Agency Report Card 2011: Creative agencies

Welcome to Campaign's Agency Report Cards for creative agency performance in 2011. Don't miss the introduction page, including methodology and links to the other sections: the Media Agency report cards, Agency Family Tree, and table of Agency Holding Company revenue performance.

REPORT CARDS:
 

ASATSU-DK BATES BBDO BBH CHEIL WORLDWIDE DDB DENTSU DRAFTFCB EURO RSCG GREY GLOBAL GROUP HAKUHODO

JWT LEO BURNETT LOWE & PARTNERS M&C SAATCHI MCCANN ERICKSON OGILVY & MATHER PUBLICIS SAATCHI & SAATCHI TBWA WIEDEN+KENNEDY Y&R

Score Key: 10 = Unparalleled, 9 = Outstanding, 8 = Excellent, 7 = Good, 6 = Satisfactory, 5 = Adequate,  4 = Below average, 3 = Poor, 2 = A year to forget, 1 = Survival in question

 

ASATSU-DK

• Score this year 4
• Score last year 4
• Regional head Kenichiro Omori
• Company ownership Asatsu-DK

It was a year of change for Japan’s third-largest agency, with long-time CEO and board member of WPP, Koichiro Naganuma, giving way to new CEO Yoji Shimizu. This caused a major board reshuffle, which saw Sir Martin Sorrell gives up his seat to Japan-based WPP finance head Stuart Neish.  

ADK was affected by the Japan earthquake in March as much as any other agency, but it continues to look for diversified business streams to best survive the impact. 

Its animation division, a feature of the group for the past 50 years, expanded to launch IMMG in Beijing, its first foray into mainland China. The company also made a number of digital bets outside Japan. 

But it was at home where its largest digital gamble took place. Having divested itself from the Hakuhodo-owned DA Consortium, selling its minority shareholding to WPP, it took a 51 per cent share of a new entity, ADK Digital Communications, surprisingly with Dentsu as the minority partner. Both agencies will use the new set-up as an insights centre to drive their own independent digital agencies. Headed by Jikai Toshima, the new unit has a strong foundation and talent mix for growth. 

The company also rolled out more research and training for its proprietary branding and insights tool, Ex-Branding. This approach has expanded beyond Japan to local offices elsewhere. 

In all, the agency did a reasonable job fighting circumstances beyond its control, and kept a relatively low profile outside Japan. With WPP’s continued minority support, they remain an agency to keep an eye on. 

What the agency says...

NA

 

Dahon

BATES 

• Score this year 6
• Score last year 6
• Regional head Tim Isaac
• Company ownership WPP subsidiary

As chairman, Tim Isaac has made it his mission to establish a discernible identity for Bates. The recent rebranding initiative — dropping the ‘141’ and add-ing the mantra ‘changengage’ — is a step towards this, but the task is not an easy one, given the agency’s positioning between its larger siblings within the WPP network. 

Nonetheless, while the agency is working to give its position some clarity, there have been some bright spots over the past year. For starters, new business includes a regional brief from Castrol, Four Seasons in China, Diageo in Vietnam, Tetra Pak in Indonesia and Disney Films in Singapore. 

Sonal Dabral’s promotion in 2010 to managing partner and regional head of creative also worked in Bates’ favour in 2011, as well as naming Dheeraj Sinha, a respected strategist, regional planning director. Dabral, whose departure was announced at press time, will certainly be missed. On the administrative front, Indonesia CEO Shubho Sarkar took on regional duties for Southeast Asia, completing a leadership triangle with Conrad Chiu for Greater China and Sandeep Pathak for India. 

There were also moves towards a more credible digital offering, with Singapore being the focus, as seen with Profero’s John Ng’s appointment to managing director. Other major appointments included Patrick Leclercq, former leader on Ogilvy’s global IBM account, as chief strategist. Shopper marketing was also a strong point for the agency, which rolled out a number of new analysis tools.

Overall, there have been no major upsets and the agency enters the year with a relatively strong base on which to build a more compelling proposition.

What the agency says...

“We will end the year as a US$55 million revenue network focused on the sexiest markets of a fast growing region. We have scale, impressive clients, profitable operations, amazing talent and a great culture. And we get ‘change’ more than anyone else.”

 

Pepsico Lays

BBDO

• Score this year 8
• Score last year 8
• Regional head Chris Thomas
• Company ownership Omnicom subsidiary

BBDO held its own in 2011, celebrating both the global and regional contributions to its new business portfolio. Two huge global assignments arrived with SC Johnson and Mars, as well as RIM and Visa for which the agency picked up below-the-line and digital duties respectively.

In China, where over the years steps have been taken to build stature in the market, BBDO proved it has indeed the ability to play in the major league. It picked up Johnson’s Baby, and landed the integrated Volkswagen business. It set up and launched its single largest Proximity office in the region in Beijing, with more than 60 staff dedicated to servicing its largest new business win of the year.  

