post, email or sms.

That's the big shift and it's also changing where the budgets are going.

You've championed e-mail marketing in your latest book 'E-Mail Marketing Made Easy' but e-mail marketing has a bad reputation doesn't it?

It has a bad reputation because it grew out of spam in the early days in US. The marketer's aim should be to minimise the number of times the customers visit the website not maximise it. The reason is because visiting websites is painful, slow and frustrating and when customers go there, they don't know where to look. A marketer should use the website to get the customers to identify themselves and provide a profile of what they are interested in and use e-mail to take the website to the customers. So one could use rich media content - which uses html, flash or streaming videos. E-mails can be e-commerce enc-rypted so that peo­ ple don't even have to visit the website to buy the products - they can do it straight away on the email.

you'll lose customers but if you look for what they like and what information they're look­ ing for, you'll do fine. Business is about mak­ ing and keeping customers and email allows you to do that far more effectively than ever before and more cost-effectively too.

Businesses are not built through advertising, businesses are built through customers. It's controversial because this is a real issue. I'm not here to say that technology is changing the world - that isn't my point of view; it is the biggest revolution in marketing. What the tec­ hnology allows direct marketers deliver what they promised in the last two decades which is real time one-to-one communication!

Some people say that Customer Relationship Management (CRM) was an attempt to jazz up direct marketing...

What you propose seems to be a little controversial and not everyone is going to take to this. Previously, agencies' earn­ ings are derived from the traditional model of creating ads and buying media...

CRM is the snake oil of this century. CRM is simply an attitude to business - it's a way of structuring your organisation so that it can be customer focussed. It's not technology - it's a combination of attitude, training and how you deliver your customer service. No one can hand you CRM on a plate. A recent research in London indicated that 70% of all CRM initia­ tives fail dismally.

The Emperor's New Clothes' comes to the fore. People have been saying it for years and now they can prove it. Don't get me wrong I'm passionate about great, relevant advert-

There is a general complaint that many Asian businesses aren't customer focussed. How can we change that?

CRM is the snake oil of this century. CRM is simply an attitude to business ising that stands out. But it had its presence because packaged goods relied mainly on tra­ ditional advertising to get the message out, at the lowest cost. But today, packaged goods is only a small part of the marketing communications industry's business. More clients' businesses revolve around services and business-to-business rather than packaged goods. The business-to-business model has been driving marketing communi­ cations and even packaged goods advertisers are trying to find out who their customers are so they can talk one-to-one. Packaged goods advertisers are trying to cut their advertising budgets because there is wastage.

They will still advertise but they'll limit themselves to advertising only when it is relevant.

There are also issues with too much email but the clients who do the right thing by the customers and provide relevant information or communications will be the ones who will get their e-mails opened. If you piss them off,

I would suggest that senior marketing per­ sonnel sit in a call centre and listen to the cus­ tomer enquiries and complaints that are com­ ing in. When you do that you understand cus­ tomer language and what you'll also find out that the people who sit in customer service know more about your customers than anyone else. And the customer service personnel are also going around bending the rules because the system is created by someone sitting up there who isn't looking at the day-to-day functions.

'Malcolm Aukl telle you ail you need to know about e ntail marketing.

Importantly, unlike most business writers, he makes it easy and entertaining.'

Drayton Bird

aDOl

MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 31

NEWS BRIEFS: ASIA OMD GETS US$35 MILLION THAI TELCO BIZ Thai mobile phone operator Digital Total Access Communications (DTAC) has appointed Omnicom Group's Optimum Media Direction (OMD) as its media agency. The win, valued at $35 million, fol­ lowed a pitch against the incumbent, Aegis Groupowned media specialist Carat, and Interpublic Group of Cos.' Initiative Media Worldwide, says Martin Dufty, OMD's managing director, Bangkok.

There was no review of the company's creative business, which is split between Cordiant Communication Group's Bates Worldwide and Omnicom Group's BBDO Worldwide.

UNILEVER TAIWAN GETS INITIATIVE MEDIA Unilever has appointed Interpublic Group of Cos.' Initiative Media Worldwide (IM) as its agency of record in Taiwan and ended a decade-long rela­ tionship with WPP Group's MindShare media spe­ cialist agency. Unilever's media business in Taiwan is worth US$35 million.

U.S. STEAKHOUSE COMES TO THAILAND Outback Steakhouse will open its first concept restaurant in Thailand this week. The chain's first venture in Asia would be run on a trial basis that could eventually lead to the opening of more outlets across the region.

"We aim to have up to 40 Outback restaurants opened in the next five years in Asian countries including Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan and India," says Prasoon Mukherji, presi­ dent and CEO of Thailand's OBS Restaurants, the local Outback franchisee.

SAMSUNG'S US$200M GLOBAL CAMPAIGN Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. is mounting a $200 million global ad campaign with the aim of establishing itself in the minds of consumers as a creator of digital convergence products.

The campaign, entitled "DigitAll Experience," extends the positioning of both Samsung's first global brand campaign of June 2001 and its recent Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games sponsorship and marketing initiatives.

The broadcast and print ads, developed by New York-based Foote Cone & Belding Worldwide, focus on how Samsung's wide range of digital products meet the ever changing needs of today's consumer.

Taglines will feature variants of the anthem "DigitAll" theme, including "DigitAll Passion," "DigitAll Escape" and "DigitAll Wow," illustrating how consumers no longer choose products based on necessity but on want and desire.

CNBC ASIA I PACIFIC WELCOMES HOME SANDY BROWN Dow Jones &r Co. and NBC, the broadcasting unit of General Electric Co., have appointed Alexander (Sandy) Brown as president / CEO of CNBC Asia / Pacific, based in Singapore, effective immediately.

