Adoi Malaysia 2000 July

BAYARAN POS JELAS POSTAGE PAID PEJABAT POS BESAR KUALA LUMPUR MALAYSIA NO: WP0071

JULY 2000

KDN NO: PP 9995/7/2001

MITA (P) 275/08/99

OVER 14,000 READERS

MALAYSIA RM8/SINGAP0RE SS5

^m MMM

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The future is Direct-to-U

Notes from the editor First, there have been a lot of movements in ad land, so here's the scoop....

Anthony Kang rejoins Ad Grand Advertising (S'pore) as President & CEO. Taking a keen interest in the affairs of the advertising industry, Kang has served in the 4As council over the past 10 years. He is currently the 1st Vice 34As. Star suit Chris Leong who is MD of Bates Singapore is leaving for Bates Hong Kong. Paul Grezoux has left McCann-Erickson KL and started at McCanns Singapore as Regional Creative Resource for Motorola and other regional clients. Robert Tan leaves Ogilvy & Mather Singapore for new challenges. Charles Anderson, General Manager of Batey Ads Singapore has left for JWT Vietnam.

In Malaysia, Tim Pinnegar has left Starcom. There's also word that Paul Gordon, Creative Director of EURO-RSCG, will be leaving. Indi Nair of Edelman joins Ogilvy PR as Professional Development Leader, Asia Pacific.

Elmo Lee has left Bates to join Batey Ads. Rick Lane joins Bates Malaysia as Director of Creative Strategy. Eddy Chin leaves DYR KL. Matthew Seddon is the new GM of Saatchi's KL. Award-winning copywriter Lisa Ng leaves Naga DDB for Grey Malaysia. Simon Peeke leaves leading outdoor imaging expert MMT Malaysia for Australia. Keng Ming, Managing Director of Ogilvy & Mather KL leaves for instore advertising specialist POS Ad and Jeffrey Seow takes over as the new MD. On a separate note, Minister of Information Tan Sri Khalil Yaakob made an interesting announcement relevant to the Malaysian ad industry, and in particular the Made-in-Malaysia (MIM) ruling. During a visit to the media centre of the Mines Exhibition Centre for the 27th session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers, he mentioned that his ministry had relaxed the conditions for advertisements which were aired over television stations. He said companies were allowed to use up to 20% foreign content in advertisements, as long as they conform to other conditions on moral, cultural and religious sensitivities. He added that more foreign content might be allowed, but approval would be granted on the merit of individual cases.

Chinese Newspaper War pg 10 Where has ali the fun gone? .pg i CIA ready to rock and roll in Malaysia The secrets of my success ..pg 2 How to reduce your response rate Publicis buys Saatchi...pg 42

Shaf does the shuffle - Page 4, 5 and 6.

TM Net - Page 14.

Respectfully,

Malaysian Video Awards, centrespread pages.

BBH rolls it in for CNBC - Page 32.

Impulse animation tvc rocks the MVA - Page 42.

MANAGING EDITOR: Harmandar Singh aka Ham PRINTER: Cetakrapi Sdn Bhd OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHER: Jen Siow DESIGNER: So Tiong Cheng COLOUR SEPARATOR: Screen Gallery Sdn Bhd ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES (Malaysia): ADLANTIS Communications Sdn Bhd No. 44C, Jalan 19/3, 463°0 Peta mg Jaya Se|angor.

Tel' 603-754 7271 Fax' 603-757 3343 E-mail: adlantiscomm@yahoo.com ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES (Singapore): Marketing Concepts Pte Ltd 723A North Bridge Road, Singapore 198691. Tel: 297 2393 Fax: 297 7270 E-mail: mcg@pacific.net.sg 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: 603-7726 2588. Fax: 603-7726 2598. ŠAll 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 inf^tton 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.

Astana International ho incubator for great Mala

Their operating principles are invariably written in for Malaysia. The operatingprinciples and methodi in Malaysia and adapted for the world market. Thii Shafri Mohamad is one of Malaysian advertising's leading creative lights and has won numerous national and international

awards for his work during his career. After graduating from Kent State University, Ohio, United States he worked in New York, London and Tokyo with some of the world's leading advertising agencies before returning home in 1986.

Soon after, he joined Bates Malaysia as Creative Director and is today Executive Creative Director and a principal stockholder of the Bates Group of Companies in Malaysia.

Whilst this keeps him pretty busy, he is also finding time for a pet project. It is Astana International, an advertising agency that is 100% owned and controlled by Malaysians. Its mission? To be an incubator for great Malaysian brands. The agency has formed a strategic alliance with Bates Worldwide, giving it a truly global advertising and marketing communications capability. In this interview, Shafri shares with us his hopes and aspirations for Astana International.

What were the circumstances that led to the set up of Astana International?

Astana was set up primarily to address the unique requirements of Malaysian brands seeking to play on the world stage. Sadly, some international ad agencies are merely line extensions of their international headquarters in New York or London. Their doctrines sometimes have little regard for local sensitivities.

Their operating principles are invariably written in say New York and adapted for Malaysia. The operating principles and methodology of Astana are written in Malaysia and adapted for

AD0IMARKETINGC0MMUNICATI0NS 4

the world market. This is the big difference.

Obviously, you see a growing role for advertising?

Globalisation and trade liberalisation will pose great challenges to Malaysian companies.

To face the greater international competition at home and abroad, Malaysian companies will have to intensify their efforts to increase their competitiveness. They will have to embrace technology and innovation, be it to develop new ideas, employ new processes, manufacture new products or deliver new services. However, with technology now available at 'Internet-speed', so to speak, to anyone who can afford it, virtually no company can enjoy technological product or service superiority to a degree that prevents competitors or imitators for long.

Advertising, by bringing together strategic marketing thinking and consumer understanding to produce communications ideas that change consumer behaviour, clearly has a very important role to play. More so now than ever before.

Marketing therefore assumes great importance. Our companies must not only produce new products and services using state of the art technology but their marketing must also be top shelf. The job just cannot stop at the end of the production line.

Welcome to Astana International. Teh tarik anyoneP

The amount of information we have to contend with as consumers is exploding. Regrettably, our ability to absorb it isn't. Our brains are saturated with information. Sensory overload is the norm. So, if a Malaysian product is to cut through, it has to displace and replace its competitors, not just add to them.

Also, the technology of digital compression had led to a new 'communicopia'. This in turn is producing evidence of diminishing attention spans in consumers. It is getting harder and harder to effect cut through and meaningful registration of brand messages.

Research has found variations as high as 30,000 per cent in the advertising effectiveness of

users from competitive brands.

~es to

be an rsian brands iay New York and adapted logy ofAstana are written is the big difference. different brands m the same product category at equivalent media weights.

What role do you see for Astana International?

Globalisation is leading to mega mergers and acquisitions by the big multinational advertising agencies to further extend their global reach and competitiveness and this trend will continue. I suppose size does matter.

But it IS also creating opportunities for the smaller local agencies. As Malaysian companies reinvent themselves, their products and their services, they will have to pay greater attention to advertising and marketing. The New Economy is also spawning Malaysia's own crop of netpreneurs, Internet startups and other dotcom wannabes.

Now, they are starting from the ground floor, so to speak, and are ideally placed to get their brand development and marketing communications right from the word go. I would like to see Astana International developing into an incubator for great Malaysian brands, not only for our on-line startups but also for our old-line companies as they make the transition from brick and mortar to click and mortar.

First, USP must be about a 'uniqueness' that is inherent in the brand, or a claim which is not otherwise made in its field. It must promise a benefit that no one else is offering. It must position the product or service so that its end benefits, whether truly exclusive or not, are perceived as unique to that brand, distinctive and superior.

Second, a USP must 'sell', by which I mean that it must be meaningful and important. It must relate directly to the customers' wants or needs . It must incite action. It must be so persuasive and motivating that it is capable of creating new consumers for the brand or capable of pulling m

And third, every USP must make a 'proposition' to the customer - a clear and compelling promise about a benefit delivered by the product which is genuinely lifeenhancing, even if only in a small way.

An overcommunicated society needs simplified truths. USP advertising is a most potent means to distill simplified truths that can cut through and move people- even m today's crowded new 'communicopia'. It unearths the very essence of a brand and makes it irresistible by powerfully and persuasively demonstrating its uniqueness.

There's a battle going out there for the hearts, minds and ringgit of consumers and our companies must place greater emphasis on building great Malaysian brands if they are to succeed.

a technique, or any combination thereof. However, before we can arrive at the creative idea, this proposition must be clearly and precisely defined as part of our strategic planning work so that it can be incorporated in the creative brief. Thus, every USP is always strategic in its content. Whether or not the strategic statement and the creative expression of that strategy are the same is dependent on the outcome of the creative process itself. Sometimes, a USP will simply be a statement of the selling strategy. Sometimes it will be an endline. Sometimes it will be both.

Do you have any recent examples of work you have done?

As you may already know, Astana International does work for PETRONAS Dagangan Berhad, the retail arm of PETRONAS, on fuels and lubricants. Let me cite the example of its revolutionary

Is the USP a statement of strategy or the expression of the creative solution?

Every USP advertisement delivers a proposition -in words, pictures, a slogan, sounds,

Do you have any particular approach to brand building?

I always strive to identify in every product or service its Unique Selling Proposition or USP. By this, I mean a motivating idea, uniquely associated with it, which is to be registered in the mind of the consumer.

ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 5

Zenith Malaysia has undoubtedly turned the Malaysian media market on its head and has almost single handedly evolved the media landscape in Malaysia very successfully. new generation petrol, Primax, a campaign which is currently running.

The multi-functional Primax contains a unique property to separate water vapour usually trapped in the fuel tank from petrol and coats the fuel tank and line to prevent them from rusting. It also removes carbon deposits from engines, protects fuel systems from corrosion and greatly reduces pollutants emitted by vehicles.

Laboratory tests carried out in Malaysia, US and France show that the fuel is the most advanced multi­ functional petrol now available in Malaysia.

For motorists, regular use of Primax will ensure maximum protection of engines, keeping them clean while enhancing their performance. By protecting the engines, motorists can expect to save on petrol and maintenance costs in the long run. They can also expect smoother driving regardless of the age or mileage of the car.

Cleaner fuel systems also mean reduced levels of pollutants emanating from cars, which in turn translates into cleaner air and environment.

Primax's USP is the 'maximum performance with maximum protection' it gives motorists and their cars. Our next step was to give Primax brand ownership of this USP through a creative expression of the two-in-one benefit that works not only in traditional media but also in all collateral channels of communications.

But a common complaint is that many of our companies are unwilling to spend on advertising...

That is true. Many local companies are still trapped in the thinking that advertising is a cost to them to do business rather than an investment in their brands. This mindset will obviously have to change. They must quickly start realising that advertising adds strategic thinking, brand equity, shareholder value and consumer loyalty to their businesses, all of

ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 6

which contribute to tangible returns on their investments.

For example, witness the stratospheric stock market valuations of some dotcom companies, the current correction on the Nasdaq notwithstanding. It is not by accident that Microsoft.com, Amazon.com, Netscape.com, AOL.com and eBay.com are the top five New Economy companies in the world with the greatest brand power, according to a recently conducted survey. They also happen to be the biggest advertisers among all dotcoms which are now spending billions of dollars yearly on print, television and online advertising to build their brand names. Now, if these companies which are on the very cutting edge of technology development are investing so heavily on advertising to market themselves, surely this is something for all of us to seriously think about.

Factories may rust away, packages may become obsolete, products may lose their relevance, but great brands live forever.

Brands are among the most valuable assets a company can have.

History has proven the value of strong brands through good times and bad.

They deliver stronger and more predictable revenues, offer enormous economies of scale in every facet of the marketing process, are more resistant to price competition, offer tangible a.nd emotional-added value to consumers for which they are often willing to pay a premium, and strong brands increase the value of the company that owns them.

Tell us about Astana Interna­ tional's alliance with Bates?

As the name suggests, Astana is a local agency that also offers clients a global advertising and marketing communications capability. We do this through our strategic tie-up

with Bates Worldwide, which has 185 offices in 65 countries. A growing number of Malaysian companies and corporations are becoming significant players in the international marketplace. I believe a global capability is essential if Astana is to fully realise its potential and be of service to these companies and corporations.

What media approaches do you favour?

The need for integration, as compared to preponderantly media solutions, is even more pronounced today than at any time in the recent past. An integrated approach must encompass communications in its broadest sense, including, but not confined to, traditional advertising and its emphasis on traditional media.

Event marketing,

accelerating the process of discovery and choice for consumers and is increasingly impacting on every company's marketing strategy. By combining the best attributes of electronic media and interactivity, Internet advertising is fast becoming an effective medium to reach niche target audiences. As advertising professionals, we have to embrace fully the Internet and all that it means for our consumers, clients and ourselves. Unless we do this we will not be able to fulfil our roles as communications professionals in the 21st century, whether we work as a creative person, a planner, a management person, in BTL, in ATL. whatever, wherever.

Does Astana have a media planning and buying facility?

No. And neither do we intend to have one. We have a smart partnership with Zenith Media and use them for all our media requirements.

Zenith Malaysia has undoubtedly turned the Malaysian media market on its head and has almost single handedly evolved the media landscape in Malaysia very successfully.