There were key creative hires in China with Tian It Ng as ECD and Kelvin Leong as group creative director in Beijing. Tony Harris came in as CEO at BBDO Guerrero, while Scott Walker was brought into Singapore as ECD. 

In Australia, the agency built on its majority stake in the Clemenger Group, sharing training, tools, work and investments across the region. 

Throughout the region, BBDO once again focused on striking a balance between creativity and effectiveness under the leadership of Chris Thomas, who was named Campaign’s Agency Head of the Year in 2011. Its Asian offices made a significant contribution to topping the Won Report and the Gunn Report globally. At Cannes, where it was also the most awarded network, five out of 18 offices to receive accolades were from Asia. Performance at both Spikes Asia and the Asian Marketing Effectiveness Awards put the agency in strong positions across creative leagues.

What the agency says...

“2011 has been another exemplary year, in which BBDO endeavoured to be not the biggest but the best agency network in the region. We continued to focus on three things: Delivering growth to clients; Delivering effective management; And, most importantly, commitment to our people by hiring the best and rewarding success.”

 

ZAG

BBH

• Score this year 6
• Score last year 6
• Regional head Charles Wigley
• Company ownership Minority owned by Publicis

It was another solid year for BBH Asia-Pacific, which embarked on a number of initiatives including a Singapore-based JV with renowned post production and digital effects house The Mill. The agency also forged working relationships with pre-media experts Wellcom, Swedish mobile agency Monterosa and Bollywood product placement outfit Red Panda. 

New business tended to be part of global alignments, such as Google, Sol and Dulux, while within the region, the agency augmented existing accounts, adding Alpenliebe China to its Perfetti van Melle business, Bailey’s in China and Johnnie Walker in India to its Diageo portfolio. 

A change in structure on the client’s side led to the agency parting ways with LG Electronics, having led global campaigns out of China. Key hires included China planning head Andy Edwards, ECD Raj Kamble and digital CD Abhishake Das in India. The hires in India, including Paul Ward as MD, are promising moves for the future of the agency there, which grew by more than 40 per cent. 

The work, as always, tended towards the quirky, including a tongue-in-cheek pop video featuring well known Bengali band Chandrabindoo for Marico hair oil, and a tactical ad in response to former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan’s reckless tweets about Vaseline. 

In China, 12 three-minute films for Johnnie Walker went viral, as Axe made its way into the market with a series of risqué films featuring the infamous Edison Chen. Singapore also rolled out its second full-length series of reality TV show ‘Can you Serve’ for the Singapore Tourism Board.

What the agency says...

“Heads down and getting on with it.”

 

Tesco

CHEIL WORLDWIDE

• Score this year 5
• Score last year 5
• Regional head Nack-hoi Kim
• Company ownership Cheil Worldwide

It may come as a surprise for some to see that an agency that won the Grand Prix at Cannes for media, and which surprisingly landed on the global GM Chevy pitch list last year, is based in Korea. But Cheil continues to reposition itself and move out of its 18 per cent minority-owned Samsung shadow. Global COO Bruce Haines came in three years ago with a mandate to expand capabilities and clients, and is doing what he set out to accomplish. 

The Tesco ‘Homeplus’ campaign wooed the judges at Cannes by showcasing how consumers were able to virtually visit Tesco inside subway stations. A new global campaign for Hankook Tyres was also developed, extending to more than 20 markets, the first time the agency had made such a major investment. The global creative team was led by Wain Choi, a returnee to Seoul, who continued through 2011 to instil passion and innovation. As far as Chevy goes, the Korea office received new opportunities locally for the Alpha and Malibu models, and even caught the eye of Detroit. 

As Samsung continues to expand, so will Cheil.  It has opened its first Australia office with Andrew Swinton partnering with Keun Ho Kim. In Singapore, Janice Koh led a team of new hires, and new client wins; while in India, Alok Agrawal and his team lured in Polaris and other local clients. Taiwan further saw Mei Hu join as MD. 

Cheil has both the good and bad fortune of being closely tied to one of the world’s most successful brands in the past decade. All in all, 2011 was a positive year to help it leverage that advantage as it continued with its efforts to change people’s perceptions. 

What the agency says...

NA

 

Crackers

DDB

• Score this year 9
• Score last year 9
• Regional head John Zeigler
• Company ownership Omnicom subsidiary

2011 didn’t prove to be an extraordinary year for DDB, and while it manages to hold on its 9 score, it will be disappointed not to have lived up to its stellar performance of 2010. On a positive note, the agency did cement its largest client win of 2010, Telstra Australia, by expanding the account to include CRM, winning that portion from Ogilvy. 

However, it also lost ANZ Bank’s Australia and New Zealand account to Whybin TBWA last year. And, in a major blow, the US$465 million Philips global account which it held since 2003 moved to Ogilvy at year-end. 