He succeeds Scott Goodfellow, who was ousted from the position last February after a year and a half.

Sandy is a well-known veteran in Asia's regional media industry. He ran ESPN brand in Asia from 1993 until December 2000, and oversaw the launch of ESPN STAR Sports, a joint venture between ESPN Inc. and News Corp.'s Star Group.

DENTSU POSTS DROP IN BILLINGS Dentsu recorded a 2.6% billings drop in the last fiscal year, but the year was the second best in its history in terms of consolidated and non-consolidated billings, gross profit, operating income, ordinary income and net income. The ad organization had its best ever year in fiscal 2000.

Consolidated billings were down 1.4% to US$14.2 billion. To weather the slowdown, Dentsu pared operating and personnel costs while pursuing new business initiatives.

32 aDOl MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

CAN IT BE CHEAPER? How to pay the best price for a kati of tasty adverts, as reported in the pasar malam that is the world's ad press.

AS we speak, in markets all over the world, ads are being picked up and fondled for smoothness, sniffed for freshness, and squeezed for ripeness.

The stale and moldy being ejected and the crisp and succulent accepted. But how much to pay and how much to charge for the juicy stuff no one seems to be able to decide.

In Campaign magazine Jeremy Bullmore, the egg man of British adverts, in his weekly agony column, was asked which was the better form of payment, fees or commission? He unscrambled this particular omelette by mainly inferring that fees were a way agencies could accept (and adver­ tisers pay) lower commission without losing face or credibility. He didn't mention any possible decline in the quality level of the advertising product relative to the fluctuating purchase price, which was a bit off. Not like him at all.

In the Land of Oz they are really desperate, so much so they've involved the government in the whole issue. According to B tr T magazine the Advertising Federation of Australia will push for a better deal for agencies after a meeting this week with senior representatives from the Government Communications Unit. Agencies are unhappy with the Government's calculations on account service. AFA executive director Lesley Brydon is quoted as saying, "I don't believe the Government is getting the best advice." Les, you soft sod; Civil Servants won't want to listen to advice; they'll be busy trying to safely measure and quantify things. Liters of print ads, meters of TV commercials, cubic centimeters of posters. So, if you want to get them to pay attention try sug­ gesting a charge for Account Execs by weight ($5 a kilo maybe) or, seeing as it is Australia, the size of executive bosoms ($6 a centimeter), this apply­ ing, with appropriate PCness, to all sexes, although trannies may have to undertake a means test.

While still in Oz, in the same issue of B & T, the Munchkins were debating the difference between consultants and agencies. Are they in reality the same thing; oranges and oranges? "I don't think so," says John Pranger, Honda Austra­ lia's big marketing cheese, "Both Ad agency staff and consultants can be insightful, useful, and very much important players in the long-term success of a company." Though he strangely refrained from saying that, with two strategic stalls to chose from, if one cocks up he could go to the other one or that he could select the cheapest or that he need only pay for the one he buys. And no rotten alignment hassles to contend with.

But wait! Hold on to your middle path mani­ festos! There is one person who knows what he's paying for. That master of grinnage and spinnage, our favorite barrow boy, Prime Minister Tony Blair. In AdAge Global they report that the U.K.'s governing Labour Party is now the adver­ tising industry's biggest client spending $211.9 million in 2001, topping such marketing giants as Procter & Gamble, British Telecom and Ford.

Even more dramatic is that the difference between the government's ad spend and that of No. 2 advertiser, P&G, is almost Unilever's entire ad budget for the year. Wow! Red faces, but nice­ ly undisturbed wallets, in Blackfriars.

The Malaysian daily, The Star, carried an interview with Malaysian Advertisers Association (MAA) president Zainuddin M. Noh. Din, very sincerely and very genuinely, addressed the sub­ ject of payment by saying, "some agencies ask to be remunerated by media commissions (tradi­ tionally 15% of spending on media), some by fees and some by a combination of both." This sounds like a very, very flexible pricing system indeed. So flexible in fact that unfortunately it's in danger of not being a system at all. He also went on to say, "a number of clients now offer payment based on results." Ah ha! iosen per bottle of sham­ poo sold? RMi per new mobile phone subscriber?

50 sen per shrunken haemorrhoid? Now this real­ ly has possibilities. Din concluded by mentioning that, "the remuneration issue is one that the local industry players tend to sidestep". Of course they do, it's the same in all markets, they positively boogaloo out of the way. Locking down prices seems to fill advertising folks with terror.

Perhaps it's because they know full well that a good advertising campaign is not at all a red plastic bucket or a slice of durian. It can't be mea­ sured in katis and it can't be used to unblock a drain. If price is taken out of the mix you need to compete on quality alone. So what to do? Well, a very clever friend of mine once asked "How do you measure magic?" So I guess only if the magi­ cian who made the magic believes it has value and can make others believe so too is it worth anything at all. Trouble is, these days it appears few magicians (when you can find them) value their own work highly enough to say, "piss off to the person who says, "can it be cheaper?" Which is perhaps why I don't get paid for this column!!

(Damn right. Ed.)

PS: "Do I like it or does it make me fat?"

Speak Up About The Content Code

EVERYONE loves to whine about how we operate in an over-regulated industry. According to Tony Lee, Chai­ rman of the Communications and Multimedia Content Forum (CMCF), the Content Code is one of the first steps towards self-regulation. It will be a great shift in the way things are done. Now agencies and advertisers have to work hand in hand and first understand the Code and make sure that the advertising message falls within the parameters set by the Code. Because the Code firmly puts the onus on the advertiser to take responsibility for the ad messages that are placed. Secondly, while it doesn't take away all approvals required, it will eliminate uncertain­ ties and ensure a quick, smooth process." In fact now most will only

have to sign a form that says, "This advertisement adheres to the Content Code" to be approved. But most people often feel safer when they have an authoritative rubber stamp of 'approval' on their ads.

