Adoi Malaysia 1999 April

200,000 in Sept '98

175,000 in May '98

150,000 in October '97

100,000 in April'97

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Yes, you've guessed right. The publishers of this magazine are going to launch the Advertising Directory of Singapore (ADS) 1999 soon and 6,000 copies will be released into that marketplace. This is in line with ADOI's increased circulation drive which now reaches 1,000 advertising and marketing communications professionals in Singapore too.

With subscriber support (fill up the coupon on page 44 if you are not one yet), ADOI can become a monthly magazine by end 1999. What say you?

While so many people in the ad industry are preoccupied with the doom boom mentality, I was heartened to hear Gerald Miranda of Zenith Malaysia declare that the worst is over! Gerald is probably right ; he is in the forefront of clients' advertising spending and will probably be the first to notice any improvements (full story on page 16).

On a personal note, I survived a tough schedule in my pavementbeating drive to bring ADS into Singapore and met up with some fifty personalities. It's probably an interesting tale of learnings but I'll save the full story for the book. I learned that Tim Evil! (DDB) is probably one of the most articulate creative directors I'd ever met. I finally met Rod Pullen (Batey Ads), someone I have respected for years but never had the privilege of meeting till now. I was corrected (thanks to my new friend Lawrence Loh of SPH) that OMD handles media for DDB, TBWA and BBDO. Sorry, you'll have to figure out the initials yourself! I also learned that the calm and collected Brian Beagan (TBWA) is a remarkably funny person and can keep a straight face while rattling off jokes. He sure made my morning! I then discovered that Peter Kemeny (Capital City Posters) is a fitness buff and really knows his outdoor stuff. I also learned that my good friend Tim Parkinson (BBDO) is more of a Malaysian than an expat.

I learned that Greg Paull (APL) rips furniture, Mark Ingall (Bozell) is off to the Big Apple, J erry Hendin (Edelman) loves Indian food, Julie Sherborn (ACP) has a great view of the river from her office, Joe Lim (RCS) was surprised that I only wanted to shake his hand and that Patrick Low (DYR) rather play football. Singapore is fun; I made many new friends!

To all our readers, I welcome you to enjoy this issue and please remember that whatever happens - DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF! Respectfully,

4

Ray of hope hits Singapore's ad scenel

6

Sing Tel - Licenc~ to Winl

8

Life on the bright side

10 A new star is about to be born

14 Getting real with Yasmin Ahmad

24 Building brands in a creative media environment

The Hammer

EDITOR

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES

Harmandar Singh

ADLANTS Communications Sdn Bhd No. 44C, Jalan 1913, 46300 Petali ng Jaya, Selangor D. E. Tel: 603-754 7271 Fax: 603-757 3343 E-mai l: vylo@pc.jaring. my

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PRINTER Pr om-Ad Creative Communications

DTP DIRECTION Chang Sheau Yun

DISTRmUTION POS Malaysia via Efficient L etter stwp Sdn Bhd

26 How your direct mail can be like a mailing from mom

30 Jonathan Fox on how advertising will survive the future

OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPIIER Jen Si ow

DESIGNER Chang Sheau Yun

COLOUR SEPARATION Screen Gal lery Sdn Bhd

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

Letters and submissions to the Editor regarding topical news and opinions are in vited. We also welcome inforrr~ation and pictures on industry news, personnel movements and any company developments of news value. You can send all your correspondence to The Editor; Sledgehammer Communications Sdn Bhd, 22B, Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad Satu, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, 60000 Kuala Lumpur; fax 03-716 2598 or e-mail: ham@pop.j aring.m y

42 BBDO powers through AdFest 991

Ray of hope hits

Singapore ad For almost six years now Ray Dempsey has been steering McCann-Erickson Malaysia in his characteristic manner - slowly, silently and calmly through good times and bad. He has come to be respected among his peers as the quiet achiever; with the agency clinching more business wins than they could ever imagine in recent years. I'm talking big ticket accounts like Maxis Mobile, Nescafe, Salem and more. And yet when you meet the tall and lanky Ray, you get the impression that it's all a matter of course.

Even though he stands at over six feet, you never get the feeling you're being looked down on. That's Ray's trademark; he has seen the rough and the tough and knows that the little guys mean as much as the big guys. In fact, he comes across at times as a private and perhaps even shy person. But that didn't stop Ray from beating a path through emerging markets like Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka when he was appointed McCann-Erickson's Area Managfor South East Asia three years ago. He suggests he had to go, because nobody wanted to! And if that's not enough to his understanding of the region, remember that Ray was even a client Having served with the San Miguel Corpoin San Francisco, Papua New Guinea and he later joined the agency handling his McCann-Erickson Manila, as Managing for seven years before his transfer to Barely a month ago, Ray relocatErickson Singapore, to run the while overseeing the region from Malaysian achievements are to go by, Ray will certainly exude an sense of style and confidence in the ad scene. A realist who believes that is a humbling experience, I was humbled by his unassuming disposition .m r..,..,,,.,"""', him (Ray rarely does inter-

to be the business growth; from the and Binariang (Maxis Mobile) to grow Coca-Cola, the alignaccounts to the McCann network like Motorola, MasterCard and All this has helped us ride the our clients continue to spend allowed us to shine creatively. has pitched creatively against with some degree of success for used across markets,

I was lucky because we had very senior people on the ground handling the regular workload when I had to travel.

We had to build this teamwork spirit over a four year period and also develop the ability to critique each other for our common good, without taking things personally.

scene! like our Coke work which was adapted in 26 countries around the world. It has been very satisfying work-wise. And personally, I really got to know Asia.

How did you handle your regional role while running the KL office?

It is difficult. Running an agency is a day to day, hands-on responsibility. I was lucky because we had very senior people on the ground handling the regular workload whenever I had to travel.

We had to build this t eamwork spirit over a four year period and also develop the ability to critique each other for our common good, without taking things personally.

This will be my big challenge in Singapore. Because only then can I juggle my dual roles.

What are your plans for the McCann office Singapore?

McCann Singapore is a top five agency. The recession has really hit Singapore much more severely than Malaysia. By necessity, Singapore advertising is retail-based and retail has been hammered. I also think the Singapore office is well poised to become a regional creative centre, driving regional projects out of Singapore, while stabilising its ongoing local business.

-

more. McCann KL has been able to avoid lay-offs and salary cuts and I hope we can continue to do that.

Which of your regional clients are based in Singapore?

Clients are regionalising to cut costs. They are trying to use one marketing idea across many markets. Clients based in Singapore are Gillette, MasterCard, L'Oreal, Reckitt & Colman, Boots, Esso ...

Doing one material across many markets. Is this a profitable way to operate for agencies who could charge multiple fees for separate pieces of work?

No, it makes us take out our costs too. Clients are co~g back and asking for one big creative idea, one great production , one centralised media strategy which they can run in four or five countries. They're squeezing us as much as they are squeezing themselves and any other supplier. For example, the big retail chains are coming and saying you got to give me the cheapest cost of your product in four or five countries. We are all being pushed in these tough times. It will be interesting to see how agencies can take out costs, continue to deliver and manage this change that is being forced upon us.

Ray, what is it that you like about your job?

There's nothing I love more than sitting in brainstorms, looking at creative work, trying to figure out the pieces to present. That to me, is still the fun part of the business.

How do you compare Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore?

McCann in the Philippines and Malaysia are much the same, in the sense that we have the opportunity to build our relationships with big clients like Nestle and Coke over the years and growing with the business. In Singapore, there are not many such opportunities.

In Malaysia, I find that sometimes it is difficult to think out of the box creatively.

Simple things like you can't do a commercial in slang. Whereas in the Philippines you can. This . allows you to get to the emotional depth of your consumers and touch them with the language they use every day. ¡

Do the clients in different markets behave differently?

No, I think all clients behave in the same way.

I think even ad agencies behave in the same way in different markets. They are different cultural nuances, rituals. But when it gets down to it, everybody's got to put more and everybody's got to deliver. Whether it's our office in Laos with two or three clients or in Singapore with a whole array of clients, it's basically the same.

Do you feel that you will be leaving the McCann KL -operation in good shape?

Well, I think McCann KL is probably more solid than any other agency in Malaysia I still have my regional eye on this office, so I'll always ensure McCann KL stays in good shape. There is no doubt in my mind that 1999 is going to be more difficult than 1998. We entered 1998 with good momentum, but 1999 began with a negative momentum. Sales are sliding dramatically. It means we got to tighten the belt even

What will you cherish of Malaysia?

I will always thank Malaysia for educating me on the big Asian picture. Not only are there three cultures here, that was a great start, but its proximity to Thailand, its affinity to Indonesia, they all added up to my understanding of the region. 1n my travels, I can always look at McCann Malaysia as a centre of excellence for creative and production.

One of the things my family has taken

out of our Malaysian experience is, we now put spices in our cooking! And now everything that my wife cooks is spicy hot. I think this will always be part of our lives; I'm not sure if our Filipino and American friends who visit and stay with us are as delighted!

Has McCann done anything new in the marketplace?

One of the things we've put into place is McCann's Road Map to effective advertising. We do consumer insight focus groups, we call them pulse groups, on a weekly basis. We do it with teens, with housewives ... This allows us to keep in constant touch with the changes our consumers are going through. In turn we can develop strategies that are more relevant. It's interesting to see how the next generation teenager turns out, not being the product of a ten-year boom and so on. We may see a harder edge Asian teenager emerging.

Why are many clients centralising in Singapore?

What about Hong Kong as a hub?

Singapore has worked hard to make it easy for expatriate non-Asians to come in and operate instantly. So if you move from Chicago, Illinois to Singapore, you can kind of understand the way things work. I believe that Singapore is going to slowly become a regional centre, as Hong Kong becomes more and more a part of China.

Any failures you want talk about?

Failing my golf handicap test at my own club!

It hurt my pride so much that I worked hard for three months on my game. Imagine you join this club and you're not allowed to play there!

McCann-Erickson is Global Ad Agency of the Year!

Recently, Adweek has named M cCannErickson Worldwide as it 'Global Agency of the Year' for 1998. Adweek cited the quality of the agency's creative work as well as its business performance as the main reasons. "McCann is now a big machine that hums. An indication of the network' s renewed vitality has been a series of high-profile account wins."

The article goes on to describe how John Dooner, Chairman and CEO 'orchestrated a renaissance at the once-staid M cCann.'

M cCann, in 123 countries, is the ad industry's largest global network.

5 ADe>i

Despite the slowdown in ad spend since last year, every ad person in Singapore will tell you that the sector still bullish on advertising is the telecommunications category. SingTel (Singapore Telecommunications) which was the main player for years saw the emergence of MobileOne {Ml), who made inroads with their mobile and paging networks. And come April 1 next year, StarHub will enter the market with its full menu of telecommunications semces, coming up to par with SingTel in its offerings.

In recent months a price war of sorts has hit the market, with SingTel Mobile and Ml competing fiercely offering new packages to woo a consumer who is obviously relishing the attention.

Apparently, when SingTel Mobile reduced their rates, the Telecommunications Authority of Singapore (TAS) slapped their wrists in a move to stem a price war. But that's history now as the market witnesses a showdown between SingTel Mobile and Ml, with anybody's guess of how things will pan out once StarHub gets into the act. SingTel Mobile is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore Telecom and the pioneer mobile phone semce provider in Singapore.

SingTel - I,icence to Win! I

n this issue of ADoi, we talk to the ad agencies behind these telco brands. Dentsu Young & Rubicam (DY&R) Singapore currently handles the lion share of the SingTel account, Ml is driven my DDB Singapore and StarHub will be steered by newly appointed Batey Ads. We also asked their respective clients for comments.