Locally, Singapore was a high note under the leadership of David Tang, attracting new regional business from Unilever and DBS Bank, as well as the local account for Tiger Beer. Wins in Greater China included the local accounts for Pernod Ricard, Johnson & Johnson’s Savlon in Taiwan, and Manulife in Hong Kong.

However, the network prepared its farewells for regional Tribal DDB president Amanda King. She was quickly replaced by Patrick Rona, although his impact has yet to be felt. The appointment of Sheena Jeng as president and CCO in Taiwan would have been good news for a usually quiet market but she resigned at press time to relocate back to Publicis China.

India’s Mudra Communications helped DDB to the network accolade at Spikes Asia. Shortly after, DDB announced its major acquisition of the agency. It now also has majority shares in operations in Indonesia and Vietnam. How it capitalises on this will come under scrutiny this year.

What the agency says...

“This year we did everything we were doing, but better. And we grew. We made significant steps to strengthen our network in APAC, acquiring a majority agency share in India, Indonesia and Vietnam, we further established our Greater China sub-region. Creatively we proved to be the best, winning every major regional award show.”

 

JRB

DENTSU

• Score this year 6
• Score last year 6
• Regional head Tadashi Ishii
• Company ownership Dentsu network

The earthquake made it a tough year for Japan, and it was also a tough year for Dentsu, as innovation had to take a back seat to practicalities. But despite this, Dentsu emerged stronger, with one per cent growth, while arch rival Hakuhodo declined.  

At home, Dentsu continued to press into new areas — proving to be the broadest of any holding group. It started a social media marketing initiative with Microsoft, then launched a new digital agency in collaboration with ADK, one of its fiercest competitors. It became the seller of inventory for Skype and Facebook, and led by Takehiko Chikami, it kept its position as the number one ranked PR agency across Asia-Pacific in the Holmes Report.  

But no market abroad is more critical to Dentsu’s success than China, where a team of over 1,000 people provide integrated marketing to Japanese and local clients such as Lenovo. This year, insurance giant PICC came on board as a client, and Kerry Kiyohara was brought in as president of the newly created Global Business Practice based in Beijing. Dentsu also set up XCrossFace in China, an upstream consulting business, while it celebrated 50 years as the oldest agency in Taiwan.  

Across the rest of Asia, there was growth for 2011, with Dentsu Tec, their first regional sales promotion and premiums agency, establishing in Singapore. Vivien Yeung was lured back home to head digital there, and in India, Dentsu finally made the investment to buy out their JV partners.

Creatively, it was also a strong year, winning Agency of the Year at AdFest , and collecting awards at Cannes and D&AD. Japan’s leader continued to improve through difficult times. 

What the agency says...

NA

 

Nivea

DRAFTFCB

• Score this year 3
• Score last year 3
• Regional head Mark Pacchini
• Company ownership Interpublic subsidiary

In 2010, DraftFCB adopted a global strategy to place primary emphasis on nine key markets. In Asia, this meant a greater concentration on China and India. The results have been promising. In India, the agency remained strong, cementing its relationships with big clients such as Tata Motors, while picking up new accounts, including Cipla. 

In China, the story has been more of a step-by-step growth under the leadership of Pully Chau, completing her first full year as chairman and CEO for Greater China. The agency picked up a number of good wins in the sub-region, including Suntory and China Construction Bank. It also set up a new full-service office in Beijing, and picked up work for international clients such as Sony Ericsson, and major Chinese assignments such as fashion brand Kangnai.

However, despite these bright spots, DraftFCB’s year was dominated by the massive global loss of the SC Johnson business — an account it held for 50 years. In the immediate aftermath, the agency said it would cut its global headcount by three per cent, with cuts in Asia roughly aligned to this number. 

The Beiersdorf assignment, which DraftFCB   consolidated globally at the end of 2009, now looks especially fortuitous and will certainly help alleviate part of the loss of SC Johnson, particularly in India.

For DraftFCB, its near-anonymity outside of China and India remains something of a concern. Despite continuing to service globally-aligned clients across the region, the agency has very little presence — and profile — in most major Asian markets.

What the agency says...

“In 2011, our two powerhouses, China and India, improved their revenues substantially and we saw the full financial uplift of the global Beiersdorf win. DraftFCB’s uniqueness as a multinational that operates with one bottom line across all disciplines continues to attract clients.”

 

Chameleon

EURO RSCG

• Score this year 5
• Score last year 6
• Regional head Juan Rocamora
• Company ownership Havas subsidiary

An apparently flat year for Euro RSCG belies a range of investments that may bring in much greater returns this year. The network holds a stable roster of five-year-plus accounts, including ad and marketing services for Reckitt Benckiser in nine Asia-Pacific markets, integrated work for Pernod Ricard in Greater China and Southeast Asia, and Peugeot in China, Taiwan, Thailand, and Australia. There’s also the global Reckitt Benckiser account, which has some significant brand activity in Asia. Globally, Dulux let Euro RSCG London go, adding its sister agencies to its roster in Southeast Asia, and naming Euro as its digital AOR in China. 

