BAYARAN POS JEI
POSTAGE PAIC KUALA LUMPUI | MALAYSIA • N01*WP0071
Malaysia's First Job-Ready Advertising Diploma is here! ow much do you need to study to be
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institut SLEDGEHAMMER SCHOOL
COMMUNICATION
STUDIES
22B, Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad Satu, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, 60000 Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 03-712 5710 Fax: 03-712 5712 E-mail ham@pop.jaring.my or joycedaniel@excite.c
Notes from the editor HERE WE GO... ADOI is bouncing along now as a monthly mag for the advertising and marketing community. This time around we've got a special spread on the Singapore Creative Circle Awards (CCA) and our cover picture is one of the posters which won the Golden Gong or Best of Show for Saatchi & Saatchi's Toyota Corolla campaign (more pictures on this page) making Saatchi the winning agency for the second year running. ADOI congratulates all winners and in the words of Craig Davis of Saatchi, "Next year it will be Jag's turn." Which simply meant, there'll be no letting up. Singapore has always been a creative powerhouse for print work while their film and radio efforts are really nothing to shout about. We interviewed the international judges and they agreed too. Another thing I wish to add about the CCA especially after covering the Malaysian Kancil advertising awards two months back: the Singapore event is tame by comparison. There were no surging crowds, fever-pitch din, mad hatters (save for Andy Greenaway), catwalk glamour, bubbly babes and the party-till-you-drop blast after the show. This is unforgiveable. Maybe the sponsors can rectify this next year by putting their money where their income source is. Or better still, go attend the Kancils next year. This magazine will give five free Kancil tickets to potential sponsors for CCA's party blast next year. Any takers? On a more serious note, ADOI just got admitted as a member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation after two years in publication. This just validates our print run of6,000 copies a month and a readership of way over 12,000 readers in Malaysia and Singapore. This issue of ADOI will be available in leading Singapore bookstores - another first for the magazine. Our distributor is MarketAsia - for extra copies, just phone Quek on 744 8483 or 744 8486. Also packed in this issue is a quick take on the Gunn Report (authored by globe-trotting creative tracker Donald Gunn) which ranks agencies, directors and countries by order of award-winning accomplishments. Plus an insightful excerpt from Jim Aitchison's best-selling book Cutting Edge Advertising. And lots of news on what's happening in the Malaysian ad world - ACNielsen's summary of the media scene, a provoking coffee shop poster which is getting more than its share of attention and much much more. Enjoy!
Living through the death of an ad...pg 8 Going, Going, Gong...centre spread Branding in the new millennium...pg 20 The Gunn Report 1999...pg 26 The cutting edge agenda...pg 28
Saatchi's Toyota work also struck Goldin the Posters (non-transit) and Print Craft (photography) categories.
Respectfully,
The Editor
DDB's poster for Volkswagen titled 'Colours' - Bronze winner.
Last year's Golden Gong winner from Saatchi &Saatchi Singapore.
MANAGING EDITOR Harmandar Singh aka Ham PRINTER Prom-Ad Creative Communications OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHER Jen Siow DESIGNER Chang Sheau Yun COLOUR SEPARATOR Screen Gallery Sdn Bhd ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES ADLANTIS Communications Sdn Bhd No. 44C, Jalan 19/3, 46300 Petaling Jaya; Selangor. Tel: 603-754 7271 Fax: 603-757 3343 E-mail: adlantis@hotmail.com DISTRIBUTION Efficient Lettershop, Mag Media Distributors (M'sia) and MarketAsia (S'pore).
ADOI magazine is published every month by Sledgehammer Communications Sdn Bhd (Company No: 289967-W) 22B Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad Satu, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, 60000 Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 603-716 2588. Fax: 603-716 2598. 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. Advertisements are the sole responsibility of the advertisers.
Saatchi & Saatchi l. A teenage girl is pregnant. Her husband is not the father of the child. Under these circumstances, would you recommend an abortion? 2. A family has three children. The first child is blind, the second is deaf and the third has Tuberculosis. The mother also has TB. Suddenly, she discovers she is pregnant again. In view of their predicament, would you suggest an abortion? 3. A preacher and his wife are living on the edge of poverty. They already have fourteen children. The mother is pregnant once again with their fifteenth child. Considering their hardship, would you advocate abortion?
THE 1999 SINGAPORE CREATIVE CIRCLE AWARDS (CCA) held on October 20 at the Island Ballroom in the Shangri-La Singapore was over in no time; in fact lights were up shortly after 11pm. Over 1,200 entries and 27 judges later, Saatchi & Saatchi stole the show once again, this time with their poster/print work for Toyota Corolla (see front cover). For a photo spread of all the action, turn to our centre pages. And here are the other Gold winners. PRINT (INDIVIDUAL) - GOLD: Ogilvy & Mather for Abortion Convention, titled 3 Questions (see left). PRINT (CAMPAIGN) - GOLD: Ogilvy & Mather for Mattel series, titled Syphilis, Celibacy and Heroin. POSTERS (NON-TRANSIT) - GOLD: Saatchi & Saatchi for Borneo Motors series, titled Pool, Bike and Bubble Wrap. PHOTOGRAPHY (CAMPAIGN) - GOLD: Saatchi & Saatchi for Borneo Motors series, titled Pool, Bike and Bubble Wrap. PHOTOGRAPHY (EDITORIAL/DESIGN) - GOLD: WORK agency for Song 8c Kelly's promotional brochure, titled Voideck 3.
Singapore Creative Circle Awards 1999 Agency Saatchi & Saatchi Ogilvy & Mather WORK TBWA
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Ogilvy & Mather's Print (individual) adfor Abortion Convention - Gold winner
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Ammirati Puris Lintas Lowe & Partners/Monsoon Zender Fang SilkRoute Ventures Ad Planet 20
THE COLOUR OF THE REVOLUTION
Special Award for New English Language Copywriter - Gold Troy Lim of Lowe & Partners/Monsoon Special Award for New Art Director - Gold Kelvin Lim of Lowe & Partners/Monsoon
THE COLOUR OF THIS BOY'S URINE
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Student Award - Bronze Joseph Koh of Temasek Polytechnic
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Saatchi's campaign for Famine Relief in North Korea - Bronze winner
4 ADOIANYTHINGADVERTISING
Silver Bronze Total
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Best of Show - Golden Gong Saatchi & Saatchi
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TBWA's campaign for Pinedale Trading, titled 'Tea Cup\ 'Tea Bag' and 'Tea Pot' - Bronze winner
Saatchi's campaign for the Association of Women for Action & Research, titled 'Knuckle Duster' - Bronze winner
International judges comment ADOI CAUGHT UP WITH the international judges during the 2nd Round of judging at The Mandarin Singapore for their comments on this year's CCA entries. "I worked with the Ball Partnership here in Singapore before so it was quite interesting to come back and see where the industry has gone since then. The print category is stronger now than its ever been as far as ideas are concerned with a couple of diamonds shining through, although the standard of copywriting has gone down. TV was, to be brutally honest.... woeful. Except for one notable exception that was short and cheap to produce which just goes to prove that it's the idea that counts, not the production values. We didn't hear much Radio but sadly it was woeful again. There are a lot of great ideas people here but it looks like the writer's art is dying in Singapore and it showed. Singapore deserves a pat on the back for the print and a kick in the bum for the TV." Andy Lish Founder & Creative Director - LishBrandt, Melbourne. " Singapore print is probably the best in South East Asia and this year is no exception. One of the reasons I came down here was to actually have a good look at a lot of it, all together in one sitting, which is a rare opportunity. What I thought was interesting was where we asked people who are quite young in the industry to contribute, writers and art directors who have only worked for 2 years. The work was quite impressive and I was personally giving Golds to some of them. There was one new writer who was outstanding in terms of concept. Unfortunately there aren't that many ideas in the TV category and where there are germs of an idea, it isn't expressed very well except for one surprise that was very short and sweet."
"It's been quite hard work mentally - there's so much work to look at. All of us generally agree that the print work is much better than the TV but what I was quite taken with was a unique Singaporean voice that seems to be developing and coming through in the work, particularly from some of the younger talent who have grown up with good visual style and are now giving it some potency as well. Overall, I'd say it's quite encouraging to see the new talents have the confidence in their own points of view and to do something in their unique Singaporean style and to execute it immaculately. I'd say watch and listen to the young ones. Let them teach you a thing or two." Jonathan Kneebone Co-Founder/Creative Director - The Glue Society, Sydney. "I came here with high expectations, what with Singapore's track record as the print capital of the region. By that standard, I feel that we've hit a plateau with this year's showing. Overall, I'd say that the volume and quality of work is something to feel happy about but on a global scale, Singapore's position in terms of high quality print, could be under threat from some other countries especially Latin America. On the plus side however, it's nice to see some great work from the younger set. Some of the simplest, nicest work came from junior teams. Maybe it's because they have less baggage in terms of what can or should be done and what can't or shouldn't. This may well be the year of the rookie." David Guerrero Co-Founder/Creative Director - BBDO/Guerrero Ortega, Manila.