First stop? Patrick Low (below), the Executive Creative Director of DY&R Singapore.

Patrick has been credited for developing much of the advertising that's behind the SingTel brand.

He is also credited for more than a hundred creative awards besides being the first Singaporean to make it into the New York One Show!

Patrick has also judged at the London International Advertising Awards, Clios and the New York Festivals, to name a few.

Married w.ith two children he claims his greatest achievement was playing football against Kevin Keegan, Bobby Charlton, Geoff

ADOi 6

Hurst and the British All Stars in the 1991 International Soccer 7s!

Pat, can you reminisce a little about SingTel's ad history?

DY&R has been handling SingTel's advertising for the past 10 years.

Prior to privatisation, advertising was done on an ad-hoc basis; more as an informative tool to announce ¡new services and products. After privatisation, we saw the introduction of real competition in the forms of Ml (mobile and paging) , Pacificnet and Cyberway (internet), and Hutchinson and Sunpage (paging) . In responding to competition, the account was divided amongst a few ad agencies.

However, this has had its drawbacks in that the advertising created for the various divisions were often fragmented and lacked synergy. Today, I'm pleased to say that we are becoming more consistent and recognisable as a brand, thanks to the launch of a new corporate commercial and various support programmes to highlight SingTel's most valuable assets to the customer, by making him or her the centre of everything they do.

With new players coming into the scene, do you think the consumer is getting confused?

With new players coming into the scene, the consumer would be

challenged to make the right choice in technology, price or service.

Although there will be duplication in products and services offered, I believe that if the messages are clearly communicated there would be little confusion. The challenge is not to win just the consumer's mind but the heart as well.

Ml seems to have a sense of single-mindedness in their advertising. Is it because they only have one major product to shout about?

It's a lot easier when you're a new player, because people do not have a perceived image of you. What's more, it helps when you only offer a couple of services.

What creative awards have you picked up for the Singtel work?

We've won awards for the World Cup sponsorship and the International Calling Card TVCs. If you had the chance to handle StarHub's advertising, building a brand from scratch, what thoughts would you pursue?

Since StarHub is partially owned

by British Telecoms, I would borrow their success in England and build a personality for the brand by using a person or a group of people. Strategically, StarHub could be positioned as a company w.ith global expertise.

rently more than 12,000 hi!Card users. In fact, SingTel Mobile is the first and only operator in Singapore to offer a prepaid mobile phone service.

Alan, how big is SingTel Mobile's customer base and mobile phone market share?

SingTel Mobile has about 70 per cent of the market, with over 700,000 customers. We have every intention to remain the dominant market leader and will focus on delivering first class quality and reliability of our infrastructure and layer upon this strength by providing innovative services at superb value for money and a high level of

10

CALl

Tell us the story behind your 001, Licence to Call campaign.

When we launched IDD '001', we wanted to create a distinctive and memorable icon that will differentiate it from "the competition. Hence the spoof of James Bond and the line 'Licence To Call' was conceptualised. We then had to negotiate with the owners and distributors of '007' for the rights to use it. As luck would have it, the launch of IDD '001' coincided with the release of 'Tomorrow Never Dies' the latest Bond movie. You can see why it now enjoys one of the highest recalls in SingTel's advertising history.

It must be comforting to krtow you have a client who is still spending vigorously' while the ad industry is experiencing a major setback with budg~t cuts. Are you hopeful it will stay that way till the economy recovers?

In times like these it is certainly comforting to know that we're still busy. I guess in good times and bad, everyone has to talk.

You obviously have a very brave and supporting client in SingTel. Can you share With us your working relationship with them?

The fact that we've handled the account for 10 years says a lot about our track record and working relationship. A relationship that lasts this long is often based on trust and perseverance. The client trusts us when the going gets tough and the agency's will to keep on going.

There has been a lot of activity in the marketplace of late ...

SingTel Mobile recently introduced a new loyalty programme to reward its customers. They get up to 40 per cent off their monthly subscriptions depending on how long they stay on our network. In addition, they also enjoy discounted calls turing the Hot Hours between 12noon - 2pm and 6pm - 9pm.

The "Shrink My Bill" campaign was very well received by our customers because every customer sees a real benefit 'almost immediately. In other words, it is a program that they can easily relate to. In January this year, SingTel Mobile concentrated its marketing effort on hi!Card, a store-value mobile phone service, exposing the consumers to both print advertisements and TVCs. There are cur-

What would you have done better with your work for SingTel? Now that the Brand Mission and personality have been cast in stone, we have to ensure that the advertising can deliver these objectives as consistently and effectively as possible.

A

Doi also spoke to Alan Goh, Vice President of Corporate Marketing at Smgapore Telecommunications Limited ....

customer service. SingTel Mobile is the only operator in Asia to offer the most extensive roaming services to more than 10,000 cities in 84 countries worldwide.

And what sort of advertising budgets are you allocating

for this year and next?

We will continue to invest in this growing market. For instance, in 1998, SingTel Mobile spent more than S$1 0 million on advertising.

We will continue to maintain a dominant share of voice which will become even more competitive in the corning year when the third mobile phone operator starts in April2000.

To date, SingTel Mobile has invested more than S$1.15 billion in its mobile phone networks, with more than S$850 million invested in digital systems. Another S$300 million will be invested within the next 12 months to enhance network coverage and increase capacity to serve our customers. even better.

With S$25 million invested in intelligent network solutions, SingTel Mobile offers a range of digital innovations such as SpeechDial, InfoDial, Single Number Service and MobileOffice.

It is also one of the world's first to offer the DualBand GSM/GSM 1800 service which allows customers to enjoy mobile phone services on both networks using one handphone and a SIM card.

Where do you see the telco category heading in five years time?

We see exciting times ahead, literally borderless and more and moreconsumerised. We expect data and wireless Internet services to be the engine for growth in the next millennium. With the technology in place and the availability of new age handsets (eg. WAP, SIM Footkit,3G), customers will able to enjoy services such as e-mailing and surfmg the Internet, seeing and talking to the other party, while on the move.

The current penetration of mobile phones is Singapore is about 32 per cent. And we see no reason why Singapore, like the Scandinavian countries, will not be able to aim for a penetration rate of 50 per cent or even more!

7 ADe>i

The biggest turning point in the MobileOne (Ml) ad campaign in wooing consumers was probably when they creatively overwhelmed SingTel's umbrella icon by introducing the shining cheerful sun- synonymous with Ml's bold and bright advertising style.

"We're just a small thorn in their side," quips Tim Evill, Executive Creative Director and Managing Partner of DDB

SingTel's wnbrella icon served them well in

communicating coverage. You obviously saw an opportunity to turn that around in

your favour.

The umbrella means rain - gloomy, wet, cold and signals possible concern. So we decided to do a tv spot which shows someone in the pouring rain. The camera then moves to a bright, sunny, cheerful and warm scenario. We introduce our sun icon and whammo, the message hits home!

Li eon the bright side!

The umbrella means rain - gloomy, wet, cold and signals possible concern.

So we decided to do a tv spot which showed someone in the pouring rain.

Singapore, the spunky advertising shop now enjoying all the attention their campaign is receiving islandwide.

Looking like a battle hardy advertising campaigner Tim and the DDB team, which includes brand strategist David Tang and creatives Neil Johnson and Francis Tan, have unleashed a campaign every bit as hot as Tim's childhood days in Africa. Tim, who incidentally is an acquaintance of the Sultan of Johore through his love for boats, did a few agency stints in London before deciding on Singapore.

He started his island call at McCann for two years before being lured by the Singapore Girl to work as Creative Director on SIA at Batey Ads, producing numerous awardwinning TV commercials.

After nine years at Bateys, Tim's next port of call was DDB Singapore where he and his like-minded colleagues have been busy making inroads into the local advertising scene with breakthrough work, one them being the highly visible Ml campaign.

Tim wastes no time in reeling off his thoughts ...

ADCJi R

How do you think it feels to be in SingTel's shoes now?

I sometimes sympathise with the people who are trying to turn this gigantic SingTel ship around because of the baggage it has to carry, and I mean the good with the bad. For years, SingTel took the customer for granted.

So when they suddenly turn around and position themselves as a service-oriented company, people do a doubletake. Is this for real? You don't earn trust by saying who you are but by what you do. If I told you, "My name is Tim, trust me" you'd think twice. But if I did something good like find your lost wallet and returned it to you, will you not trust me? I respect the people at SingTel and their ad agencies. In fact, SingTel has boosted its marketing muscle by roping in some sharp strategic minds who should help them realise this market is about touching the consumer in a meaningful way; not in putting up a high-tech front . Then again, I also feel that the more they keep using their umbrella icon in their ads the more it is working against them.

People now view that symbol differently; no arrogance intended, but I feel our sun nailed it.

How long do you think this battle for the consumer will last?

We are only a small threat to SingTel. The real war should begin when StarHub gets into the picture next year. Competition is great. It spices up the market and arouses the consumer. Being a monolithic monopoly for so long, SingTel obviously sees a new player (however puny) as a cause for alarm. After being the lord of the jungle for eons, your pride will naturally hurt when you see a young upstart tap dance around you.

W

hen asked how differentiation works in a competitive marketplace, Kate Stephenson, Managing Director (South East Asia) of Optimum Media Direction and DDB's media agency working for Ml adds, "If three networks have equal coverage, then their advertising and marketing strategies are key. The things that help the big networks are inertia among disgruntled subscribers, same as banking, etc., and also the halo effect that comes from being the big brand. The tricky thing for the newcomer is that if you focus on a niche or message, you may be losing out on other chunks of the market, but if you try and be all things to everyone you end up with confused consumers. Most advertising case

Public sympathy is with the newcomer.

People will not be very forgiving if we make a mistake,.. conceded Sing Tel. 11

studies show that the best route is a consistent message and strategy which may be delivered in a multitude of ways, but they all support the brand. In HK, the same is true where there are two big guys, CSL1010 and Hutchison, and one strongly branded network SUNDAY, and of course, the rest."

I

n a recent press report, M1 Chief Executive Officer Neil Montefiore said that subscriber growth has been consistent in the last twelve months, keeping within the 8,000 - 12,000 range. Industry sources were quoted as saying that M1 signed on as many as 11,000 new GSM subscribers in January alone, compared with SingTel Mobile's 1,000. In a much earlier statement, while commenting on how the public compared it to its rival, a SingTel spokesman said , "I think public sympathy is not with us. It is with the newcomer. People will not be very forgiving if we make a mistake."

We later asked M1 Marketing Director James Heng about the fasF moving marketplace ...

You have made a massive impact on 'big brother' SingTel by stealing quite a of market share in the mobile phone recently. Do you feel intimidated by mammoth presence and clout?

We have positioned ourselves right from day as the mobile company that provides our customers with a high level of quality, value, service and innovation and, I believe, we are seen by the market to have largely delivered on these promises. This is a tremendous source of satisfaction for us and it will inspire us to do even better for our customers.

What sort of projections in market share are you hoping to achieve in 1999?

We hope to increase our market share to about 35% by end 1999.

Your agency has obviously done a strong branding campaign for you. This is important for a smaller player that's new on the block. What are your thoughts on branding?

I think we have built a fairly strong brand in the relatively short time since our launch. Our research tells us there is already a high degree of recognition and recall of the M1 brand. Desired brand personalities such as being young, refreshing and innovative are also closely associated with the M1 brand. However, building a strong and durable brand is a long-term process and we have to continue to invest resources to create such a brand for Ml. Can you comment on your working relationship with your ad agency?