Euro RSCG also made a number of acquisitions in India, China and Singapore. Balancing this out however has been the global loss of Exxon Mobil. Euro RSCG had shared the estimated US$40 million corporate account with McCann Erickson, but was knocked out of the pitch at the final stages.  

Its regional leadership is still a question hanging over the network’s Asia operations. There hasn’t been any immediate fallout from the June departure of regional CEO Olivier Pluquet, but the unusual replacement arrangements — with power shared between Matthew Fanshawe MD for Asia, Mason Lin, CEO of Greater China, and Juan Rocamora, Asia-Pacific chairman — will make it difficult to push through any significant region-wide reform. 

Individually, there have been some key market-level hires, including Edward So as MD of China, Sushat Panda as CEO and managing partner of Euro RSCG India. These cap off a year that hasn’t been a standout success in growth terms, but nor has it been a disaster. 

What the agency says...

“2011 was about investing in strategic growth areas like healthcare and social media expertise, and walking the talk on delivering on our social good promise. We firmly believe that businesses of the future will be socially responsible and we intend to pave the way as an example of what our industry can do for the greater good.”

 

Downy

GREY GLOBAL GROUP

• Score this year 5
• Score last year 5
• Regional head Nirvik Singh
• Company ownership WPP subsidiary

Having scooped several major regional accounts the year earlier, Grey Group Asia-Pacific was relatively quiet in 2011. It continued to nurture its global relationships with key clients such as Procter & Gamble, British American Tobacco and GlaxoSmithKline, and won new clients across Grey and G2 in the region.

While the new business helped the network to stay in the top five positions in Campaign’s New Business Leagues last year, its new clients are mostly local accounts with no regional alignment, signalling an increasing reliance on local clients.

Among the wins were Wella for the region; National Heart Foundation, Heinz and Bulla in Australia; Herbal Life and Elis in China; Galaxy Macau, Hong Kong Tourism Board and Coca Cola in Hong Kong.

The network also raised its creative profile with the appointments of Steve Clay as regional CD at Grey Group Singapore; Suvit Jaturiyasajagul and Wichit Jiamsirikarn as executive creative directors at Grey Group Thailand; Michael Knox as executive creative director at Grey Melbourne; and Kym Ma as creative director at Grey Hong Kong.

At management level, it pulled off a surprising coup in appointing former McCann chief TH Peng as chairman and CEO for Greater China. Scott Rhee, meanwhile, was hired to head up Grey Group Korea.

Grey has also expanded regionally through the acquisition of Yolk, a digital and social marketing agency in Singapore, as well as increasing stake in Campaigns & Grey Philippines. It has also formed an alliance with Eastern Advertising in Taiwan.

What the agency says...

“2011 saw Grey Group Asia Pacific continuing the momentum and pace set in 2010, and the speed was neck-breaking. We identified areas which could be improved to prepare for a rocky 2012 without losing the focus on delivering the most famously effective work for our existing and new clients.” 

 

Samsung - Galaxy SII

HAKUHODO

• Score this year 5
• Score last year 5
• Regional head Junji Narita
• Company ownership Hakuhodo network

The year 2011 was a tough one for the Japanese group, compounded by the March earthquake and the general downturn in the Japanese economy. But combined with some decent initiatives locally and a 28 per cent growth in business outside of Japan, the agency remains relatively well placed. 

In light of the earthquake, the company turned back to its proprietary research tools and commissioned a major study to measure the ongoing effects of the quake among consumers and their interaction with brands. The research group also conducted a global study to compare Japanese versus Korean brands across multiple geographies. Japanese brands were shown to still have the lead.

After research, digital has been a fundamental area of the agency’s success in the past decade. In 2011, Hakuhodo acquired IREP, a large digital SEM agency in Japan. It also established a dedicated digital human resources function and expanded its social media marketing centre with new initiatives. In the PR space, it acquired OZMA, a leading local firm with a number of major clients and 50 years’ market experience. President Isao Yanagi was seconded to lead the new entity. 

Creatively, it was one of the agency’s best years ever with a record 10 Lions at Cannes, and great success at Clio and D&AD. The agency continues to drive strong creativity out of their detailed and committed insights process. 

Beyond Japan, the company continued to invest and grow. It won the Japan Tourism ‘Visit Japan’ initiative. And in China, it opened its 16th office, with the launch of SAIC-Hakuhodo, a new joint venture with the Shanghai Automotive Group.

What the agency says...

