Adoi Malaysia 2001 March Issue

http://adoi.jooze.com

MALAYSIA'S LEADING ADVERTISING AND MARKETING MAGAZINE

KDN NO: PP 9995/7/2001

,

Cradling Creativity Michael Conrad

Vice Chairman & Chief Creative Officer Leo Burnett Worldwide

INSIDE: SELLEBRITIES, ON-CAMPUS CERTIFICATE IN ADVERTISING, AD#1 FREE CLASSIFIEDS.

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Notes from i editor I was sitting having breakfast the other day - Malaysian style - kueh teow goreng at the mamak and I hear the strains of the ever-popular 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' played on air at the request of a young Malay listener. And I muse on the won­ ders of being Malaysian - what a truly wonderful country I live in. I browse the papers and am shocked into reality. I am informed that Hindi movies apparently exude an evil influence on the majority of people. Those run-around-the-coconut tree ( nowadays it's the Swiss alps, KLCC Twin Towers, Champs Elysees, the Roman Coliseum) song sequences have now become the scourge that causes morals to crumble and licentiousness to prevail. I have to ask. Have these guys been watch­ ing the same movies that I've been watching? The movies that when the guy and girl draw close together the next shot transports us to a flower blooming, waves crashing, birds flying. And I have always thought that Malaysian censors had a soft spot for Hindi movies simply because there were no dangerous 'kisses' to snip.

In India, the complaint against these movies is that they portray the statusquo, reproduce gender and social roles for mass consumption and of course, churn out middle-class moral propaganda. Those guys think that the Indian movie industry should tackle real issues and use cinema for change. Idealists. These guys think that premarital sex, incest, Malay women marrying Bangladeshi workers will be solved if the broadcast of Hindi movies is limited. Idealists. It's like saying that Indians will acquire business acumen by watching Cantonese films. It's like saying that any boy who likes rock music will almost always end up a druggie.

But what's the real story behind this, you guys?

Perhaps what is really worrying is the full-fledged embracing of all things Hindi - salwar kameez, bangles, saris. But lighten up. That's a fashion fad.

Worldwide. And a dying one. Pop-stars are no longer sporting the bindi, Madonna has abandoned mehndi (henna) and her new cover is all Texan.

Perhaps the cause for concern is that by being open to external influences, we dilute our essential identity. But seriously. That's the essence of being. We are constantly changing. And the more we can accept differences, the larger our minds grow, the broader our horizons. There would be no need to run back into our shells every time we have a social problem. Drugs, divorce, incest, single mothers, rape are not 'problems' that manifest in humans after watching import­ ed movies from Hollywood or Bollywood. They exist in each and every society even before the advent of the silver screen or the little screen. Perhaps such prob­ lems exist precisely of the same attitude of scratching on the surface and attribut­ ing the problems to superficial causes rather than taking the bull by the horns.

Where lies the problem? In you and me. It is in recognition of this that the new Child Act makes it compulsory for anyone - the neighbour, the teacher, the rela­ tive to report the act of child abuse. You, I and the man who thinks that Bollywood causes problems in the Malay family have to sit up and say, the prob­ lem lies with me and thus - the solution also lies with me. Its my territory, its my responsibility.

And then perhaps, the racial diversity in Malaysia which I cherish and mar­ vel at would be part and parcel of every Malaysian rather than a billboard ad for the rest of the world.

HIGHLIGHTS I want a 1/4" hole, not a 1/4" drill

Pg 10

The Ties That Unbind Us

Pg 10

System of a Down

Pg 16

Sellebrities

Pg 18

Mad in Malaysia

Pg 20

INTERACTIVE There's No Business like eBusiness

Pg 12

Boxing Smart on the Web

Pg 20

The Dot Com Client

Pg 24

Over 65 billion ads were served in December

Pg 24

DIRECT MARKETING Do you think you take advertising seriously?