All relationships start with both parties getting a measure of each other and establishing a level of mutual comfort and understanding. I think we are past that stage and we now have a good and solid working relationship with DDB. They share our vision for the brand and have contributed strategically to the development and communication of that vision.

Any comments about SingTel's umbrella icon versus your 'sun'?

We are very happy with the sun icon and its impact on the market. We are making it work very hard for us so that very soon 'Everywhere under the Sun' will literally leave others with nowhere to go and no place to hide.

The pitch for StarHub's advertising account grew much interest amongst advertising circles, largely due to the fact that it will eventually become a big spender in an industry characterised by massive budget cuts. The account was finally awarded to Batey Ads and the countdown to launch date April

1, 2000 has already begun.

Continuing the telco saga, is the much anticipated arrival of another new player in the Singapore market - StarHub. Unlike Ml which is only a mobile phone network and paging systems operator, StarHub has the full licence to

deliver all the services SingTel currently offers making it a bona fide competitor with equal standing. StarHub Pte Ltd is a joint venture between Singapore Technologies Telemedia, Singapore Power, & Nippon Telegraph Telephone Corporation and British Telecoms. The pitch for StarHub's advertising account grew much interest amongst advertising circles, largely due to the fact that it will eventually become a big spender in an industry characterised by massive budget cuts. The account was finally awarded to Batey Ads and the countdown to launch date April 1, 2000 has already begun.

ADoi spoke to Tom Vesey, Group Deputy Managing Director and Business Development Director at Batey Ads who was a key architect of this new business victory. Here's the story...

Who were the key players on your winning team and what do you think helped pull you through to victory?

We had a fairly tight team on the case: Ian Batey driving the creative teams, David

MacKenzie pushing the research teams; many people in the agency contributed. But the key element, we feel, was the proposition to form a brand management team, to whom all other communication partners report: the DM agency Tequila; the interactive agency - SilkRoute; the media partner . - Maximize and so forth.

This unit, Batey Brand Management, is for

us the way forward in really helping clients drive their businesses, based on well presented brands.

Tom, the StarHub account victory must have been one the biggest clinchers in Singapore's shrinking ad industry in recent months. Could you s hare with us t he se quence of events to the final showdown, the vying agencie s and your observations?

We didn't think we'd actually make it onto the shortlist at first. It was a great relief when we did receive an invitation to pitch. Not to have been invited to put forward proposals for building Singapore's next major brand would have been a major blow! For the first two sets of presentations we did no creative at all. Our entire thrust was on research and strategy, which we felt was the key to the agency's contribution; the creative was just the icing on the cake. We carried out 600 street interviews, twice. We did an internet brand survey on current telecoms companies. We did two series of group discussions with distinct audience segments and we commissioned some specialist studies with a consulting group. However, when we finally did tum to creative in January of this year, we had a technological disaster on the day of our first meeting with the CEO. We were just about to let fly a

fully integrated presentation to fifteen StarHub executives over a computer when PC No. 1 goes down. Smugly we switched to PC No. 2, but this also crashes! The entire show had to be done the old fashioned way, standing on an orange box, using story boards and scripts!

There's been talk of 'new media' being the winning ticket in many new business pitches today. Can you comment and elaborate if this was factored into your StarHub proposal?

New media is important to many of our clients now but unless you understand how to manage it and what it can contribute to sales, marketing and brand issues, you are a loser nowadays. The key though is not new media, it is managing the brand, wherever it touches the customer; the key is integrating new media and all other media into a powerful overall brand plan. That is what we hope to deliver with Batey Brand Management.

Will StarHub become your biggest spend-

ing client or will SIA still remain on the top of your clients' adspend roster at Batey?

Singapore Airlines will remain our largest client.

The final round was then more of selecting one agenc;y which had the right combination of both creative and strategic strengths.

What are your comments about your fellow agencies who also pitched for the StarHub business but did not succeed?

I am sure they all worked as hard as we did. We were lucky enough to win.

Are you going to reshuffie your agency's structure to meet the huge responsibilities of driving the StarHub account come April 1 next year?

The main structural change is to set up the Batey Brand Management unit. We will be recruiting one or two people, but most will come from within.

What's the biggest lesson you learned with the StarHub project and what precedents you wish to set with your coming launch for this new brand?

Being able to offer clients a truly integrated

Brand Management team is the future of our business. Ad ideas are dead. Big ideas that can work hard for a brand right through the communications spectrum are the future.

A

Doi subsequently spoke to Shae Hung Yee of Corporate Communications Dept at StarHub Pte Ltd., to get her perspective of things to come ...

Can you outline the client review process/criteria that eventually voted to award Batey Ads the StarHub account?

The process of selecting the agencies was very stringent. We called for a closed tender and shortlisted the agencies in the first round based on their credentials. The second round was a strategic pitch which evaluated the agencies based on their understanding of the competitive telecommunications environment and their ability to come up with innovative strategies to address the challenges facing a new entrant like StarHub. The agencies that entered the final shortlist were all very strong in their strategic capabilities. The final round was then more of selecting one agency which had the right combination of both creative and strategic strengths.

I must say that it was a very difficult decision for us to make as the agencies were all very good. We finally selected Batey because we felt that they possessed the right combination we were looking for.

Being a telecommunications company which will provide the full scope of services parallel to SingTel's existing roster must put you in a very enviable position for the current market leader.

Are you in the 'Avis. We're only number two' mental mode?

Although we are the new entrant to the market, we certainly do not have the number two mentality. In many ways, the ability to start with a clean slate means that we have a very exciting opportunity to lead the market in innovation and we intend to do so, starting with the technology we are putting in¡ place, the way we want to approach and service our customers, and certainly, the way we package our products and services. All these will be done in a very innovative manner that will appeal to the marketplace.

How do you see the telco market shaping up when you come into play?

I think it will be a dynamic market and we can expect to see a lot of creative marketing which will be very exciting for the consumers.

Have you confllnned your new logo and Corporate ID stance already?

Yes we have, and we plan to unveil our corporate identity soon.

Why April 1 for a launch date?

Aprill 2000 was a date set in our licences by the Telecommunications Authority of Singapore to commence operations.

New media is important to many of our clients now but unless you understand how to manage it and what it can contribute to sales, marketing and brand issues, you are a loser nowadays.

by Julie P. Lingan Like the rest of the world who had gone before them, they were determined to go in, despite the fact that the doors were closed and only a gardener was in sight. He was dressed in shorts and t-shirt, happily watering the plants on this beautiful day in the sun-drenched island of Langkawi. The building stood white, gleaming and proud, set against the backdrop of a lush tropical rainforest, and further down was the tranquil blue waters of the Andaman Sea. "Sure, I'll open the door," he said, wiping his hands on his shorts as he proceeded to the Ticket Booth. The grateful guests paid token fees, then patiently waited while the gardener opened the front doors of the Ibrahim Hussein Museum & Cultural Foundation.

Silence prevailed as the group soaked in the magic on the walls. The gardener who had escorted them all this while , patiently stood behind, close enough to hear their whispers.

"Ibrahim Hussein - that's the name on the door!" "Such masterful

strokes!" "Ssssh, quiet, this is a Museum!" One voice was loud enough to echo in the empty halls: "Is he still alive?"

Hussein. Is he still alive?" they asked the gardener one more time, their eyes curious and waiting.

The gardener wiped his brow and whispered "Uh... you are looking at him." He says it in a way that only he can - softly, humbly, unceremoniously.

They moved from one masterpiece to the other, as though in a trance, mesmerized by the passion and the power, the poetry and the pain lying beneath those vibrant explosive colours and eloquent black and whites, oblivious of time, perhaps even oblivious of one another.

Mter what seemed like eternity, they started babbling again, admiration flowing like the graceful lines on the wall. "Ibrahim

The gardener wiped his brow and whispered "Uh... you are looking at him." He says it in a way that only he can - softly, humbly, unceremoniously.

Before he knew it, he was covered with hugs and kisses, hands ruffling his hair and thumping his back. "You are Ibrahim Hussein! Why didn't you say so!

I don't know what to say!" the woman in a frilly dress and a summer hat mumbled. "This is a moment we will never forget,"

the old man said. Surprise.

Bewilderment.

Pleasure. They introd u ced themselves, tourists from Finland who heard about this global village dedicated to artists from all over the world, and in that moment of "connection", there were no barriers of colour, nationality or religion.

This incident was related to us by no less than the gardener ticket seller - doorman, with his lovely wife filling in the gaps.

Amused, he laughed till there were tears in his eyes. And I'll always remember that through it all, I said a prayer for all of us, mere mortals, that we may learn from this worldrenowned, multi-awarded man, that life is simple after all, especially when humility is very much a part of it. not officially Though opened, the Ibrahim Hussein Museum & Cultural Foundation has been receiving visitors from all over the world with lb, Sim and a number of dedicated volunteers standing tirelessly at the door. For more information on the Ibrahim Hussein Museum & Cultural Foundation, please call tel no.

604-959 4669 or fax 604-959 4670.

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Getting real with

Yasmin Ahmad

Executive Creative Director, Leo Burnett Malaysia.

Here I am, up close with Yasmin Alunad who's clad in casual top and fitting jeans. Yet, her oh-so-ordinary demeanour could not stem my excitement. I knew I was about to peek into a genius mind. And I was not disappointed.

Refreshingly unpretentious, candid, warm and friendly, that's Yasmin. Our hour long dialogue was delightfully informal and liberally sprinkled with Malay and Cantonese. Barely 10 minutes into the interview she invites me to hear her play the blues at Little Havana.

Nope, she's not into cigars. Lighting up a Marlboro, this lady of contradiction knows exactly how many LDs she owns, but doesn't keep count of the many awards she's won.

She's never been to Modestos and always wear baju kurung to the Kancil Awards. When I confessed that I've yet to see 'Meet Joe Black', she's quick to assure me that I've not missed anything.

Just like the rest of us, she's camera-shy, and self-conscious about looking fat on print.

Obligingly, she relents and presents in Mariah Carey fashion, her left side to the camera lens. Yasmin also played her favourite works, talking me through the concept and thinking behind each painstakingly crafted scene. I left (reluctantly) with a much better understanding and appreciation of the Petronas corporate commercials.

H I may make a detour, I hear that Michael Conrad (Vice Chairman & Chief Creative Officer of Leo Burnett) was here.

Could you tell me about his visit?

Sure. He's doing his rounds and came here for a 'rah-rah', to congratulate us and to see what we're doing. The talk he gave was very interesting. Michael started his presentation by knocking down an ashtray. Deliberately. The message he hoped to put across was that accidents do happen in real life.

Therefore advertising should reflect this, instead of those toogood-to-be-true situations. He showed us some of the best works worldwide to emphasize his point.

How did you get into advertising?

Accidentally. I wrote a letter on 'Indictment of God' when applying for a job with a PR firm.

(I was going through that period in my life.) The lady who interviewed

me suggested that I give advertising a try. Totally clueless, I joined Ogilvy & Mather as a copywriter and left after 8 years. That's when I was sure advertising IS for me.

What do you like most about your job?

Getting to know people. In LB, the philosophy is be humane, humble and sober. Always be concerned with human needs. Only by looking at them as a person, can I learn about them and find the message to reach into their hearts.

You have won numerous awards in your illustrious career. Are you stil hungry and what drives you on?

Looking at the advertising around us, I am more and more convinced that advertising should not look like advertising.

Advertising language is too sugary and unreal. I fmd commercial breaks on TV intrusive, always selling some product or other.

Instead, make an ad look like a film.

A real story. Throughout the 90sec Petronas Raya Ad, there is no product mention, no branding.

Only a logo at the end. We deliver the soul of the product (down-toearth) , not the product packaging.

You have the knack for creating ads with topical themes (Gombak Shoes - Pehonas Merdeka Day).