Barry Owen Regional Creative Director - Ogilvy & Mather, Bangkok. "It has to be said that the print work here is way above the TV stuff. The print work showed very good art direction and high production values and I was impressed by a few campaign concepts which stood out. There was one for Scrabble which was really funny... wish I'd done that. There was also some work for Head & Shoulders which was quite interesting especially in that sector where it's difficult to do good ads. What was even more interesting was that some of the most exciting work came from the new art directors and writers. The future really looks good for Singapore except for the television work. That's going to take a lot more exposure I think. In summary I'd say advertising is a young business, so watch out for the young ones." John Messum Senior Art Director - Saatchi & Saatchi, London. Part ofSaatchi's campaign for Discovery Channel, titled 'Bacteria' - Bronze winner
ADOIANYTHINGADVERTISING 5
MAAF unites THE MALAYSIAN ASSOCIATION OF ADVERTISING FILM MAKERS (MAAF) will hold a Unity Night dinner on 9th December 1999 at the ShangriLa Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. The event will also mark the launch of the much awaited Production Contract that members will use as a blueprint in their business dealings with advertising agencies. For table reservations call Daisy Sidhu on 03-460 8535.
OgilvyOneis #1 at Asian DMA awards OGILVYONE is the runaway winner in the Asian Direct Marketing Association awards in Singapore, scoring almost twice as many winners as all other entrants added together. OgilvyOne picked up the Grand Prix and a total of 15 prizes. WCJ came second with 8, followed by Euro RSCG and McCann Direct. OgilvyOne's Philippines office won the most awards for any single country, including the overall 'Best of the Year' award for their Nestle work.
Kelly Quits Citing management differences over which direction the agency should take, creative director of TBWA Singapore Graham Kelly called it a day recently. "No, I'm not looking for a new job. It's time to chill for a while," Graham was quoted as saying. Perhaps London calls?
Reader's Digest Tops the ATMS/ Asian Profiles "Affluents" Survey. Again.
Should Digest Muscle Into Your Schedule?
For the answer to this and other gripping questions, call Dan Cater CATER COMMUNICATIONS Tel: 03-4420298 Fax: 03-4420195 email: danno@tm.net.my
6 ADOIANYTHINGADVERTISING
Optimum Media Direction opens in Thailand and Malaysia OPTIMUM MEDIA DIRECTION, the independent media planning & buying specialist owned by the world's largest communications group, Omnicom Inc, opened its doors in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur last month. OMD Thailand is led by General Manager, Wilai Somdungjate and starts with a team of 35. In Malaysia Richard Wan is the General Manager with a 32 strong team. "This is a very exciting development for our clients in
Harimata or Matahari? Either way-the lady's in charge
SunBiz dons new colour The SunBiz section inThe Sun newspaper now comes in a 'pink' colour, making it easier for readers to pull it out. Perhaps this solves the confusion readers face when weeding through tabloids that are overstuffed with so many pullouts.
Oops! We'd like to make some corrections in the recent issue of the Malaysian Advertising Directory 1999. People 'n Rich's Account Director's correct name is Marilyn Mei-Li Teoh. Federal Auto Cars MD is Cham Heng Lee. KL Kah Motors' Marketing Manager is Steven Ong and Sales Manager is Anthony Tong. Dai-Ichi Kikaku is the correct name for the accredited ad agency listed on Page 54 and their key client is Eicon not Eicon. PR Communications' Senior Consultant is Kula Shunmugam. Knights & Associates MD is Pip Kwan. Female voice talent Adele Wong's tel number is 03-456 3077. The publishers regrets these errors and will rectify them in all future editions.
S E Asia. The media environment is changing fast. The advent of cable & satellite TV, satellite printing and the Internet, plus significant changes in local media options has meant that clients are putting a far greater focus on media," said OMD SouthEast Asia Managing Director, Kate Stephenson. OMD is formed through the merger of the media departments of three of Asia's fastest growing advertising agencies - DDB, BBDO and TBWA.
agencies which have very different clientele requirements." explains
Yien Ju.
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NIKOLE MICHAELA TAN (or "Yien Ju" as the catholic lady prefers to be called) heads both Harimata Communication and Matahari Workshop. The first being a boutique agency started by Yien Ju in the recessionary year 1998 after her tenure as Creative Director for one of Malaysia's local ad agencies. The latter is a 2-year old agency owned by the young and dynamic conglomerate, Kumpulan Emas Berhad. "It's the coincidence in the names which got me interested in the proposal to manage Matahari. Why not? It's already laced with publicity value to begin with. Clients and suppliers alike called up, bemused over the name similarity, and put me in the best possible position to explain the merits of both
Harimata, being essentially design-oriented, caters to a very select and regular clientele who is willing to pay for design and incorporate it as a crucial part in their marketing mix. While Matahari is very marketing-based with the agency handling the entire advertising gamut from print communication materials to radio, cinema and TV commercials. Intending not to divulge too much, Yien Ju simply describes her added responsibilities as GM of Matahari as a mission to "springclean Matahari Workshop". A restructuring exercise is almost com pleted in the management levels. "The agency is equipped with the potential to be great. After all, its owners had invested over a million ringgit capital outlay in its conception. New creative blood has been inject ed to boost its already good creative culture. It just needs systematic and consistent management of its resources," she said, "And I've worked out clear objectives for the agency to meet." Matahari now rises every day at The Summit USJ (13th Floor) and their contact numbers are 03-724 7233 (tel), 03-724 9211 (fax).
Nestle harnesses the power of in-store communication by Yves Manghardt, Managing Director of Nestle at the Singapore ACTMedia Asia Creative Fair. TO ME, in-store communication is a natural extension and evolution of the overall communication process. In the beginning of human communica tion, it was easy because we had the two most effective forms of communi cation around - personal contact and word of mouth. Then in the early days of advertising, ads were writ ten and time or space to run them was bought. Today, communication is no more simply a matter of maximising 'Share of Voice' and 'Brand Awareness'. It was possible in the past to devel op successful brands in this way, but in today's fast paced environment with huge proliferation of new products, many of which are not successful, there is an increasing need to create closer intimate relationships with our consumers. We need to extend the communication chain to the stores and use the unique opportunity to further highlight the key attributes and benefits of our products to remain above the crowd and in our consumers' mind. From a Nestle standpoint, much of our success can be attributed to our long-term focus on understanding our consumer needs, wants, desires. We continually strive to provide superior products with the best attributes being taste, aroma, texture and above all guaranteed quality. Historically we, together with our advertising agencies, have used media to create powerful imagery around these key areas. Today, we can go further and dramatically enhance this complex communication process by direct, one-to-one, face-to-face sensory impact. The opportunity to communicate directly to consumers, relevant brand benefits/attributes utilising the 5 human senses of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. We are really just beginning to explore this powerful opportunity.
Today, communication is no more simply a matter of maximising 'Share of Voice' and 'Brand Awareness'. It was possible in the past to develop successful brands in this way, but in today's fast paced environment with huge proliferation of new products, many of which are not successful, there is an increasing need to create closer intimate relationships with our consumers. Recently in Thailand, our Nestle company pioneered a rev olutionary form of consumer communication, focusing on an aroma based campaign for our flagship brand Nescafe. Aroma is the critical attribute and focal point of the brand campaign. We began with the creation of an integrated communications programme deal ing with not only the imagery devel oped through our TV campaign but followed by the direct sensory impact of the key brand attribute, what I'll call our 'Sensual Coffee Aroma'. The key factor being, 'direct' to the consumer, utilising the basic primal senses instilled into the nature of human beings, in a way previously not possible. Let us now briefly examine this specific case together. (1) TV Commercial (2) & (3) Packaging (4) Flagline (5) Leaflets (6) Shelfvision The interactive aroma Shelfvision shifts, or turns, the imagery of the TVC campaign into the consumers' reality. Even with your eyes closed or the consumers' focus being
elsewhere, we can literally arouse the consumers' attention with the warm sensual aroma of Nescafe. With every new innovation and ground-braking endeavour, there is a definite necessity for commitment and a need to 'think outside the box'. Commitment required to remain focused and the commitment to overcome logistical issues. Let's now discuss the critical involvement of the advertising agency. A painting can only be drawn buy one artist and in that respect as manufactures, we have to ensure that our advertising agencies are involved in all communication activities including direct in-store communication. It is the only way to guarantee an integrated, seamless brand communication. But to do so, advertising agencies need to think even more in terms of global communication and include in their analysis and recommendations all media or vehicles and evaluate their respective roles and weight. We have unlimited possibilities to communicate in-store directly to our consumers in a highly interactive way, with areas such as demonstrations to communicate revelant brand attributes and encourage effective trial with integrated displays including the use of TV sets, information
leaflets, interactive games, so on and so forth. All these channels of communication can be utilised to implant benefits into consumers' minds and forces, more specifically to taste, smell and feel our products. So let's make sure that we do not waste time re-inventing the wheel by thinking that in-store communication is a new concept, but let's think about new in-store opportunities to maximise effective reach as well as brand equity, thus creating a more exciting shopping environment for our consumers.