Pg 18

EVENTS AND NEWS Around Town

Pg 14

The New York Festivals

Pg 26

Mergers & Acquisitions

Pg 28

Research: MIM & ROAR

Pg 30

Wins

Pg 32 & 35

Movers & Shakers

Pg 34

New Accounts

Pg 40

Respectfully yours,

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS Michael Conrad - Custodian of Creativity Chill - How the Big Guns hang loose

Pg 4 Pg 31

MANAGING EDITOR: Harmandar Singh aka Ham PRINTER: Cetakrapi Sdn Bhd OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHER: Jen Siow WRITER: T.Sivananthi DESIGNER: So Tiong Cheng COLOUR SEPARATOR: Screen Gallery Sdn Bhd ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES(Doreen): Sledgehammer Communications Sdn Bhd 22B, Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad Satu, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, 60000, Kuala Lumpur Tel: 03-7726 2588 Fax: 03-7722 5710 E-mail: doreenmal_2000@yahoo.com DISTRIBUTION: Efficient Lettershop, Mag Media Distributors HOUSE FONTS - FF EUREKA & BUREAU GROTESQUE: alt.TYPE. 32 Pekin Street, #03-01 Far East Square, Singapore 048762 Tel: 236 2988.

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. © All rights reserved by Sledgehammer Communications Sdn Bhd. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without prior permission in writing from the publisher. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication, the publisher and the editor assume no responsibility for errors or omissions or for any consequences of reliance of information in this publication. The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher or editor. Advertisements are the sole responsibility of the advertisers.

If you win with on the five litt Michael Conrad looms as large as the Marlboro Man in the ad world. At least once, every creative would have wished to be in his shoes. ADOI was extremely privileged to meet the man at long last and have a little chat about what makes the ad community rock.

Into the interview room, walked a man who was big built, with a weather-beat­ en face and his white wavy hair curl­ ing wildly around him. The last might have been caused by the fact that he had spent the past few days judging the creative work from this region.

Dressed in a black suede jacket and striking orange sneakers, his casual stance offset his colossal reputation.

His appearance and demeanour brought to mind the legendary story of how once during a meeting with petri­ fied, local executives he made an entrance and took a little tumble.

Having broken the ice and made his presentation, he pointed out that tum­ ble, was in fact, intentional - part of the 'pitch' so to speak. After all, being approachable works wonders for every­ one. And the surface epitomises what was once so succinctly described as 'having one foot in the boardroom and one in the creative room.'

Michael Conrad is described (in a very PR manner) as a man with a burn­ ing passion for creative excellence. An undisputed giant in his own right, he is presently Burnett's global creative ambassador. In March 1997, he was named Vice Chairman and Chief Creative Officer for Leo Burnett and is continuously driving Burnett's net­ work to greater creative heights. At 55, he is constantly on the road meeting Burnett creatives, judging award shows and hosting workshops designed to inspire and share knowl­ edge.

It is in his capacity as chair of Burnett's Global Product Committee (which critiques the agency's work on a quarterly basis and the results used to determine financial bonuses and identify agencies that need to shape up) that he was recently in Kuala Lumpur.

Other than Leo Burnett, Michael Conrad also contributes his creative expertise and vast experience to the global advertising community.

He served as the Jury President of the 1996 Cannes International Advertising Festival and most recently as Chair­ man for Asia's Adfest and Eastern Europe's Golden Drum creative festi­ vals. At Clio 2000, he chairs the TV and Radio Executive Jury as well.

Is this your first time in Malaysia?

No, this is my fifth time. I have also been here before for a couple of Leo camps.

And you're here for the Global Product Committee (GPC) meeting, tell us about that.

Well the GPC is aimed at improving the quality and standard of work at the agency on a worldwide basis and pro­ vides the platform to share ideas. This is a very comprehensive thing and LB is the only agency network to monitor the quality of its creative on a global scale. At these meetings creative work is voted on a scale of 1 to 10. Work that is rated 7+ is sent to all the offices in the network as a benchmark of the cre­ ative standard aimed for. The whole process of having an internal creative review has increased the output of high-end work and the quantity of excellent work (7+ and above) has tripled in the last 5 years. The GPC shows that we are committed and we are serious about our work and the review is also an effective tool for recruiting talent, orientating new staff and impressing new business prospects. And in this week-long meet­ ing in Kuala Lumpur we have had 25 creative directors, managing directors, planners and client service personnel voting on about 250 TV commercials, 590 print ads, 53 radio ads and 4 web­ site banner ads created for over 150 clients.