How do you do it?

Like everyone else, I am concerned for our country. Here was a creative way to help the nation promote 'Buy Malaysian'. You first find the soul of the product, and the soul of the consumer who buys the product. Then you find the one word that connects them. For Petronas, it's 'down to earth'. Always find the real product.

Then, use drama to make it interesting. In the Gombak Shoes commercial, the goldfish in a vast tank of water is seen as small and insignificant. It also depicts loneliness.

This way, people can sympathise with the hero in the story.

Feeling inferior and fearing rejection, he tries to hide his Gombak shoes. But then, the beautiful girl beside him also wears Gombak shoes and she's proud of them.

What inspires you?

People, People, People. Studying people is second nature to me. I go to the 'warongs' and get to know the waiter, the security guard, the mee seller, the salesgirl, etc. I like

talking to them, because to me they are 'real' people. However, I have difficulty getting close to high ranking people who believe that convoluted speech equals intelligence. For example, clients may react to my work and say "But this is not aspirational" But I say "reach out to people, treat them with respect, learn to speak their lan-

What kind of advertising would you like to see more of?

Advertising with soul, that does not look like advertising. To effectively reach out to the people, one needs to know them and who better than ourselves. Expatriate Creative Directors can still contribute with the crafting of ads, but the essence of the ad now lies in the hands of

guage and they will like you." Once they like you it's much easier to loosen their purse strings.

fellow Malaysians.

Whafs it like being a 'role model' for aspiring young copywriters? What words of wisdom would you impart to them?

It's not about body piercing, ponytails, tattoos, or what you wear. Be real. Be yourself, get to know your market. The real reason to exist is to get to know your consumers, using their language to tug at their heartstrings.

Who is your mentor? What was the single most important lesson you learnt from him?

Am I allowed to have more than one, because I have a few? John Webster (UK) - I learnt a lot watching him work, reading his writings.

Ali Mohamed (Chairman and Executive Creative Director of Leo Burnett KL). Barry Owens - he said "Thai advertising is for Thai people, therefore must have a Thai tone". Kamal Mustapha - a film director that I'm working with and learning a lot from.

Five years from now, where would you like to be?

Doing something meaningful. I've written two screenplays that I'd like to see shot and played.

What are your feelings about the Censorship Board?

I like them. Putting a stop to ads that portray women as sex objects.

Checking for advertising that is disrespectful to religion, that's good. Though at times, the objections raised are an expression of their own beliefs, generally I feel they are doing a good job.

The advertising scene of which country would you consider the ideal place to showcase your creativity?

Here. In Malaysia. Because I know the people. I enjoyed working in Indonesia and China. But. it takes time to learn about people. Once you know the people, you can work anywhere.

How do you unwind, relax?

Hobbies?

Watch films, listen to director's commentary, choice of colour co-ordination, editing, read famous directors books like Alfred Hitchcock. Watch dramas which are fast becoming much better than films.

What keeps you awake at night?

Computer games and watching LDs. Yasmin by Yasmin In 1982, after nine miserable years schooling in the UK, Yasmin graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Psychology. Her first job?

Trainee at Perwira Habib Bank. This lasted all of two weeks. Then, she joined IBM (yes, IBM!) as a Marketing Rep and moonlighted by night as an infamously rude blues pianist at a club called Scandals.

Next came copywriting at Ogilvy & Mather Malaysia. She often describes her venture into advertising as a "gormless git with a dislocated personality stumbling into a haven for failed novelists and talentless playwrights". Eight years later, Yasmin joined Leo Burnett Kuala Lumpur as Joint Creative Director at the less-than-tender age of 34.

SEniNG UP MY HOME OFFICE The very first thing I did was to make a list. Under 'assets' I had pager, telephone, cellphone, computer, modem, printer, calculator, stationery, coffee-maker, and my own home. Not much, you say?

Hey, how much do you need to be able to write anyway? If you think about it, all you really need is your brain, pen, paper and the means to send it to clients in a clean and business-like format, right? And fresh brewed coffee, of course!

What's a writer without her cup of java? No instant junk for me, thank you.

A writing desk, you say?

That came later. In my first year as a freelancer, I used one of the side tables in the living room, which was all the space I needed for my laptop. When I needed to think of concepts, I just stepped out onto the patio with my cup of coffee, notebook, and a dog to bounce off ideas. Next, I went in search of "my place". An area in my home where I can comfortably set up my work corner. My main considerations were privacy and storage space.

Privacy - If you live with someone else (which I do), you'll need a space that's safe from the busy areas of your home. For 2 or 3 days, I walked all over my house searching for that special spot until I found it. Our rarely used formal kitchen _became 'My place'. That's somewhere in between the main living, dining and bedroom areas.

And it's far from the television. "My place" was quiet, relatively isolated, roomy, airy. And there's already a little fridge, too, to stock up on sodas and double up as a bulletin board with the help of magnets!

Supplies Storage - Now that I am my own secretary, I need to be able to organize myself and file my papers neatly in places that's easy to fmd and store. I found these stackable plastic boxes in the supermarket one day (don't limit yourself to an office store to get the work stuff you need) . Perfect! I stacked them up to form a handy side-table, drawers neatly labelled for receipts, documents, supplies, etc. There's a place for everything.

And everything is in its place!

GOING TO WORK AT HOME When I started out as a freelancer, one of my toughest obstacles was to get into a work mode.

Through the years, I had my daily morning ritual of getting ready for work, dressing up, driving to the office. I thought, now that I'm working at home, I can go to work in my pajamas! I don't even have to

Becoming a

â&#x20AC;˘

Freelance Wr1ter

by Jigs Javier

Freelance Writer & Creative Consultant (http:// www.geocities.com/Eureka/3299)

In my first year as a freelancer, I used one of the side tables in the living room, which was all the space I needed for my laptop.

When I needed to think of concepts, I just stepped out onto the patio with my cup of coffee, notebook and a dog to bounce off ideas. wear make-up or comb my hair.

Who's going to see me anyway?

Then I realized, that didn't work too well. I felt too much at home, too relaxed.

I had to discipline myself!

First, I defmed my work hours.

Remember - just because you work at home does not mean you're on call 24-hours a day! You have to respect yourself as a professional and you have to make your clients and even your friends and family do the same. I put in my head that I had to be at my desk, working by a certain hour and finishing and knocking off work at a designated time.

Next, I got "dressed" for work. No to pajamas, no to bathrobes. But no to suits and blazers as well. I prefer a simple shirt and slacks or city-shorts and sneakers. And lipstick! Some of my friends found the idea of me going down from my bedroom to my desk wearing lipstick simply hilarious. Maybe so, but it worked for me! The lipstick was a psychological signal for me that meant "I'm at work".

MAKE YOUR OWN RULES You don't have to wear lipstick if you don't want to. Especially if you're male. The point is you are free to create your own workstyle

in a way that works best for you.

Make your own rules. But remember, with freedom comes responsibility. You are responsible for your productivity and efficiency. It's almost 3 years now that I've been freelancing. I have a real desk now to work on. My printer sits on the old side table with paper and ink supplies in its drawers. I don't always wear lipstick to work now, but I still"dress up" t o put my mind int o work mode. And I'm still making up the rules as I go along.

But they're my rules and no one else's. I haven't looked back since, because I wouldn't have my life any other way.

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by Rod Strother. Grey Direct Malaysia.

been a long struggle raising awareness of the fact that we have a strong direct capability, all the team will attest to that. And noone said it's over yet - least of all us!

Having an impressive peer group with people like OgilvyOne and DBC&M helps raise the profile of direct in general. Along with

this is the work that the DMAM are doing to try and educate advertisers in the marketplace of direct marketing's value to them. All of these things have got to be good for Grey Direct. Not only is the competition high which means our product has to continually develop but client's expectations are

increasing all the time. Put simply we can't rest on our laurels of recent wins. So, the report card on goal number two says "satisfactory first term - bigger things expected in future" As for number three well, if Ham had got his wish I'd have been doing what Grey Direct UK did in their au naturel ad and my chances of reaching even the 5,000 "most beautiful people" would have been remote. Hold on, I see Jeff Orr coming- I'm off!

Rod can be contacted at rod.grey@integ.com.my or 03-262 6868.

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One of the first things I set about doing when I got to Malaysia in '97 (the day of my 32nd birthday to those people who have said "Is he not about 40?") was setting out what I wanted to achieve here.

After about 3 or 4 months I'd decided on three things - very simple and very clear.

The first was to win something at football. Anyone who knows anything about the Scots knows we are a very proud footballing nation (and decidedly bad!). So I felt it was my mission to dispel the reputation.

The second was to help to try and build Grey Direct as one of the foremost Direct Marketing capabilities in the country. Not an easy task but you may as well set · your goals high.

The third - and this is a real toughie -was to top Jeff Orr (our Aussie CD) as one of the 50 (or was it 25) "most beautiful people" in Malaysia. It's one of those things that he never mentions but you know it's there!

So nearly two years down the road, how have I done? Well, the football thing is done and dusted thanks to that prestigious trophy - the Clark Hatch inter-club tournament. I'm happy to say that we came out on top against a bunch of Amie-wannabes, fitness gurus and man-mountains. Even managed a few goals along the way.... ..

How have Grey Direct fared then? Winning business with a leading Malaysian bank and Shell's BonusLink in the first quarter of this year has certainly gone a long way to showing that we can swim at the deep end of the pool. It's

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bv l a ra Hussein

I think it's fair to say that as we approach the new millennium, marketers are more cognizant of the need to reconnect with their loyal consumers. Forging better relationships will help generate brand loyalty and ultimately, sales. In doing so they will also build closer ties with media partners who were perhaps previously treated more like media suppliers sitting on one side of the fence waiting to clinch a deal rather than true blue partners. Although this working culture presupposes many things, I am optimistic that relationships will change when media owners become "brands" in themselves, committed towards the same goal.

In the recent Myers report, Jack Myers was quoted as saying: "In the case of TV media buying, the finite resources are an advertiser's media budget and the TV medium's supply of GRPs. While those two supply and demand variables have always ruled the TV advertising market place, the belief is that they have done so with some inherent inefficiencies. The inefficiencies come not from the process of buying but from how the resulting audience delivery approximates with the original media plan." In other words there are other qualitative factors that play an important role, e.g. Ira Carlin, worldwide media director of McCann Erickson Advertising, who

return of a qualitative environment.

Imagine, having a television station belonging to you and being able to do what you want with it. It's being able to engineer your advertising in creative ways that will make the medium work to your advantage. In the US, Sears and Roebuck and company developed their own media environment with TV channels. An integral part of Sears' success was an emphasis on creating their own space within a cluttered marketplace. Costello, the executive vice president, believes that TV stations can help develop integrated multi-faceted programs that tie together content, valueadded promotions and creativity which are customized to meet their

Building Brands in a Creative Media Environment It is becoming increasingly important for marketers to be open, responsive to ideas and a good partner with media companies that understand.

Another reason for this shift towards greater partnering is that marketers are likely to move away from cost efficiencies that are dependent on structured formulas to arrive at decisions, based on the qualitative value of having an environment, and the impact that could have on their brand equity.

The future will see marketers turning once more to customized TV media advertising for its potential to reconnect with the wants, needs and desires of the consumer. Building relationships with media companies in order to make better use of their advertising campaigns,·as relationship tools and not just to simply communicate an ad message. As a result, we may see media companies providing more than just placements and quantifying it with GRPs. They also recommend qualitative environments that add greater value for a brand.

Therefore, while advertisers look for future competitive advantages they are also seeking relationships with power media brands that can enable them to communicate relevant messages to the consumer. The partnership I'm referring to is not about getting the lowest costs, but to an environment that can build brand value.