Thus it is only normal that most industry people are a little apprehen­ sive about the move. But until July 10, everyone is able to log on and voice opinions about the new Content Code.

"This is a step forward" said Tony emphatically. "We have to move with the times. But agency people and advertisers have to show the initia­ tive to read and understand the Code. Can you imagine some member agency heads have not even read the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998? This is really quite disturb­ ing and when I was invited as a guest speaker by the 4AS, some even had the gall to come and ask me to cut my speech short as they had other appointments! This is a code that is of vital importance to them and they

need to understand how it will impact, benefit and protect them."

One of the ways in which the new Content Code benefits advertisers and agencies is that it no longer men­ tions specific products that cannot be advertised. "We really encourage the feedback - we need to get everyone involved because once the code is in place - there is no turning back."

At the same time, agencies and advertisers (although they are repre­ sented by the 4AS and the 2As) can choose to become members of the CMC Forum. This will enable them to be part of the proceedings of the CMCF and amongst those who have joined include Nestle, P&G and Batey Ads (in the Advertisers category).

The Content Code is up for view­ ing and comment on the CMCF web­ site www.cmcf.org.my and if you want to purchase the hard copy at RM10 (available in BM, English, Chinese and Tamil), contact the CMCF secretariat at 03-/660 8535 or email: secretariat@ cmcf.org.my

AJ

Letter To Editor

Dear Editor,

This is to inform that I am not at all involved with "SuperBrands".

I have no part in the publication, the management of the business or selection of the brands fea­ tured in the publication. I was invited to be Chair-man of the socalled "Super Brands Council", which, in any case, never met, and with which I have no invol­ vement at all.

Cordially, Tan Sri Dato' Lim Kok Wing Editor's Note: This unsolicited fax from Tan Sri obviously refers to the recent "SuperBrands" event which touted him as the Chairman of their selection council. Incidentally, Harmandar Singh, the publisher of this magazine, was earlier invited to sit on the Super-Brands Council too but declined due to time and work constraints.

© Bernama PRWire Malaysia*Global

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aDOl MARKETINGC0MMUNICATI0NS 33

News Briefs: M'sia

AD #1 FREE CLASSIFIEDS Just e-mail your recruitment messages (30 wonts max) to sivananthi_t@hotmaii.com and they will be read by over 10,000 readers. Messages will appear subject to availability of space.

• JOHN BURBIDGE BIDS ADIEU,CHRIS LEONG STEPS IN Chris Leong has been appointed President of the Grey Global Group, SEA (Malaysia, Singapore, and three IndoChina) effective August 1. This marks a return to Grey for Chris who in I992-I994 established and ran the Grey's promotions arm

ADOI is looking for a dynamic AD SALES EXECUTIVE. You must be a young go-getter, hard-worker and team player. Preferable if you own your own transport. Good basic and commission. Write in to sivananthi_t@hotmail.com or phone 7726-2588 and ask Siva/Rani for an appointment.

in Malaysia, working with such clients as Procter £r Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline, and British Ameri­ can Tobacco. She is currently Managing Director of Bates Hong Kong and prior to this Bates Singa­ pore, and she has seventeen years of experience

Superb opportunity for a BRAND EXECUTIVE to work with Temporal Brand Consulting and world-renowned

Chris replaces Grey veteran John Burbidge who has resigned to establish his own business in

some time. I look forward to announcing my plans in greater detail shortly," said John.

According to AdAge Global, Naga DDB tops all other agencies in Malaysia with a gross income of US$ii.ii million. DY&R followed closely with US$10.1 million while Leo Burnett ranked third with US$7million. Others in the top 10 include Grey (US$6.9m), McCann-Erickson (US$6.7m), Bates

(US$6.2m),

(US$4.7m),

Publicis

O&M

(US$6.om),

(US$3.9m)

and

FCB Lowe

fax to 03-77264115.

necting people with projects!

Chinese reading and writing ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE required for Leo Burnett Kuala Lumpur. Minimum 1 year's experience. Interest-ed candidates to call: Eu Kim

Media Specialist requires MEDIA COORDINA-TOR (I year experience in media),MEDIA PLANNERS (3-4 years expe­ rience) and a MEDIA MANAGER. Please e-mail resumes to june_hooi2002@yahoo.com.

ment of senior creativesworking via email, fax and the net.

Affordable rates, successful track records. Creatives based in Australia, NY, London, creative_core@hotmail.com.

FRESH/JUNIOR AE and GRAPHIC DESIGNER (2-3 years) wanted for an accredited agency. Handling local and regional accounts. Email resume and expected salary to wong@one-ap.com.my.

(US$3.4m).

An EFFECTIVE MARKETER with eight (8) years of sound

• MORE RTM CHANNELS? Tan Sri Khalil Yaakob, the Information Minister,

experience in business manage­ ment, brand management,

has indicated that RTM may be allowed to have

sales, and trade marketing; An

more channels in the future. This will allow spe­

in-depth knowledge of category management, Innovative busi­ ness plans with proven results in accordance to distribution channels and sectors for premi­ um brands and FMCG; Exposu­ re in general management of business in the FMCG industry.

Regio-nal exposure in the South East Asia countries.

cialised channels - one for local and interna­ tional news, an entertainment channel and a sports channel. The Government is also consider­ ing making RTMi an ad free channel.