Our link to Zenith Malaysia gives us access to Zenith Worldwide so we have a comprehensive global capability in terms of worldwide learnings, resources and network presence.

sponsorship, promotions, direct marketing and Internet marketing must now go hand in hand with traditional mainstream media advertising. It is a new total communications solutions approach which melds these various disciplines and specialisations for seamless campaigns using the most economical and efficient pathways to reach consumers.

To what extent is the new media changing the landscape? and

The revolution in new media on-line commerce is

You have achieved all there is to achieve as far as advertising is concerned in Malaysia. Do you have any further ambitions?

The set up of Astana is perhaps my way of contributing to the nation in the way that I know best.

Malaysian products have proved that they can compete on the world stage and I'm doing my part to try and ensure that brand development for Malaysian products is of the highest international standard. Ten to fifteen years down the track, I may paint water colours for a living.

WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get)

When you connect creative services and clients together, do you see what you get ?

Jooze.com is the new exchange that provides the link between the creative community and the industry.

Active Matching, galleries and information updates, are just some of the tools we've provided to introduce creative services to a new working lifestyle.

So here's to higher standards of creativity. Cheers !

m

Inertia

by Indira Nair, Professional Development Leader Asia Pacific, Ogilvy PR. Definition from the dictionary:

The tendency of a body to remain at rest or to stay in motion unless acted upon by an external force.

Resistance to motion or change.

Now, I am sure you are sitting there and saying: What's this one all about?

What's "inertia' got to do with the price of fish? Or communications?

Recent conversations with various people has me writing on this topic, for this month's column. A client told me how it took his client service team more than 10 days to respond to a simple query. Another client told me that it took an agency head three days to return her call, left as a voice mail message. A friend told me that his agency asked for six weeks to respond to his brief for a simple product launch.

I do realise that the economy has picked up, and that business is good, but are we shooting ourselves in the foot?

Inertia has absolutely no place in the service business. 10 days is 9.5 days too long to put together a simple response. Voice mail messages can be retrieved easily even when you are off-site. We never have enough time for proposals, but 6 weeks to pull together a proposal on a product launch?

We want our clients to respect us. But we can't demand the respect.

We need to earn it. To earn it, we need to demonstrate that we are committed. And commitment means putting in time, effort, hard work, initiative - the list is endless.

We can't expect to win an account when we don't put enough thought into a proposal. And blame the client for not giving us a "proper' brief.

We can't expect to be valued as a counsellor when we execute instructions given by the client without taking the thought process to the next level. We are the experts in our business, not the client.

We definitely can't blame clients when they ask us to repitch for the business because we asked for more money, but were not able to deliver the case in a succinct, structured manner.

We need to move ourselves out of the inertia we seem to be locking ourselves into. Let's not wait to be "acted upon by an external force'. Or resist change.

Communication is a serious discipline. It requires knowledge, thought and planning, at the very least. And it has a lot of depth, breadth. But not everyone understands this. We need to spend time and resources in making this happen. A good starting point would obviously be: Getting the basics right.

We need to make sure that when we hire people, we equip them with the knowledge and skills which will provide them the opportunity to succeed. We can't throw them into the deep-end and get hot under the collar because the "senior people have to spend a lot of time fire-fighting'. And we need to track their development and growth.

We need to be more transparent with our clients how we charge. Not charge an exorbitant amount, and when we are told that they don't have the budget, our fees come down by more than half.

And clients need to challenged - they may want to advertise on tv, but this may not be the best way to spend their money.

Someone commented: Today's generation is more loyal to money. They don't believe in hard work. You can drag the donkey to the water, but you can't force it to drink.

I disagree with all of the above reasons. If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. Life is about balance, its not just about work. And you should not drag the donkey to the water, but you need to show it the way.

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You don•t need to read Forbes to put it on a schedule. You just need to know who does.

12% of Forbes readers travel First Class on long-haul flights. 96% of Economist readers don't. (Source: Europe 2000)

Mastermind introduces Letter to Editor quarterly masterpiece I read with interest the Letter to the Editor by Moanalisa (May issue) on her efforts to compete with the big boys in the Kancil Awards 1998/99. I implore her guts for voicing her grievances for being rejected or overlooked by the 4A's. Well, here I would like to share my thoughts with the readers on this issue.

The 4A's have always been monopolised by the "big boys". In fact, just look at who are the judges for the Kancil Awards every year- they were all COs from where - the big agencies! Where are the COs from the small agencies? Aren't they qualified as well? We must not overlook the fact that the people from the small agencies are also those who have worked in the big agencies as well, who subsequently set up their own agencies.

I share my sentiments with Moanalisa that we must not overlook the good works of small agencies. Ask any small agencies and they can give you their reasons why they didn't even bother or be interested in sending their entries .... "Aiya, can never win-lah. Those people are there-lah".

This is a setback for the 4As as they will end up receiving less entries from the small agencies. That is also one of the reasons why the big boys dominate the awards. It's high time the 4As relook into their panel of judges as well as their approach in judging.

I would also like to take this opportunity to comment a little on AOOI. Yes, it has been 3 years AOOI has proven its capability of uplifting the advertising industry. Syabas to you! But again, I notice that for the past 3 years, AOOI has overlooked what the "small boys" can offer. I believe that there are many small agencies out there who have lots of ideas to share pertaining their businesses. Why not AOOI look into this and interview the people in the small agencies. Have a page or two focussing on their works - the good ones! Think about it.

This letter does not mean to belittle big agencies but is just an opinion of a small boy who feels that something needs to be done by both 4As and AOOI so that they won't be seen as "being unjust" as perceived by the small boys.

I end here with an apology should any of my remarks have offended anyone in the industry. As Connie Francis sang, "Where the boys are ..... " (the small ones) ....

Media whizz James Selva has announced his latest brainchild, a new industry magazine called Brand Equity which will hit the newstands soon. James who is the mastermind behind established trade directories

like Media Guide, Advertisers Guide, Press Guide and Business Guide claims this new magazine will allow readers to stay alert and be on top with strategic marketing.

For details, call 03-442 6297.

With sympathy to the small agencies,

The small boy with a big heart.

Chinese Newspaper War When Sin Chew Jit Poh published a series of advertisem ents claiming it was the most read Chinese newspaper in the Klang Valley, it expected its main rivals to baulk at the self-promotion. T hat's all.

It did not anticipate the ire of The C hina Press and Nan yang Siang Pau to be such that it wou ld be sued for defamation and malicious falsehood in a case which is probably the first of its kind in the industry.

The China Press and Nanyang Siang Pau, both controlled by the Hong Leong group, filed their suit recently, claiming damages for libel. They have also asked for an injunction to stop Sin Chew Jit Poh from publishing their claims. At heart is the series of advertisements said to be based on a survey conducted last year by marke t research firm Taylor Nelson Sofres on the readership of Chinese newspapers in Kuala Lumpur, Pe talingJaya and Shah Alam, the crown jewel of advertising revenue in terms of the population's buying power.

These advertiseme nts claim that it was an "undeniable fact" that Sin C hew Jit Poh had 230,000 readers in Kuala Lumpur and P e taling Jaya compared with China Press' 209,000. Similar claims were made for Shah Alam and the Klang Valley. In their submission, China Press and N anyang Siang Pau conte nd that it is we ll-known that they are the leading newspapers in the Klang Valley, according to their own marketing department and AC N ie lsen, another market research company.

ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNICAnONS 10

They claim that Sin C hew Jit Poh had perpetrated a fraud and inferred that they were dishonest in making such claims. If the case does come to trial, readers and the public will be exposed to the cut-and-thrust competitiveness of Chinese newspapers in attracting readers, something the much more genteel English and Malay dailies do not usually engage in.

Some of these methods have already been revealed in the affidavits submitted by both parties in the case. China Press and N anyang Siang Pau have accused Sin Chew Jit Poh of fl ooding the market with free newspapers during the survey period.

T he defendants admit they have given out their newspape r for free as a promotion exercise but deny interfering with the survey. It is common practice for Chinese newspaper companies to give readers free copies as a means of pe rsuading them to switch newspapers.

T he reade rship claims aside, Sin C hew Jit Poh has been winning the war for the advertising ringgit for the last few years. According to the latest Press Guide, the handbook for media buyers, it already had a daily national circulation in 1998 of 264,283 copies, a clear lead over Nanyang Siang Pau's 175,339 and China Press' 171,636.

Advertising sources say Sin Chew Jit Poh is also the first choice when it comes to placing advertisements in C hinese newspapers, followed by C hina Press. If the case goes to trial, reade rs of the three newspapers who are already fed on a daily diet of racy news stories will get more .

(This article was excerpted f rom The Straits Times, Singapore)

Comfort Ads Cannes 2001 Creative

Where has all the fun gone?

By Daniel Binns, Managing Director McCann-Erickson Malaysia.

When I joined this business in the UK 14 years ago, apparently two thirds of all new graduates coveted jobs in the advertising industry. Why? Because it was perceived to be sexy, glitzy, glamorous and most of all, fun. Now we all know that sadly perception is often not reality (although our principal trade is trying to convince people that in fact, it is!). However, 14 years ago the business was a hell of a lot more sexy, glitzy, glamorous and fun than it is today. Agreed, the totally hedonistic days of the mid 80's are probably best forgotten and most clients don't appreciate the idea of not leaving lunches until it gets dark, and partying until dawn does impede the meeting of deadlines. But I pose the thought that we have turned the dial too far and that the business has become far too serious.

Having been in Malaysia just over a year I have to say I am amazed at the lack of organized industry "fun". With the exception of the awards shows, when does the industry get together and party? Even the sporting competitions seem to have died. I can recall a time when every night of the week there was something happening, when you turned down more than you attended.

and yes, an industry that offers glamour and fun. We will not attract and we will not retain the best talent until we can create a more exciting perception and reality for our industry.

Secondly, how can we cultivate an industry of great creativity without an industry brimming with passion and joie de vivre?

Competition at every level helps fuel this fire, be it on the football pitch, at a quiz night or down the local bar. We rarely even celebrate our creativity (and guys applauding ourselves for creating a groundbreaking ad for a hardware shop that ran once in the classified section of the Borneo Post, is a sign that we are in deep trouble!) let alone brag about it during industry knees-ups.

The world of dot.coms.Now, some of their financial bubbles may well have burst, but the image of life in a dot.com company is as alluring as ever to 20 something wannabes.

You may say that I'm just a frustrated wild child, desperately searching for an excuse to go out on the town and relive the days of my youth.

But, there is method to this madness.

Firstly, where are all the hot young talents gravitating to these days? Which is the industry offering the sexy, glitzy, glamorous fun we used to prescribe?

The world of dot.coms. Now, some of their financial bubbles may well have burst, but the image of life in a dot.com company is as alluring as ever to 20 something wannabes. And what can we offer to seduce them to join the ranks of the advertising industry? 20 hour days, no weekends, ridiculous deadlines, challenging clients? That is an undeniable part of what we do, but it should be tempered with passion, excitement, creativity, self-expression

\i y^a mht p I

So what do I propose? Simple. If the industry at large won't create fun, then we will and I encourage every other agency to do the same. McCannErickson therefore formally invites you to a night of merry making and healthy competition in the first ever Malaysian Inter-Agency Pool Tournament to be held at Bravo on 10th August at 7.30pm. Three teams of two people are permitted per agency, one men's doubles team, one women's and one mixed. There will be prizes for individual best teams and a total agency winner. Costs for entry are RM50 per agency. Send your team submission to Francis Tan at McCann-Erickson. Tel 03-230 5677, fax 03- 201-5220 or email francis_tan@mccann.com

Maxingthemix

By Dean Johns

Forgive me a burst of boyish enthusiasm here, but I just met my first client since Ken Ong of Dumex who not only understands the term "marketing mix", but is actually employing all of its elements in a unified campaign to build his brand. And, wouldn't you know it, it's actually working. Brilliantly.

So well that the man I refer to can hardly get the cheesy grin off his face. Appropriately enough, really, considering he works for one of the big Australian milk-products companies marketing its cheese brand.

A brand with a neither wellknown or very snappy name. Or much of an advertising budget, for that matter. Way, way less than a million dollars. Less than half a

ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 12

million dollars. But nothing daunted, he decided last year to hit it with every element he could find in the marketing mix over which he had any control.

Two parts of the mix, admittedly, were already working in his favour. The product, a range of Australian-made Italian-style cheeses, was excellent. And so, aside from that rather strange brand name printed on it, was the most attractive packaging. To make the most of the tiny budget he had at his disposal he directed all his efforts toward not the consumer but the trade. Restaurants, hotels, caterers, retailers, with a series of ads in both English and Italian.

Advertising was supported by advertorials featuring noted chefs and recipes they created specially for MilLel Superior cheeses, and

recipe cards for mailing to people who responded to a toll-free phone number featured in the ads and advertorials. To achieve wide distribution, sampling and consumption in restaurants he stretched his budget and his salesforce by running a co-promotion with a major wine company offering a "Red, White & Cheese" package deal. This came complete with point of sale material in the form of branded menu cards and special paper doilies for cheese plates. And the entire effort was backed-up with a barrage of press releases to the trade media.

One element of the mix I haven't mentioned so far, you'll have noticed, is pricing.

When the campaign launched, MilLel Superior cheeses were some 30% cheaper than their established

imported Italian competitors, giving them a price advantage on the one hand, but a profit and qualityperception penalty on the other.

But sales have climbed so fast that our client has been able to raise his prices almost to parity with the imports, without any slackening of the growth of demand. No wonder he's laughing.