While media costs, reach and frequency are important key elements of the day, marketers are also looking for words and concepts that make up a qualitative environment.

has also said: "New media approaches to media planning must look at the intersections of media and consumers at the time and place consumers are most receptive." That, requires more strategic input than traditional media planning, which would be to create the right environment and understand consumer modalities.

Important point: in order for the above to become a reality, media companies must act as brands within themselves. They must stand for something and be committed to the same goal as their marketing partners. Look at the US where channels like NBC and ABC are continuously differentiating themselves with relevant packages such as NBC's "MUST SEE TV" and ABC's "THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY''.

When media brands succeed in establishing a clear differentiated relevance to end users they will inevitably increase the value of the environment to marketing companies. "Even Pay TV providers like Discovery, ESPN, MTV and HBO are all trusted brands with dependable programming and assured viewing experience", says Hendricks, the chairman of Discovery Channel.

For successful partnering, advertisers must be willing to make this shift. They must be willing to appreciate the value and potential

marketing efforts. He says, " We are looking at targeted media and new media options, big ideas that we can customize ... " It is becoming increasingly important for marketers to be open, responsive to ideas and a good partner with media companies that understand. As media options become overwhelming with over 200 channels in the US, the branding of content is going to become increasingly important. We want to

4 ••••••••••

be associated with that content, e.g.

"Home and Garden TV", Golf Channel, etc. On the home front, although we don't have 200 channels, we do have an array of choices, from tv channels to radio stations, magazines, catalogues, etc.

How can media partners and marketers maintain a competitive advantage? In an increasingly cluttered environment, we experience the need to be more creative, intrusive and different in our approach to media. Although the order of the day will still be mass targeting for greater cost efficiencies, the creation of a customized media environment has been showing some impact.

One example of differentiating media environments is Citibank's "Who says a bank can't rock and roll"- The TV station expanded on the agency's brief to create a media environment based on the core strategy. This consisted of a video presentation, contest, product info capsules, TV program fillers, brand flashes, and Elton John program sponsorship. The success of the campaign was attributed to the commitment of the client and the advertising agency in wanting to enhance and str:engthen a big idea into an even bigger environment for a brand like Citibank.

Another interesting idea was Celcom's "Mata Hati KL '98 The 16th Commonwealth Games". This is an example where both client and the media partner wanted to differentiate themselves from other types of coverage. As a result a whole environment was created using the theme song "Standing in the eyes of the world", which accompanied the "Are you with me?" campaign, together with capsules and other media products and media coverage.

It is encouraging to notice that several media partners are ·committed towards becoming a media brand by differentiating themselves from the competition.

One such company is ntv7 who is exploring ways of building relationships with advertisers through providing a creative media environment to their marketing needs. I hope that the industry will grow in this direction, i.e. in establishing not only a strong quantitative environment but also a qualitative one.

If you wish to find out more about creating the right environment for your client, you can contact ntv7 Marketing/Brand Energy, a specialized consulting company at 03-517 7430.

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~~

~{'-Screen Gallery Sendirian Berhad 31 0-Biock C, Phi leo Damansara 1, No:9 Jalan 16/11, off Damansara, 46350 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan.

Tel : (603) 460 8677 Fax: (603) 460 8678 H/P: 016-220 6095 E-mail: jake@screen-gallery.com

I get a lot of junk in my post box.

Don't you? Like flyers from wannabe English tutors with promises like, "I will learn you English in just 7 sessions."

Everyone gets junk in the post box. My business partner Mano (who is, by the way, very much a woman) received a good one recently. Addressed to Mr. Mano, the mailing offered a herbal alternative to VJagra. If you could ignore the prefix confusion, I suppose the mailer could almost be forgiven - since the product is "guaranteed" to be effective for women, too. But Ms. Mano was not amused.

All of the above fit our definition of junk mail: The wrong message

I'm more likely to respond to a National Geographic mailing.

Companies that sell to a customer database through a series of wellplarmed communications enjoy the profits of familiarity.

It also costs less to retain, upgrade and cross-sell to existing¡ customers than it costs to acquire new ones. Existing customers tend to buy more, and more often, than prospects who don't have an established relationship with you.

I know mom, and she knows me, too. (Sometimes too well.)

That's answer number two: don't mail a specific message to just anyone. Be as meticulous and picky as you possibly can.

Direct mail letters allow the opportunity to get personal to the wrong person at the wrong time. But on rare and wonderful occasions, the junk in my post box is joined by spectacular exceptions.

A good example is National Geographic. Being a member and subscriber to their magazine, I also receive opportunities to discover the ancient origins of modern man... journey step-by-step to the top of the world ... or take a breathtaking tour of the wonders of my own body.

And like their magazine, each and every National Geographic mailing contains stunning photographs and exquisitely written text. But beyond the obvious creative superiority, what differentiates mailings like the ones I receive from National Geographic from all the junk? The answers lie hidden in another question, "Do you enjoy getting mail from your mom?"

Well, I do. With just a quick glance at the envelope, I know whom it's from. The U.S. pos~mark and her handwriting, of course, are giveaways. And there's also that little pre-printed return address sticker she gets free by donating to the U.S. Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Being a mailing from mom, the offer is implicit ... "Open this up to hear from someone who has and continues to love and nurture you."

That's answer number one: familiarity breeds response. I open up mom's mail because I have a "relationship" with her. Similarly,

National Geographic mails to me because I'm a member ... but they also know when I purchased their books, how much I've spent and which offers appealed to me most.

You can achieve a higher percentage of "hits" - those who say YES to an offer or send you moneyby profiling your ideal prospect and segmenting your list towards that profile. For greater success, track past results so you can keep doing what works, and stop doing what doesn't.

The third answer is a matter of both content and style. Mom sends me news and information relevant to my "needs and wants." And her style is personal, written from one individual to another - not unlike the National Geographic mailings. Direct mail letters allow the opportunity to get personal. That's why letters are the single most important element in any mailing. If you don't do letters well, or (horrors!) send a mailing without a letter, you are inviting disaster. Successful letterS refer to you by name, or at least by a relationship or association.

They say "you" more often than "1".

They ask you direct questions and request a response. They may tell you a story, make you laugh or cry, involve you in a solution, explain a tricky problem, but above all, inspire you to act and act now.

Which reminds me. I owe mom a letter. Better get to it.

The Fourth Malavsian Video Awards Festival, Mav 25-28, 1999 The Malaysian Video Awards (MVA) Council under the auspices of the National Art Gallery will hold the fourth Malaysian Video Awards festival from May 26 to 28, 1999 at the new National Art Gallery in Kuala Lumpur.

Following the success of the previous festivals , the fourth Festival will continue to strive in promoting Malaysian talents in the art of video, film and animation production. The festival will once again enlighten those in and outside the country of the craftsmanship and technology behind the production of commercials and films.

This year, the Malaysian Video Awards Council and the Malaysian AIDS Foundation are proud to announce a new award category - MVA on AIDS International Short Film Competition. Under this category, there will be two awards to vie for - professional and amateur. Following the previous years, there will be the Malaysian Video Awards Professional; ASEAN Video Awards Professional and Experimental Video Awards professional and amateur.

The MVA Council and the National Art Gallery will hold a two-day seminar to showcase Malaysian works. This will take place from May 26 to 28. Several top international and local craftsmen will be holding talks in conjunction with the festival.

The Festival will culminate with an Awards Night on May 28; entries for the competition will be accepted from now till May 7.

There will be 27 Malaysian Video Awards this year, including the coveted Best TV Commercial and Best Director awards.

For more information on the Festival and competition entries, please contact Ms Norheani Ghani of the Council at 03-254 7011 or visit www.mva.com.my

Mter the 'stain', now it's the Monica Stain Remover!

Monica Lewinsky, the Washington intern whose sexual liaison with Bill Clinton, nearly brought the White House down, has been offered 50,000 pounds by the UK supermarket chain, Tesco, to appear in an ad for a new stain remover. (A great lesson in brand building for the Levers and P&Gs of the world.) Lewinsky has been biding her time, studiously avoiding any sort of commitment.

(Source: The Brief)

Phallic ad creates stir!

A TV spot for Erin's Sauce, devised

by Dublin-based Young's (a non-equity affiliate of Leo Burnett Co), came in for some heavy drubbing in Dublin. In the ad, the female lead wonders aloud about Brian from the accounts departments, for whom she is cooking dinner. She asks the question, "Is it true what they say about Brain?" as she suggestively strokes a large cucumber, while the camera lingers on it.

Following protests by viewers, Young's was given one week to re-edit the commercial, which carried the slogan "There's more to Erin", and to drop the "lingering hand on cucumber" shot. The Irish foods marketer Erin has pulled and amended the $1 million advertising campaign. (Source: Ad Age)

ABC MEDIA WORKSHOP INPHUKET

Come June 10, for three days, the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) Malaysia will meet in sunny Phuket to discuss the new media landscape for advertisers, ad agencies and media owners in a workshop titled 'Digital Society'.

Workshop fees for delegates who are members of ABC , 4As, MAA or MNPA is RM 1,650 per person and includes return air fare, hotel (twinsharing), main meals and conference materials. For non-member fees, just add RM 250. Call 03-719 8195 for details.

Procter & Gamble Co, Cincinnati, said it will end its relationship with Euro RSCG Worldwide from April 1, 1999, and move several brands to other roster shops that already handle its brands elsewhere in the world. This is the most sweeping global agency realignment - involving more than $100 million in ad spend.

Saatchi & Saatchi will pick up Head & Shoulders shampoo in North America and Old Spice deodorant and aftershave in North America and Europe. Grey Advertising bags Mr Clean in the US. Leo Burnett Co picks up Metamucil laxative and dietary supplements in the US and Europe, and assumes global responsibility for the brand succeeding Grey as agency of record in Canada, Latin America and Asia. Agency assignments for Clearasil skincare products and Coast soap are yet to be announced. P&G said it would retain Euro RSCG's recently announced merger partner, Jordan McGrath Case & Partners, New York, as regional agency for Bounty, Era and Zest in North America.

A Euro RSCG spokesperson said the network can now compete more effectively on a global basis, since it won't have You've recorded weddings, birthdays, graduations,and even memorable any international conflicts in soccer games on video right? But to keep them forever, you can now P & G's categories. convert them to VCDs for less than RM 100 a tape. Call 012-398 3310 (Source: Ad Age) for details.

P&G account realignment.

Euro RSCG suffers US$100 million!

After ten years at DYR Malaysia, award-winning Executive Creative Director Dharma Somasundram has called it quits and is taking a well-deserved three months break to nowhere.

When contacted by ADoi, Dharma who is also Vice President of the Creative Council, said she has no immediate plans in mind and just wants to think about nothing for a while.

AnF~t I Q

Storing those precious moments for 100 years.

Jonathan Fox

h w adverti~,'. . . will su . ~~ve the future on

The biggest change we all need to face is that consumers have taken control of the information process. I think our business needs to shift towards serving a much more information-sophisticated consumer, active rather than passive consumer.

This changes everything.

Jonathan Fox is Executive VicePresident International of Grey Advertising and Chief Executive Officer of Grey Asia Pacific based in Hong Kong. He hops around the region keeping in close contact with his offices and has many outspoken views about how the advertising business should and is changing by the day. ADoi caught up with this eloquent personality when he visited KL recently...

WHAT CHANGES HAVE YOU NOTICED AS YOU VISITED YOUR OFF1CES IN THE REGION RECENTLY?

I see a psychological resilience on the part of the people in the region.