NA

 

Samsonite

JWT

• Score this year 7
• Score last year 7
• Regional head Michael Maedel
• Company ownership WPP subsidiary

Last year brought a wealth of new business in Asia-Pacific, from the likes of KT&G, The North Face, Rio Tinto, Haier and Samsonite. Soon after securing the luggage-maker’s account, JWT’s witty ‘Heaven and Hell’ ad, depicting a sculpture of angels tending to passengers while devils abused their luggage during a flight, swept trophies. Its most notable accolades were a Grand Prix Lion at Cannes (JWT China’s first ever) and three Grand Prix awards at Spikes Asia. 

An increased digital footprint was also aggressively sought as JWT acquired A4A in China and hired digital directors Max Hegerman in India, Eugene Chew in China and Josie Brown in Australia. JWT Hong Kong’s appointments of Dennis Wong as CEO and Sylvester Song as ECD, however, failed to prove creative excellence in the local Kam Fan Awards. JWT Beijing lost its GM Andy Xu, considered a rising star, when he resigned in October for personal reasons. 

In India, things were not too peachy either. While it had several notable campaigns such as Ford and Airtel, the agency had some big losses including Mountain Dew and GSK’s Iodex. However, major developments including the acquisition of a majority stake in Mindset Advertising in July offer a sign that as in the past, the agency will likely come out of the turbulence well.  

Elsewhere, thought leadership was shown by JWT Tokyo’s research around consumer anxiety in Japan in the wake of the March earthquake to help clients navigate the post-disaster landscape. And Sheung Yan Lo is now known to be the first Chinese jury president for next year’s Cannes Lions.

What the agency says...

“2011 represented a year of creative highlights, business growth and recognition for JWT. We enjoyed tremendous success throughout all of our offices in the region with significant new business activity, the addition of top talent and our network developments.”

 

Scope

LEO BURNETT

• Score this year 6
• Score last year 6
• Regional head Jarek Ziebinski, Eddie Booth
• Company ownership Publicis subsidiary

Following its resurgence in 2010, Leo Burnett spent 2011 keeping things more or less on an even keel with growth coming as much organically as from winning new business. 

Its Samsung account went from two to eight offices, while the ones handling Coca-Cola brands sprung to five. Most of its main account wins in the region were local, including the Australian Census 2011, Nike Japan, and Chevrolet Thailand. Meanwhile, in China, its offices secured new business in the form of Langham Hotels and GCL group. Its Taiwan office was also appointed AOR for Pfizer.

While Leo Burnett’s regional offices didn’t quite match their previous strong performances at Cannes and Spikes, its Melbourne office in 2011 did win the inaugural Grand Prix for Good category for its ‘See the person’ campaign. At Spikes, it bagged 25 awards, including seven golds, although this did come short of its previous accolades. 

Talent movements were stable and the year did not see the agency inject new blood into its top positions. Its major hire of the year was Songkran Sethesompobe joining as CEO of Thailand from the agency he co-founded, Creative Juice. 

Leo Burnett, however, did invest in organic growth, training and building its workforce to 1,500 strong in the region — 300 more than there were in 2010. 

Overall, the agency’s performance in Southeast Asia and Australia remained solid, while in China offices continued their focus on important global and regional accounts such as Procter & Gamble and Phillip Morris. 

What the agency says...

“Following its dramatic turnaround in 2010, Leo Burnett continues to clock an impressive 12 per cent growth rate in 2011, twice that of the industry’s growth in the region. 2011 also sees Leo Burnett as the most awarded agency-network and continues to make bold, unconventional changes to its organisation.”    

 

UNICEF

LOWE & PARTNERS

• Score this year 5
• Score last year 4
• Regional head Rupen Desai
• Company ownership Interpublic subsidiary

Lowe & Partners appears to be reaching further afield following Rupen Desai’s appointment as Southeast Asia president. The network set its growth focus in 2011 to going after dominant local brands, which later added businesses worth over US$100 million into its billing. 

Most of the wins were local accounts, including Suzlon Energy and 3M in India; ABC President-Indomie in Indonesia and Total Lubric-ants in Vietnam. The biggest regional win was Perfetti Van Melle for the Center Fruit brand for Southeast Asia and China.

Its year-old shopper marketing outfit, Open, which operates in China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam picked up Big C and 7-Eleven. To strengthen its operations, the network completed a merger with 303, an independent agency in Australia, in 2011. It was later renamed Lowe 303, but has some way to go before it becomes a player to be reckoned with there.

Lowe has also beefed up its creative quality, becoming the eighth most creative network in Asia-Pacific on thecreativerankings.com, jumping from 19th position the previous year. It has also won over 50 awards at global and regional award shows, including Indonesia’s first film gold at One Show as well as Singapore’s only Grand Prix at Spikes Asia. 

