UM's consultancy focus helps offset new business slump

With a strong consultancy offering already in place, UM was able to prove itself a valuable asset to clients in 2020. As the pandemic hit, it focused on delivering solutions that solved the most pressing issues for clients, leading to the creation of three new tools focused on outcomes, consumer demand forecasting and touchpoint optimisation.

Combined with myriad new client-specific solutions, this innovation drove a huge spike in UM’s consultancy revenue year-on-year. Which is fortunate, because new business dropped dramatically. The volume of client wins dropped by a third, and the value fell by 86%. It ended the year in 14th place in R3’s APAC New Business League for media agencies, from fifth in December 2019.

With such a fall, how did this impact its bottom line and its staff? Our full Agency Report Card on UM—with the overall grade plus a detailed analysis and scores for management; innovation; clients and business; creativity; and people and diversity—is available only to Campaign Asia-Pacific members.

Become a member to get access to all 39 of the 2020 Agency Report Cards, plus many additional benefits.