Perhaps the best way I could describe is I came to Asia in early 1997, at. the tail end of the euphoric period in the Asian advertising business. I watched with wide eyes as the industry began to sense concern at the end of 1997 - Thailand, problems brewing in Indonesia.

And then I watched the industry go through the first half of '98 when agencies realised that things were really becoming horrible. 1n the last half of 1998 there was a huge sense of despair, demoralisation and a sense that life as we knew it had come to an end.

Now, I see them picking themselves up from the ground, dusting themselves off, beginning to regain confidence. I think people are going to rise to the challenge.

There's a consensus that somewhere within the next 18 to 24 months things will start to get better.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MALAYSIA'S ADVERTISING SCENE?

I think there's great talent here.

There's a strong film culture, talented writers and art directors and technologically savvy professionals. It has all the ingredients of a

ADL>i 30

leadership market. For example, the regional account director for our SmithKline Beecham business has chosen to headquarter himself in Malaysia. We are also setting up Malaysia as a regional centre of excellence for Procter & Gamble's expansion in South East Asia.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE MADE IN MALAYSIA RULING WITH REGARDS TO FILM PRODUCTION?

I don't wish to be rude but I think that the law is a mistake. As in any business, if there's a monopoly, things will not develop as fast as they should. I think if the Malaysian film industry had to compete with the rest of the region or the world, it will accelerate by leaps and bounds. In some ways, I fmd that the regulation is doing a disservice to the industry in its ability to grow here. It also creates an unfavourable attitude about the Malaysian film industry in your neighbouring countries. One day there'll be a backlash when people who were forced to shoot here will refuse to do so if they have a choice. By stifling competition, you are stifling growth of talent and this serves against the best interests of the industry you are trying to protect.

Tms IS A WADED QUESTION.

WHERE DO

YOU SEE THE AD BUSINESS MOVING TO?

I believe it's about time people in the ad business realise that our 20th century success may have been based on two false premises: that mass media creates leverage for brand building and that agencies deserve to be paid a percentage of what clients spend on media. The biggest change we all need to face is that consumers have taken control of the information process. I think our business

needs to shift towards serving a much more informationsophisticated consumer, active rather than passive consumer.

This changes everything. Our industry will be reinvented around specialist knowledge practices. Organisations which have been preparing their skill bases will profit immensely.

Just as press copywriters of yore needed different set of skills to deal with radio, and radio copywriters fell on the wayside when TV came in, tomorrow's creatives will need to apply their art to the internet and be able to support the needs of specialist communications. Tomorrow's account executive won't be able to get on by personality; they will need to be communication consultants, business generalists and 'knowledge workers.'

You

HAVE BEEN VERY VOCAL ON THE

COMPENSATION

ISSUE.

CAN

YOU

RESTATE YOUR POINT?

I sometimes make myself unpopular with agencies over this!

We are almost in a perverse system of giving away our ideas in exchange for some percentage of what our clients spend on media.

What a great deal that is for an advertiser when some agency gives you an idea, makes you zillions of dollars, and all you have to do is pay them a small fraction of the total cost structure which comes up to about seven percent.

I rather Procter & Gamble keep the media commission on Pantene; I'd prefer taking five cents a bottle on everything they sell. I would like to be the direct participant of the whole process. I'd rather work for a performance-based compensation system for my idea contribution.

If lawyers and consultants got paid in proportion to how much their clients felt like taking their advice, or if accountants got paid a percentage of their client's net asset value, there would be a lot of unsold Porches and Armani suits in the world.

These professions get paid based on the skill level of their people and on the cost of their time,

with a heavy profit factor built in.

This compensation affords these industries to hire the cleverest people around. Agencies must finally realise the commission system stopped paying for us years ago; it is a limitation rather than a source of wealth; it protects mediocrity and limits the availability of talent!

MOST INNOVATIVE GLOBAL AGENCY: GREY WORLDWIDE AWARDED BY: Media International SPONSORED BY: International Herald Tribune RUNNERS-UP: Saatchi & Saatchi and McCann-Erickson

Judge's Comments: ''How you manage your business internally and how you present yourself to the outside world are obviously two quite different things.

Grey is clearly innovative in every way but has jailed to shout about it. Grey really acknowledges it is not working for itself but for the client.

The myth that Grey is grey by name and nature must be dispelled. "

Here I go again: bitch, bitch, bitch. It seems that all my working life I've been going on about what's wrong with advertising, just like you have, until I'm sick of the sound of my own voice.

Of everyone's voice. Because nothing ever changes whatever anybody says, and nothing ever will. For the simple reason that, while we discuss advertising as if it's a science, or an art or a perplexing blend of both, what we're actually dealing with here is that most intractable if intractables, human nature.

If only it evolved like On the agency side of the business, for example, it's only natural that management attracts far more control freaks products do. Like flying machines, for example, and nay-sayers than leaders or facilitators. Just as so many more misfits, prima donnas and pretenders are drawn to "crefrom the Wright Brothers' kite-bicycle to the space ative" departments than genuinely inspired and outstanding shuttle in less than a century. creative talents.

Same all-too-human story on the client side, from the boss on down. "If I'm smart enough to build and run a business", so the sucof advertising is any indication. Sure the media become more sophisticatcessful business person's human nature naturally asks, "who are these ed, and production tools and techniques more whizz-bang. But as for overpaid, underworked, arroprogress in the way we run the business, and our ability to communicate gant agency wankers to tell me from client to agency to consumer and back again, forget it. If you think I'm On the agency side how to communicate with my kidding, take a look for yourself. Compare the quality - the positioning, the of the business, customers?" Or, "I may be only a concepts, the cut-through, the writing, art direction and everything else 25-year-old bimbettelbalding beof today's advertising with, say, what came out of the U.S. in the 1960s. for example, it's only suited corporate drone to these Better still, get hold of Julian Watkins' classic book "The 100 Greatest trumped-up advertising tren- natural that management Advertisements: Who Wrote Them And What They Did" (Dover Press, doids, but now I've been pro- attracts far more control N.Y.) and you'll see that however much may have changed in advertising moted to A&P Manager they'll as we know it in the century or so it has existed, nothing but nothing freaks and nay-sayers dance to my tune or die". has fundamentally improved. than leaders Human nature. If only it But here I am going on again, flogging the tired old hobbyhorse in evolved like products do. Like the sure and certain knowledge that nothing I say, or you or anybody else or facilitators. flying machines, for example, says, will achieve a blind bit of progress. If only human evolution wasn't so from the Wright Brothers' kiteslow. If only modern management education or "How-To" books and tapes bicycle to the space shuttle in less than a century. Like electronics from the could produce an actual learning curve. If only more clients would realise vacuum tube through the transistor to computer chip in the space of two that great or good or even competent advertising can't be ordered, comhuman generations. Like cars from clunky gas-guzzlers to the sleek and manded or decreed into existence. If only more agency managements fuel-efficient. Even shampoos and washing-up liquids, for goodness' sake, could distinguish between interference and encouragement, quality and as we spend fortunes informing the grateful consumer, keep reinventing quantity, excellence and expedience. If only those of us who can do it could themselves as "new" and "improved". simply get on with it, or better still out of the business. If only, if only.

Ad nauseam.

But does Homo grow more Sapiens? No. At least not if the practice

Nauseam

Human

--.

' • '

-.

nature.

' •• ' ••

-'

•••

Deciphering Brands ADSTATION 603 754 2663

'