Added to this, Lowe India also ranked among the world’s top five agencies on effectiveness by the new Effectiveness Index launched at Cannes in 2011. The agency can boast a year of many wins with 90 new clients including 3M and Tourism Victoria coming on board in the first 10 months of the year. 

What the agency says...

“After 70 plus years in Asia, 2011 has been the year of getting momentum back. We will continue to be the agency of practitioners, never afraid of experimenting and tell brand stories that move many, not just a few.”

 

Instanet

M&C SAATCHI

• Score this year 4
• Score last year 4
• Regional head Chris Jaques
• Company ownership Private ownership

M&C Saatchi continued to develop its modest presence in the region in 2011. According to the agency, revenues are now twice what they were three years ago, while profits are up considerably too. 

Adding to these figures was their appointment by National Australia Bank, as well as wins from Tourism Malaysia and Celcom (Malaysia is a bright spot for the network in Asia), Lenovo in China, CLP in Hong Kong, Barclay’s Wealth in India, and Sony, Ikea and Pola in Japan. Still, the growth is relative, and tempered considerably by the loss of the ANZ Bank business to TBWA.

Business has been slow but steady in Japan since M&C Saatchi re-entered the market in 2009. That it has maintained any presence at all under the circumstances of the past year is commendable. And while it continues to largely shy away from Southeast Asia, with the exception of Malaysia, it expanded in mainland China, with the opening of a full-service operation in Beijing.

Further expansion included the establishment of design discipline, Design Factor, in Malaysia, India and Hong Kong, adding below-the-line support to the network. On the flip side, having trumpeted the launch of the branding consultancy Sunshine two years ago, the division appears to have sunk without a trace following the departure of Rob Campbell.

The agency’s biggest challenge is establishing a relevant proposition in the region. CEO Chris Jaques has been keen to emphasise that M&C Saatchi is not simply an ad agency. But it needs to become clear exactly what the company stands for, besides short-lived sub-divisions.

What the agency says...

“Our mission for 2011 was simple: to maintain the quiet but powerful momentum that we have been building over the last 3-4 years. It has resulted in 100 per cent stability in our management team across Asia. It has led to our highest-ever scores in staff satisfaction and stability. It has led to our best-ever scores in client satisfaction.”  

 

Coca Cola

MCCANN ERICKSON 

• Score this year 6
• Score last year 7
• Regional head Charles Cadell, Prasoon Joshi
• Company ownership Interpublic subsidiary

It was another year of change at McCann. The agency spent the early part of 2011 getting used to a new organisational set up which divided the region into four key geographies, only to revert to its old structure by year-end. Charles Cadell is now in charge of Asia-Pacific and long-serving Prasoon Joshi responsible for South Asia. 

There was upheaval in North Asia too, with Yasuyuki Katagi poached from Ogilvy and put in as CEO, president and representative director to address issues in Japan and lead the Korea market. Katagi’s extended role replaced that of Michael McLaren, who relocated from Tokyo to the US. The hiring spree that took place throughout the year was deflated by news that Greater China CEO TH Peng, who spent a decade leading the network in China and over 20 years with the agency, had decided to take his vast experience over to Grey China. Peng will be a difficult fixture to replace.

New business for McCann was almost exclusively concentrated in China and India, with the OCBC Singapore/Malaysia win a notable exception. Major clients brought in included Bank of Communicat-ions in the mainland, and General Motors in India. Less positive was the loss of KFC in Malaysia and being pulled off the Exxon Mobil creative roster.

As for divisions, McCann Healthcare continues to lead its sector, ratcheting up 151 new business wins in 2011 across nine markets, including the consolidation of over 10 brands from Pfizer across Australia, China and Singapore.  

With the experiment of a divided region behind it, McCann will be looking for a year of reinvigoration (and stability) under Cadell. 

What the agency says...

“A raft of experienced leadership insertions and — a first for Worldgroup — the building of a comprehensive and strong regional leadership team will provide a platform allowing us to unleash the true power of a rejuvenated network in 2012.”

 

Dream Rangers

OGILVY & MATHER 10

• Score this year 10
• Score last year 9
• Regional head Tim Isaac
• Company ownership WPP subsidiary

Last year witnessed such outstanding performance from Ogilvy, coinciding neatly with the 100th anniversary of its founder and namesake, that for the first time Campaign has awarded an agency top marks in its Agency Report Card. David Ogilvy no doubt would have been impressed at both the awards and business wins that came through, adding to Ogilvy’s efforts to place ‘digital at the heart’ of all of the agency’s work. All of which must have left rivals wondering whether Ogilvy is indeed playing in a league of its own. 

The movement began with the establishment of a Digital Council, led by regional CEO Paul Heath. Under his direction, the agency focused its training and people development on digital capabilities. Critical hires were also made with this in mind, including Con Frantzeskos, who was made digital engagement director. Adding to this were the creative hotshots brought to Asia. Graham Fink, formerly of Saatchi & Saatchi London, was set up as CCO for the network’s China operations in a bid to reinvigorate its creative output, while Michael O’Hare is leading creativity in Hong Kong.