And, as I said back where we came in, I'm pretty chuffed about it all, too. It's not every day I get to work with a client who knows what the marketing mix is and how to orchestrate it all efficiently and effectively on a pitifully small budget. As you'll have noticed just as I have, marketing managers and directors are a very mixed bunch indeed. So working with a truly professional one again is a pleasure to the max.

Dean Johns is a partner in Sydneybased regional creativelmotivational consultancy CreAsia and strategic! creative hotshop StrADegy. Website www.stradegy.com.au

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TMnet and FCB click audience with new campaign 150,000 new subscribers within 2 weeks of launch! That was the whopping response to TMnet's new TV and print campaign.

The campaign, among others, is a watershed in Telekom Malaysia's brand personality and a credit to the client's courage.

Hinged on a catchy line "I Click with TMnet" the campaign features two thematic tv spots, several promos, 6 thematic and several tactical prints.

The tvcs 'Hip Nerd' and 'Super Boy', feature loveable characters who owe their remarkable social, physical and mental prowess to TMnet. Even more remarkable is the creative acrobatics that went

I get more hits than Britney"

I don't stop running at 56kbps'

I Click with TMnet

—I Click wi • h TMnet

into the production.

Directed by James Ashburn, the two tv commercials burned up 10 days of Flame time. Among the more tricky live action bits involved coaxing an orang-utan to act.

In print, art director Ken Goh and Reza Abdullah worked with illustrator Aaron Thai to produce some of the most meticulous ads.

Each print took no less than 14 days of work.

More work is in store for the team at FCB. But the effort is reaping rewards. Not only has TMnet subscribership hit 600,000, the line 'I Click with TMnet' is said to be rolling off the tongues of teenagers.

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Agency: FCB Malaysia Brand: TMnet Clients: Norita Mohd Noh, Has Fariza Abu Hassan Creative Directors: Yap Pow Hoong, S P Lee Art Directors: Ken Goh, Reza Abdullah Copywriter: Joseph Anthony Acc Manager: Geraldine Beh, Zamri, Yasmin Mokhtar, Anita Daud, Azreen Yusup Illustrator: Aaron Thai Photographer: Looi Wing Fai Producer: Debbie Manuel Prod House: Renaissance Film Director: James Ashburn Flame: David Canyon Music: Imaginex

Two Agency Groups handle Clairol and Mead Johnson Bristol-Myers Squibb Company has announced that it will further consolidate its creative advertising agency assignments for Clairol and Mead Johnson Nutritionals consumer divisions under two major

agency groups: True North and bCom3.

This consolidation is a continuation of an agency review initiated several years ago that reduced the number of advertising

agency assignments from approximately twenty-six to six within the company's consumer divisions. Specific agencies with assignments under True North include Foote Cone & Belding

(FCB) and Bozell. Agencies under bCom3 with assignments include D'Arcy and the Kaplan Thaler Group (KTG). This new agency alignment will be effective from October 1, 2000.

Optimum Impression - understanding print Optimum Media Direction (OMD) recently launched Optimum Impression in Malaysia. The survey is the fourth to be completed across Asia, after Hongkong, Singapore and Thailand. The purpose of the survey is to provide media planners the answers to frequently asked questions on the print media, ie. what is the impact of key factors like position, colour and size.

The survey interviewed 1,000 respondents face to face. The respondents were between ages 15-54 years. The newspaper titles covered are Nanyang, China Press, Sin Chew Jit Poh, The Star, New Straits Times, Berita Harian and Utusan Malaysia. The magazine titles covered are Jelita, Wanita and URTV. Some of the key findings include: • Level of ad noting is second highest in Malaysia, after Thailand but ahead of Singapore. 61% of newspaper readers have noticed advertisements in the newspapers compared to Singapore 50% and Thailand 69%.

• Level of ad noting differs by print titles.

• Overall, coloured ads in newspapers are more effective than black and white.

• Malaysians are more likely to read ads than their counterparts in Thailand and Singapore.

• Wider appeal product categories like supermarkets and fastfood enjoy higher ad noting scores than categories on education and jewellery.

Commenting on the launch of the research in Malaysia, Jim Goh, Managing Director of OMD Malaysia noted, "The benefit of Optimum Impression is knowing the level of audience delivery by print sections and helping our clients position their ads in the most cost effective manner. It is also about educating clients on the value or the lack of value of certain positions." The survey was conducted by international research agency, AC Nielsen.

LB Asia Pacific Wins At Cannes Leo Burnett Asia Pacific scores at Cannes with seven' offices short listed or awarded a Lion. In print, Leo Burnett Connaghan and May

AD0IMARKETINGC0MMUNICATI0NS 14

(LBC&M), Sydney was awarded two Bronze Lions for its campaign 'Red Square' and 'Train Interior' for Stolichnaya vodka. LB Singapore

won a Bronze Lion for the campaign titled 'Leaf for the Discovery Channel. In film, Leo Burnett Thailand and India were each

awarded Bronze Lions in recognition for excellence for their respective clients McDonald's titled 'Swimming' and the Foundation For Organ Retrieval & Transplant titled 'Battery Operated

Toy'.

By putting the customer first, corporations are making a big mistake" 11

Future corporations·will be 11 0rea m-weavers". eir products will tell us 11Stories".

Will internet sales cannibalise sales from traditional market channels?

their products and services, society focused on and feelings. Two the automation of

,~vJ.i:lllli:l~•=uu:uL professor Gary Hamel of the

London vu~JLu~;~• says that online competitors will be very <><T<Tr"'""'" on price, and thereby"undermine the price in cosy markets, even if they don't dominate a

for a free copy, please fax or call: Mayrie at Shriro Paper (M) Sdn Bhd tel +603 7874 9842 fax +603 7875 2463 Hazel or Allie at Shriro Pacific Paper (Singapore) Pte ltd tel +65 378 8132/133 fax +65 473 1291

conquerorit The word CONQUEROR and the HORSEMAN symbol are registered trademarks of Arjo Wiggins Ltd

DMAM seminar triggers encouraging response The Direct Marketing Association of Malaysia (DMAM) recently held a seminar on DM Case Studies at the Renaissance Hotel, KL. More than 100 participants attended and the theme was "Triggering Response". Speakers included Nina Mohamed Nor - Creative Head of Grey Direct Malaysia, Steven Palos - Managing Director of OgilyOne Worldwide Malaysia,

TRIGGERING RESPONSE

Richard Rodwell of Spyder Communication and Robert Burr of FCB Direct.

Award-winning creative director Nina who spoke about "Beyond 'Dear Valued Customer': Creative strategies that work", touched on successful DM creative techniques that helped build famous products and brands. She covered case studies for Woodbury's Soap, Kent Detours, Shell Sylkron and Glaxo-Asthma. Her talk also investigated attention grabbing print positions, media mixes and advanced DM creative techniques. Richard Rodwell spoke on Telemarketing (TM) - acquisition, retention & CRM strategies. Here are some highlights of his presentation: •

As a component of the DM mix, Telemarketing or TM represents 42% of all DM spend.

• •

More 70% of business transactions take place over the phone.

US$950 billion in products and services were sold through call centres last year and this figure is expected to grow 20% annually.

•

In TM, not recognising the individuality of the customer is the main root of defection.

The Direct Marketing Association of Malaysia (DMAM) will also be hosting its annual creative awards show later this year. For details, contact Patricia Chong on 012-329 4548.

The seminat creatives, done by Grey Direct

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Fire away. The panel takes questions from the floor.

Nina looks good as she explains creative tips for DM

Golden Star's1VB video viewers scratch their way to millions! movies that come in single tapes. But for serial tapes, like Chinese TVB Serials it's a totally different ball game.

Once you're hooked on the plot, you're addicted. Even the stuff you see on free or pay TV can't compare because those programmes are over one year old, whereas Golden Star's TVB serials are fresh from the studios.

To drive this momentum even further, Golden Star Video and TVBI have launched a mega scale promotion worth RM8.5 Million to consolidate its leadership position in Malaysia. The Scratch & Win

6 93®

It is a wrong assumption to think that video viewing is a shrinking market with the onslaught of VCDs. This only holds true for

AD0IMARKETINGC0MMUNICATI0NS 16

promotion will last till 2 November 2000 or while stocks last and guarantees everyone wins everytime.

Sherene Teh of Golden Star Media adds, "When customers rent two TVB video tapes from any Golden Star Authorised Video Centres, they will receive a Scratch & Win ticket which is a sure win; perhaps a double win. They can win RM20,000 in cash, a set of jewellery worth RM 10,000, a trip to Hong Kong plus dining with TVB stars, or any one of the one over million prizes worth a total of RM5 million! Over RM2.5 million will be spent on publicising this grand

event over TV, radio, print ads in major newspapers, posters, leaflets, hanging mobiles, video tape sleeves, car stickers and bus panels."

With all this buzz going on, looks like there's never been a better time for advertisers to cash in by advertising on TVB videos.

Golden Star Media can be reached on 03-7729 2788.

DUTCH LADY'

YOUR STRONGEST SOURCE OF CALCIUM.

CIA ready to rock and roll in Malaysia!

Margaret Au-Yong, Managing Director

- Best Outdoor Campaign and wide range of applications and tools Carlsberg Best Use of give CIA Medianetwork better Sponsorship. CIA also topped the knowledge and understanding of the marketplace and the consumer: list of Media & Marketing's New Business League. In Asia, CIA • Added-Value is a marketing Medianetwork now operates across consultancy with innovative tools all key Asia Pacific markets. New inspired by passion for brands and business gains from DHL the desire to create consumer Worldwide Express, Aetna insights. Some examples include Insurance and the launch of Bullseye for positioning, new "dot.com" companies and Market Mapping for such as Chinatowndotcom, segmentation.

Helloasia, com in Singapore • Brown ID signifies and Efextrade in Hong the design business, which Kong has positioned CIA as creates identities for innovative and clientclients based on focused, thus, strengthening methodologies which the company's foothold in Helen Yeo, Client unlock what makes great Services Director this region. designs work.

When Chris Ingram Associates or CIA opened its doors on 13 Jan 1976, the idea of separate companies handling clients' media planning and buying was regarded sceptically. The fact that media specialist CIA has grown from $1 million in 1976 to an expected more What's the challenge? than US$ 5.2 billion in 2000 bears To better manage and advise testimony to the subsequent clients in the new revolution. Today, 24 millennium, because CIA years later, CIA has 60 sees itself as the most offices in 32 countries admired, brand-focused, across Europe, USA communications channel and Asia Pacific with a specialist worldwide. staff strength of 2000 The 21st century people. ADOI spoke underlines the pivotal role to Margaret Au-Yong, held by all disciplines of Managing Director of marketing such as CIA Medianetwork Rachel Jayaratnam, understanding markets, Malaysia for more on Client Services consumer insights, clear Director what's been cooking at brand positioning and their new offices in effective media communication.

Phileo Damansara Amazon, Freeserve and Egg are reminders that brands with You've been a media professional clear identities, meeting new for years. What attracted you to consumer needs, will the CIA concept? prosper.

Furthermore, the It's a company that is going digital revolution will ensure places. Globally, the CIA offering that life will never be the has been strengthened by a same again on the planet, for continuing investment in research, any brand or company. systems and people as the business Internet time will affect all metamorphosed from planner industries such that normal buyer of advertising media to marketing processes either managing clients' communication have to speed up radically or needs. This unique achievement shut down. has seen fruit in the new business appointments of the prestigious Tell us about some of your 'secret DaimlerChrysler account (jointly weapons? with FCB), effective across 66 To quote Group Chairman, countries, JP Morgan, and Chris Ingram "we are the European launch of Alta determined to increase our Vista. Additional business strategic contribution to was awarded through multi­ our clients by providing national clients including them with greater insights DHL, Ericsson, Novartis, into their markets and to VISA, LVMH, Nike, SAS, Kay Liew, Client help unlock further Shell and Zurich Financial Service Manager potential in their brands".

Services. In the industry, The strategy to achieve this CIA's work has been recognized goal is to seek and deliver the most when it won the 1999 Media & imaginative, insightful and Marketing (Europe) award for Nike impactful solutions for the client. A

ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 18

• OHAL provides the econometric analysis, which helps to quantify and better understand how advertising works, thus improving accountability and effectiveness of the communication activities employed.

across all offices, building a culture and a shared sense of purpose has been achieved. As such, a client can walk into any office and find similar teams providing a similar range of services to similar standards, with similar resources and for similar terms of business.

Tell us about the Malaysian scenario?

We started here on 16th September 1999 and our clients include a good combination of multi-national, regional, quasi-govt and local categories like Abbott Laboratories, Metrojaya, Siemens, DHL, Ports of Tanjung Pelepas, Warner Music, Toy 'R' Us, Fella/FRC, Taylor's College, Volkswagen & Bionax. As the new kid on the block, CIA Medianetwork Malaysia is projected to deliver billings amounting to RM 30 million for the Year 2000.

And what about your team?

Oh, that's the best part. We have Helen Yeo who has been promoted to Client Services • Outrider is the e-marketing Director and has more than 10 years division for building and marketing experience in media buying and companies on the internet and planning. Helen has walked the other emerging digital platforms. beat handling a multitude of clients This service encompasses from her days with ad agency Union design/building of a site and then Forty-Five, Saatchi and so on. Then driving traffic to it using both online we have Rachel Jayaratnam, also and offline media. our Client Services Director, who • Medialab is a proprietary has done the McCann-Erickson and research tool that provide clients Leo Burnett circuit working on clients like Nestle, P&G, Celcom, McDonald's, Application/ Petronas and so on.