You've seen creative work from all around the world in your capacity.

So how is the work from Asia far­ ing?

The standards are a bit flat. Of course, in times when the economy is down, the risk factor is low and in good times people are more willing to experiment and try new things. But that should not be the case, this should be the time to find new and creative

a scam ad, you will stumble le steps leading to the stage Any ads from Malaysia that you par­ ticularly liked?

ways of working. If you look at Latin America, it is very interesting.

You have Brazil and Argentina and Columbia where the economy is rela­ tively new and the advertising may be very simple, but it shows how good stuff can be done at little cost. But we have some very strong creative agencies in this region - KL, Bangkok, Mumbai, Singapore and Sydney. And all our other agencies can make up for surprising work like Jakarta which was recently named 'Agency of the Year'.

Where is the best work coming from and what are their interesting points?

The work from Bangkok is very simple and very funny, KL is very human and Mumbai work is simple, charming and intelligent.

What do you think about Japanese ads? Most people find them rather strange...

I think that to the Western mind they may seem a little strange but they all have this 15 second format and I was recently in Japan and someone sat with me and explained how every image has a meaning, so the idea is there and the story-telling is there, it's just that all that has to tie in with brand building. And they want to learn about brand building from us as LB has traditionally been a strong brand building agency. So nowadays, when I sit down and watch a Japanese ad, I look out for the images and the sequence.

I liked the work that our GPC gave a 7+ to and this includes the Petronas TV ads - 'Little Stick' and 'The Umbrella', the Marlboro Nightlife placemats, the NST 'Odd Match', the KL Sentral 'Paging For' and the MAS 'Chairs' ad.

However, I cannot comment on Malaysian advertising in general as this time round I was solely focussing on the GPC meeting and did not get the opportunity to review work from the Malaysian market. But I know there's a lot of good work done here and I con­ sider Malaysia as one of the more inspiring places for advertising in the world.

What's your favourite Petronas ad?

I think the last ones are good and I like the one with the two ladies chat­ ting at the coffeeshop.

Perhaps you're aware that we have the "Made-In-Malaysia" formula where ads for broadcast purposes must feature Malaysians and be shot

by Malaysians, and though it has been quite good to start-up the film industry, most people feel that the time has come to open up the barri­ ers and no longer live in a protective environment.

Of course, I feel that the field should be opened up and competition will raise standards, especially if you can recruit talent and work with peo­ ple from different places.

Perhaps you are the person to answer this question - what do you think about scam ads?

It's fraud -1 was in Cannes and this topic came up. But of all the entries, perhaps 1% of all the entries were scams. And at that time I had an oppor­

tunity to write in the newspaper about this and I said if you do a scam ad and you win a Gold Lion, I will know you anyway and I will watch you as you come up the steps, there are five little steps and maybe you will stumble. If you still pass that, I will know it by the sweat of your palm when you shake my hand and if you pass that, it will be how high you hold up the Lion - it won't be so high. But even if you pass all that, when you go home with the Gold Lion, where will you put it? At the lobby of your agency? No, because everyone knows it wasn't your work.

Then you may take it home and will you put it in your bedroom - no because your wife knows that you are a cheater.

In the end you will put it in the base­ ment in the box, because you know that this was a Gold Lion that belongs to someone else - that someone else should have won, and you have stolen it from him.

Can you tell us how you started in the business? You started as a writer didn't you...

Yes, actually I had a script for a film about a king coming to lunch and I showed it to someone. He told me that what I should really be doing is working in advertising and I said well, I don't have a job and he asked me to stay around for a couple days more in Frankfurt and introduced me to the Chief Copywriter. This was at Young& Rubicam so it was a great place to learn and start.