• DON'T GO TO PRINT WITHOUT TOE TODUNG Women portrayed on billboards, posters and other forms of advertisement in Kelantan must be shown wearing the tudung. The rule is being enforced by the local council and the aim is to protect the image of women in the state. This is because posters and outdoor advertising falls under the domain of the local councils and state governments rather than the national govern­ ment.

• t(AS ANNUAL AGENCY APPRAISAL The 4AS has sent out a kit for agency appraisal to all concerned. They recommend a formal annu­ al appraisal as it serves as a useful diagnostic tool for both client and agency to recognise strengths and more importantly areas of improvements for

Ad agency in PJ looking for GRAPHIC ARTIST/ DESIGNER

Find the right talent for the job! Post your free recruit­ ment ad at www.radixagency.com. RADIX AGENCY, con­

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• NAGA IS THE BIGGEST

We, Food £r Beverage company requires one CREDIT CONTROL EXECUTIVE: diploma holder with 3 years working experience and familiar with debt collection procedures. E-mail resume to: hr@acecanning.com

urgently. 1 -2 years experience necessary. PC savvy with knowledge of Photoshop, Page Maker and Illus-trator critical. Please e-mail resume to buzzcr@tm.net.my or

Malaysia. "After 30 years of working in corpora­ tions, I decided it's time for me to strike out on my own, a dream I've been harboring for quite

researching. Call 012-6757644 (AM).

Brand Consultant. Fax in why you are the best to: 03-7727 9927 or email: jong@brandingasia.com

on both the client and agency sides of the com­ munications business.

brochures, leaflets, press ads. Editing, translating, Net

Hua 2073 2300.

Rapp Collins, an international integrated relationship marketing agency, is looking for suitable candidates to fill the following positions: ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, COPYWRITER and VISUALISER. Call June at 03-78806933 for an appointment.

Hot publishing house needs people! We're looking for AD SALES EXECUTIVES, GRAPHIC DESIGNERS, EDITORS, FREELANCE WRITERS, ILLUSTRATORS & PHOTOGRA­ PHERS. If you're great at what you do, we'd love to hear from you. E-mail mediaplus@maxis.net.my

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interview). 3 positions to be filled. Relevant undergraduate Degree a must. Experience not essential but right mental atti­ tude vital. Please send resume to magicmakers2@yahoo.co.uk or ycmagic@yahoo.co.uk with text resume.

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Tel: 603-2094 4545,2094 3518 Fax: 603-2094 6910 Website: vmw.display-osia.com E-mail: displayasia@ppp.nasionet.net

AwardWinningAds

2002 D&AD Win ners!

THE recent D&AD awards saw 18, 629 entries and 3 Golds and 38 Silvers being awarded. The Golds were given out to BBH for Levi Strauss' 'Twist' in the 'Direction - TV & Cinema Advertising Crafts' category; Partizan for Virgin UK's 'Star Guitar Chemical Brothers' in the 'Direction - Music Videos' category; and Apple Computer's 'iPod' in the 'Products for Health & Leisure - Product Design' cat­ egory. In Malaysia, three agencies got their work into the book. Amongst them: Ogilvy & Mather's 'Newt / Toad / Giraffe' for Unilever by Gavin

Silver Award (Integrated Advertising, Interactive Media and Radio) Title Missing Piece • Entrant Abbot Mead Vickers, BBDO • Client The Economist

Simpson in the 'Writing for Advertising / Campaigns' category; BBDO's 'Hole' for KFC Holdings by Huang Ean-Hwa in the 'Graphic Design / Point-of-Sale Material' category and Grey Worldwide's 'Stretch / Meditation / Contortions' for

Gold Award (3D Design) Title iPod • Entrant Apple Computer Client Apple Computer

Nike by Edwin Leong in the

'Typography

/

Typography for Advertising / Campaigns' category. Across the causeway, DY&R Singapore garnered a silver for its work 'Ashtray'

for the Singapore Cancer Society in the Ambient Media category. Twelve other works by var­ ious agencies also made it to the book. Some samples of luscious award-winning work are shown in this page. Feast your eyes!

Sjg SlNGA'

Silver Award (Integrated Advertising, Interactive Media and Radio) Title Ashtray • Entrant Dentsu, Young & Rubicam • Client Singapore Cancer Society

Gold Award (Music Videos)

Gold Award (Television & Cinema Advertising Crafts)

Title Star Guitar Chemical Brothers • Entrant Partizan • Client Virgin UK

Title Twist • Entrant Bartle Bogle Hegarty • Client Levis Strauss

aDOl MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS35

YoungGun

Hats Off To Hisham This self-professed 'battle hardened kampung boy' all the way from Kota Bharu is one of the brightest sparks in the industry.

He started his advertising life as a proofreader at CD Advertising and proceeded to read a lot of books and develop a fiery pas­ sion for writing. Then he arrived at Publicis' doorstep as a senior copywriter and rose to Creative Group Head and finally sat the coveted seat of Creative Director - all in just one year.

Is writing fun? Or is it just more glamorous than it's made out to be?

It's neither of the above. Fun and glam­ our are actually shallow and superficial in the context of communication. The business can be fun, and the creative approach to it especially; but when you sit down to write a piece of advertising, you've got to be a serious enough human being: serious enough about the problem at hand, serious enough about creating advertising that helps solve the problem, serious enough about the idea of making a difference - not for your selfish per­ sonal glory, but primarily to the business and the brand you're helping to write for. Also a serious attitude towards elevating the stan­ dard of communication within society. And being serious about the things you do in life is hell of a lot of fun.

How, when and where did you decide that advertising was your calling?

When I realised I would never fit snugly into a suit and tie even if they were Italian.

Also when I started to see more and more banal and downright boring ads polluting my daily paper and tv channel. Also when I understood the power of mass media and the fact that marketers and advertising profes­ sionals had this power at their disposal yet not many were doing an engaging enough job of it. More so now with the proliferation of unconventional media. It just gets more and more exciting.