People Tools Jagiee Kaur, our Media Business Consultant, is also no stranger to the local media scene. With over 16 years of experience, she has been Clients Global Expertise instrumental in consolidating our client base and helped thrust with unique consumer and media CIA Malaysia into pole position in insights that can help apply across the local scene. We have also the entire media process. appointed Kay Liew as Client Looks like you've got a lot on Service Manager from Andersen your plate?

Consulting and she will spearhead our drive into e-technology and the Yes, business is on the rise. But new economy. Florence Chan is CIA needs not only have the right also promoted to Client Service tools/applications but also, more Manager having worked her way up importantly the right people. It is ranks since she entered the the the practice of CIA Medianetwork world of advertising with Saatchi in to hire the best possible people who 1991. I am proud of my team and also buy into the culture - a learning we are poised to deliver. culture that welcomes change, is open to ideas and in which frontiers To contact CIA call 03-460 1343 are no barriers. We also have a or e-mail CIAMM@ciasb.po.my. coherent and consistent offering

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think beyond

Top Ten "Most Wanted"- Part Two

The Most Frequently Heard Questions and Comments about Direct Marketing in Malaysia

By Kurt Crocker, Creative Director Drayton Bird\ Crocker & Mano More and more Malaysian businesses are enjoying the advantages of a Direct Marketing programme. But questions and comments from those who aren't using the power of Direct Marketing — and a few who are — are strikingly familiar. I've been hearing them for over 10 years.

In the June issue of ADOI, I began a list of the Top Ten questions and comments I've heard most often. Part One covered Numbers 10 through 7, and they are reviewed below. For the answers, check last month's issue. Part Two begins with Number 6.

Number 10: "It's too expensive!"

Number 9: "Can you guarantee results?"

Number 8: "No one reads long copy."

Number 7: "No one reads junk mail in Malaysia."

Number 6: "Do we really need a letter in our direct mail package?"

The letter is probably the most inexpensive element in any direct mail package. And yet, it's too often not included. Letters are sometimes "faked" by including them on the inside cover of a catalog or brochure. Bad idea.

A good sales letter should make the difference between a lukewarm response and a hot one. It's the only "personal" element in the package, ostensibly written by a named human being — from one person to another.

The more personal you can make it, the better it will be.

You should consider the letter your "salesperson", the brochure your "store". Would you try selling something in your store without a salesperson?

Unless your product or service completely sells itself, never send out direct mail without a letter.

Number 5: "I've heard 2% is a good response. Right or not?"

Sure, if you target 100,000 prospects and you need sales from 2,000 respondents to make a profit on your campaign investment, then 2% is fine.

A good response rate is inextricably linked to your margins, cost of promotion and the number of people you are targeting. You may need a fraction of a percentage to make money. Or much higher response rates for expensive campaigns or low ticket products.

In other words, that magic 2% you hear so much about is nonsense.

Number 4; "We need Direct Marketing specialists. But my agency handles 'above line1."

Any communication created mainly to generate response should be the domain of Direct Marketing specialists. That could include direct mail, plus television, press ads, radio, outdoor, websites... the full spectrum of the communication channels.

Generalists will not know the many techniques used to get a prospect's

immediate commitment or measured interest. A responsive television or press ad, for example, should be extraordinarily different in form and content than simple brand advertising.

So forget those lines, below or above. Think about what you are trying to accomplish, and employ the right people to do the job.

Number 3: "How long does it take to put together a Direct Marketing campaign?"

Responsive press takes about as much time as brand press. Television may require a little more production or post-production time, because the length of a DRTV spot is usually between 60 and 90 seconds.

Direct mail will require the longest lead-time, especially if you have names to source, a lot of personalisation or many elements. Someone once figured there are more than 100 steps required to complete a Direct Mail package... or about 100 opportunities to screw up.

A totally integrated Direct Marketing campaign is quite a balancing act, and another reason to allow a single specialist resource to handle everything.

As a rule of thumb (and this could vary wildly, depending on the communication mix) allow at least 6 to 8 weeks from start to launch date.

Number 2: "We've never done Direct Marketing. I don't know where to begin."

First, think of Direct Marketing as just another form of advertising, like brain surgery is another form of medical practice. Don't worry about where, when or how Direct Marketing will work best for you. Just put together a sensible brief, clearly identifying any relevant background information and your current objectives.

Review this brief with a Direct Marketing expert, allow some time for him to come back with a plan, and listen to the recommendations. A good plan will include advice about what you need in place before, during and after the campaign.

For advice about who to talk to, see Number 1 below ...

Number 1: "How many agencies do Direct Marketing in Malaysia?"

There are a handful who truly do have the depth of knowledge, people and experience to include Direct Marketing as a specialist discipline. The rest acknowledge that they do not offer such capabilities, or they say they do but really don't.

To separate the wheat from the chaff, ask the agency that claims Direct Marketing expertise the following questions: 1. What Direct Marketing campaigns have your agency worked on, and what were the results? (Look for experience and strong results in a broad range of product categories.)

2. Who are the people who will work on my Direct Marketing campaign, and what are their specialist backgrounds? (And then meet and talk with them.)

3. Is 2% a good response rate? (If they say yes, walk out the door.)

AXN's distribution leaps in HK deal AXN Action TV will launch in Hong Kong in August, following an exclusive distribution agreement with Hong Kong's largest cable operator CABLE TV. AXN Managing Director Todd Miller said the deal completed AXN's key 24-

AD0IMARKETINGC0MMUNICATI0NS 20

hour coverage throughout the region and boosted AXN's availability to nearly 17 million households. The deal comes close on the heels of carriage agreements with Macau Cable and Philippines' SkyCable.

AXN has also surged into the

top rankings after only four weeks since its launch with Philippines' largest cable operator, SkyCable.

AXN VP of Sales & Marketing Ricky Ow said, " AXN now has a weekly reach of 1.1 million* viewers in greater Manila."

"The response to the channel has been tremendous as evident during the recent publicity tour of Von Flores, a Filipino actor who stars in AXN's primetime sci-fi series Earth Final Conflict," he said.

POV goes cyber and Fat Lizard expands

Ogilvylnteractive and The Internet CallCentre hit Asia forming a seamless platform of communication, interactive personal customer service form an important value-added proposition for both the user and provider.

Ogilvylnteractive Asia CEO, Kent Wertime, commented, "It is important that a total interactive environment be created for the user.

As websites become more complex, factors such as interactive design and customer support will form a big consideration, to ensure that the sites remain valuable and useful to the surfers."

Double Vision, an established producer of television programming for broadcasters in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Brunei, recently bought a majority stake in Fat Lizard Sdn Bhd, a leading animation company in Kuala Lumpur and formed Persistence of Vision (POV). Fat Lizard's award winning 3D animation and compositing artists form the core of the POV creative team at the new studio in Cyberjaya.

In recognition of the need to deliver innovative animated content over emerging media, POV also incorporates a Web Innovation Unit (WIU) as a centre for new media content creation and production. POV is the production centre for sister company Fat Lizard's 3D animation which has expanded its 2D animation facility at Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur. This is to cope with increased demand for high quality 2D animated TV commercials. Well known for its 3D animation accomplishments, Fat Lizard recently won Gold for Best 2D animation at the 2000 Malaysian Video Awards (MVA) for "Impulse Breakout" (see story on page 42).

Ogilvylnteractive and The Internet CallCentre announced a strategic alliance, the first of its kind in Asia, to provide complementary and support services for clients in the Asia region.

This follows closely with a recentlyconcluded agreement between TeleDirect, one of Asia's leading 'real world' callcentre operators and a sister company of Ogilvylnteractive, and The Internet CallCentre.

As technology sees the convergence of voice and data,

Newsweek Excellent in China

were awarded SOPA Honorable Mentions. "Wasted Youth" (issue date 7th June, 1999), an article on the contemporary issue of China's empty youth culture of punks and casual sex, by Asia Editor Dorinda Elliott, was honoured in the category of feature writing. The magazine's special report on the "50 Years of Communist China" (issue date 20th September 1999) was commended for its fine, informative editorial presentation.

This continues Newsweek's tradition of award-winning China journalism. The Overseas Press Club presented Newsweek awards for its cover stories "China: Friend or Foe?" (1996) and The Hong Kong Handover (1997).

Newsweek's in-depth account of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) secret war in Tibet before the Dalai Lama's departure in the late 1950s won top prize for "Excellence in Reporting" during the past year, awarded by the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA). The award honoured Newsweek Beijing Bureau Chief Melinda Liu's powerful investigative report entitled "When Heaven Shed Blood".

In addition, two outstanding examples of Newsweek reporting on China

COPYWRITER NEEDED.

There are many things that a copywriter has to go through.

For example, the one who originally created the famous advertisement spoofed above crawled under a car just to prove a point.

Somewhat obsessive, you say? Well, that's prob­ ably why Dave became so successful.

Of course we don't expect you to be as good as him right from the start.

But if you are enthusiastic, intelligent and have

an insatiable appetite to learn, you may be just the writer we're looking for. And even if your ideas aren't always original and fresh, don't worry.

You can always resort to copying other ads.

We know. We just did.

NEW COPYWRITER POSITION. SALARY STARTS FROM RM2000 PER MONTH. PLEASE COMPLETE COUPON AND SEND IT TO US WITH YOUR RESUME. OR, (IF YOU WOULD PREFER TO SPEAK TO US PRIVATELY), PLEASE CALL YASMIN OR ALI AT (03) 2010 998.

To: Leo Burnett, Level 5, Menara Olympia, 8, Jalan Raja Chulan, 50200 KL. My details: Mr/Mrs/Miss Address COPYWRITER. FROM Postcode,

Petronas Festive Hari Raya "No Charge" Lailaini Layalt, Cinequip

Petronas Road Safety "Yuzy" Rajah Singh, Axis Films

Celcom Festive Hari Raya "Preparation " Hanim Aribah, Cinequip

Nokia "Wedding" Low Soon Keong, Axis Films

Good grief, not Axis again After 5 years you'd think Axis Malaysia would be fed up with doing so well or at least have run out of space for all the awards, but yet again another remarkable showing at the 5th MVA. Films made by Axis actually won 8 golds, which was a third of all the available golds in the professional categories and they won a grand total of 22 awards, which was a third of all available professional awards. Axis actually grand slammed in 4 categories taking all three Awards, Gold Silver and Bronze, for Direction (ASEAN), Cinematography, Production Design and Performance. So it's a safe bet that Axis Malaysia was the most awarded production company again (sure, I'm surprised!).

Axis people were prominent on the podium; giving as well as receiving, with Sheen and Paul presenting best doco, best corporate video and best director. As Sheen says, "The MVA is something you really have to support. I really hope that when they see people like Lee (Production Designer), Loh (Costume Designer) and Zaki (Editor) getting awards, new blood will see those professions as worthwhile and be encouraged to follow in their footsteps. We also need to make it quite clear that Malaysian filmmaking craftsmanship is world standard. Don't forget a Malaysian produced film won the best film in this year's Media Magazine Asian Ad Awards", (also made by Axis, yikes).

-.â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Unfortunately this year Axis' heavy workload meant there was no time to produce an experimental film or a short film on AIDS. "It's a real pity about that," said Paul Loosley, "we really get off on being able to express ourselves in a non­ commercial way. We'll definitely get stuck in next year." Problem is, if Axis Film's track record is anything to go by, we might as well post the results for the 6th MVA now. Here's a shameless display of their trophies won this year (yawn).

AD0IMARKETINGC0MMUNICATI0NS 22

Leo Burnett's H top Malaysian V Crowd favourite, Petronas' Hari Raya No Charge television commercial, won the coveted Best TV/Cinema Commercial gold award at the fifth Malaysian Video Awards (MVA) 2000.

The annual event, organised by the Malaysian Video awards, saw more than 200 film industry practitioners, mainly from advertising agencies, production and post-production houses, in attendance.

No Charge, produced by advertising agency Leo Burnett also grabbed the Bronze award in the Best Director category.

Farouk Aljoffrey of Planet Films triumphed in this category for Perodua's advertisement titled Kancil Awards Fu while Ponpaibun Sidhigu of Axis Films walked away with the silver award for Petronas' When I Watch TV. Lum Heng Soon of Axis films walked away with the gold award in the Best Production Design category for Mobikom Digi Prepaid

Plus No television commercial.

The Silver and Bronze awards in this category went to Lee Chuen Fai of Axis Films for ntv7 viewers' favourite, MAS My Way and Head & Bruce Lee ads, Shoulders respectively. Both commercials were produced by Axis Films.

Loh Yow Fei, of Axis film won the Best Costume Design award for his work in Digi Prepaid Plus No commercial.

The second and third prizes of this category also went to Low for newcomer Jason Lo's music video Evening News and Panasonic Hip Stereo ads, respectively.

"This project took me about two years to complete. Thank you all for this recognition," said Low who won the same category in 1998 and 1999.

Meanwhile, Kempen Menaruh Harapan ntvl campaign ad produced by Anthony Wong of TH Film Associates - triumphed in the Best Scriptwriting award.