Reader's Digest Is 15 Ringgit A Copy. 100,000 Malaysians Buy It Each Month.
Why?
For the answer to this and other gripping questions, call Dan Cater CATER COMMUNICATIONS Tel: 03-4420298 Fax: 03-4420195 email: danno@tm.net.my
ADOIANYTHINGADVERTISING 7
Learning to live through the Death of an Ad by Julie P. Lingan ISCB Worldwide Partners
I REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME it happened. I had stayed up the night before, slaving over the big idea and how best to execute it, each word carefully thought of and in place. Head high, I marched to the Creative Director's room marked "His holiness is in", holding my masterpiece close to my heart. With an air of put-on self confidence, I boldly put the ad down, banged the table with a "This is it!" conviction and sat down directly opposite him, waiting for the verdict. He was quiet for a while. Then he crumpled it into a ball, stood up and did a hook shot aiming straight for the wastebasket. My masterpiece would have made three points at the NBA. "Any other ideas?" he asked. I stormed out of the room and spent the whole morning in the ladies' room, coming out long after he had summoned me. "Learn to live through the death of an ad," he said. You can't go through life mourning. The ad's dead, finito, gone. Forget it and start all over again with another sheet of blank paper. Let go, kid. Grow up." Although this drama took place slightly over two decades ago, I know that I still haven't fully learned how to live through the death of an ad. The years have not diminished my passion and I have been advised time and again to "behave more like a corporate officer of the company rather than just a creative director" - whatever that means. I still fight for an ad like my life depended on it and I still encourage my creatives and my students to do the same - of course, to a certain extent - a condition that never existed in my younger years. I still believe that true blue creatives, like incurable romantics, will always be motivated by passion and the urge to create, rather than by mundane factors that propel mercenaries to action.
Beating the odds by Dean Johns CONFRONTED recently by the results of a survey revealing that only about 20% of women account for most of the sales of female designer apparel, the Australian Fashion Industry was reportedly "astonished". My only astonishment was at theirs. At the fact that a group of people posing as professional marketers had apparently never heard of - or had perhaps forgotten - one of the oldest rules in the book. The 80:20 rule, let's face it, operates everywhere. Knowing it and employing it judiciously can be very profitable indeed. Ignoring it or failing to hear about it in the first place can prove not just "astonishing", but very, very costly. Way back when, as they say, my own first encounter with the 80:20 rule was in the context of categories and consumers. In many product categories - beer being the case in point at the time, as I recall - 20% of consumers account for about 80% of consumption. In other categories - of which airlines could be an example - 20% of sales produce about 80% of revenue or profits or both. And so on. In other words, the 20% of heavy users of a product or service are each worth approximately four times as much to brands competing within a category as each of the 80% of light users.
What compounds the pain of rejection is the fact that some murderers do not have the right to kill. They act like copywriters, art directors, songwriters, even film directors, and pathetically, they think they know better. And there comes a time during presentations when we just have to take a step back because even if we're blue in the face and in dire need of oxygen, we know there's no winning; so what's the point. Sanity stays intact and remembering that it has, for umpteen times, threatened to desert us, we must not push our luck. So in the course of saying Amen to murderers, we know deep down we would, sooner or later, have to replenish our supply of Prozac, Dormicum, Zantac and a long list of migraine relievers, some not even available in the country. Sure, life would be a whole lot simpler if we just said yes to everyone passing judgment on our ads. That would save us the heartache and all the aches that go with it, not to mention calling to action premature progeria. That would also help bring down the standards of the industry, not to mention the numbing of hearts and freezing of souls. That would surely put prostitution even more in the forefront. Writing about all this brings to mind a London Contact Report to end all Contact Reports. This was a favourite "consuelo de bobo" (consolation of fools) each time we got together, whether regionally or internationally, at my multinational alma mater network, nursing broken hearts about ads that never saw the light of day and their murderers. "Agency presented the ads for the seventh time. Client rejected the ads for the seventh time. Agency punched Client. Client punched Agency." Both parties ended up in the hospital. Now, how's that for not learning to live through the death of an ad?
We could go on all day here about the applications of the 80:20 rule in marketing. But let's not. Let's instead turn our attention to some of its specific applications to advertising. To the agency you manage or work for, for example. I'll bet you 4 to 1 that just 20% of your clients deliver 80% of your billings. That 20% of your clients - and not necessarily the big ones - account for 80% of your bottom line. That 20% of your creative people consistently tum-out about 80% of your best ads. And so on and so on. All the way down to the fact that 20% of the management and staff (and not necessarily the most productive 20%) earn 80% of the money and another 20% create 80% of the politics.
It follows, therefore, that short of suicidally deep discounts for bulk or frequent purchase, it's much more cost-effective to focus marketing efforts on heavy users than to spread your efforts across the whole spectrum. Which is where the plot starts to thicken. Because heavy and light users are not only quantitatively poles apart, but they're also often if not always very differently motivated.
But don't worry. I'm not about to start urging you to minimise overheads and maximise quality and profitability by firing 80% of your clients and staff. About 50% would do nicely. That way you keep some of the existing under-performing clients that may have potential while still dispensing with the no-hopers you've been keeping out of sentiment or to make your credentials "look good". Likewise you keep all your best people plus a few that might work-out better without the talentless and the troublemakers around doing nothing but dragging them down. And you reward the survivors for their superior energy and talent by distributing among them say 50% of the salaries and on-costs you've saved through all the cuts. But of course you won't take my advice. Why in the hell should you? After all, I'm as helpless a victim of the 80:20 rule as the next guy. So 20% of what I say is liable to be 80% nonsense. Just as the time I've taken to write this offering has consisted of 20% typing and 80% smoking, drinking coffee and making and taking phone calls, not to mention musing about how very much more enjoyably I could be occupying myself with a spot of surfing around the sex sites.
This phenomenon was seriously overlooked by - to come back to beer for a moment - many breweries in the scramble to capture the huge "lite" market that emerged in the 1970s and '80s. Low-alcohol brands targeted at women and other light consumers with appeals like "doesn't fill you up/doesn't make you fat" generally proved to be wash-outs. Whereas lite brands aimed at heavy users with messages like "drink more before you're over the legal blood-alcohol limit" or simply "drink more" were often smash successes.