(Ed. During the early years, Michael worked as Creative Director and Copywriter at Ogilvy & Mather and Young & Rubicam, both in Frankfurt. He then set out on his own and built his own agency in 1975 Liirzer-Conrad which merged with Leo Burnett in 1980. The Frankfurt agency was known as Michael Conrad & Leo

And how does the region compare to the rest of the world?

The best of it (like last year's McDonald's campaign which won Gold at AdFest) is applauded on a global basis.

ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 5

There's a lot of truth involved to create good advertising Burnett in 1986 and in the same year, he became President of Leo Burnett International. In 1993, he became Group President and Deputy Chief Creative Officer for the global body.)

Since you started out as a copy­ writer - what would you like to tell budding writers out there?

Don't just sit in a room - go out, speak with the people and learn about them. If you are writing for a McDonald's campaign, go to the restaurant, sit there and make stories about people who come in. And you should do lots of research - like a good journalist, you should observe some­ thing rather than just use your imagi­ nation and make up things. There's a lot of truth involved to create good advertising.

Having done a lot of ads and cam­ paigns, which is your personal favourite?

Actually my favourite is a print ad for Wasa bread. The ad showed a big slice of bread where the inside was taken out and only the crust was left.

The line under this visual was "As many calories as a Wasa crisp bread".

The industry as we know it has changed and media is becoming a lot more important now than it was.

Previously creative was at the fore­ front and media at the backstage but now it seems they both share the stage.

Yes, and it is a good thing because rather than go to the media with a planned campaign and say run this for me, you consult them.

LB has also done a few of these for example where the 'Everything tastes supreme with Heinz salad cream' and we had this guy eating an entire bill­ board poster with Heinz salad cream for a whole week that's all the guy did - he sat there and ate. Yes, we under­ stand how the role of the media has evolved and we've got strategic alliances with Starcom which is the media branch of LB and they are the world's best.

6 ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

What advice would you give to young people who want to be involved in the creative side of the industry when the industry has changed so much.

Well first, start with an agency which does good work and try to learn fast. Then try to break the rules and do something different. But always keep in mind that communication is about giving something to people, we have to treat them as human beings and accord them respect.

What do you think is one of the important growing trends in the industry?

I think one important trend lies in the use of psychographics as opposed to demographics in targeting consumers.

From psychographics we know more about the targets and their life special­ ities - what kind of lives they live and their interests - and we would try to make a creative connection. Good advertising more and more involves the understanding of whom we want to target as a group. Marketers must have a target idea so they can own a psychographic group. Brand building is very similar to building a club.

There's a doorman who doesn't let just anybody in, so you keep the integrity of the community and grow it from there. Right now there is not enough investment in psychographic research done by the industry. When I look at the briefs, the target is usually described from the demographic point of view, with not enough information on whom the target is as an individual.

Since 1997, what are the changes you have instituted as Chief Creative Officer in order to make a differ­ ence?

I think three main changes I made was to create the current io-point scor­ ing criteria, create the 7+ standard to drive high-end quality work and create country plans to become the most cre­ ative agency.

What do you hope to achieve in the next 5 years?

I'd like to have a minimum of 3 new global brands doing work that sets standards, I'd like us to challenge Omnicom agencies in their best mar­ kets and I'd like to find a brilliant suc­ cessor who can take it all over.

What's your definition of creativity?

To me, creativity is all about build­ ing world class brands.

A shining example of outdoor advertising comes to KL!

LOOKING OUT

Having fun with Outdoor 4pm, March 30, 2001.

Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club, Bulcit Kiara.

Starring Steve Elriclc - Regional Creative Director, Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) Asia Pacific.

Admission by invitation.

Dear Ham,

Letters to Editor 30,000 get an Oil Change at 7-Eleven

Loved your cover. Looks like a pro­ file familiar to me (only the turban is missing). Are you in the running?