"This is just too good to be true

NTV7's Home Viewers Choice for MVA Awards 1. My Way (Malaysia Airlines Corporate) 2. Man On A Mission/Football/Taxi (Motorola Asia Life) 3. Ulu Tembeling (Tenaga Nasional Bhd Corporate) 4. FU (Kancil Awards) 5. When I Watch TV (Petronas Corporate) 6. Jungle Boy (Mirinda) 7. Family (Connection Points) 8. Butterfly (Opus - Channel 303) 9. Dentures (Celcom VAS) 10. Sheep (Ford) Malaysia Airlines "My Way" Brian Francis, Axis Films

Head & Shoulders "Bruce Lee" Michael Warr, Axis Films

Opus (Channel 303) "Butterfly " Zara Gabrovsek & Nina Ariff, Frames Production

ri Raya tvc wins leo Award (MVA) and, frankly, I don't feel like I deserve this award," said Wong.

The Silver and Bronze awards went to the Leo Burnet team of Yasmin Ahmad, Paul Prabhakar, Iska Hashim and Hainifah Zainudin for their works, Petronas Road Safety Campaign ad titled Yuzy and for Celcom's Vas Dentures.

In the Best Cinematography category, the Nokia ad Wedding bagged the top award.

Digi Prepaid Plus' No and Malaysian Airlines System's My Way commercials won the second and third prizes, respectively.

Young talent Khairil Ridfi won the Best Performance award for Petronas' When I Watch TV ad, beating two other finalists.

At the same event, rap group Poetic Ammo's Who Be The Player music video was named the Best Music Video. The music video, was produced by Virginia Kennedy of JHA Productions.

Other awards given out included Best Experimental Video

(Professional) which went to K. Shunmugam of F.E.G. Enterprise, for his work, No Worry Chicken Curry.

The Best Experimental Video (Amateur) award was won by The One academy students Ken Foong Ka King, Lai Yong Meng and Poh Kok Wee, for their work, Epoch.

For Best Experimental video (Amateur) - below 18, student Myron Lee bagged the gold award for his effort Dissolution.

Osman Ali of Akademi Film Malaysia won the accolade of Best Experimental Video (Amateur) Below 18, for his work Anak Halal.

This year's show attracted 500 entries including from other Asean countries. There were a total of 27 categories in the awards including Best Sound, Best Editing and Best Documentary.

Entries were judged by professionals from the local film and video industries as well as from around the region.

Addaudio sweeps both audio categories Only two Gold awards are handed out each year for audio professionals and Addaudio has won them both! They were Best Music (Gold) to Simon Leo for Nokia TVC and Best Sound Design (Gold) to Tan Yan Wei & Jeff Omar for Kancils Promo TVC. Jeff also picked up Best Sound Design (Silver) for Caltex TVC. Addaudio also put up a workshop in conjunction with MVA 2000, showcasing both music production by Jose Thomas and Sound Designing for Video by Sean, Yan Wei & Jeff.

Daniel Tang of Addaudio adds, "Sound design has become a fine art and there are so many digital solutions available in the marketplace today.

But the rewards belong to those who apply creative thinking coupled with technical excellence in generating new sounds that paint a vivid picture in the minds of the listener."

AD0IMARKETINGC0MMUNICATI0NS 23

On People, Turnover and the Invisible tie that binds

by Peter Wilken, COO of Leo Burnett Malaysia.

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When you ask people to reflect on the key moments of their lives, a crossroad or a turning point, those moments tend to pivot around human relationships.

It isn't that great appraisal they got in '94, or the brilliant campaign they were part of, or that promotion they made.

Their work and their careers are important, but it fits within life, not the other way around.

The Invisible tie that binds

More than ever before, the industry needs to understand how to nurture and motivate its people. Companies that treat their people as their competitive advantage will prosper at the expense of those who don't. So what is the invisible tie that binds and how can we strengthen it? We talk about brand loyalty on a daily basis to our clients, but often do a lousy job of understanding what drives the loyalty of our own people.

The post-crisis churn is predictable The industry probably shed over 20% of its workforce during the crisis.

Now, in six short months, we've done a 180-degree turnabout from cutting people to desperately trying to recruit. We can forgive some of the youngsters for being a little disillusioned. If we had invested enough in education to increase the pool of trained newcomers during bad times as well as good, we'd all be better off. Schools like Sledgehammer Institute, IACT, and Limkokwing Institute are to be applauded in this regard.

It's a predictable and frustrating post-crisis scenario.

Agencies operate without forethought, like the rather dim-witted, reactionary animals they are at times. They cut too deep too quickly in economic hardship, then accumulate fat too fast when the upswing comes.

Starvation followed by gluttony doesn't do a body any good or an agency.

Some might argue that they did what they had to just to survive and be in a position to recover. If you're a small independent that's probably true.

But the majority of us work for large multinational networks that no doubt declared reasonable profits elsewhere in the world. With a little bit of foresight and better redistribution of wealth many could have avoided the extremes of the feast and famine syndrome. The cost of re-hiring, often at inflated rates, far exceeds the cost of holding onto people throughout.

It's a two-way street There's a dangerous tendency amongst employees to think that it's the company's responsibility to determine their future and happiness. Of course, good employers must demonstrate they care about their employees. But the onus for appraisals and career path development will be on the employee.

They'll be empowered with knowledge to better understand their own competencies, ambitions, desires and areas for growth. It will be them who come to their employers with solutions for their development and remuneration, based on what they believe is fair.

This world already exists in places like St Lukes in London, where everyone's salaries - even the MD's - are available on their intranet for everyone else to look at. There's a lot of peer pressure to deliver your value believe me - especially if you're the MD!

Not 'them' or 'us', but 'we' It's hard to shake off established hierarchical thinking that creates a management versus workers scenario, even with management teams that think and act the right way, and especially in large companies. We must try.

Those companies whose people feel an integral part of the team rather than a cog in the machine become communities of 'we'.

There's a better chance of this in smaller teams, which is often part of the attraction of smaller companies. Loyalty diminishes the further one moves from the individual. We tend to have strongest loyalty to individuals, then teams, then the company. If it extends to the corporate body you're doing well!

ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 24

The two types of turnover There are two types of turnover, good and bad. In his book 'Winning the people wars' Mike Johnson writes about the battle for the best in business talent:" While some see it as a fight to attract high performers to their firms, the street smart know it's about having the ability to hold on to the people you want to keep (and only those you want to keep) for longer than your competitors." He makes two points (his emphasis by the way, not mine).

Retention of the best is more important than recruitment - and don't try to keep mediocre talent.

We keep reminding our clients that their most profitable customers are the brand loyal ones they already have. We should heed our own advice.

And to the second point, the people who are available on Headhunters books or frequent job-hoppers, are often the same as the brand switchers that are least valuable to our clients.

All of us are experiencing higher levels of turnover. Ours has jumped from a norm of 8% to closer to 18% in the last three months. Of course we've lost some good people we'd rather have kept (bad turnover), but a significant portion is natural or managed (good turnover).

The point is we shouldn't be afraid of higher levels of turnover if it's the good type. We should always be looking to improve the bloodstock and bringing in fresh talent with new ideas. That means actively changing the bottom 5 or 6% of performers to bring in better talent. The good people want that - they want to play in the best team.

What makes people leave or stay?

I certainly don't know the full answer to this one, but here's my simplified theory. People leave for one of three reasons: personal, money or challenge/fulfilment. Everyone can understand personal reasons for leaving, following a wife or husband abroad, having a baby, or reaching a personal crossroads tends to be more important than working for an ad agency!

Money is far more important than many care to admit - and employers ignore it at their peril - but by far and away the most important reason good people decide to leave is the third.

People rarely stay for the extra cash. And by the time you're talking about it, it's too late anyway. They stay because there's caring, alignment of goals, commitment, and clear paths for growth and development.

My guess is we spend more time and money on the things that don't make a difference. We're trying hard to change that at Leo Burnett. We've invested regionally and locally in comprehensive projects to analyse and enhance the core competencies we believe we need to create and keep superior communications consultants.

Some things we can do to keep our best people Perhaps most important is to shake off the mis-perception that we have to treat all people the same. The fairest thing is to treat people unequally, according to performance against mutually agreed objectives. We preach meritocracy, but we rarely practice it (be honest here). We are slow to reward the few for fear of upsetting the many. Some things are best shared evenly in the interest of family unity, but there's nothing more de-motivating to strong performers than rewarding everyone evenly - what's the point in being better?

See that you have the tools available to help people achieve the goals you've agreed (our guys are going to scream at me for computer upgrades after reading this!) Give recognition and praise when it's due (damn, another thing I'm bad at - everybody at LB, you're doing a great job, thanks, keep it up!) Make sure there are opportunities to learn and grow.

"There's nowt as queer as folk" I hear Arthur's voice (he's the 70 year old gardener at my parents house in England) with his thick Yorkshire accent: "There's nowt as queer as folk".

Even with the best will in the world, and HR practices to match, companies will lose some good people. That's life. The tips above can help get the basics right so we don't lose good people for the wrong reasons.

Now, it's time for this doctor to take some of his own medicine.

Be happy - it's a great time to be in advertising again - at last!

Younghopefuls have designs on fashion world & Retail Design course is tailordisplays and store-front design to Malaysian retailers, manufacturers made to groom students for various fashion marketing and brand-name and young designers are pooling career options, ranging from fashion promotion. their resources to turn Kuala writing and retail design to Lumpur into a regional fashion hub. cinematography and fashion Some are already putting the merchandising.

After completing The recent ground-breaking country not only on the world map, their three-year academic design tie-up with Metrojaya - the but also on the Net - as the creators, programme, they can transfer to any largest retail chain in the country suppliers and exporters of highof the Institute's university partners is opening a wider window of quality, trendy clothes and Sealed... Mr Khet (left) and Tan Sri Dato' Lim exchanging the MOU agreements. in Australia, New Zealand and the opportunity for design and fashion accessories.

UK for their degree courses. students. The mutually beneficial for men and women, priceThe growing popularity of cooperation, the first of its kind in competitive accessories, an urban fashion centres such as the the country, enables students at the assortment of with-it clothes for KLCC, Bangsar and Lot 10 and the "Students pursuing the course LICT not only to acquire teenagers, new labels from increasing influx of tourists are enjoy a wide scope of training in marketplace experience in a Malaysia... they are all making their driving the demand for a la mode many areas," explained spectrum of trade appearance at overseas markets. garments and related accessories. the Institute's areas, but also to A case in point is the increased "Go casual but smart" or "Be Programme Coordinator, launch their own volume of Malaysian-made fashionable but affordable" seems Scott Whiteside. "For new design labels. footwear sold aboard.

The to be the rationale. instance, in semesters "This retail Malaysian Footwear Manufacturers At the same time, domestic three and four, the venture is exciting Association reports that the consumers are getting increasingly students learn business and promising country's exports of shoes rose 11% sophisticated. Some are looking for management and although it is not a to RM289.7 million last year. The exclusivity, while others are opting marketing apart from new idea," says total was equivalent to 520,614 pairs for a variety of designer labels. fashion design, pattern LICT President, of locally-made shoes.

Thus, the price tag is not the main drafting and photography.

Tan Sri Dato' Lim The latest buzzword is consideration.

In semesters five and six, Kok Wing. "In the connectivity, thanks to the In response, major retailers of we teach them merUK, major retail unprecedented popularity of the clothing and accessories LICTs creation blending chandising, advertising, groups like tradition with a touch of silk ...

Internet and the . ,. boutiques, fashion Selfridges are blouse with gold leaf prints promotion and retail proliferation of outlets and chain management. involved in similar matched with side-silt skirt.

Web sites at home stores are smartening "The idea is to encourage our tie-ups." and aboard. In a up.

They are students to develop diverse skills.

"For us, however, the designflash, a supplier in allocating more floor To be successful, they need to retail collaboration will open up can Malaysia space for browsing think, rationalise and create on their refreshing horizons for the and product display, own. With their multi-skill benefit of retailers, sprucing up their development, they can be designers and consumers. interior decor, adaptable, flexible and pragmatic Our students turned mounting more eye­ when they face challenges or when designers will also gain as catching window market conditions change. they respond to market presentations, "After their graduation, they trends, think up practical promoting a wider enjoy an added advantage - a wide and innovative ideas and selection of labels selection of career opportunities. In help Metrojaya in and launching the short, they can take up any position introducing new designs Designer halter-neck dress on display... latest collections. related to fashion, an area that is and brand names. " featuring striking leaves and flowers Similarly, momexpanding rapidly."

"These young accept orders and-pop shops, chains and shopping hopefuls will have a from a client in complexes in Kuala Lumpur and chance to design new Europe or the Petaling Jaya are bracing Two-pieces beaded dresses... one sporting collections of clothing and US. Likewise, hood (right) and another in two tones themselves for stiff competition, as accessories, store fronts, a Malaysian highlighted with gold leaf prints. shoppers become more and more window displays and designer can demanding . To stimulate consumer anything related to fashion. They mount a spectacular fashion show interest, both big and small retailers will learn the ropes in brand-name on the net and reach buyers are working with manufacturers and promotion, retail trade and worldwide. designers to come up with so-called marketing."

Taking advantage of the upbeat hi-tech fabrics, new patterns, (On 27 April, Tan Sri Dato' Lim fashion climate, students at the unique designs and appealing arrays and the Chief Executive Officer of Limkokwing Institute of Creative of fashion accessories for buyers Metrojaya, Mr Khet Kok Yin, Technology (LICT) are setting from all walks of life. concluded a memorandum of their sights on the introduction of understanding to enable students in new designer labels for the the Institute to contribute fashion domestic and foreign markets.