There's no escaping the fact, it seems, that whoever we are, whatever we do and wherever we turn, the odds are 80:20. Whether they're 80:20 in favour or 80:20 against is what makes all the difference. And it's a very big difference indeed. Far too big to be ignorant of, or simply to leave to chance. Dean Johns is a partner in Sydney-based regional creative/motivational consultancy CreAsia and strategic/creative hotshop StrADegy. Email stradegyŠsmartchat.net.au
8 ADOIANYTHINGADVERTISING
An ideal world lies in our imagination the playground of our minds
It's where we can truly feel good
Now there's a place where you'll find all you've ever imagined
visit our world
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www.ntv7.ci
Editor's Letter of the Month When reading the October issue of 'ADOI' I was struck by a line in Kurt Crocker's tribute to the late David Ogilvy. The particular sentence read: 'He was also a gentleman.' It reminded me of David Ogilvy's visit to Melbourne in the '70s when the public relations company I then managed was retained by Mr Ogilvy's local agency to promote a luncheon lecture he gave at the splendid Victoria Arts Centre. The audience was packed with cynical advertising seniors who, even in the 70s, were everywhere to be heard smugly asking each other: 'What are we doing here listening to this old has-been trot
out his lantern show?' The 'old has-been' discarded his elegant double breasted suit coat to reveal his trademark red braces and duly delivered his 'lantern show'. At its conclusion the cynics, to a man (oops, person), stood with everyone else in the packed auditorium to give the 'old has-been' a standing ovation. (Ogilvy's topic was a ground breaking assessment of why editorial news enjoyed much higher reader credibility, internationally, than advertising carried in the same news media. He also gave an undertaking that O&M would undertake a study of this important phenomenon.) After his inspired performance, one of the questions I asked Mr Ogilvy was what qualities he looked for when recruiting for his agency. In the days of pre-political correctness, back came his instant reply: "Gentlemen with brains". Sincerely, Eric Pringle Director, Eric Pringle Associates Public Relations Letters to the Editor can be faxed to 03-716 2598 or e-mailed to ham@pop.jaring.my
A New Equation in Billboard Advertising? With the skillful use of numeric characters, ad agency Spencer Azizul Advertising hits the point home about TM Touch's friendly personality on this giant billboard located along the Federal Highway. What is also intriguing about this creative approach is that it is easily understood in any language. However, ADOI was also told that passing motorists had to tilt their heads sideways to get the full picture. Client: Telekom Malaysia Art Director: Kient W. Wong Copywriter: Khairul Khalifah DTP: Winnie Chan
"We sold more in one weekend than we did in six months!"
- WHITE GOODS MANUFACTURER
Tough times call for tough measures. If the customer doesn't come to you, then you have to go to the customer! One tried and tested solution is a roadshow with a difference, using EXPAND. We've done it and learnt a few things we'd like to share with you. Each roadshow must have a theme, it could be festive or related to the product, but there must be a theme. This translates into a concept that
complexes just because everyone else does it. Ask yourself, where can I find my target consumer - the cinema, golf course, the lobby of an apartment building? Then pick the venue. Be bold and adventurous because the more innovative you are, the better the results, take our word for it. Thirdly, be creative. Use music, moving graphics or
you can use to dress the whole place and immediately your
your sales staff dressed in costumes, anything to get
roadshow becomes a HAPPENING, an exciting event to
attention and help you make that sale.
stop the traffic - that's the first rule! Because when the
Finally, call Jay at EXPAND 03-254 3518 or e-mail:
traffic stops, you have all the more opportunity to interact
expandasia@ ppp.nasionet.net for a whole range of exciting
with them and make a sale!
portable displays, from tents to screens, just perfect for your
Secondly, the venue, don't settle for shopping
venue. Then plan your work and work the plan! Good luck!
DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHER
THE FIRST NAME IN DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY JEN STUDIO TEL 03-7186227 FAX 03-7177005 EMAIL jensiow@pc.jaring.my WEB PAGE http://www.mol.com.my/]ensiow
Reader's Digest Makes People Laugh, Cry and Feel Good.
Digest Advertisers Feel Smart
For the unabridged sales story; call Dan Cater CATER COMMUNICATIONS Tel: 03-4420298 Fax: 03-4420195 email: danno@tm.net.my
OMD's new additions to research team OMD's South East Asia headquarters is strengthened by the arrival of two new senior research appointments. Florence Oong (right top) previously the ACNielsen Media Director in Singapore joins OMD to head up research across South East *** B Asia. She will be supported by Nick Wiggin MI (right), an experienced media researcher from the ^ LJK who is the Associate Director for Singapore. Nick โ ขHpP\ Jj|HB formally worked with outdoor contractor JCDecaux |UBT and TVยงtation Fox Kids Europe. HI The team will bring a combination of excellent experience of both Asian and international markets and research techniques. Commenting on the appointment Tim Foley, OMD's Regional Research Director said "This is a % clear demonstration that for OMD, research is not iBr about putting one name on a credentials chart but is about a full-time, on-the-ground commitment to our clients. Florence and Nick will greatly strengthen j our service to clients in the key markets of South East Asia". Kate Stephenson OMD's Managing Director for South East Asia adds, "We have the tools already, now we have the critical component of research talent focused on our clients in their markets to provide actionable business insights and greater accountability".
Making cutting edge news in KL!
The Kancil Winners 95196197198199
Over 700 winners in all 59 categories in a set of five CD-ROMs.
Order your set now! Contact person: Ms Candice/Ms Dawn Tel: 603-783 6668 Fax : 603-783 6669
ADOI & SCREEN PI^EN CUTTING EI>W
By J '
ADOI and Screen Gallery sponsored Jim Aitchison's. recent talk in KL. It a great excuse for the Malaysian creative community to gather and mingle, course, Jim also sold quite a few copies of his international best-seller Edge Advertising.
Jim strutting his stuff and sharing his insights to a capacity industry-wide audience.
Right to left: Jake (Screen Gallery), Pek Foong (earth, wind & fire), Ham, Lisan (Nerve Centre), Siva (budding copywriter), Jason (copywriter at large) and one very 'ardent fan' of Jim Aitchison.
Jim being interviewed by local TV station NTV7 for prime time news.
12 ADOIANYTHINGADVERTISING
Over 380 ad people attended the event at the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club.
TheSun A New Perspective ASCENT mm •« V tag
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section in Sun Biz specially for people interested in upward mobility.
DISPLAY
FIXED POSITIONS
RM 18.00
NORTH SOUTH EDITION RM 15.00
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13.00 12.00 11.00 9.00 8.00
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5,000.00
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1,000.00 1,500.00 2,500.00
NATIONAL EDITION Casual Contract 7 insertions 13 insertions 26 insertions 39 insertions 52 insertions Colour Surcharge Full Colour 1 Spot - Process - Special / Pantone 2 Spot
SUN BIZ
APPOINTMENTS / NOTICES Casual Out of Classified Classified Run-On
18.00 22.00
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1 -6 lines at RM 5.00 7-9 lines at RM 8.00 10-12 lines at RM 12.00
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INNOVATIVE PLACEMENTS Full Colour 1 Spot Colour RM 600 RM 500 RM 500 RM 400 RM1,000 RM 700
Front Page: Bottom Panel Size: 7cm (H) X 26cm (W) No. of insertions Full Colour 1 Soot Colour 13 insertions RM 3,500 RM 3.000 26 insertions RM 3,200 RM 2,800 52 insertions RM 2,800 RM 2,300 Back Page: Top Panel (Sports) Size: 4.5cm (H) X 12.8cm (W) No. of insertions Full Colour 1 Soot Colour 13 insertions RM 1,000 RM 800 26 insertions RM 850 RM 650 52 insertions RM 650 RM 500 Back Page: Bottom Panel (Sports) Size: 7cm (H) X 26cm (W) No. of insertions Full Colour 1 Soot Colour 13 insertions RM 2,800 RM 2,000 26 insertions RM 2,500 RM 1,800 52 insertions RM 2,200 RM 1,500
20.00
(Subsequent line is at RM1.00 per line)
Logo - (4cm x 2 cols) Logo - (5cm x 1 col) Island - (6cm x 2 cols)
Front Page: Ear-Space (each) Size: 4.5cm (H) X 4cm (W) No. of insertions Full Colour 1 Soot Ci 13 insertions RM 300 26 insertions RM 250 52 insertions RM 200
B&W RM 400 RM 300 RM 500
SUN BIZ (Mondays-Saturdays) Front Page: Bottom Panel Size: 7cm (H) X 26cm (W) No. of insertions Full Colour 1 Spot Colour 13 insertions RM 3,800 RM 3,200 26 insertions RM 3,500 RM 3,000 52 insertions RM 3,200 RM 2,600 Back Page: Bottom Panel Size: 7cm (H) X 26cm (W) No. of insertions Full Colour 1 Soot Colour 13 insertions RM 3,200 RM 2,800 26 insertions RM 3,000 RM 2,500 52 insertions RM 2,600 RM 2,200
READY RECKONER FOR DISPLAY ADS NATIONAL EDITION (Based on Casual Rate) Width (Columns) 2 3 Height (8.4cm) (12.8cm)
RM1,224.00 936.00 864.00 792.00 720.00 648.00 612.00 576.00 504.00 432.00 360.00
RM1,836.00 1,404.00 1,296.00 1,188.00 1,080.00 972.00 918.00 864.00 756.00 648.00 540.00 432.00 378.00
Width (Columns) 4 Height (17.2cm) RM2,448.00 1,872.00 1,728.00 1,584.00 1,440.00 1,296.00 1,224.00 1,152.00 1,008.00 864.00 720.00 576.00 504.00
6 (26.0cm) RM3,672.00 2,808.00 2,592.00 2,376.00 2,160.00 1,944.00 1,836.00 1,728.00 1,512.00 1,296.00 1,080.00 864.00 756.00
SUN MEDIA CORPORATION SDN BHD (221220-K) Lot 6, Jalan 51/217, Section 51, 46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan. Tel: 03-794 6688 Fax: 03-793 5871
The Ml Tennis Classic
"Balldy" CLEROTA BODDBA (Found la K.NÂťltytik)
- Copywriter: Mark Ringer. Art Director: Scott Lambert _ ad was created for the Singapore Motor Show. It was the only opportunity for the public to view the New Beetle in the flesh so to speak, as it will not be available to the public until early 2000.