Creativity is about passion. Do you think it's a passion for fun or a passion for money?

That depends on whom you're talking to.

Michelangelo still received material rewar­ ds for his Sistine Chapel, but I doubt if that was the thing that mattered to him. In any case, there can never be a passion for money.

36aDOl MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

For money is always about greed. Any person who talks about this as a passion is perhaps the most useless of the lot. It's just unfortu­ nate that a lot of guys smear the passion for creativity in advertising by professing that the ideal in them. And when they join the business, the work attitude is just plain wrong. My passion for creativity in advertis­ ing would still be intense even if it didn't give me a lot of money. And friends who know me well enough, know that I've taken a lot of flake in the money department throughout my career so far. That said, no one should ever be shortchanged either. But in the end, there can only be so much money for talent anyway; for anything extra, the creatives for example, must demonstrate responsibility, reliability, a brilliant sense of working with people, and listening, leader­ ship charisma, strategic understanding, stretching beyond their defined roles, immaculate presentation skills and yes, I can't stress this enough, responsible and reli­ able behaviour and attitude. The minute you enter advertising, you've entered into a ser­ vice agreement. Between human beings. And you had better keep your end of the agree­ ment.

What's your favourite ad? Why do you like it? Among your work, which is your favourite and why?

My favourite ad is always the one I have yet to produce. I like it because the cutthrough potential and edgy-ness are there.

The ad won't just win creative awards, it would also win the client's product a place in the hearts and minds of consumers.

Ultimately, it would win the client's business corporation something that's increasingly expected of business corporations; a conscie­ nce and a soul. No, I don't think this is mere­

ly a dream. Oh yes, I love the 'footballitis' commercial for adidas. Why? Because it's a step out of the box of what the sports catego­ ry has created. When everything else is 'atti­ tude', 'cool', adrenalin-charged, adidas came out with something warm and pretty much entertaining in a down-to-earth sort of way.

Yes, even 'cool' can be a very small box in the end. If it isn't already.

Is the most creative ad the most effective ad?

When I read job briefs that outline a whole list of communication objectives for a single press ad, I know immediately the ad won't be effective - no matter how creative it turns out to be (but that's fat hope, anyway).

I feel everybody must first understand and accept the role of advertising in that specific circumstance and what objective (ideally there's only one objective) it can realistical­ ly achieve. There are other tools that can be utilised more meaningfully and more effec­ tively to achieve the other objectives. Last time I checked, every agency was still talking about the holistic, integrated thingy. Same thing from marketers. And you only get out of the future what you invest in it. Same principle applies to communication. One press ad, one insertion in the paper, can't solve all problems.

What's the kind of work you'd like to be remembered for?

Something, anything that engages humans in real conversations and results in mutually beneficial exchange and learning. Sure does­ n't sound like anything in advertising (given its current creative slump). But I'm not rul­ ing that out at all.

If you have a really good idea which you think works wonders for the brand, how

YoungGun

would you sell it to the client? Any exam­ ples?

I have one brilliant idea already. But it's not mine. It's from God. It's called conversa­ tion and it takes place between human beings. Businesses should quit bragging about how great they are. The new con­ sumers are very cynical, involved, informed, independent and individualistic. And they have a lot of choice, and not a lot of loyalty.

For the longest time, they don't know whom to trust - thanks to trite advertising lan­ guage and an abundance of similar products which are equally unimaginative - so they trust no one. The idea is to go back to the brand essence - what Plato believed to be the 'idea of that thing'. Dig back to the original brand essence, what made it connect with consumers in the beginning and is the same thing still relevant today? If it is, revive it.

Reinvigorate it. If not, sit and listen to the buzz in the market and see where you fit.

And don't bring your personal prejudices to the table. And then, engage the consumer in a conversation. And conversations among human beings should sound human (jargonfree, technobabble-free, exclamation markfree, etc). 'The Company' is just a metaphysi­ cal construct - businesses are still, funda­ mentally, human.

And the marketplace is, fundamentally, conversational. If you don't believe me, walk along Petaling Street, or any pasar malam for that matter. Listen to the banter. And try the forums on the Internet. Boy, not a lot of sugar-coated language there. The current homogenized voice of business is fast becom­ ing as contrived and artificial as the lan­ guage of the 18th century French court. I can think of Petronas as an example of a good corporate conversation with the audience.

The brand essence is clearest: we're

Malaysian. And that's becoming increasingly relevant to the people. And the communica­ tion is human. No "buy two drops of our petrol and get one drop free because we're the best in the world and we've been doing this (very badly?) for donkeys' years" -1 pray it never gets to that, and I see no reason it will ever need to go there. In fact, motorists are flocking to the stations instead.

love her for that. Maybe people should be required to check their egos at the door each morning they walk into the office. That said, I don't expect everyone to be hugging trees anytime soon either. If someone right now were to conduct a refresher course on how to become a human being again, I think he'll make a lot of money. Final thesis: it's about unity of feeling, not uniformity of thought.

people should be required to check their egos at the door each morning they walk into the office Most creatives don't get along with account management people. What's your take on suits?

Different personalities are good for the advertising environment. (In fact, I would especially recommend this to big, bloated and bureaucratic environments; it'd be fun).

I personally celebrate the differences. But personality clashes are pathetic. It doesn't stop between suits and creatives in agencies.

It involves everyone that's involved in the business and its communication. The ulti­ mate thing that we strive to project to con­ sumers is beauty, enhancement, likeability, lovability, inspiration, aspiration, belief, connection and everything big and bright.

But behind the scenes, it's small and spite.