By the same token, Malaysian and design ideas and products to They are also focusing their manufacturers of apparel and the retail chain). attention on greener pastures in accessories are stepping up their Scott Whiteside ... teaching diverse fashion skills.

Indeed, the Institute's Fashion diverse design fields - from window export drive. New-look garments

Tie-up with major chain

Wide training scope

New labels make debut

ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 25

anti stress@office.com

by Jullie P. Lingan

Though it may be too much of an assumption to make, I still maintain that for us to thrive and survive in advertising, we must all be masochists to a certain extent. One ugly fact that supports this contention is our exposure to daily stress, which may seem to bother us at times, enough for the agency to come up with remedial solutions in house. And if advertising is undeniably just about the most exciting industry in the world, what helps make it so is the rollercoaster of emotions every single day. One minute we're euphoric for reasons the outside world will never understand - something like the postponement of a presentation date a day later, and the next minute we're despondent because our campaign has been mercilessly battered out of recognition, maimed and definitely out of the running for next year's advertising awards.

This is precisely the reason why practically every ad agency in the world has its own anti-stress measures or remedies. The most popular antidote doesn't require a prescription. It has, however, been proven to be medically effective under the guise of social graces and basic sophistication: a well-stocked

bar that quenches more than thirst from beer to vintage reds and whites, from tequila to scotch, even a few bottles of bubbly for those occasions like visitation of the gods or firemen or winning a pitch. One potent dose can kill the blues of self-doubt (is the client really that difficult or is something wrong with me?) or deaden the pain of rejection (it was a potential Clio or Cannes

They were the targets of virtual hitmen, who, meetings earlier, came back to the agency with blood on their shirts. winner, before the loser tore it to pieces!).

Years ago, in my mother network, the panacea was a dartboard that attracted so many devotees, it was like an altar. Only difference was, it was a place of desecration instead of worship.

I remember the pictures pasted right smack on bullseye. They were either real, cut up from some newspaper or magazine, or for lack of the real thing, caricatures drawn on the spot, when angst was at its boiling point. The faces changed according to the "disflavour" of the month or week or day. They were

The secrets of my success

by Josh Sklar, CEOIExecutive Creative Director CCG.XM

It is the ideal place for seeing things easily through the eyes of others or realizing, since it's still in its infancy, where improvements can be made.

If you think about it, the Internet, arguably one of the greatest inventions mankind has ever known, has itself provided a new environment of inspiration for hundreds, if not thousands, of others. All those dot.com business plans you keep hearing about - well, probably a good portion of them - are innovations. Companies finding new ways to do their businesses more efficiently and effectively are implementing groundbreaking new ideas.

OK, for them anyway.

If you've ever sat back and thought the ol' "Why didn't I think of that??" or "Man, if only I could go back in time..." then the Internet can be your best friend. It is the ideal place for seeing things easily through the eyes of others or realizing, since it's still in its infancy, where improvements can be made.

Just ask all those Jerry Yang wannabes. They get it. Of course the whole concept of "Internet Time" is ensuring that even the best concepts will be badly implemented as everyone rushes to be first-to-market with ill thought out plans.

Consider this: you have not missed the boat. Sure, you should have registered 'business.com' or 'shopping.com' or 'search.com' while you had

ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 26

the targets of virtual hitmen, who, meetings earlier, came back to the agency with blood on their shirts.

The dartboard, while it was parked in the middle of the Creative Division, was not exclusive to its residents. Anyone in the agency had access to it. I remember even our President and CEO doing a therapy session one summer evening.

Through the years, whenever I visit agencies anywhere in the world (whether they're multina­ tionals or independents), I always make it a point to observe where and how agency people unleash their angst within the confines of the office. Interestingly, each agency's version of the psychiatric couch becomes evident as soon as I enter creative territory.

The psychological pacifiers vary from country to country. One office had rows of punching bags that look like they have been battered by heavyweight champions. Another had a roomful of cymbals and

varying sizes of drums, right next to the bar.

One had half a basketball & court. One had an upright piano and a dilapidated guitar. One that I really like was a sound-proof room a.k.a. the "primal scream" room where any agency soul on fire could let go a 120-decibel scream that could puncture one's lungs, yet feel on top of the world minutes later.

Nowadays, the anti-stress formula may still be the same, albeit with a few welcome state-of-the-art additions. Today, one can surf the net for a multitude of self-help dotcoms, ad nauseam. And was it just last week when we learned of the existence of a much-awaited computer chip to be imbedded on one's chest, with the objective of detecting intense depression, angst, aggression, and miraculously stimulating one critical part of the brain to ward off possible suicidal inclinations?

Well, as we are wont to say, at the end of the day, relax, it's just a job. We should be in control... and not let it control us. So let's drink to that, no matter how difficult it may be. Because in my book, finding the right balance is like finding the holy grail. Unless I am sadly mistaken.

the chance a few years ago. That wasn't very far-sighted of you. But I don't know anyone who doesn't complain about the Web and I know a lot of people who live it with all their heart and soul. There's improving to be done! There are needs going unfulfilled!

A good technique that I use when I'm trying to help my clients see a better way to do things is through a bit of role-playing. I pretend that it is six years ago. I catalog all of the tools that were available on the Internet and compare them to the ones around today. I imagine I am Jerry Yang and David Filo. I try to see the logic of their approach at realizing there are needs to be a Yahoo! or an eBay or an Amazon or an eTrade. I wonder about Extranets and utilities to help me compare products. Yeah, easy in hindsight to realize they're fantastic business models but why weren't you thinking about it six years ago? Why wasn't I? Using this approach of sitting around a coffee table with your colleagues and tossing around conceptual philosophy to understand the thought processes of the established Internet innovators, you can then focus your attention on your own company's issues or your clients'. You can see, I'd hope, parallels between what these people did to improve communication between people and businesses and what you can do. The best ideas no doubt came from a small group of friends first complaining about something and then inspiring each other to do something about it.

You will not be an effective 'new economy' type in the long run if you don't live and breath a culture that helps promote this kind of pure thinking.

If you're a driven, A-type individual that simply wants to charge into action, you will be spending all of your time running to catch up to the real success stories. The ones who sat back, sipped a cup of coffee, closed their eyes and dreamed of what might be possible.

JEN STUDIO TEL: 03-77286227 FAX: 03-77277005 EMAIL: Jtntlow9pc.jarlng.my WEB PAGE http://www.mol.com.my/jtntlow }K

Sr ONE DIGITAL CAMERA BACK

Pencils, Spikes and Spite =12 '.

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More grubbiness from under the fingernails of advertising reportage.

Ah! Awards time in the press. The guy in Malaysia's Sun newspaper thought the Malaysian Video Awards (MVA) party was too loud. And so struck by major sensory deprivation was he that all he could manage was a page of quotes, statistics and truly dodgy photos. Gonzo journalism obviously gave Malaysia a seriously wide berth. I mean, a better bunch of loony tunes you couldn't hope to find than at an ad awards bash. Enough material for a bloody book let alone a tabloid page. But why should I be surprised? It appears that many people didn't even know the MVA festival was on. I was at two moderately well attended MVA press conferences, but unfortunately some reporters were asleep, which is possibly why the noise factor seems to be so important to them. And incidentally, I noticed NTV7 were still running ads inviting people to the show two days after it was held.

Also asleep?

And how about this? In the call for entries published in Media Magazine for the 2000 SOPA Awards For Editorial Excellence, the definition and rules for 'excellence in newspapers' category read; "Honoring the newspaper which best achieves its editorial objectives. Each entry must include a brief statement of the newspaper's editorial objectives." Sounds a bit of a doddle to me. Objective: to retain more nasi bungkus than any other paper. Winner: The Singapore Straits Times. Objective: To run as many photos of the publisher hugging and mugging with client, agency and media people as possible. Winner: Media Magazine (hands down). Objective: To expose serious noise pollution in major advertising awards ceremonies. Winner: The Sun. So what does SOPA stand for anyway? Stunningly Obsequious Publishing Awards? Hong Kong only perhaps.

Here's a neat coincidence. The Clio awards coincided with Ad Age breaking news that WPP are buying into Y&R to create possibly the biggest agency group in the universe (and universes yet to be discovered). So I did some sums regarding the Clio award performance of the mega groups; Interpublic, Omnicom, True North, and the now biggest group in the world.

And surprise, surprise, the biggest was not actually the best. In fact some middling shops like Fallon McElligott and BBH did almost as well. And so it's officially true, it is actually what you do with it that counts. According to

Do or Die?

The writer and the art director were rushing the materials b\ Jm Javier for the campaign which client was expecting to see that afternoon. They had worked hard all week, hurdling one week of 4 sets of internal clearances (with the Accounts people, their Grouphead, the Creative Director, and the Management Supervisor), a first pass with the review board, one change in strategy, a second pass with the review board, and a final clearing session with the Creative Director who disagreed with the change in strategy but didn't care enough to do anything about it since the materials were due and the Agency needed the media billings ASAP. The art director turns to the writer and asks: "Is it true? The coup d'etat is pushing through this weekend?"

"No one's texted or emailed me about it yet. I hope it does. I need a break..." the writer responded.

The account manager who was hovering nearby butted in: "Oh no, not this weekend! They could at least wait until we get this campaign on the air

community seems

to have gotten its

knickers in a monumental twist over the entries for the D&AD Awards this year. The committee has been called to task for dumping every single print entry as "none of the eligible press or poster work was deemed worthy of a pencil". People in the UK ad industry are calling them precious and describing the situation as a crisis for the awards. One creative director said in the magazine that, "It's not encouraging for young people. It is short-sighted and ridiculous. Judges from agencies are not willing to give awards to their rivals." There's a surprise.

The Brits invented elitism and it's a nasty trait to mimic. It now must be crystal clear that a continual stream of 'and in this category there are no awards' or 'there is only a merit certificate', invariably projects a holier than thou attitude to judging (see next bit) and will eventually send an awards show pear shaped. And even a respected show like D&AD can lose credibility. And that rubs off on the whole industry. Someone smart once said "Justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done". And it wasn't me.

So finally, even though Media Magazine's Asian Advertising Awards best TVC was made by a Malaysian Production Company (have you no shame?

Ed.), there were almost no Spikes given for professional filmmaking craft, including, horror of horrors, best director. So perhaps I was mistaken a few issues back when I said the best director's section of Campaign Brief Asia was incorrect. It wasn't incorrect, there just aren't any good directors around.

Which now leaves me no other career choices except to grab a few old copies of ADOI. Winner: easiest to fold paper, SOPA 2001, and open my own kacang putih stall; Winner: biggest nuts, MK4As (Malaysian Kacang Appreciators Association Annual Awards).

PS: Vd like to thank my mudder and my fadder and my brudder where's Whitney Houston when you need herÂĽ so that we could squeeze some billings out of this client!"

"Not another coup d'etat? Bummer!" exclaimed the Creative Director who was looking in on the team. "In the last big coup we had, my clients still insisted on seeing the boards as scheduled. I had to drive along the periphery of the so-called war zone and dodge bullets just to make the presentation! So don't think another coup is gonna stop work in this agency!"

Does this sound like absurd fiction to you? It would except that it happens to be inspired by a real conversation and actual past events in the life of this advertising person.

What does it take to stop an agency? Short of a revolution, nothing really.

And what should it take to make an adman take pause, to stop thinking about work and deadlines and billings, to "get a life" even for just a few moments in time? Certainly not a revolution! A nervous breakdown maybe?

A complete mental meltdown? Illness? Retrenchment? Or even one's death?

And should that happen, what would one expect on one's epitaph then?

"Here lies one hard-working, award-winning creative person whose 30seconds of fame faded out as quickly as they were aired."

Leo Burnett and Starcom win Wrigley's Account for China Leo Burnett and Starcom have been appointed agency of record to handle all the Wrigley brands in China after competing against three other agencies.

Wrigley brands were handled by two different agencies previously and it is now consolidated under one agency again. Wrigley is one of the most prestigious accounts in China, and China is their largest market outside the US.

AD0IMARKETINGC0MMUNICATI0NS 28

The pitch, which took place in April and included Grey, DDB Needham and D'Arcy, showed a clear and strong strategic direction based on expanding the gum market and Wrigley's brand leadership in China. Leo Burnett used their own unique research to provide local insights and outline the consumer's relationship with chewing gum.

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YOUR STRONGEST SOURCE OF CALCIUM.

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Oliver Stone shoots Motorola tvc Mobile telephony and internet access spurred ad agency McCannErickson to devise a campaign for Motorola Asia Pacific, who wanted to be on the cutting edge of WAP technology. The idea was simple yet powerful - 'No Wires'. And who better to tell the story than multi academy award winner Oliver Stone, the master of storytelling. Working with a script written by Scott Brazil, CD of McCann Singapore, and his partner Paul Russell, they set out all over Asia to film the story which would captivate the public.

The storyline is about situations where you would normally expect to see wires - now there is no need for them. Because Motorola has made these wires obsolete.

Scenes such as the Snowboarders, Cyclists [without spokes], Hanging Washing out [without lines], HK Tram [without electric

Oops!

lines], etc., all help to communicate this new world accessed through the mobile phone. The end epic scene is of a solo car with two intrepid explorers travelling over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and to make the point clearer, the wires pop off the bridge. The commercial ends with the sign off "Explore the power of the web without Wires: Motorola".