Copywriters: Tim Evill/Mark Ringer Art Director: Scott Lambert Photographer: Roy Cheong Retouching: Procolor This ad was created for the 1998 Ml Tennis Classic. The event is part of the ATP Senior Tour. Obviously the players look a lot older in certain places than they used to.
DDB bin; ipore Creative Showcase "Cloud 9' Copywriter: Andrew Lok Art Director: Eddie Wong Air New Zealand was voted Best Pacific Airline for the second year running. This ad, which ran in both the Business Times and some trade magazines, expresses how they felt about the honour.
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"Dead Cowboy" Copywriter: Andrew Lok Art Director: Lim Shue Pann A medical practitioner wanted to dissuade his large group of low-income clientele from smoking. When he revealed to us the brand of cigarettes most popular among his patients, this ad was the result..
14 ADOIANYTHINGADVERTISING
Volkswagen "Safety Signs" Copywriter: Charlie Blower Art Director: Ben Bradly DDB Singapore took the cheeky route with its latest work for Volkswagen. At selected Singapore building sites on high traffic roads, the typical building safety signs were appropriated with the VW logo as the last word in all-round protection.
Never seen so many people in a centre spread? Well it's not every day that you get to see the movers and shakers of Singapore's ad scene in one place. So our photographer decided to go trigger happy at the recent CCA Awards at the Shangri-La Singapore. Ogle away...
the SilAd bunch - Michael Low,
From left-SabineHaemmerle (APL),Elke Eskes-Frey(Bozell) infront, StefanSonntag(Batey) behind,AUein Moore{Vozeuj.
From left - Gerard Lim (Leo Burnett), Gwee Wee Lam (O&M)and Graham Kelly (TBWA).
Manpreet (MindShare) and Christina Chia (CNBC).
16 ADOIANYTHINGADVERTISING
Left - 4As President Vincent Hoe (AG Advertising) and wife Lily.
From left - Ken McKenzieand Joses Liu (MEDIA) and Chris Kyme(FCB).
Gerry Pereira (JWT) and BetdnaChua (CNBC)
Liew (Saatchi).
From left - Sudhanshu Sarronwala (MTV), Ham and Shabnam Melwani (MTV).
Scott Brazil(McCann) ready to rake it in next year.
From left - Suresh Kumar, Leo Teck Chong &Alfred Teo from Ad Planet
ADOIANYTHINGADVERTISING 17
ZERO SHOW FACT FILE HOLOGRAPHIC IMAGING
A specially choreographed Holographic and Illusion Show piece with creative Mixed media imaging. 3 dimensional Images will virtually fly out ot the giant Screens and Jumbotrons
EARTH, WIND & FIRE
The Story of Mankind and Planet Earth: PAST & FUTURE A Fire and Water show enhanced with pyrotechnics, lasers and animated images
GATEWAY TO 2000
A special choreographed millennium performance with unbelievable effects
THE ARRIVAL
The Countdown begins with 3D images flying out Jumbotrons and Giant Screens
WELCOME 2000
A Special Armageddon Millennium Pyrotechnics and artistic Fireworks display with Awesome Special effects from Spain.
LASER MAGICA 2000
A 3D Laser excursion into the Future displaying life-like graphics. Mermaids, Dutterflies, Dolphins and Art forms flit across the night skies
FASHION 2000
The Attire and Fashion of the New Millennium the performance with be enhanced with Laser, Aircraft lights and Special Effects
MONUMENTAL IMAGERY
Creative image show metamorph^ transform them into a towering theatre and futuristic tales
facades of Giant Cones and In creating cinematic murals
INTERNATIONAL DISC JOCKEYS
All Stars Electronic music line up from 4 corners of the globe
LIGHTS IN THE SKY
An aerial performance of special Night Helicopters with searchlights and a mixed array of Stunning Effects
WORLD DRUM ENSEMRLE
Percussionist and world rhythm performance: Tribal Orchestra
SHOWTIME
Disc Jockeys. Video Jockeys. Dancers. Singers. Live Musicians. Tribal Drummers, Illusionist
The Biggest Party In The Country
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Jj NEW YEAR 19991 2000 One World I One Moment I One Lifetime
We ring in the new year with the nremier millennium gathering, located at the only logical nlace for mass transnortation into the 21st Century.
BOARDING AT: THE FORMER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AT SOBANG (TERMINAL ONE) Take off for the year 2000 and beyond from this massive skynort runway. Get your boarding passes from A
CSS outlets. HOTLINE 603 705 3000
I
(Common sense land the Jargonauts
by Kurt Crocker, Creative Director & Partner, Drayton Bird, Crocker & Mano. WORDS. Those ever-lasting words. Well, sort of. In the worlds of Direct Marketing and advertising, we use a whole bunch of words. In fact, we are full of it. Er, them. Some of the words we use make sense. I'm actually rather fond of "key targets" and "competitive frame" and "psychographics", to name a few. But let's be honest with ourselves. We use many words that are simply empty-headed and invented-toimpress. Jargon. Words that go in and out of fashion like a Malaysian rainstorm during monsoon season, or remain to torment us like the heat. My partner, Drayton Bird, a man who has never been a jargonaut, gets positively English at the phrase "strategic marketing." That's been spewing from our mouths for decades. If it's marketing, shouldn't strategies be involved by definition? I should hope so. One big shot agency once toyed
with the words, "Differential Marketing." I hope they have given that plaything a rest Because the word "Differential" is really just "Direct" on steroids. Empowered by four syllables instead of one, "Differential" was intended to sharpen the image of Direct Marketing fundamentals. Like dropping a synthetic toupee atop a handsome but hairless friend. But the bald truth is beautiful enough - yes, it's a good idea to "differentiate" individuals most likely to buy your product or service. Why jargonize that? The current Direct Marketing buzzword is CRM. Sorry, not a word. The current buzz-initials? The letters stand for Customer Relationship Management (or Marketing, as some prefer to explain the "M"). The only thing new about "CRM" is that more marketers are discovering its importance, and are more fully applying relationship management
WOULD THE PRINCIPLES of brand building change in the new millennium? Market forces always determine that the strongest and smartest companies of the future are those with the strongest brands. In other words, companies that claim superior product and technological advantages may not necessarily supercede the ones with a strong and differentiated brand disposition. Of course, building and sustaining a powerful and differentiated brand position is a daunting challenge and could only become more so as companies grapple with the new rules of the next millennium. I read an interesting article by a university professor Kevin Keller, entitled "Brands 2005". In it, he described what were fundamental rules for creating strong brands in the next millen足 nium. I share his views and believe it could be useful food for thought for any marketer. Kevin Keller started by saying that brands are as important as ever, while brand management is as difficult as ever. The more knowledge and understanding a consumer has of a brand, the easier it is to establish consumer-based brand equity. Brand equity will not only strengthen a brand's position; if monitored carefully it will also provide direction and focus to future marketing activities. Keller, spells out 'the new steps marketers must take to create strong brands'. 1. Understand the brand's meaning and market the products appropriately. Example: Consumers told Disney that the brand was about three things: Fun, fam足 ily and entertainment. Now all activities are evaluated on those three criteria. 2. Properly position a brand. Each brand must have points of parity (estab足 lished practices) and points of difference (areas in which the brand excels). Example: Sony "integrated home entertainment" is a point of parity, while the "innovative leader in technology" is a point of difference. 3. Provide superior delivery of desired benefits. Identify a consumer need and relentlessly deliver it. Example: Starbucks. 4. Maintain innovation and relevance for the brand. Example: Gillette's "The Best a Man can Get". Apple's "Think Different" and SKY TV's "We Love Movies, You Love Movies". 5. Establish credibility, and appropriate brand personality and imagery (expertise, trustworthiness, and likeability). Example: Nike and Marlboro.
