Chan reshaping slimming brand

Henry Chan will never forget his first day at Ogilvy & Mather. His new room was almost empty, save a piece of paper attached to the wall bearing some sage advice from David Ogilvy: "The client doesn't care how much you know until he knows how much you care."

Chan didn't stay long at Ogilvy, but these words have resonated with him ever since, citing mutual passion as the best tonic for a robust client agency relationship. However, now on the client side himself, stewarding Marie France Bodyline in China, Chan feels the client has to make the first move if this kind of relationship is going to generate real heat.

"The client has to take the first step into really encouraging the agency to nurture that passion and have an interest with working with you. It's a people thing," he muses. "They may love the brand, but they may not like you."

Chan joined Global Beauty International Management as its first China marketing director in April 2004, just as the doors of the beauty clinic's first mainland Marie France Bodyline outlet was opening in Shanghai.

Since then, Marie France Bodyline has extended its footprint in China with 10 more outlets in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and two more set to open for business this month, in Shenzhen and Chengdu. Global Beauty hopes, however, that the brand is only just beginning to build momentum, with a target of locations in 10 more cities over the next 12 months.

Chan's main job over the next year will be persuading Chinese consumers to try out these new clinics and then keep going back, to give the ambitious brand genuine staying power. "We are trying to build loyalty beyond trial," he says. "We have to look at other efforts beyond advertising to encourage people to stay with us." To help him achieve this goal, he has switched from an above-the-line strategy to an integrated approach, selecting 141 and Starcom as lead agencies, with both expected to contribute creative through-the-line ideas to help build the brand.

Chan worked at 141 himself, an experience that taught him there is much more to effective marketing than a great ad, significantly shaping his current marketing philosophy. "It really broadened my horizons, in terms of the definition of communication," he says.

Chan feels that one of his challenges will be persuading his Global Beauty colleagues of this; operations, sales and business development staffers who appear attached to the ethos of above-the-line advertising. However, whether his ideas are accepted or not, Chan is determined to push them through. "Not that I am the best marketer there is, but I think there is a lot I can bring to this party. But I don't think they understand what I am doing."

Prior to joining Global Beauty, Chan picked up a wealth of agency experience, including five years running his own agency, Megacom, as well as the likes of Grey, DDB, Ogilvy and Bates. He also obtained client-side experience with two years at Hasbro.

However, although he developed individual ads for small clients which he has been pleased with, Chan does not feel proud of any campaigns he produced while working at an agency; campaigns which had their sparkle dimmed by clients who thought differently. "You're only part of a bigger picture," he says. "Part of the issue of being in the ad industry, servicing clients, is that it really takes two to tango. It's not easy."

Now, Chan is on the client side himself and a firm believer in passionate client-agency relationships, the old maxim that clients get the advertising they deserve has become especially pertinent. "I really do more extensive presentations to the agencies than they do to me," he chuckles.