There was drama in Indonesian however, with the exit of Stephen Mangham and ECD Gary Caulfield, who left at the same time. David Mayo stepped in and soon announced a slew of senior appointments there early this year. 

New business wins kept Ogilvy at the top of the Campaign league, ending the year on US$436 million, thanks to regional and global accounts such as Philips. On the awards front, the agency ended its stellar performance by winning Campaign’s Network of the Year award for 2011. 

What the agency says...

“2011 was a very strong year for Ogilvy in Asia Pacific from a digital, business, growth, talent and product point of view. With the regional management triumvirate of Paul Heath, Tim Isaac and Paul Cocks going into its third year, we saw a consolidated and focused approach to the new world of integrated communications.”

 

Jatam

PUBLICIS

• Score this year 6
• Score last year 7
• Regional head D. Bramham, L. Kwong, N. Chopra
• Company ownership Publicis subsidiary

The youngest of the major multinational networks in Asia-Pacific, Publicis’ offices and affiliates are made up of a disparate group of people which the network was still trying to unify in 2011.  

A freshly created Southeast Asian region, led by newly promoted regional CEO Dean Bramham, saw seven markets and eight offices come together under one agency entity. 

That was a result of regional-level exits from Publicis, namely Asia-Pacific CEO Kevin Ramsey, and regional business director Mark Ingrouille, followed by the surprising departure of Calvin Soh, meaning that the agency now lacks regional creative leadership.

New business wins for Nescafé (Thailand, Malaysia, Korea), Amway (China), China Mer-
chants Bank (China), Duracell (Hong Kong), and Procter & Gamble (the Philippines) were the only highlights that grew regional business.

With growth of 7.6 per cent in the third quarter, performance in Asia-Pacific was close to expect-ations. Greater China and India reached 10.1 per cent and 10.4 per cent, respectively. 

This was in line with an ambitious move announced in 2010 that the agency would expand in Greater China, where worldwide executive chairman, Jean-Yves Naouri is increasingly on the ground. 

The year also saw Publicis acquire Taiwan-based consulting firm ICL, as well as healthcare agency Dreams and PR firm Genedigi in Beijing. 

Against this backdrop, Publicis needs to intensify measures aimed at consolidating its operations to accelerate growth.

What the agency says...

“2011 was a transitional year for Publicis as the network seeks to drive deeper investments into each and every market in Asia-Pacific, with an increased focus in the region. Publicis has continued to invest in new key staff, tools and research to fuel the ever-increasing demands.”

 

Ariel

SAATCHI & SAATCHI

• Score this year 3
• Score last year 4
• Regional head C. Foster, J. Billingsley
• Company ownership Publicis subsidiary

After a rough 2010, Saatchi & Saatchi seems to be quietly trying to put things right in an attempt to return to its former glory. The agency picked up several significant accounts, including Luxottica in Australia, Electrolux in Japan and China Telecom in China in 2011.

It made several key appointments, including Paul Roebuck who was expected to turn things around at the Singapore and Malaysian offices. As Roebuck clocked in, however, the network started transferring its largest account, Procter & Gamble, from Bangkok to its Singapore office affecting some 40 members of its Bangkok staff. 

In June, Chris Foster joined the agency from Fallon in the US, replacing Ian Rowden, and Michael Lee joined Saatchis China as managing director. 

Creatively, the agency has had a rather subdued year across the region with no major wins at Cannes, compared with three Gold Lions in the preceding year. Saatchis Guangzhou, however, did pick up two golds, a silver and a bronze at Spikes Asia for the Procter & Gamble Ariel ‘Big Stain’ campaign.

Some progress was made in mainland China, with its Shanghai office appointed agency of record for Citroen DS and being awarded the China Telecom business. 

The agency’s India office meanwhile is getting an overhaul, with Kamal Basu stepping down as CEO after 10 years to pursue other interests. 

All in all, it was yet another challenging year for the agency, which continues on the long road to rebuild its reputation in the industry. 

What the agency says...

“Saatchi & Saatchi China has enjoyed tremendous growth this year, not only through many wins but expanded scope with existing clients… Chris Foster joined in June with a clear vision to improve creative, extend scope of client engagements and expand and consolidate digital capability.”

 

Nissan

TBWA

• Score this year 8
• Score last year 8
• Regional head Keith Smith
• Company ownership Omnicom subsidiary

The highlight of TBWA’s year was without question the winning of one of the most lucrative creative pitches of 2011 — ANZ Bank’s global business — by Whybin/TBWA Melbourne. Initially for Australia, the business will soon be rolled out across additional Asia-Pacific markets.  