20 ADOIANYTHINGADVERTISING
techniques. Technologies required for active CRM are also becoming more powerful and sophisticated. CRM is, simply, a process to keep and increase the value of your customers managed at every possible point of contact Those three little letters label a broad range of marketing activities, including communications, list management, teleservices and the internet, among others. Speaking of the internet, it has become the new darling of Direct Marketers in America. As it should be. There is vast potential in identifying prospect interest, capturing direct sales, or fulfilling information requests through website homepages or site advertising. An opportunity most marketers in Malaysia have yet to exploit. But, predictably, jargon flourishes in the cyberworld. (there you go!) Take "e-commerce" for starters. O.K., newish medium, newish word.
"e-commerce" will one day make it in to Webster's, if it hasn't already. Not a bad piece of jargon, I suppose, but try starting a sentence with the damn thing. (See above. Looks a bit whimpy, don't you think?) And read this, a quote from an article in the archives of dmnews.com: "Only a small percentage of the potential e-mail universe is permissionbased ... and as more and more people are opting out, extra pressure is being put on those who opted in ..." Opt in. Opt out. Sounds like words edited from a sleazy romance novel with the side note "not quite as explicit as hoped". Get to the point. Want or not? And what's this "permission-based" and "e-mail universe" nonsense? Few who receive e-mail advertising actually request it. So say it! It is true that advertising and direct marketing are in a constant state of evolution. Especially with the information explosion, and our ability to know more about customers and prospects than we've ever known before. But do we really need word-inventions to re-explain the fundamental facts-of-life? Common sense defeats the jargonauts. Guaranteed.
Branding in the new millennium by Lara Hussein, Brand Energy.
6. Communicate with a consistent voice. Example: Absolut. 7. Employ a full range of integrated brand elements and supporting marketing activities (a brand is more than just a name); mix and match a wide variety of marketing tools, slogans, signages and advertising. Slogans, if used correctly, can build the brand's personality but are obviously under足 used and underappreciated at the moment. 8. Strategically design and implement a brand hierarchy and a brand portfolio. Have more than one brand but know each brand's place and limits. Example: GAP with "Banana Republic and Old Navy". Keller, in his article, commented that there was not, in his opinion, a brand that excels in all 8 characteristics. He also continued to highlight what he called 'the 5 deadly sins of brand management'. 1. Failure to support the brand financially. 2. Failure to be patient with a brand. A brand needs time to evolve and take shape. 3. Failure to control the brand. To manage it from the top down, not the bottom up. 4. Failure to properly balance consistency and change within the brand. It is important to change with the times. 5. Failure to account for the full meaning of the brand. Consumers own the brand. Don't contradict what it stands for.
Ammirati Puris Lintas Singapore gives Goldheart a whole new look A NEW PRINT AND POSTER CAMPAIGN for Singapore and Malaysia for jewellery retailer Goldheart has been launched by APL Singapore. The work is a giant step forward in terms of look and style and seeks to give the brand and stores a more unique, emotional image. 'The jewellery category is out of control in Singapore at the moment - the only way to cut through the clutter is a return to simplicity and sophistication' says Emily Chan, Client Service Director of APL Singapore. APL won the Goldheart account just three months ago and have already been through Strategic Positioning, Creative and Execution work. 'We are fortunate that Goldheart also knows that to succeed, you have to take risks in jewellery retail - and they have' said Emily. Six print concepts have been produced to date, each showing Goldheart jewellery in everyday situations. APL have also helped redesign a showcase store in Orchard Road. 'Our relationship with Goldheart is much more that just ads. We have been able to help in merchandising, launch events, brand experiences, even designing jewellery!" TV work on the same strategy is set to break in January. Goldheart intends to spend well over S$ lm on the repositioning. Ammirati Puris Lintas Singapore was recently awarded 'Agency of the Year' at the IAS awards. Executive Creative Director on this campaign is Nick Fairhead. Art Director is Gin Tee. Copywriter is Lim Chiao Woon. BON AT PI:
Reader's Digest Has 2 Malaysian Editions.
amjomAttt ifwiifo
With Local Ringgit Rates.
Can It Compete With Local Mags?
For the answer to this and other gripping questions, call Dan Cater CATER COMMUNICATIONS Tel: 03-4420298 Fax: 03-4420195 email: danno@tm.net.my
ADOIANYTHINGADVERTISING 21
Multi prefix many by Steve Bristow, FatLizard. MEDIA PL. of medium: substance through which impressions are conveyed to senses. The Oxford Dictionary 1992 edition does not even put the two words together as one. This fact further propagates the myth that "multimedia" has only existed since about 1993 when the CDROM became a popular way to record and play back images and sound. By my reckoning, the first documented multimedia presentation was in Lascaux France, about 17,000 years ago when a Neanderthal graphic designer explained the rationale behind his/her cave paintings to an astounded audience of friends and family. And what about "wayang kulit" the shadow puppet theatre that has entertained village folk for hundreds of years in this part of the world. This uses sights and sounds to enter tain and is therefore also multimedia. The reality is that multimedia, is
by definition, messages conveyed by more than one medium (still pictures/moving pictures/sound, etc.) has been around for a long time. It just wasn't called multimedia. Multimedia is nothing but a nineties buzzword invented by computer marketers to bluff people into thinking they were creating something new. Let me explain. As computer technology improved, it became clear that you could do more than just type letters with them. Traditional methods of creating audio, visual and graphic communications one at a time became computerised. Print was first to go, then audio, then video, and next will be film for which the writing is on the wall. The digitisation of the communicative arts didn't create anything new, it just changed the way we did it. Those in the biz for a while will remember spectacular product launches with multiple
F1 action, hosted by NST
slide projectors, cine projectors, lights, sound and theatrics. Was that not about as multimedia as you can get? The difference now is that instead of twenty people and a truckload of equipment, a handful of designers can choreograph the whole thing in a PG, and press it into a CD if you want to take it home. There is a need to clear the air about what multimedia is because it's confusing a lot of people, what with Super Corridors named after it and all. Multimedia by the new definition is that thing that happens when you put a CDROM into your computer right. Or if you've got a web page that's got logos blinking on and off and if you've got your little plastic speakers making a sound too then that's multimedia right! But that kind of multimedia is transitional technology. It's nineties stuff - the year of the world wide wait. It's the stuff that we will look back on in the next millennium and
wonder why we got excited about watching choppy low resolution movies in windows not much bigger than a postage stamp. Who are the experts at telling stories using more than one media? Isn't it the people who have been doing it all this while? Film makers, television producers, animators, graphic designers, scriptwriters, and copywriters, will embrace the new media and continue to provide quality content for it. Practitioners without the fundamental knowl edge of these crafts will not survive with just a PC and a set of "multi media" software. We are in the midst of a convergence of traditional and "new media" (a better description than multimedia) which in two thousand and something will result in a single technology that is accessible in every home, is cheap, portable, easier than a TV set to use, interactive, telecommunicative, on demand, looks and sounds good and so on. Early in the new millennium it will no longer be technically savvy to drop "multimedia" into conversations about new technology (my tip is to lose it now and be ahead of the crowd).
Singapore Advertising Hall of Fame 1999 (announced at the inaugural Singapore International Advertising Congress) RADIO CORPORATION OF SINGAPORE Adman of the Year. Mervyn Neo (Ogilvy & Mather) TV 12 Sleek Suit of the Year. Ray Poletti (Saatchi & Saatchi)
Margaret Lim (Carat MediaBase), Ham (earplugs not required), Rahim Saleh (NST) and Kenny Lim (KHK) in grandstand position.
TELEVISION CORPORATION OF SINGAPORE Young Media Strategist of the Year. Anita Yeong(OMD) TELEVISION CORPORATION OF SINGAPORE Advertiser of the Year. Ministry of Health (Lowe & Partners/Monsoon) FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW Ad Agency of the Year. Ammirati Puris Lintas CNBC ASIA Campaign of the Year. Singtel 120 Celebrations (Dentsu Young & Rubicam)
Panasonic), J Matthews (Macomm and Lennart Bengtsson (ACNielsen) get hot.