How much more hypocritical can a situation get. The key thing is to have a common goal.

And focus towards that goal. I don't have to like a person very much (but I don't need to be obnoxious either), but if what she's doing is taking us towards that common goal, I'll

What do you do to unwind?

I spend a lot of time with Rumi, Kahlil Gibran, Idries Shah, Noam Chomsky, Robert Fisk, Edward Said, Gore Vidal, Plato, Mahat­ hir Mohamad, Hawking, Naguib Mahfouz, Calvin & Hobbes, Lat, Francis Fukuyama, Alvin Toffler, Jhumpa Lahiri, The Dalai Lama, Naomi Klein, Arundhati Roy, Heming­ way, Anthony Burgess, Salman Rushdie, VS Naipaul, the writers for The New Yorker, The New Scientist, Wired, Na-tional Geographic, AdBusters, etc. And I've started to pick up the phone again to speak to my family and dearest friends. There's nothing like real human conversations. And them telling me advertising isn't the only thing in the world.

And I tell them back, "that's only because you haven't seen the ones that matter".

aDrenaune aDOl MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 37

InterActive

The Quirks of NewTVC

pr/May 2002

What Works

by Josh Sklar, Founder LogicWorks - josh@logicworks.us

Brand: Lifecella Whitening Mask Title: My Fair Lady Duration: 30 sees Client: Hitsamitsu Agency: Dai-Ichi Kikaku Malaysia Creative Director: Raymond Wong Art Director: Duan Tan Copywriter: Corrine Chooi Language: English Summary: Just spend a few minutes with Lifecella Whitening Mask, and you will become more beautiful & confident.

Brand: Livita Title: The Road Duration: 30 sees Client: Taisho Pharmaceutical Agency: BBDO Malaysia Creative Director: Huang Ean Hwa Art Director: Yeoh Oon Hoong Copywriter: Joseph Anthony Language: English / BM / Chinese Summary: Only Livita can refresh you and get you going on the road.

Brand: Ayam Goreng McD Title: Drumstick Boys Duration: 30 sees Client: Golden Arches Restaurant Agency: Leo Burnett Advertising Creative Director: Yasmin Ahmad Art Director: Shafiee Othman Copywriter: Khairyl Yassin Language: Bahasa Melayu Summary: Just try the new Ayam Goreng McD, and you

foiiU)

di MCD

will get a blast out of it.

Brand: National Title: It's New Life Duration: 30 sees Client: National Panasonic Malaysia Agency: Hakuhodo Malaysia Creative Director: John Richard Khoo Art Director: Max Tan Copywriter: Marita Miranda Language: English / BM / Chinese Summary: Live it up and enjoy your colorful New Life with National.

Brand: Nestle Kit Kat Title: Tour Guide Duration: 40 sees Client: Nestle Products Agency: Lowe £r Partners Creative Director: Chris Howden Art Director: David Sin Copywriter: Chris Howden Language: English / BM / Chinese Summary: Enjoy your Kit Kat anywhere, anytime, any­ how. Have a break, have a Kit Kat.

Brand: TM Touch Title: Virtual Duration: 60 sees Client: TM Cellular Agency: Foote, Cone and Belding Creative Director: Lakshmi Mohan Art Director: Ting Tai Meng Copywriter: Tung Yu Peng Language: English / BM / Chinese Summary: TM Touch - The excellent ways in which technology enhances communications.

ffledioBonc For more information

please call hm

Jsmail of MediaBanc at 03-79836668

38aDOI MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

SINCE there are a few online entities that are definite success stories, why don't we take a look at what they've done properly? Who are these mavens of Web sites? The fact that we don't have to think very hard demonstrates these three have, without a doubt, built amazingly successful brands. I'm naturally referring to Amazon, Yahoo! and eBay. Now don't groan. I know how tiresome it might be to hear those names.

But think about it. After all the fuss, these guys are still on the tips of the tongues of everyone who has ever spent any time online - and of some who haven't - and are thriving, continually growing businesses that have Ear­ nings Growths far above the market indices. So what have they done so right?

First off, of course, they were the first serious players in their cate­ gories. In the case of Yahoo!, they pretty much invented and then rein­ vented theirs (from categorized and human-edited search engine to com­ munity portal to consumer and business service provider). First to market does not always guarantee success (as many a dot.com enterprise found out the hard way), but it's definitely helpful in generating awareness and cap­ turing a loyal customer base.

Next, they dialed up the PR machine for several years. Pumping every­ thing they had into finding knowledgeable and/or charismatic leaders who spent 80% of their time telling others the exciting things they were doing with the other 20%. They each took advantage of their inflated mar­ ket cap to acquire competitors and 'synergistic' entities and then paraded these deals around as evidence of their ever-rising dominance.

OK. So because they were first in, they were able to secure funding to promote themselves which in turn primed their valuation so they could buy others and begin the cycle again. But a lot of companies tried that route and most of them failed. What else did these three online companies do that has helped them to not only survive but continue to overshadow every­ one else more than two years after everything went south?

As much as they are in the public consciousness and, for a long spell there, were always in the news, if you go to amazon.com, ebay.com or yahoo.com you'll note that while corporate information is present, it is the most downplayed hyperlink on all three sites, placed at the absolute bot­ tom of the pages as text links. Where most companies believe it is of criti­ cal importance to beat their chests (consequently making 'corporate info' the most dominant link), these sites realize that it's not about them - it's about the user.

They have not spent a great deal of money on making the prettiest, most robust looking online presences. Amazon is the exception having invested a considerable amount a few years ago, but for most of its popu­ larized existence, it was like Yahoo! and eBay. The primary mission of each site was to allow the user to quickly find the facility or product they were searching for and deliver accurate, satisfying results. So they pumped all of their non-promotional dollars into building robust technologies that could deliver that plus personalization.