The TVC was was shot in San Francisco, Tahoe (Snowboarders), Hong Kong, Shanghai, Langkawi, KL and Suzhou. It will run across most markets in Asia Pacific, including Malaysia, Director: Oliver Stone DOP: Dan Mindel Editor: Click 3 X in LA Creatives: Scott Brazil/Paul Russell Agency producer: Siobhan Crowley Regional Account Director: Brian Fisher Client: Rick Timmons, Ben Ho, Mabel Tay Music: Moby (a friend of Oliver Stone who also did music for his last movie 'Any Given Sunday') Sound Design: Song Zu

We'd like to correct some printing errors in the latest edition of the Advertising Directory of Singapore (ADS) 2000. On page 132. the correct information should read:

Expand Exhibits (S) Pte Ltd (A subsidiary of Star Silk Screen Co. Pte Ltd), Blk 8 Lorong Bakar Batu, Kolam Ayer Industrial Park, Singapore 348743.

E-mail: enquiry@expand.eom.sg Managing Director: Ng Kim Eng General Manager: Alan Ng Client Services Manager: Joseph Teoh

The listings for Nikkei on Page 126 should also read as President: Nobuo ONEDA, Advertising Manager: Hiro HAMADA Advertising Executive: Mayumi UENO. And finally, the correct telephone number for Universal Music on Page 28 is 7412220.

We apologise for the errors

Driving on the creative side Singapore's broadcast Achieving a first in Singapore, advertising agency for CNBC Asia, Bartle Bogle Hegarty Ltd, came up with two eye-catching threedimensional, movable ads for taxi tops. The first ad consists of a rooster wind vane that rotates in the wind, accompanied by the headline," See which way the wind is blowing."

The second, shows an abacus with real beads, coupled with the headline, "Keeping up with today's markets?". Launched in June, the ads are just two of the designs that can be found on one hundred taxi tops plying around the island, and will be on the streets for six months.

Indi Moves Indi, Managing Director of Edelman Public Relations KL takes up a new position at Ogilvy Public Relations as Professional Development Leader, Asia Pacific.

Working closely with regional

ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 30

president Matthew Anderson in Hong Kong, her focus will be on attracting, growing and retaining professional staff in the region.

Kuala Lumpur will remain her base.

Indira will also retain her position as president of the Public Relations Consultancies' Association of Malaysia (PRCAM).

industry liberalised

Singapore's Minister for Information and the Arts, Lee Yock Suan announced last month a new Singapore Broadcasting Authority (SBA) policy on DTV licences. The Media Corporation of Singapore was granted two DTV licenses while Singapore Press Holdings was awarded licences for two free-to-air TV channels and two radio channels.

SPH forms MediaWorks headed by former TCS CEO In the wake of the liberalisation of Singapore's broadcast industry, the nation's largest publishing company, Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) announced it would invest US$29 million in a newly formed broadcasting arm, MediaWorks.

This comes after it was awarded licences for two free-to-air TV

channels and two radio channels by the Singapore Broadcasting Authority.

Former Television Corporation of Singapore chief Lee Cheok Yew will head the new arm as CEO. The two new channels, English and Chinese entertainment channels, are expected to be launched in a year's time.

With over 15 million hits a month, we can help you make an impact advertise with Utusan Malaysia Online or Utusan Express.

Call us today at

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ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 32

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Client: CNBC Asia Creative Director: Steve Elrick Title: "Portfolios In Upright Position" Writer: Todd Waldron Art Director: Kelly Pon Photographer: Phenomenon Retoucher: Phenomenon

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J&J "Nose" Cop ywriters: Kok Hong, Phua Art Directo r: Leong Wai Foong

Muddy Murphys "T he Ladies" Copywriters: Scott Lambert/ M icheal L inke Art Director: Scott Lambert

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Leong W ai Foon g An Director

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Cop ywriter: T im Evil

ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNICAnONS 34

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LB Singapore's winningstreak continues Leo Burnett, Singapore has won a One Show Gold Pencil, three D&AD finalists and seven Clio finalists which continues an award winning creative streak for the agency this year.

In particular, the agency is proving that it can harness the cutting edge technology of the web as last year it won a One Show Silver pencil for an interactive piece titled "Quit" for 'Partnership against drugs', and this year it has picked up a Gold for Action for Aids with "Virus."

The "Virus" program starts when you click a "SEX" icon. Within moments, files start deleting and just as the user would begin to panic, the words "This is a joke" fades in. It then adds, " The Aids virus isn't. Use a condom."

Joining "Virus" in the One Show honours roll are merit campaign winners: Hewlett-Packard and Singapore Convention Bureau.

"Virus" was also one of three short-listed breakthrough ideas in the annual Leo Burnett Gold Pencil Awards.

LB Singapore also picked up three D&AD finalists for ambient media and point of sale. The first was for the Singapore Oyama Karate-Do Federation which, to highlight the school's location on the eighth floor of a building, the eighth floor lift button has smashed in. This was achieved by placing a false metal plate over the original panel with a badly damaged rim around the button.

The other two D&AD wins were for point of sale posters for Bulthaup knives, which are so sharp they even cut posters. The first poster shows a piece of meat with a sliver literally hanging out, while the other shows the knife under the skin of the apple. The seven Clio finalists included three for Bulthaup Knife, one for Karate, two for Singapore Convention Bureau and one for Hewlett-Packard.

Said Deputy Creative Director Tay Guan Hin of the agency's proud wins: "Traditional methods of advertising will never die, but we will always continue to find new media to enhance the creative idea."

Merger and Management team announced for Lowe Lintas in Singapore

Left: Christopher Foo Chairman & Managing Director and Palani Pillai Chief Executive Officer

Lowe Lintas & Partners Worldwide has merged with Lowe & Partners/Monsoon and Ammirati Puris Lintas (APL) in Singapore, to form Lowe Lintas & Partners. The agencies has also moved to new premises.

The combined agency will be led by Lowe & Partners/Monsoon's Chris Foo and Palani Pillai, who become Chairman and Chief Executive Officer respectively. Pillai, who has been working closely with founder, Chris Foo for 6 years, was previously Chief Operating Officer. Ng Khee Jin and Lionel Leong, Lowe & Partners/Monsoon's Executive Creative Director and Director, Finance and Administration, respectively, retain these roles at Lowe Lintas & Partners.

The new agency will have billings of US$45 million (S$76 million), and will rank within Singapore's top 10 agencies. Its major clients include; Sun Microsystems Asia South, Audi, Haw Par/Tiger Balm, HSBC, Johnson & Johnson, Unilever, Malayan Banking, Ministry of Health, Nestle, Quantum (computer hardware), Sime Darby (cooking oils) and Sanyo.

How to reduce your response rate... from Tom Ray field

I wrote my first direct response advertisement 37 years ago and the most recent one last week. In between, we've seen the invention of colour TV, home computers, mobile phones, wind-up radios and all kinds of great ideas. Has the direct marketing industry also been transformed in that time? Well, not a lot.

Here are some tried-and-tested ways of making your mailshots as ineffective as possible. And they are still being used every day.

Get the prospect's name and address wrong. (36% of mailshots we receive do this.) Luckily, the UK Post Office has a brilliant Mind Reading Department.

Buy one of the many machines which can only put sticky address labels on envelopes crookedly. This helps to prevent the Post Office machines reading the address.

Print 'Private and Confidential' on the envelope. Only companies trying to sell you financial services ever do this. It saves the prospect having to open the envelope.

ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 36

Start the sales letter with 'Dear Sir or Madam'. You knew their name and sex (more or less) on the envelope, now you're treating them like an android. Alternatively, address them as 'Dear Friend' which is guaranteed to irritate 99% of the complete strangers you are writing to.

Make sure you send them at least two identical copies of your mailshot and ideally more, in the same post. This will use up your client's money ineffectively at great speed, so you get paid quicker.

Send out the mailing at the wrong time of year. We got our first 'Xmas 2000' catalogue in April this year.

If anyone does respond by phone put them into an automatic queuing system at once. The more brain damaging the music you play them the better. Remind them every twenty seconds that they are in a queue, but never tell them how long it is.

An alternative, since many people only have time to bother

with mailshots at the weekend, is to make sure that you have no-one in the office to answer the phone then except a security guard who cannot take orders.

If you are asking for an emailed reply or order, make sure your site goes down just as the mailshot arrives.

If you want a traditional reply mailed back in an envelope, make sure the order form is too big to fit in the envelope you provide unless it is all scrunched up. And let the customer pay for their own stamp.

(Most households don't keep a supply of stamps at home, so they will have to make a special journey to the shops in order to place their order.)

If anyone does actually order something, send them an identical mailshot about a month later, treating them as complete strangers.

This will speak volumes about your interest in customer care and building long term relationships.

If you employ all these techniques in the same mailshot

your client (or by now ex-client) should come to a shuddering, bankrupt halt. Simply explain that you were just following traditional industry practice and it's not your fault; it's probably because the client had a product no-one in their right minds wanted.

...and a brand new idea.

Not mine, unfortunately, but I think it is very neat. Essentially, you get four good prospects for the price of one. The new Virgin Wines division of Richard Branson's sprawling empire is advertising a competition where you win the chance to take three friends on holiday with you on Branson's own Necker Island paradise.

You have to enter by going to the Virgin Wines website and answering some simple questions.

But you also have to tell Virgin Wines the email addresses of the friends you will be taking. So now Virgin can email four likely customers. Brilliant.

Tom Rayfield was a Creative Director at JWT London for many years. He is now a freelance writer,; living in London. TomRayfield@aol.com.

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TBWA makes space for Ritz TBWA's latest campaign for its client The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong is in the form of a trade ad targeted to travel agents.

Using the visual of a compass attached to the key tag of a room, the advertisement quckly promotes the large size of its rooms.

Larger than your average hotel room.

Travel agent* call (852) 2877 6666for reservation. 3 Connii ught Road. THE RlTZ-0\RUON* HONK? KONO

Creative Directors: Steve Hough, Mark Bamfield Copywriter: Robert Kleman Art Director: Koh Hwee Peng Retouching: Felix Wang

TBWA Restructures Hot on the heels of its recent awards for Samsonite at Cannes and both Samsonite and Caltex at the New York Festivals, TBWA Singapore reaffirmed its "break the rules" ethic by implementing a revolutionary new agency operating

model.

"Our rule is simple", says Johan Fourie, chief executive officer, "At TBWA, we should all be made to feel like creative people. That said, some of our team are conceptual specialists, some are strategic

Coke defends logo The 106-year-old Coca-Cola logo has come under fire in Egypt. Some people feel that the logo insults Islam. A campaign has been released urging people to boycott the cola since the mirror image of the Coke logo says "La Mohammed, La Mecca" in Arabic. The cola king has so far not reacted to the allegations. Chup?

ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 38

specialists whilst yet others have specialist management skills and each team member will play to their strengths. With this new operating system, we aim to short circuit the conventional paper trail briefing process and dedicate more time to the creative process."

Under the reorganisation, CD Mark Bamfield, also takes on a newly created role as Head of Art

and John Sheterline is promoted to Creative Group Head (copy). Justin Barry is promoted to Chief Operating Officer, Robin Nayak to Strategic Director, Christina Lim to Client Services Director and Stefanie Wurst to Group Regional Account Director.

The reorganisation sees the departure of former Joint Creative Director, Steve Hough.

Forbes Global going strong in AsiaPac Forbes Global is rapidly asserting itself as a major business and finance bi-weekly in Asia-Pacific.

Launched just two years ago in the region, the publication has already created for itself a circulation base

of 35,000. And it expects this figure to jump a further 30 per cent to around the 45,000-mark by the middle of next year, according to Prashun Dutt, Forbes Global's director of marketing and research.

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Media Environment. A Powerful Vehicle to Solve Marketing Problems.

by Lara Hussein, Brand Energy.

the consumers.

The other interesting case was the Using Formula On* launch of Shell V-Power fuel. This was a technology challenging case for us. Firstly because of the nature of the product and secondly, its prime importance in Shell's marketing efforts. They really wanted to create only ono potrol is tostod noise, differentiation and nation wide visibility. Shell came to us inherent with a TVC using the mnemonic of the fish. The integrated environment that launched V-Power subsequently encompassed a ground event, post event testimonials, documentary fillers, and brand capsules all executed and r*Âťtested against the brand colour and template. According to Shell, the synergistic approach created the visibility and exposure they wanted while, at the same time, it helped to communicate the benefits of the product. "The Shell VPower launch environment has been selected as the best practise for Shell until it is perfect. worldwide. It will become a template for other countries in the world to emulate", said Leena Rashid, Shell Malaysia's Brand & Communications Manager. She also said that the campaign was extremely We know that 'Branding' has been a long term buzzword on successful in creating the differentiation that they wanted every advertisers' lips, including branding awareness, and the testimonials were a powerful vehicle in making identity, style differentiation, etc., but what do we advise c people understand the product. "We really needed a media clients when they have marketing problems that goes beyond landscape to support the 'fish' TVC because as you can An Exhilarating Burst of Powei branding? Or when they have a new product to launch well imagine the fish does not communicate attributes of requiring more than just advertising like an event on ground power as well as say a Ferrari can!", added Leena. and on TV?

V-Power

At Brand Energy, we have been able to offer advertisers creative media solutions where they can use and leverage their advertising TVC, to another higher dimension. In other words, create a platform that can address all their marketing needs in one integrated campaign.