Margaret Au-yong (CIA MediaNetwork) and Matthews (Macomm Management) lapping up the Carlsberg
NEWSWEEK Lifetime Achievement Award. Ian Batey (Batey Ads)
ME1TIA www.media.com.hk
f
Web Direction: Launch of internet research Recently, OMD launched Web Direction, the largest single agency funded research project in Singapore. The study goes beyond other research to understand the behaviour of Internet users in Singapore. Following the introduction of a specialised Interactive Planning Unit, OMD realised that available industry Internet research did not go far enough. Web Direction reveals which sites people go to, whether they click on adverts or bookmark sites and how they use the Web. This is the first Internet study to demonstrate how reach can be built on the Internet through effective site combinations. OMD commissioned ACNielsen to talk to over 1000 people in face to face interviews. The respondents were aged 15-54 and were representative of the Singapore population. The questions that we asked the internet users enabled Web Direction to establish
who they are, what they do online, and how they can be reached. Here are some of the key findings: - Singapore Internet Usage hits 42% - 48% of Internet Users have clicked on adverts. In the context of other OMD research this is a high figure, compared with 35% of respondents that claim to have noted an advert in newspapers and 46% in magazines. - Entertainment sites are the No 1 visited category in Singapore - 9% claim to have used the Internet for Financial Services. Twice as many intend to use the net for financial services in the next 6 months. - There are clear differences in usage patterns for different targets. - 6% have bought online, but many more collect information online and buy offline. In summary the survey revealed that Internet usage is growing rapidly in Singapore. Typical users
are more affluent, opinionated and likely to be upscale professionals than the population average. They are information addicts. Commenting on the launch of pro-active research in South East Asia, Tim Foley, Regional Research Director for OMD noted "Our clients want to be on the Web, but most media presentations either stop when it gets to numbers or don't allow us to make comparisons across sites. Web Direction fills a much needed gap and gives us the numbers to complement the hype." Kate Stephenson, Managing Director for South East Asia added, "At OMD we are committed to providing unique insights and pushing the boundaries of information. Web Direction allows us to navigate the web more effective ly and deliver added value to clients."
Why am I not advertising in ADOI? YOU TELL ME. ADOI has over 12,000 readers from the advertising and marketing communications industry in Malaysia and Singapore. Many advertisers like media owners, advertising agencies, production companies and advertising support companies have seen the value of advertising here.Our ratesare reasonable, we are out every month (which means we are a good medium for job classifieds too) and our circulation figures have been validated by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. For advertising enquiries, call Peter on 603-757 3204 or e-mail ham@pop.jaring.my
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campaign spells it out intelligently Though CNBC is, of course a very visual medium, it's essentially also about the spoken word, the insight, the analysis and not visceral fast cut images and sound bites. Hence the tag-line: Business Intelligence. DEVISED by Singapore ad agency Bartle Bogle & Hegarty (BBH), CNBC's latest Asia-wide advertising campaign has got people talking. Using simple but penetrating words against the different coloured backgrounds, reflective of CNBC's logo colours, the campaign has been making news in key markets across Asia. The work has appeared in the press, on television, backlit posters and even on a giant outdoor screen at Suntec City Singapore. ADOI met up with the people at BBH to ask about the thinking behind the advertising. Chris Harris, CEO of BBH says, "CNBC understood what breaking news meant to businesses. So we wanted to position them as the Gold standard for business news because it tells you how news affects your business. When we coined the phrase Business Intelligence, it meant two things. One, it inferred CNBC had an intelligent grip on understanding business and second, it implied CNBC's analytical insight
OUR HEADLINES. YOUR BOTTOMLINES.
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24 ADOIANYTHINGADVERTISING
into the nature of business." ADOI also cornered BBH's Regional Creative Director Steve Elrick for some comments. Give us a quick rationale for using only type for this campaign. It didn't really start from a decision just to use only type, it originated out of looking at the audience. How to get under their rather cynical radar about advertising of any kind. The audience for CNBC is a very literate, educated audience who respond well to communications that don't just sit there, but engages or entertains them. Though CNBC is, of course a very visual medium, it's essentially also about the spoken word, the insight, the analysis and not visceral fast cut images and sound bites. Hence the tag-line: Business Intelligence. Who was the team behind these new CNBC ads? It's becoming a football team now...there are a lot of people who have made this happen; on the planning,
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strategy and suit side; everyone from Chris Harris, the CEO to Guy Murphy the Planning Director, Sangrum Sengupta Account Director and Heidi Knight the Account Manager. On the creative side there's Tony Williams as the art director and Jason Schragger and Khalid as writers. They even let me throw in a few lines now and again. What sort of image for CNBC are you trying to project with this series? It's all wrapped up in the tagline about Business Intelligence. Check out the content and the style of the other news channels and you can see that CNBC has a very distinct voice. It's the broadsheet of the TV news world where the other channels could safely be called the tabloids. They go into much more depth than the the other channels...after the simple reporting of the news there's a lot of insight and analysis involved. You can see that coming from their parentage, their connections Dow Jones and The
NEWS
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Wall Street Journal. And of course it's much more specifically Asian. And local. How did your team chance upon this creative approach? There was a deadline. Where do you go from here? Which are your favourite ads in the series? Well, we obviously think the campaign can run and run. Even the open sprint has 29 ads in it! Actually, it's also an eminendy flexible campaign that strongly and instantly brands the channel. You'll see everything from strip ads to huge posters to trade magazine ads to Channel identities in this style. There are many ways we can slightly adapt and transform the campaign to keep it evolving and very fresh and interesting. There are painfully few campaigns created in Asia that have any consistency or longevity. We're pretty proud of this one.I have a few favourites but it wouldn't be fair to name aw, ok, I kinda like: NEWS THE DIRECTORS CUT and BE SUCCESSFUL, WATCH MORE TV But everybody has their own favourites.
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The Gunn Report 1999 The Most Awarded Countries in the World in 1999 1. USA 2. Great Britain 3, Brazil 4. Spain 5.
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BRAINCHILD OF THE ROVING 'CREATIVE EYE' Donald Gunn, who has documented lots of awardwinning work, The Gunn Report polls results from all the most important international advertising award shows (the top 22 in TV and Cinema, the top 10 in print), in essence pulling together a collective jury of 512 top advertising and marketing professionals in the world today. It provides the first ever 'league tables' for the most awarded commercials/printads/ advertisers/countries/production companies/directors/agencies and agency networks in the world. Here are some interesting highlights... In the world rankings for Film Directors, Suvinit Pornnavalai of Thailand came out joint fifth with Ray Lawrence of Sydney and Felix Herngren of Stockholm. For the most awarded countries, Singapore is in the joint seventh position with Germany. For the most awarded agencies in the world, Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore is in 12th position and Ogilvy & Mather Singapore is 20th. Sky Exits of Bangkok is in 9th position together with Premiere Heure & Why Us as the most awarded production company in the world. For more detailed results refer to the tables. Other highlights are Volkswagen (Advertiser of the Year) and DDB Worldwide (Agency Network of the Year). To get a copy of the Showreel of The Year 1999, contact www.xtremeinformation.com
The Most Awarded Directors in the World in 1999 1. Frank Budgen (Great Britain) 2. John O'Hagan 3. Pucho Mentasti (Argentina) 4. Jonathan Glazer (Great Britain) 5. Suvinit Pornnavalai (Thailand) Felix Herngren (Sweden) Ray Lawrence (Australia) 8. Jhoan Camitz (Sweden & USA) 9. Louis Ng (Hong Kong)
The Most Awarded Production Companies in the World in 1999 1. Gorgeous Enterprises (London) Hungry Man (New York & Santa Monica) 3. @ Radical Media (London, New York & Santa Monica) 4. 2001 (Buenos Aires) 5. Academy Commercials (London) 6. Window Productions (Sydney) 7. Mod: Film (Stockholm) 8. Propaganda/Satellite Films (New York & Hollywood) 9. Sky Exits (Bangkok) Premiere Heure & Why Us/Premiere Heure (Saint-Cloud)
The Most Awarded Agencies in the World in 1999 1. BMP DDB (London)
12. Saatchi & Saatchi (Singapore)
2. Cliff Freeman & Partners (New York)
13. Bartle Bogle Hegarty (London)
3. TBWA GGT Simons Palmer (London)
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For the answer to this and other gripping questions, call Dan Cater
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Malaysian advertising market regains ground as ACNielsen reveals growth sectors "We are witnessing some very exciting developments in the Malaysian market. Increased advertising expenditure in Malaysia suggests the that downward spiral may have ended and confidence is returning to this important business sector, and consumers are returning to their normal spending habits" REGENT ADEX updates from ACNielsen Media International indicate that Malaysia is well on the way to economic recovery. The media industry in Malaysia enjoyed a steady flow of revenue during the second quarter of 1999. The YTD June '99 AdEx report shows that total gross ad-spend edged up to RM1.6 billion, an increase of 5% compared to YTD June 1998, from RM1.01 billion. 68 out of 124 categories (54%) registered AdEx growth in the first half of 1999 over the same period in 1998. The monthly average number of new TVCs has also been increasing steadily from a low of 45 in March 1999 to 172 in June 1999, a level similar to the bullish peroids of 1996/1997. "We are witnessing some very exciting developments in the Malaysian market. Increased advertising expenditure in Malaysia suggests that the downward spiral may have ended and confidence is returning to this important business sector, and consumers are returning to their normal spending habits", said Lennart Bengtsson, Managing Director of ACNielsen Malaysia. ACNielsen forecasts an achievement of RM2.35 billion by the end of 1999 representing an 8% growth over last year. This is based on a projection of RM1.3 billion AdEx in the second half of 1999, representing a higher spending level than the first half.