But while Australia was delivering for TBWA, the same could not be said for its global operations. In July, Mars handed a number of its key brands to fellow Omnicom agencies BBDO and DDB, ending a 10-year relationship. It was a major blow for the agency, which lost the Pedigree, Whiskas, Starburst, and Skittles brands. However, TBWA can console itself with new business wins in some local markets. Korea was a stand-out, with the agency picking up clients such as Shinhan Investment Corp, and Hyundai Heavy Industries.

Significant new hires were rare, aside from Australia, where the ANZ business — on top of the previous year’s AIA win — brought in several digital and creative leads. In China, the agency brought in Saatchi & Saatchi stalwart Edmund Choe as co-president and head of creative.

A major initiative for TBWA was the expansion of its shopper and retail promotions arm The Integer Group, opening offices in Sydney, Singapore and Mumbai and picking up clients such as IAG, GSK and Michelin. 

Creatively, TBWA had a quiet year at the major award shows, although there was some success in India. 

The challenge for the leadership force of Keith Smith, with Phil Brett and Ian Thubron, in 2012 will be to get TBWA off the sidelines.

What the agency says...

“TBWA is building the agency network of the future in Asia-Pacific. Our mission is not only to be the best creative advertising agency, but also one of the most creative companies in the world. It’s an ambitious goal, but TBWA has unique strategic tools that have helped grow some of the world’s biggest brands.”

 

Nike

WIEDEN+KENNEDY

• Score this year 4
• Score last year 5
• Regional head Jason White
• Company ownership Privately owned

Wieden+Kennedy maintained its usual low profile throughout most of the year. As in 2010, the focus was on producing generally high quality work for a small number of clients rather than seeking new business.

The agency’s scope in Asia remains limited: outside China, its influence is negligible. The Japan office continues to tick over with a portion of Nike business and a smattering of local clients. After several wins last year, India was strangely quiet. Within China there was also little change, the highlights being an extension of its business with Fiat, and a social media brief from Tiffany’s.

The events that put the agency in the news were staff-related. In Japan, Naoki Ito (of Nike ‘Music Shoe’ and Sagami ‘Love Distance’ fame) stepped down as ECD to found Party with four others. His departure was balanced by the appointment of Tota Hasegawa of Tomato. In China, Michael Simons was appointed as ECD and — more dramatically — Kel Hook resigned as MD after eight years to take time out from the agency world. 

Hook will doubtless be missed, but the appointment of Jason White as his replacement is good news. Formerly in charge of the global Nike account, White is familiar with the China market (having overseen the account during the Beijing Olympics) and should bring new energy and perspective to the agency.

Wieden+Kennedy is justifiably seen as one of Asia’s most forward-thinking agencies, which is impressive given its relatively short history in the region. The question is, can it do more in Asia given its pedigree and potential to attract top talent?

What the agency says...

“With a number of internationally aligned clients coming to the agency, our focus was ensuring the smooth integration of their business into ours. Apart from welcoming a new management team, we won additional local new business and created a range of great work for Nike, Fiat, Converse and Levi’s.”

 

Republic of Singapore - Navy

Y&R

• Score this year 4
• Score last year 4
• Regional head Matthew Godfrey
• Company ownership WPP subsidiary

In 2011, Y&R rebooted and rebuilt its network across 70 per cent of its offices, introducing new structures in Korea and IndoChina following the appointment of Matthew Godfrey in 2010. 

Coupled with the introduction of new business tools such as Y&R Innovation Toolbox; Generation Asia study and the online new business tracker, several regional wins were added to its portfolio, such as Suntech global account; Disney, Harbin, QQ and Amazon in China; Sansiri and East Coast Economic Region in Malaysia, as well as NTUC in Singapore. The total of 50 new clients in Asia translated to a surge of 71 per cent in revenue.

China won at least four major regional accounts, and this came after the appointment of Charles Sampson as the CEO for Y&R China. Focusing on a ‘world class not China class’ creative mandate, the agency also won accounts such as China Southern Airlines and China Guangfa Bank, contributing half to Y&R Asia’s top 10 new businesses in 2011. Kaiyu Li was also named as the national head of planning in China.

Nevertheless, Y&R Singapore has seen several losses. Y&R and long-time client OCBC issued a joint statement in mid-April that the agency would not be participating in the bank’s upcoming creative review. 

Its Audi business is now with Iris, while the Resorts World Sentosa tactical business, sits with Ogilvy. The Singapore office also saw several departures in 2011. Its CEO Tanuj Philip left the agency in May, after serving for 14 years. Chief creative officer James Procter, meanwhile, left a month later.

What the agency says...

“2011 was about instilling a culture of innovation and creativity across every aspect of our business, putting the right teams in place to achieve this. Introducing Asia-specific business tools encouraging innovation has helped us achieve record new business, amazing results for clients and for Y&R Asia.”