TVCs, Press and Radio all individually have their own important role to play but sometimes a Brand may need to tackle specific issues that cannot be done in one simple, single-minded 30 sec TVC. A Brand may have a multifaceted list of issues that requires more than just advertising. It is up to us to innovate and create tailor-made solutions. We believe and so far have the cases to support our premonition that advertising is just one part of the equation and that there are a whole host of ideas and creative solutions available. Let's have a look at some interesting case examples that have recently ventured into creative media environment.

The first is an electrical air freshener called 'AMBI PUR' by Sara Lee. They ran several bursts of a TVC across all channels and realised that although sales picked up it did not commensurate with the investment on advertising, especially given the potential of the product. Hence Sara Lee felt that there were clearly several inherent marketing problems. Firstly, nobody knew how to 'say the name' correctly, so how could they endear themselves to the product when they had difficulty pronouncing it? The second issue was a lack of brand awareness.

The team at Brand Energy developed a TV environment that consisted of a street contest where consumers were asked to pronounce the name correctly and in the most creative way. The interviews were compiled and templated with the AMBI PUR brand look and style. The ground event created sufficient hype in the streets whilst the TV environment of all the selected winners not only addressed the name problem but it also created awareness that has led to a dramatic increase in trade sales. According to Tan Chooi Khim, marketing director of Sara Lee, the campaign was clearly a creative solution to a very simple problem that perhaps could not have been resolved by TVCs alone. Obviously the best way to do it is to go out into the streets and talk to the consumers, which is what we did, and the first phase has shown an increase in trade sales! We are now looking at a second phase environment campaign that is going to build image and strike empathy with

ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 40

There have also been several interesting environments on television for technology brands like mobile phones, dot.com companies and Internet Service Providers. Interestingly, all these brands have the same marketing goals, namely to create strong brands and build the right image and personality.

One interesting case was with I click with Ally Mc8eal.

TM Net. Their target was to draw the young internet users and aspirants to register. They also wanted to I click with Ally McBeal. be positioned as trendy, likeable and up to And when I surf. date. The environment created revolved I click with TMnet. around the programme sponsorship of hit TUnetCz series Ally McBeal. The campaign involves an interactive chat about the show and an Ally fantasy contest, which, essentially, creates active consumer participation. Hence the differentiating factor lies in the interactivity and the active sponsorship as opposed to the traditional passive approach.

According to TM Net, their monthly subscriber registration doubled during the period of the campaign. Creatively they have also created an appealing and likeable image against the young, and have set a benchmark for technology products to move away from a purely rational platform.

Solving a marketing problem via an integrated marketing solution is by no means a new phenomenon because various other mediums have been available for years. What a media environment/landscape can do that is different is that it allows you to solve or to address every facet of your marketing problem through television. In other words you can talk product, image or just create noise and hype with one media environment. The challenge is in the creativity of the environment, the intrusiveness of the concept strategy and the environment's eventual relationship with the brand in question. That is why this powerful vehicle will always become a solution that many will emulate.

Out of the box with Tim Tim Isaac arrived back in Singapore at the beginning of April to take up the overall management of Ogilvy in Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. For the past 6 years he had been based in Hong Kong looking after all Ogilvy's international clients in the Asia Pacific Region. He still has that responsibility too but with so many of these clients now regionally headquartered in Singapore it made sense to move down from Hong Kong. Tim was last in Singapore at the end of 90's. I met with him in Singapore to find out what his thoughts and plans are for Ogilvy in the region as we start the new millennium and the second 50 years of Ogilvy.

So Tim - there seem to be a lot of changes at Ogilvy right now.

Yes. But I must say that it is easy for me to see this as presenting us with opportunities. Opportunity not just for individuals but for the Ogilvy group of companies in the region. The biggest changes are in Singapore. Robert Tan had been the MD of Ogilvy Advertising in Singapore for the past eleven years.

And Tham KokWing had been with Ogilvy PR for many years and as MD for the past four. Both have left to join interactive ventures and we wish them all the very best. In fact there is a completely new leadership in every department.

Ong Hock Ghuan has joined us from OgilvyPR in Jarkarta where he built an award winning PR operation from scratch. Siddhartha Dev has come from OgilvyOne in London to lead our One to One operations in Singapore. And of course, I am only recently arrived to head up our operations not only in Singapore but in Jakarta and KL as well.

What are the opportunities then?

Basically to instill a new energy and a new optimism into the agency. Ogilvy has been selected as agency of the year in Asia Pacific for the past two years but I sense that the rigours or battling through tough years of recession have taken their toll in these markets more than elsewhere in our network and that the elation of such industry plaudits have seemed a far away irrelevance.

The same applies to OgilvyPR which has been selected as PR network of the year twice out of the last three years.

And what about a new Managing Director for Advertising in Singapore? Have you appointed anyone yet?

The position vacant sign has been out for a while. We have hired some important new people. But I have not found the right MD yet.

In the meantime I am filling in that role and enjoying getting back to running an ad agency in Singapore very much after 10 years away. But it is not my plan to do that on a permanent basis. I do have a person in mind and we are talking. I do not see this as a decision to rush. It is a big job.

And will he or she be a Singaporean or a local? Or will it be another expat?

Ideally a local. That is the excellent precedent established with firstly Ng KengMing and now Jeffery Seow in Ogilvy KL. The criteria are skill set, personality and leadership qualities. It seems to me that Singapore has always prospered - in all categories of business - by establishing itself as a regional and international centre. I think it is symptomatic that of the 8 new business prospects that we have talked with since I arrived in Singapore at the beginning of April all have been regional or international in scope. All are based in Singapore but all international in their operations. They potentially provide the kind of scale that supports the high overheads of doing business in Singapore. And in turn we have to recruit the best from where ever we can find them.

So if the right candidate for the MD is local so much the better. If not it is not the #1 priority.

So what international talent have you in mind?

Well, Karthik Sivaswamy has joined us as a Group Planning Director in Singapore just recently.

He has worked around the region from his native India to Singapore and Malaysia. And it will be an important part of his role to serve as catalyst and conscience for our 360 Branding promise. And Sue Olivier

from our S Africa office has agreed to be our training director on 360 branding across the three markets of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. The idea is to ensure that training really does take a driving seat in developing our peo­ ple and therefore our delivery to clients.

And then, of course, there is Ong Hock Ghuan who has traveled the region in journalism and PR positions. He brings a wealth of experience to our Singapore group.

You talk a lot about 360 Branding and the various disciplines. Is this just talk?

In pretty much all markets around the region One to One, PR and Advertising are strong and balanced disciplines within Ogilvy.

Not so long ago advertising was very much seen as the lead and the others as lesser followers. That is not the case today. The way media and societal and technological changes are taking place means that it is imperative that the Brand Idea is at the centre driving marketing communication programmes, and not any particular TV commercial execution for instance. Our 360 branding approach is really just a means to remind ourselves of those facts on a daily basis and to provide a structure for the whole group to pull together behind brand building.

And it drives us to appreciate that we must be in the forefront of interactive and WAP communi­ cations developments as well.

Hence, for instance, our recent acquisition of Cybersoft in this sub region and our launch of m-ogilvy in the region out of Japan.

So, outside of media revenue how is O&M as a mainstream agency creating new revenue streams?

More and more of our clients, regardless of their media usage, are moving to a fee based relationship

with us. I know that this is common to pretty much all agencies. We find that in this environment it is much easier to get paid for services that we provide rather than to provide more and more for less and less.

When we provide brand evaluation and positioning recommendations it is now recognised as a consultancy service and we get paid accordingly.

Very often work that would have been attempted by the advertising agency is now done by our brand identity experts, ie. Enterprise IG. And clients are happy to pay for expertise. We find that everyone feels better when they do not have to stray from their areas of competence and when they get paid fairly for a service provided.

That is happening more and more.

The days of agencies, that were thought to be numbered, are looking a whole lot better. Maybe those lawyers, bankers and dot.com executives will start coming back into marketing communications again.

Where do you see O&M in five years time in SE Asia?

Recognised as the pre-eminent leader in marketing communications. The name that people in the street name first in the field. The first recourse of journalists for industry comment.

The biggest.

And the most awarded. Would that be enough?

Why shouldn't that be our objective? No reason.

ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 41

Publicis buys Saatchi!

France's advertising giant Publicis SA has agreed to buy British ad jewel Saatchi and Saatchi PLC for about $1.9 billion, creating the world's fifth-largest advertising company.

The all-stock deal unveiled recently will give Publicis, already Europe's largest advertising agency, vital access to the U.S. market, where Saatchi and Saatchi does half of its business, as well as control of one of the best-known names in the British advertising industry. vvWe

are very proud of this agreement which allows us to acquire Saatchi and Saatchi, a brilliant group, with a recognized creative image, passionate teams with great talent and a list of very beautiful clients," Publicis chairman Maurice Levy said in a statement.

However, the market gave Publicis a beating the next day

with the company's shares down nearly 12 percent to 418 euros ($401). Shares of Saatchi fell 1.5 pence to 419.5 pence ($6.30).

The deal is expected to take effect by mid-September, with former shareholders in Saatchi and Saatchi holding 30 percent of the new group.

The merger, however, could create conflicts; for example, Saatchi's clients include the Japanese carmaker Toyota, while Publicis works for the French automaker Renault.

Levy said that potential client conflicts would be resolved by handling the accounts by separate agencies within the new group, a practice current among other big advertising firms.

Publicis is eager to enter the U.S. market, where Saatchi's clients include Procter and Gamble and the computer giant Hewlett-

Packard.

The French company wants to become a world player and will rely on the creativity of the Saatchi group as well as its international reputation to achieve its goal, the companies said in statement..

The new company expects that 38 percent of its business will be conducted in North America, 49 percent in Europe, including 18 percent in France, and 13 percent in the rest of the world.

The new company, to be named Publicis Groupe SA, will have nearly $18 billion in advertising billings, according to 1999 figures compiled by the trade publication Advertising Age. Publicis had talked about a possible combination with New York-based Young and Rubicam Inc. earlier this year before Y&R agreed to be acquired by Britain's WPP Group PLC for $4.7 billion in stock.

Analysts had thought Saatchi might be potential takeover target as the advertising industry

consolidates into a handful of behemoths with multiple agency networks. The consolidation is aimed at giving ad companies the global reach and versatility demanded by multinational advertisers.

Saatchi and Saatchi was at the core of the advertising company founded by brothers Charles and Maurice Saatchi in the 1970s and grew in the 1980s to become the world's biggest ad concern.

The Saatchis were forced out in the mid-1990s and the Saatchi and Saatchi agency was separated from sister agency Cordiant Communications in 1997.

According to Advertising Age, Saatchi was the 12th-largest advertising organization in the world in 1999 with $7.5 billion in ad billings while Publicis ranked ninth with $10.3 billion.

Publicis was founded in 1926 and traditionally has sought its clients among blue-chip, multinational companies.

The Making of Impulse I.D. 'Breakout" TV Commercial Unilever Malaysia chose to break tradition when they went with an animated treatment proposed by Lowe Lintas and Partners for their Impulse I.D. TV commercial recently. The commercial won Gold in the Best 2D Animation category at the Malaysian Video Awards (MVA) last month.

The agency requirement was anime style animation reminiscent of the Japanese classic "Ghost In The Shell". Using the product's signature theme of the impulsive gift of a rose, an animated adventure story was created to deliver the message. Set in the futuristic authoritarian society, the heroine breaks the rules when she uses Impulse I.D. to symbolically express her identity. The hero is a security guard who, after sniffing the perfume, impulsively sides with the heroine and helps her escape. A twist at the end brings the viewer back to reality to reveal that the story was in the imagination of a young man reading a comic book.

Animated hero and heroine characters were supposed to look like their real world counterparts. So after casting was completed for the live action sequence, character designs were created based upon the actors.

The realities of the depth of the production undertaking soon became apparent as the storyboard took shape. Animators at production house Fat Lizard were given the task to design wardrobe, weaponry, vehicles, robotic drones, interiors, exteriors and a futuristic cityscape. One of the most complex designs was the "cold fusion reactor" set where the heroine keeps her Impulse stashed. In all, fifteen detailed illustrations were created for the background scenery. The animators then had the task of drawing the animation, and afterwards had a healthy appreciation of the amount of work it takes to animate in the Japanese style.

More than one scene ended up on the cutting room floor for the benefit of the story, allowing a few more frames for scenes that needed the time.

The result was a labour of love for the animators who got to create their own anime adventure. The production was about eight weeks in the making. The industry's recognition of the work in the form of Gold at the MVA made the late nights and lost weekends worthwhile.

The product shots were all 3D animation, which were composited seamlessly into the 2D shots. Another production challenge was the scene where the heroine uses the body spray. The shot had to show her using the product on her body, without showing her wearing clothes (you don't use a body spray on clothes right!). To achieve this within censorship guidelines, the shot was created in silhouette, with just enough light to get a good look at the product.

Client: Unilever Product: Impulse I.D. Agency: Lowe, Lintas and Partners Creative Director: Stan Miller Art Director: Jovie Chong Copywriter: Simon Wong Agency Producer: Andrew Chang Account Director: Patrick Hue Live Action Production House: JHA Live action Director: Joe Hasham Animation Production House: Fat Lizard Animation Director: Steve Bristow Producer: Erica Wong Key Animators: Mohammed Ismail (Mike), Rohaizul Hisham b. Mohammed (Agy) I/B animator: Mohd Fauzi b. Mazlan 3D animator/compositor: Chia Wan Yee

Live action elements were shot at the National Library. Offline editing was tough, with so much happening in the story, every frame was critical.

ADOIMARKETiNGCOMMUNICATIONS 42

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