ACNielsen AdEx measures the rate-card value of advertising by product categories and brands across all major media, including TV, Radio, Cinema, Video, Newspapers, Magazines and Point of Sale Media. Of all the mainstream media, TV's growth in AdEx has been most impres sive at 13%. POS Ads media, with its key emphasis as an ad medium at key retail outlets in the country, scored a 9% growth. Newspapers, which have been dominating the lion's share, moved up 3%. NTV7's share of TV AdEx has increased at the expense of the other 3 main free-to-air stations in the first half of 1999 vs 1998. All stations (except NTV7) cut down on their programming and the reduction was mainly on Bahasa programmes. The increase in the number of Chinese programmes is most significant on NTV7 by virtue of it being a new TV station. 1999 saw a slight increase in viewing hours especially on weekends. This is probably due to an increase in viewing choices, a shift in social activities during the downturn from outdoor to indoor and a following of the political and economic events that have happened. The findings further revealed that TV3 viewers remained loyal, spending the highest viewing time on the station. Cable TV viewership saw a significant drop of 54% while Satellite TV gained viewership by 30%. These results offset each other resulting in a marginal overall gain in total Pay TV viewership of 1.7%. Another interesting trend emerged from the study, whereby Internet access has shown an increase of 52% over the past year. E-mailing has displaced 'information searching' as the most popular Internet activity. E-mailing remains very much a preoccupation of the young with 65% of the e-mailers being 15-29 years old.
ADOIANYTHINGADVERTISING 27
The cuttingedge agenda David Abbott worked at Mather & Crowther. "The writer and art directors were on different floors. I sat in an office full of copywriters and we fed out our paper, which went into the art directors in the studio. I wrote my first commercial, which won an award, but I had nothing to do with it once the script left the copy office." Cutting a pose: Jim, Ben Hunt (Batey), Thomas Low and Omar Shaari (OT).
What does it take to be a cutting edge print communicator? Certainly not comfort. Comfort equals oblivion. Being in the right agency helps. As Dean Hanson recalls:"I started in a very bad agency, which was a very good thing. You can gain an appreci ation. It's healthy to be frustrated a little bit, as long as it doesn't crush you. I know so many people in this business who are really good, but they've never been given a shot." Having great clients helps. "Love your clients to death" was Michael Ball's edict at The Ball Partnership. When you find clients who appreciate and approve your work, treasure them. Neil French used to send the clients and suits to pick up the awards. Without their trust and support, the work would never have happened. Having talent helps. New York headhunter Judy Wald says: "Execution can be learned; concepts are what you have to have, cutting edge concepts." Above all, resilience. John Bevins wrote his first ads in school for surfboards. He is still writing. Antony Redman could not get in to see creative directors with his book; but when he posed as a court official, armed with a fake summons, all doors opened. Not everyone succeeds. The great English actor Sir Alec Guinness left advertising after working "in a very minor capacity" for thirty shillings a week. Those who have succeeded tell us how... Roy Grace: "I have been doing this since I was seventeen-years-old. Forty-four years, too goddamn long. My first agency job was at Benton & Bowles for a year, then Grey Advertising for a year, and then twenty-three years at Doyle Dane Bernbach. Before I went to DDB, I'd had twenty-five different jobs in advertising, promotion, graphics, publishing, always as an art director. I'd never felt I was able to do the
28 ADOIANYTHINGADVERTISING
kind of work that really satisfied me until I went to DDB. It was like coming home. I was free to do my best because the agency was so disorganised at the time. You were pretty much an individual who would succeed or fail on your own merits. You'd do your work, sometimes you'd show it to Bernbach, sometime not." Grace talks about sustaining a career in advertising. "There's an internal editorial process that you must have. You must be brutally honest, brutally objective, to maintain a certain level of quality, because it's always easy to say, this ad is not important. I wanted so desperately to be good at advertising. I think it was not so much fear of failure, but fear of not succeeding. I wanted to be bulletproof in what I did, so I became the worst critic I could imagine. It's the need to be absolutely certain that you're right and to ask the questions before the client asks them, to ask the questions before the marketplace asks them, about your premises and your execution. Long after Bernbach died, I was still working for him. I would say, what would Bill think? Would Bill like it?" David Abbott: "When you see young people coming into advertis ing now, they all seem to me much better prepared than we were. Most of us arrived via other jobs. I came via university, via running my father's shops when he died. I had to be in advertising to discover that there was a different sort of advertising over in America. I lapped it up. I knew the body copy by heart. Somehow the rhythms of Volkswagen ads were in my head like a tune, so when I got the chance to write on it, I knew it. I knew how many lines there were in a column, I knew what the cadences were, I knew what the tone of voice was, because I literally read those ads every day. Now the people joining us from art colleges and copywriting courses do the same." Before joining DDB,
Neil Godfrey: "It was inspiring working at DDB. Instead of people pitting themselves against each other, and being rather petty and jealous, everybody was interested in what the other person was doing, just to see the great ideas that were coming out, and to want to do better through admiration rather than through jealousy. I remember walking past Roy Grace's office one day and he showed me this Volkswagen ad he'd done. It was a pencil line drawing of the top of a Volkswagen and the caption was 'How much longer can we hand you this line?' And he said to me, 'I'm not sure about it, is it too simple?' I said I thought it was terrific, and he said, 'Okay, well maybe I'll think about doing it'. And it turned out to be one of the classic Volkswagen ads." Tim Delaney: "I'm fifty-two and I started in the mailroom of an agency just off Park Lane when I was fifteen. I've been writing ads for thirty-four of those years and it's weird in the sense that I still really enjoy it. It's really strange. I don't keep any of my ads at all. I don't regard them once I've done them. I don't give them any value. I don't have a reel; I've never had one. I don't see it as something which is about the best or worst, I kind of see it as a job, but it's a job I really enjoy. I like the work other people do as well. I don't see the work as some kind of testimony to me, or some kind of legacy to other people. I don't see it in any other terms than what's in front of me, and maybe that's why I enjoy it." Neil French: "I never had any training to do anything except be a rent collector and a bullfighter. I never had any training to be a bouncer. I never had any training to be an advertising man. I left school when I was fifteen; I had no 'A' level English. I didn't go to art school, didn't go to art college, don't know nothing about nothing. But, I understand people. I understand
people very well. In a long and varied career, I've mixed with so many different types of people of different educational levels, and of different financial levels, that I'm able to actually put myself in the position of talking to one of those people every time I do an ad. And I find that an ad is a bit like a conversation, or telling a joke, if you like, or telling a story. You vary the way you tell it according to the audience, and it's those little variations that make the thing work for that particular audience. I learned those things especially when I was a singer; you'd look out at the audience, and you'd see the blue rinses, and you'd do a completely different delivery than you would if the place was full of football supporters. Although the material would be the same, the way you delivered it would vary. And so that's the same with an advertising campaign. I try and look at who I'm talking to, like the poor bald men; of course, in their case, I not only know how they think, I am one." Indra Sinha: " I think that it's tempting if you do one sort of thing very well, to always do it. I'm accused a lot of writing extremely long copy ads when maybe it's not necessary. I believe in the power of the word, and therefore I actually want to write. It's not a conscious decision that I have done successful ads for one campaign, therefore I'll do it the same way again. Probably, I'm best known in the industry for doing things like the Metropolitian Police ads, and Amnesty ads, but actually they're not the things that are closest to my heart. The closest ads to my hearts were some silly little ads I wrote for an Indian bookshop, which were written in the first person in an Indian dialect, full of things like, 'He speaks English like a native'. They were character skechers of my friend who ran the bookshop. We used to do six or eight a year. One year, I put three of them into D&AD, and they all got in."
This article was excerpted from Jim Aitchison's international best-seller Cutting Edge Advertising. For a copy call Joyce on 03-716 2588 (M'sia) or Marie 744 8483 (S'pore).
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