I'm a great believer in the need for professional design, clean layout, intelligent information architecture and a consistently achievable user interface. What these companies all realized from the beginning though (whether intentional or not) was that when creating a new world with unproven services and business models, it's more important to focus on the core offering, the promise, rather than getting everything 100%.

The sites are fairly ugly, jam-packed with way too many options, they could be streamlined and made to be more engaging. But it's clear that these companies have spent a great amount of time really understanding what aspects their users find important and then over-delivering in those areas. People are quite forgiving when it comes to, franldy, extraneous facets of their online experience. Sure the experience on all of these sites could be improved, but I think the owners have one other key shared phi­ losophy: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

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AgencyProfile

Grey's Effective „ Yashaswini Samat, Regional Brand Leader with Jeff Orr, Executive Creative Director, Asia Pacific.

AT the recent Ad Age Global's first annual Asian Effectiveness Awards in Hong Kong, Grey Worldwide swept one gold and three sil­ vers, four of all the eleven trophies awarded that night. In an industry which prizes awardwinning work done for big clients - it may come as a point of interest that Grey won all awards for their work for P&G - a gold and a silver for the launch of Febreze and another two silvers for Pantene. Febreze was a new pro­ duct which was a fabric freshener which works on odours trapped in fabrics, deodorises them and makes the fabrics fresh-smelling.

The product was first launched in the US and then in Japan and Grey launched it in Malaysia and Singapore. The campaign won a gold in the 'Integrated Media' category and a silver in the 'Launch of a new product' catego­ ry. On the other hand, Pantene involved the relaunch of the product itself - previously shampoo was differentiated on the basis of treatment e.g. 'dry and damaged' but now Pantene shampoo is differentiated on the basis of end-look e.g. 'smooth and silky'. The Pantene relaunch campaign garnered Grey a silver in the 'Integrated Media' category and a silver in the 'Change in Strategy/Direction' category. In one way, the Grey win is exciting for Malaysia as Grey Worldwide has its region­ al headquarters right here in KL. ADOI caught up with Jeff Orr, Executive Creative Director, Asia Pacific and Yashaswini Samat, Regional Brand Leader to find out about their amazing success.

Let's talk about Febreze first. What were some of the challenges that were involved?

YS: The basic challenge was that Febreze was an expensive product that people may or may not have the need for and it was crucial to make it relevant to people. Consumers were concerned about the fragrance, the efficacy, the safety and were asking questions like 'Is the smell too strong?' and 'Is it too chemical?

The campaign used three different parties to address these concerns. We had Chef Wan, Fella Furnishing and Crown Princess Hotel staff. Hotels have a common problem with cig­ arette smells which Febreze helps get rid of.

The people from Fella talked about the efficacy and how nice-smelling it was while Chef Wan talked about how Febreze helps combat the cooking smells in the house for example 'bela-

tiodDOl MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

can' smells in the Malay houses. We also had transparent vans going around town with a sofa set and showed people how the product was used and how it worked. In stores we had fabric swatches pre-treated with bad odour and in front of the people we sprayed these and within 20 minutes the fabric smelt great.

People often have a perception that the market is saturated with products - did that make it difficult for to launch Febreze?

JO: If you're talking about air fresheners yes, it would be extremely difficult to launch a new product but with Febreze it was a totally new category. P&G has an R&D unit which comes up with new product innovations and the products are not created in a vacuum. It addresses a need that hasn't been catered to before. In that way, it was a little easier.

What were some of the challenges in relaunch­ ing Pantene?

YS: This was a global relaunch which start­ ed in the US in 2000 rolled out across different markets. We took the global relaunch strate­ gies but we had to revise it for our markets.

Initially we had to even do research to find out

change wouldn't end up confusing a whole lot of people and had to communicate the change correctly.

How did you judge the effectiveness of the campaign?

YS: We increased our business. In fact sales exceeded the expected targets. And even our research indicates that our key parameters like awareness and trials went up during the campaign. Even repeat purchases were signifi­ cantly higher after the campaign.

Did you see the campaign taking different shapes in different regions?

YS: First we researched to see how we might modify it for different markets. For Australia, we followed quite closely to the US model while in India and ASEAN - the cam­ paign was quite similar with the exception of the Philippines. In different countries, we had to use different words which were more mean­ ingful in the market. For example, one of the products is a volumiser and when we talk abo­ ut volume - in some markets we called it bounce, in another - thickness, in a third-body and in Thailand - elasticity. Thais wanted com-

There is a big difference between perception and reality whether the concept itself worked. Afterall, there were big changes in everything from line architecture to packaging to communications.

Every shampoo in the past was designed on the basis of treatment - dry & damaged, extra treatment etc. and so you had to know what your hair type was before you got the right shampoo. Interestingly enough, we found out that what people think their hair is - is pure perception and has nothing to do with the actual condition of the hair. For example, Thais who have great hair think that they have damaged hair while Filipinos who have pretty average hair think that their hair is healthy and fantastic. There is a big difference betwe­ en perception and reality. So consumers often end up picking a shampoo based on a percep­ tion and don't get the results they expect.

Eventually they end up unhappy with the pro­ duct. We decided to get away from all that and differentiate the products based on the endlook that people want - like straight smooth hair or well-defined curls. This is a much sim­ pler way of segmenting - based on end-look and we are better able to meet people's expec­ tations. We also had to make sure that this

plicated explanations on how it works because they feel the shampoo works better. Whereas Filipinos want a simple straight end benefit and they love having a celebrity using it.