Bll•a& OFFICE

~~~~a 111111. s•••r~-.z 112231123 Fu: 11228 1115

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Pele kicks ass!

The calendar on your table has a gorgeous picture of Brigitte Bardot in her younger days. The calendar was produced for a company that sells fur coats The poster on the waU in your neighbourhood coffee shop has a smiling picture of a bearded religious leader, complete with his turban, robe etc. At the bottom of the poster is a tagline which reads: The deeply religious beer....

It is hard to imagine animal activist Bardot putting here name down r havetbe to promote fur coats. It is be~rve decide<;\ th•~J :::~~.. 1\avelll m.ner moedVs,V:~ television. - Reuters equally bewildering to toldSW' acknowledge the fact that Pe\e w\ns \awsu\\ a religious guru willing to NEIRO· p.,\e won damages RIO DE~ in 0 civilla,..uit aga.::;s~~ endorse, of all things , uS$293, r tball fedef•t•on • ~"'sed BrazU\81\ oo Abril for u_nauto~ • • something which his relilisbers Editor• hs it was revealed yesuse of pbotograp • gion forbids. Although terdaY · ~inana\bum Tbe photO!!~~ ~f tbe federation~ut these scenarios were u_nder thet:fin which Pele appear M'P ~:: ::;.,Judin& the rront cnver. thought for the sake of this article, it is significant in the wake of this brief yet significant piece of news which appeared in the sports pages of a local newspaper.

And it emphasizes the importance of defamation by the unauthorised use of photographs.

Although Pele played football for Brazil, he took the Brazilian Football Federation to court because his photographs were used without his consent and were commercially exploited.

In Malaysia, although the Copyright Act 1987 allows newspaper

organisations to use material "for the purposes of reporting", it will be defamatory if the picture of the Prime Minister is used in a print ad to promote a prodVOICE OF THE PEOPLE uct. Although we often come across pictures of him in congratulatory and "thank you" ads, it in no way implies that he is endorsing a product or a service of the advertiser. To the advertising practitioner, the Pele case must be permanently entrenched in his or her mind.

It must also be remembered that the unauthorised use of photographs means big trouble with a capital T! Just because someone owns the copyright to a photograph, it does not automatically mean that he has got the consent for the photograph to be commercially exploited.

The copyright in a photograph vests in the creator of that particular photograph. (And in some instances, the employer of the creator depending on the employment contract).

The employer nor the individual has any other powers, implied or otherwise to authorise the use of the photograph for commercial purposes.

The only exception being that he has written consent from the party that it could be used for advertisements. Even then, there may be special clauses where the party may insist that he or she be not associated with a particular product or service.

Sportsmen all over the world have jumped on the anti-smoking bandwagon and they will be shocked and will likely sue if their photographs or names are associated with tobacco products. (The only exception could be the Australian cricketer Shane Warne who still enjoys a puff in between sessions on the field!!!)

On the local front, an up-market pub in Kuala Lumpur was sent a "cease and desist" letter in December after it lifted the photograph of a wellknown singer from a CD sleeve and used it in its Halloween promotion ads.

There is only one simple rule to avoid getting into trouble - If it is not yours, don't touch it. If you must, get permission.

A~YIRS~ D

R Nadeswaran can be reached by e-mail: sumitra@tm. net. my

><

Absolute Branding ADSTATION 603 754 2663

McCANN-ERICKSON's CONSUMER

INSIGHTS

This is McCann-Erickson's third instalment on findings of interest from the Malaysian consumer. As part of an ongoing, global initiative, executives at McCann Malaysia meet with groups of consumers in Kuala Lumpur every month. PULSE is now running in more than 55 offices worldwide, and more than 15,000 consumers have participated in consumer dialogues.

This issue will focus on that special group we call Generation X - young adults in the age group of 22 to 28 years.

PROUD TO BE MALAYSIAN !

The message from the X'ers is loud and clear : While the present times are tough, the future is bound to be brighter I better.

There is confidence in the country, and the current hard times and hard work are 'contributing to our personal growth and maturing process' is the general feeling.

There is a strong feeling that Malaysia is still in its infancy, with a bright future ahead .

The consumer tends to be nationalistic in his/her responses to a query about what Malaysia means to them • Great shopping (The national pastime! Pleasurable, family oriented .)

Where else in the world does one find ALL stores open 7 days a week until lO pm 7! • Great food - well priced, affordable, multi-cultural • Great holiday destinations • Great roads • Great telecommunications The economic crisis appears to have contributed appreciation of all things Malaysian!

to

Pgi~yy adverttstng

Brutally frank and witheringly opinionated, the most successful adman of all time - founder of Ogilvy and Mather, creator of countless brilliant campaigns - tells you how to make advertising work.

this increased

Judith and Richard Wilde

• Communication messages that reflect this sentiment, are looked at with a lot of interest and involvement The consumer gets emotionally stirred , and these messages have higher recall than others.

propose that the repertoire of principles and techniques needed for effective visual communication cannot simply be taught; this repertoire must be developed, through hands-on experience with broad-ranging visual problems. Visual literacy documents this learning process by presenting 19 challenging visual problem assignments and over 1,000 pieces of solution art executed by the Wildes' students.

THE FEMALE BOSS An interesting insight obtained from women about their female bosses is that judging from their responses, working women are more 'unforgiving' of their female bosses.

They find them too fussy, concerned with the little things rather than the bigger picture, not relaxed and easygoing in their approach to subordinates (unlike their experience with their male bosses).

However, when it comes to their role models, these women bosses are generally perceived to be their role models -while they do not like them too much, they would aspire to reach their levels of expertise , looks, selfconfidence, poise ....!

Brands used by and endorsed by successful women , would be looked at with interest and respect by women .

All the above titles are available at Page One Books hop in Lot 10, KL.

Brands do not need to be endorsed merely by good looking actresses , but by real life flesh and blood achievers.

Mt:DIA INSIGHTS

MALAYSIA: Growth sectors in the midst of economic downturn

Three important elements in TV programmes found interesting: • Sex • Humour • Intelligence

103%

These elements communicated in an energetic, fast paced style will ensure their interest and involvement in the messages being communicated.

NTV 7, is emerging as the unanimous choice and channel of preference for age groups ranging from 16 to 26 years.

English is also slowly emerging as the Language of Choice with more and more young people communicating in English . This trend is likely to increase in the coming months.

Radio, which we find is so vital for the 16 to 20 year olds, seems to be losing its importance for this group of Xer's. They do not appear to enj oy a close, personal relationship with the radio.

For further Information/Insights, feel free to call: Dr Deenaz Damania, Director of Consumer Research & Training.

E-mail: deenaz_damania@mccann.com Tel: 03-2334794 Fax: 03-2305598

Source: AC Nielsen AdEx

MEDIA UPDATES from APL MediaPoint

TELEVISION BAULEGROUND • January 99 TV adex declined 15% compared to same period last year.

15+ living in homes with TV in January followed

by TV1 at 88% and NTV7 72%.

• The new kid on the block NTV7 took share from TV2, TV3 and Metrovision (MV) .

• Metrovision which is concentrated in Klang Valley is able to reach 80% adults 15+ in that area.

• TV2 suffered the worst, losing 11% share while TV3 and MV lost 3% each.

• With contracted ad pie, the loss for the respective channels is greater.

• When measuring viewership share against adults 15+, TV3 clinched the biggest share at 38% followed by TV1 at 27% and TV2, 22% • TV3 and TV2 are able to reach 95% of adults

• Medan Mas who was given the licence to operate the 6th TV channel is targeting to launch the channel in the third quarter of 1999.

• The TV licence is to broadcast over the Indonesia -Malaysia- Thailand growth triangle (IMT-GT).

• A TV broadcaster from New Zealand will be consulted on concept , equipment and transmission issue.

PUBLICIS

makes strategic acquisition with Ad-link in China PUBLICIS

PRESS POINTS • A decline of 2.5% in overall daily readership comparing Quarter Four findings vs Quarter '1\vo in 1998 findings is recorded by ACNielsen.

However, when taking statistical errors into consideration, the decline is insignificant.

• The Chinese and Tamil dailies both enjoyed a readership increases of 2.9% each while the

Malay and English dailies suffered 7.3% and 5.5% declines respectively.

• The Sun has yet again come up with a new thing. They have revamped the whole paper with a new logo and new layout beginning March 8th priced at RM1, a 25% increase. Megazine Section is now replaced by the Life Section.

announced

a

strategic

initiative for business growth in China with the acquisition of Ad-Link, its Hong-Kong based network partner with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu.

This acquisition, coming one week after the purchase of one of Korea's leading advertising agency marks a new and significant stage of development of PUBLICIS' Asian network. In addition, PUBLICIS has created a start-up presence in Taiwan.

Melts ln ... Not Out!

Burning Passion

Light up your senses with scents that excite.

Getting Creative with

Healthcare

In healthcare advertising, the client's brief is not the only piece of information that is needed. The agency must be able to understand in detail the nature of the drug that needs to be advertised.

Are the ethical healthcare clients' really "square" or lacking in creativity as assumed by certain creative professionals? It seems (to them) what healthcare clients only want in their promotional materials are pictures of the human anatomy, graphs and charts since their target audience is the healthcare industry. One should remember that to a certain extent the client is correct. With few exceptions, there is not another venue that places greater demand on "product knowledge" while at the same time faces constraints ranging from federal regulations to corporate regulatory policies.

This is where healthcare advertising defers from other forms of advertising. In healthcare advertising, the client's brief is not the only piece of information that is needed. The agency must be able to understand in detail the nature of the drug that needs to be advertised.

This information can to a certain extent be obtained from the product's prescribing information. This document will list items like indication, dosage, precautions, contra-indications, side effects etc. Only having done this, can the creative team understand the nature of the drug and certain key elements that will lead to form a picture in their mind to produce the winning picture or copy.

Healthcare professionals are consumers too. They need a change and if you are able to deliver the message without using the human anatomy like a medical book, then half the battle is won. A certain drug company's desk top table calendar is sought by doctors because the contents are full of jokes and cartoons about the medical profession. There you have it, healthcare clients are not square, instead it is the creative teams' mindset that must change. They, need a lesson in healthcare.

An international ad agency Plato Healthcare Promotions client Rio Ethicals needed to do a journal ad for their drug,Theo-Dur, which

ADC>i 36

controls bronchospasm 24 hours a day. Having understood the drug, they created a visual of a fireman in action with the headline "It takes 'balls' to work around the clock".

The tag line for the drug Theo-Dur was "It takes 'balls' to control bronchospasm". Another agency Cline, Davids & Mann Inc's ad for their client Q-Med's product, Monitor One, showed a picture of a gun with the headline "Ischemia kills more people in one day than handguns kill in a year". Both these ads had high brand recall and there were no conventional medical pictures but strong copy plus visual, to deliver the message.

Creativity for the consumer market can also be incorporated into healthcare advertising. Let the technical data be inside the detail aid but the cover must always stand out and grab the attention of the target audience. In healthcare advertising the target audience is always dealing with pictures in relation to the human anatomy, so a picture of a handcuff to show freedom from drug tolerance was something refreshing and created a lot of interest in the detail aid.

When vying for a physician's attention, whether in a journal, across a desk or in a hospital hallway, you've got to offer something a little different, a little unconventional. That's why healthcare communications must be clear, understandable and attractive.

If your prospect is challenged by provocative advertising, dazzled by facts, or rewarded with humour, your client's product will get the attention and sales it deserves and the agency will have a happy client at the end of the day.

Happy clients means better prospects for the agency. Good news, isn't it? Healthcare advertising is new in this region and it is people in the creative community that need to set new standards. Let us look at ourselves and change our mindset in relation to healthcare advertising. Then and only then, can we produce ads that will be in the same lines as those of

Perspectives on Healthcare Advertising consumer advertising. So, dear creative colleagues, put on your thinking caps and create waves in healthcare advertising!!

Johnson Lopez is MD of Jon Clare Advertising, a leading healthcare advertising specialist and can easily be reached via e-mail at jclare@tm. net. my

Is there life after

ADOI asked Bernard Yong who after more than twenty years in the ad industry left to seek his fame and fortune in network marketing, with an INC 500 company called Enrich In less than fifteen months, working part time at first, his income from Enrich more than doubled what he was paid as the General Manager of an international advertising agency. So he quit advertising to focus on his new position and career "to enrich the lives of people around the world with health and wealth!" Recently he achieved the status of Presidential Director, the highest income level in Enrich, with an income potential that will exceed RM$1,000,000 for 1999.

"As the fastest growing network marketing company, Enrich has already created two millionaires, another ten more millionaire will be created before 1999 is over! The business is booming! More professionals and executives have joined us because the current economic conditions characterized by salary cuts, retrenchments and downsizing have sent wake up calls throughout the corporate world. Job security is no longer something you can take for granted. Many of them now realize that J.O.B stands for Just Over Broke. The alternative is your own network marketing business which provides you with leverage income as opposed to a linear income where you exchange time for money and because we all have only twenty four hours we never have enough time and enough money! Leverage incomes means you multiply your effort via your network organisation. For example my Enrich organisation has more than ten thousand members and growing at a phenomenal rate, I now earn a percentage of every transaction generated by distributors in my entire organisation.

I can now stop working but will continue to enjoy this residual income.

That is the power of LEVERAGED income."

"I now have the time and the financial freedom to do what I want, when I want and with who I want to ... this is the uncommon freedom that books have been written about."

Bernard has certainly confirmed that there can be life after advertising for those who chose the right vehicle. Those who are interested to find out more about network marketing can contact him at 03-775 3096 or 019-381 0288.

TOP STORIES F ROM ASIA' S MEDIA & MARKETING NEWSPAPER

Newdailv

Saatchi &

shakes up the crowded HKmarket!

By Iris Lai

Hong Kong's crowded Chinese newspaper market is bracing for another price war with the Sun's launch on March 18 expected to spark a scramble for advertising revenue and push cover prices to a new low. Targeted at the 15-45-year age segment, Oriental Press Group's newest offering is looking to take a bite out of Next Media Group's Apple Daily's circulation, averaging 400,000 copies daily.