JO: What changed about Pantene was the packaging, not the essence. Instead of talking about the hair problem on the pack, we talk about the hair opportunity. But the essence of Pantene advertising is about transformation from having unhealthy hair to the hair that you want. We took the transformation brief and came up with 'reborn'.

Pantene communication is all about a woman sharing her hair issues with another woman. This round we managed to get rid of the manufacture talk - and invest it with con­ sumer talk.

If you had a really great idea and wanted the client to do it how would you sell it?

JO: With sound logic, by demonstration that it can leverage people to buy the product, your understanding of the consumer and why the consumer will buy the argument and the idea will be tested and tested and tested and be proven.

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Advertising and Postmodernism ByKapil Sethi, Director of Strategic Planning, Bates Malaysia.

where Jazz represented a break from classical

sculptural, organic forms that mimicked the

musical tradition, from composers writing a

shape and impressions of the human hand and

piece of music on paper and musicians trying

fingers - such as Donald Booty,Jr.'s hand held

their best to play exactly what was in the score

undulating calculator made in left and right

to Jazz, where the song is often just a starting

handed models. To make its products more

point or frame of reference for the musicians

user friendly, high tech electronics also partic­

to improvise around.

So what do we do when there is nothing

ONE of the most pressing problems in adver­

ipated to some degree in the metaphorical and referential aspects of postmodernism. Sony

new left to do? This is where post modernism

Corporation's palmtop computer and AT&T's

steps in with a solution. One of the basic prin­

personal communicator, for example, employ­

ciples of postmodernism is the creation of

ed a traditional stylus as the means of data

newness through the juxtaposition or inter­

input on a touch sensitive screen.

mingling of two known scenarios-the tradi­

At its most innovative, this effort by high

tising today is that of overcommunication.

tional and modern, the familiar and unfamil­

tech designers to preserve the appearance of

There is intense pressure on creative practi­

iar, male and female, rice and cereal, virgins

continuity with the past restored a kind of

tioners to produce 'fresh' work in the face of

and prostitutes-you name it and in combina­

honesty to the sleekness and glossiness that

jaded consumers facing multiple media mes­

tion you may come up with the Mini Cooper,

technology could produce. Valued particularly

sages every single day of their lives. Take a

Rubilc's Cube, drag queens, Rice Crispies and

in tradition based Japan, this "retro-tech"

browse through any newspaper and your sens­

Madonna.

es are dulled by a certain sameness in the advertising messages. Most of us have a hard­ ened mental filter through which we allow only a minute fraction of all those messages to be processedby our brain.

The funny thing is, this pressure is not unique to the communication business at all, but is a truly global phenomenon. The biggest problem today in societies where physical sur­ vival issues of the population have been con­ quered is that of boredom. Attention spans of audiences are shorter and shorter, because there is an increasing sense of having done everything before. The impact is being felt in diverse professions, from engineers who design 'white knuckle rides' for fairgrounds being asked to produce increasingly frightening rides to the pressures upon designers of com­ puterised three dimensional animated envi­ ronments such as Virtual Reality to give us more and more excitement. Journalists write

The biggest problem

approach was developed by the textile designer Junichi Arai, who engineered high tech lay­ ered fabrics into dimensional reliefs by com­ puter, and finished them by chemical burn-out and melt-off processes and in vacuum heat-set

today in societies

machines that left wrinkled, curled, buckled,

where physical

unity of the postmodern design situation is

survival issues of the population have been conquered is that of boredom

and shrunken surfaces with the appearance and texture of handcraft. The underlying typified by their inventive fantasy, expressive­ ness, and almost universal acceptance of arti­ fice. Plastic laminates in bright colours dis­ guise fiberboard, fabrics that look handmade are designed and made with fast modern machines, and metal furniture is carefully conceived to take on the aura of the salvage yard while high tech functions are encased in humanised forms. These are designs that shout rather than whisper, that can be abrasive and ironic, and that seem to reflect all the com­ plexity of a period that communicates in sound bites and the virtual reality of comput­ erised images.

of 'compassion fatigue'. Our television screens

This movement has found its best expres­

bring pictures of suffering and violence that

sion perhaps in the work of designers. Like

While it has been around awhile, the

can shock public opinion, but in a short time

other postmodernists, they came increasingly

immediate future is still postmodernist and

we become immune to them, so that, for exam­

to explore the possibilities of integrating aes­

therefore the implications for advertising are

ple, donations to relevant charities fall back to

thetics, subjective expression, and communi­

immense. Perhaps the most significant place

previous levels.

This then, is the problem. All mountains

cation into their designprocess, reinterpreting

to look for strategic and creative newness lies

their technological vocabulary for expressive

in the bringing together of hitherto distinct

have been scaled, all the seas swum, buildings

purposes. Creating domestic objects and appli­

approaches, schools or what have you, in the

built, images seen, games played, and sexual

ances that depended on technology but approached sculpture, certain designers began

business as well as the craft of advertising.

positions tried. There is no newness. This, in philosophy was the death of modernism, a lar­

to exploit the aesthetic effects of dynamic ten­

enjoyed tremendous success, and communica­

sion, movement, and the insubstantiality of

tion needs to follow suit. Indeed most success­

gely 20th century phenomenon about creating

Manufacturers who have done this have

deliberate breaks with established genres to

structural materials. Some designers human­

ful advertising already does. Brands that help

generate newness.

ized technological forms by deconstructing

reinject desirable novelty in our lives are the

Today we know and have been exposed to

them in another sense, that is, by softening

brands of the 21st century, and that novelty

all the 'reactionary opposites' of these genres,

their contours. The application of ergonomics

will come from the totality of the brand expe­

for example Western Classical music and Jazz,

to consumer electronic equipment resulted in

rience, including its communication.

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