Next Media has promised to fight back. At MEDIA's press time, general manager Peter Kuo vowed that Apple Daily would adjust its cover rate to a dollar higher than the Sun's once the latter announces its cover price.

The Sun is looking at an initial circulation of 200,000 copies, "which is anticipated to be mainly at the expense of our direct competitor, Apple Daily", according to its sales and marketing presentation.

At present, Oriental Daily News and Apple Daily, Hong Kong's two leading mass titles, have a stranglehold on the local Chinese readership, surpassing other titles by 75 per cent, according to ACNielsen's 1998 readership survey.

Media directors and specialists have welcomed the Sun's arrival, adding that Hong Kong's third major Chinese title will no doubt have a positive impact on boosting the quality of competing titles.

"One more competitor in the market will simply push other titles to improve their quality," said MindShare buying director David Fung.

At the same time, the newcomer is expected to force a shakedown in the Chinese newspaper business, as was the case when Apple Daily launched three years ago. It is expected that Chinese magazines and secondary newspaper titles will have the most to lose from the Sun's launch.

The Media Edge Hong Kong media director Daniel Kong noted that magazines had been hit hard by cutbacks in advertising and circulation sales in the last price battle. He anticipated that consumers would forgo the relatively more expensive magazines, particularly as newspapers were now offering more features and magazine-style content and presentation.

On the advertising front, newspaper media owners have meanwhile taken a "wait-and-see" approach before launching a counter sales strategy.

The Sun will respectively charge about HK$60,000 (US$7,736) and HK$80,000 (US$10,315) for ROP and section A placement of a full page, colour advertisement. Clients are advertising but, according to Mr Kong of The Media Edge, most have placed ads as an "ad hoc" media buy.

He said it was unlikely that advertisers would earmark a set budget for the new title because it had yet to establish its market position. Mr Kong, however, predicted a shift in ad revenue from secondary titles or other media such as radio to the Sun. But he maintained that future readership trends will determine long term media buying for the title.

Oriental Press Group is believed to have put together an investment of HK$2 billion (US$258 million) for the launch of the Sun, spending about HK$20 million (US$2.6 million) on promotional campaigns on TV, radio, outdoor and in-house magazines .

Saatchi

China will power ahead of US in five years, says Saatchi Boss

chairman Bob Seelert said China would be a more important market for the company than the US in five years.

While North America was now "the engine of our worldwide growth", Mr Seelert said it would be eclipsed if the mainland continued its incredible advertising growth.

His comments follow a recent effort by Saatchis to restructure and bolster its Greater China operations, a move that is already paying off: the agency has scooped up seven major pieces of new business worth US$20 million.

Last month, Saatchis unveiled a new strategic structure, concentrating China under regional director Patrick Pitcher, and splitting Southeast Asia into a separate division under Saatchi veteran Pat Brett (MEDIA, March 5). Greater China was also anointed one of the "lead markets", referring to offices deemed to be of critical importance to meeting Saatchis' strategic goals.

As a lead market, it will receive greater attention and scrutiny.

"We have been putting more resources into Greater China since December, and it is already paying dividends," said Mr Pitcher.

Along with Mr Pitcher, the Greater China team includes regional strategic planning director Sandy Thompson, regional CFO Daniel Simon, human resources director Milano Reyna and two planners.

Saatchis has also appointed new general managers - Lorraine Yum in Guangzhou and Terri Fujii in Shanghai. In another move to beef up its mainland capabilities, the agency is expanding its integrated design division, first set up in Singapore in 1997, into Greater China with offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Mr Trefor Thomas, Saatchis' design director in Singapore, will be responsible for the ID division, which counts Castrol China, Hewlett-Packard, Hongkong Telecom, DuPont and Johnson & Johnson among its clients.

Saatchis said the ID division will tackle all the communications needs outside the agency's core

business, from corporate literature to POS exhibitions and direct mail.

"We now have a powerhouse in Greater China," said Mr Pitcher.

In Shanghai, Saatchis has won three new Kang Shi Fu beverage products - milk tea, fruit water and mineralised water - on top of the purified water and FuManDuo Noodles which the agency currently handles for the brand. New advertising will be launched in March and April.

Saatchis' Beijing office has expanded the Xian Jansen Pharmaceuticals account. The office was awarded strategic and creative responsibility for all direct marketing of OTC products, on top of the general advertising it already does for OTC. "The new assignment reflects the growing i,mportance of direct marketing in China, as well as Saatchi's pharmaceuticaV healthcare expertise and direct marketing resources," said Mr Pitcher. Meidi Airconditioners has awarded Saatchis Guangzhou an additional assignment, its corporate account, following work done for the brand. The office has also won the China Telecom project in Guangdong, its first project with the telecom provider.

In Taiwan, the agency kicked off the year with three blue chip wins - Allergan Eye Care, Far EasTone Telecommunications and Discovery Channel Taiwan.

Saatchis beat several contenders, including Ammirati Purls Lintas , Foote Cone & Belding and Results Advertising, for Allergan; and pipped incumbent Dentsu Young & Rubicam for Far EasTone's brand and post-paid accounts.

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40th CLIO Advertising Festival Come May 1999, all advertising roads will lead to New York. The 40th Clio Advertising Festival gets underway from 18th May, 1999, with four days of major presentations, workshops, lectures and screenings of the Clio shortlist at New York's Grand Hyatt, the venue of the Festival. Spread over three days, the Awards Nite for Print, Poster and Package Design will be held on 19th May at the Town Hall, while the Clios for Television and Radio advertising will be presented the next evening. The first-ever Clio Advertising Awards for Interactive Advertising will also be presented over a Gala luncheon on 18th May. For more information about participation and registration for the Festival, fax: 312-836-06320 or log onto Clio's website , www.clioawards.com. (Source: The Brief)

Judged in stages around the world by 22 experts, Media International announced the winners and runners-up of its inaugural Global Advertising Awards.

BEST GLOBAL CAMPAIGN Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide for IBM e-business. · RUNNERS-UP MediaCom: Emirates Initiative Media: Patek Philippe CIA: Novartis MOST INNOVATIVE GLOBAL AGENCY Grey Worldwide

ADe>i 40

RUNNERS-UP: Saatchi & Saatchi McCann Erickson BEST EUROPEAN CAMPAIGN Mindshare Europe for IBM e-business Creative: Ogilvy & Mather RUNNERS-UP MediaCom: Nokia Microprose: Carat International BEST UNITED STATES CAMPAIGN: Starcom Media Services for Oldsmobile Creative: Leo Burnett

New MD rips out conference room and discovers best kept secret in Singapore!

Just one week after arriving in his new post as Managing Director of Ammirati Puris Lintas Singapore, Greg Paull surprised staff by ripping out the Conference Room fixtures and replacing them with comfortable lounge chairs and coffee tables.

"Our business is changing. Whether you're a client or whether you work for an agency, we should be having 'the most exciting time of your life.'

A dull working environment will only encourage dull thinking," he said.

Paull joins APL Singapore from O&M Europe where he held a regional role. Prior to O&M, he was with Bates in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.

"When I returned to Singapore, I was surprised to see how well APL was doing. It's quite amazing what they have achieved over the past year and a half. In 1998, despite the Compaq business realigning which accounted for the lion's share of their Singapore's billings, the team still produced record revenues and its highest profit in over 4 years! You'll be hearing a lot more about APL over the coming months. The success of this agency has been the best kept secret in Singapore. We're smart. We're innovative and we're very aggressive. So get ready to be bowled over!"

RUNNERS- UP Saatchi & Saatchi: Delta Airlines BBDO: Visa BEST ASIA-PACIFIC CAMPAIGN Carat International for Volkswagen Creative: DDB Needham RUNNERS-UP DDB Singapore: M1 Communications Dentsu Mandate Singapore: Canon

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59

Let's get real and wake up to the fact that ad agencies need to evolve to a new threshold of performance if we're to remain competitive and keep our industry relevant to advertisers. If the service we provide in future is based on giving advertisers more of the same, they will simply look outside agencies for non-traditional communications solutions.

We see change all around us.. . in advertisers competitive needs, in consumer attitudes, in distribution channels and in communication systems. It is the convergence of all these changing forces that leads to the redefinition of our business.

In redefining advertising today, we must begin to think in terms of all forms of commercial speech.

Certainly, the consumer does not differentiate among commercial messages - to the consumer, they're all advertising. whether they appear during a television program, on the back of a bus, in your mail, or over your computer.

We must begin to understand that all communications forms, even PR and Internet are strategic and contribute to brand equity.

More than ever, we are in the business of building brands ... of nourishing the relationships between brands and consumers.

The value we bring to our clients is our expertise and creativity in

building and strengthening these relationships. The truth is we can no longer be just ad makers. We are in the business of building powerful brands for our clients through the delivery of creative excellence in all form of communications.

We are also- and will always be - in the business of ideas.

Relevantly surprising ideas built upon our acute understanding of consumer motivations.

In the past, those ideas have taken the form of traditional media advertising. The foundation of our past and our future is the outstanding advertising we create. It is the most visible thing we do.

But, we no longer think of ourselves as agent for the media. We have become agents for the brands.

We shouldn't think in terms "TV campaigns" or "print campaigns" any more. We should think in term of the brand-customer relationship... of customer acquisition programs... of customer retention programs... of reward and recognition programs... of total persuasion programs.

Remember that great creative work for the mass media is just the price of entry into today's competitive markets.

Let's be frank. For those of us who have been advertising people for most or all of our careers, when an advertiser puts a problem in front of us, it is automatically an advertising problem, since we were schooled in the way of traditional advertising. That's what we know

Internet Penetration Rate Singapore Hong Kong Taiwan

how to do; that is what we have always done; that's what we make money doing.

The times challenge us to flip that switch to manual. To look at the problem without any bias towards the solution. This is what integrated communications is all about. It is not just cross- selling from a menu of collateral services in order to capture more of our client's marketing budgets. It is changing our mindset, our perspective, our very intuition so that we see not advertising problems, but brand problems. That way, we will be able to see what needs doing more clearly... and then and only then, diagnose what kind of communication can do it best.

An ad agency's initial product must be a consulting product.

This requires that we approach our client's businesses with a broader perspective, that we understand the problems and opportunities of their brands in greater depth, and that we work harder to address all aspects of their marketing challenges.

We must break down the tradition, not competition between the various specialist disciplines inside and outside the agency. If we are to do it all, we must all do it.

Whether we can execute the solution, whether we can deliver all aspects of an integrated marketing communications program, whether we have all the resources in place to provide the total mix or

whether we sub-contract or just supervise, should not deter us from forging the right plan and making the proper recommendation.

We must make every effort to reiterate our position as the custodians of a brand's equity, its core values and its total communications activities - to become the stewards of all our clients' marketing communications.

Our business is first and always about ideas and building brands. Advertisers look to agencies for ideas. They're accustomed to looking to agencies for ideas. In the past, advertising ideas. In the future, ideas to support brands, all kinds of marketing communications ideas.

Someone put it succinctly: "total persuasion is to involve consumers at different points in time, at different places, in different mindsets, until the sale is made".

I know this won't happen by talking and wishing it would. We have to make it happen. In my opinion, our approach must be to recommend specific, integrated projects to our clients, small scale tests, even. Clients and us must create opportunities for experimentation.

Encourage responsible risk taking.

By thinking and reframing your own brand situations, the value, relevancy and applicability of different communication mixes will become clear. I wish you all the success you rightfully deserve.

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GM SCRAPS AGENCY COMMISSIONS! General Motors Corp is all set to join a growing list of marketers who are switching from commissions to a fee-based compensation system. The change may come into effect as soon as GM's new North American reorganisation starts. The company is tight-lipped about this change, their only comment being: "Our compensation structure has changed over the past two years and has been evolving."

The auto giant will join other major marketers like Ford Motor Co., in switching from the once-standard commission system. The world's largest advertiser, Procter & Gamble Co., is also testing a fee-based and incentive compensation system.

Arthur Anderson, a principal in compensation specialist Morgan Anderson Consulting, believes that "clients like fee arrangements because they can determine who's working on their accounts and ho~ much time they are putting in, they want to be fair and they want results, so why not put some of the agency's money at risk too?"

According to the Association of National Advertisers, incentivebased deals have been rising since the early '90s. (Source: The Brief)

New MD at McCann Malaysia Daniel Binns, formerly Managing Director of McCann in Jakarta has joined McCann KL as its new Managing Director replacing Ray Dempsey who has shifted his regional base to McCann-Erickson Singapore.

CATCH THIS ONLINE

PITCH

By Don Peppers, Marketing 1:1

Your company has a product that's going to be bigger than Beanie Babies, but you don't think your ad agency can handle the job of getting out the word. Or maybe you don't even have an agency. In any case, you don't have months to winnow through dozens of possibilities just to hook up with the right agency.

In the past, the only recourse would have been to hire a search consultant to help you look for the right agency vendor. The Ad Agency Register in New York ( http://www.aarny.com) is one such consultant. For a fee, AAR will help you think through your selection criteria, screen agencies and set up meetings with appropriate candidates.

But as is the case with a variety of such "match-making" functions , the Web is creating new and efficient tools for handling this kind of search. So here comes Online Agency Preview playing matchmaker to advertisers and ad agencies. The company will display an agency's offerings to advertisers or their consultants through a password-protected searchable database. Using Online Agency Preview, ad agencies will be able to list clients, highlight staff and showcase creative work. TV reels of work can be posted as thumbnails in movie format for lat er downloading.

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