Unbeknown to yourself? I guess this must be the first cover where the actu­ al subject is incognito - the interview­ er rather than the interviewee. I mean is this your disguised attempt at cam­ paigning? Anyway, good luck on all your efforts on taking on the world.

You're the champion lah!

Lim Ee Chien, Upcoming adman

Dear Ed, Yep, I know your name is Ham, but just thought would break the monoto­ ny, which I am sure you'll agree with me is the essence of this industry that we are neck-deep in. Talking about being neck-deep in things, brings to mind your lovely cover story of the last issue. Looks like Rishya didn't realise that he COULD be neck-deep in some­ thing that he isn't aware of.

Your Mission - Rishya, should you choose to accept it, is to ensure that the Ad industry shapes up its act in

the wake of a possible recession spilling over from the US of A - as the boy scouts say - "Be Prepared!" And possibly, save us from being overshad­ owed by Singapore and Thailand (at least to safeguard us from possible extinction in the year 2020).

Doomsday Prophesier, USJ

Dear Editor, I was struck by the article 'Getting Creative With Email' since everyone is talking about the marketing possibili­ ties in the Internet. Could you, or any­ one out there, shed some light on what the industry is really doing in terms of investing in the concept of interactive marketing and internet advertising?

From what I remember, Malaysia is waaaay behind the tech stuff - good programmers are hard to find. And there's a dearth of local talent as far as games and entertainment program­ ming is concerned. So how are you guys going to bring in the crowd, if you can't throw a great party.

Thus spake JC, "venetiabionde@yahoo.com"

BBDO Malaysia wins Silver in New York

BBDO Malaysia won a prestigious Silver WorldMedal at the recent New York Festivals International TV and Cinema Advertising Awards. Their television advertising campaign, creat­ ed for client Jobstreet.com, picked up Asia's only medal in the e-Commerce Service category and was Malaysia's biggest win at the show.

Created by Creative Directors

Huang Ean Hwa and Lee Szu Hung, the campaign was direct­ ed by Steven Ang and produced

by Axis Films. "It's a brilliant start to the year." Lee said. "Our work was up against world-class competition and to win a Silver exceeds our expectations."

"The commercials are single-minded and designed to cut through the dotcom advertising clutter in Malaysia and Singapore," Huang said. "More impor­ tantly, it met Jobstreet.com's targets."

The award show, now in its 44th year, pits 12,000 advertising entries from more than 60 countries - one of the most competitive fields in the industry.

It recognises the world's best work and is judged by panels convened from around the world.

Lam Soon's Senior Product Executive James Ng, believes that "Oils Ain't Oils", and to prove the point, his com­ pany Lam Soon Malaysia recently gave away 30,000 bottles of Naturel. The campaign, themed "Gifts of Good Health", was a joint promotion between Lam Soon and The Sun news­ paper.

The idea came about at a highlevel strategy meeting between James and The Sun's General Manager, Lee Yew Meng, held on neutral ground at the neighborhood teh tarik stall. Yew Meng explains: "As the young, up and coming English language paper, we're always looking for ways to seduce new read­ ers. We believe that we have an excel­ lent product and that once people try it, they're likely to want to keep The Sun in their daily lives.

"Lam Soon felt the same way about Naturel. Looking to build upon doubledigit growth for their youngest cook­ ing oil brand, they saw that people who were willing to open up to a new newspaper, might also be the kind of consumers who could be persuaded to change their brand of oil." he said.

James Ng comments on the success of the promotion. "With The Sun's 100,000 circulation, we calculated that 20,000 bottles would be more than enough to cover an anticipated 10 week burst. I mean, readers had to col­ lect four different coupons published on different days within the same week and present them at a 7-Eleven store to receive their bottle of Naturel.

In fact we were wrong. The 20,000 bot­ tles worth RM 80,000.00 were fully redeemed within three weeks .

"My production people then had to quickly gear up for a top-up run of an additional 10,000 bottles. These were no sooner rushed out across Malaysia to all 160 7-Eleven outlets, than they were also gone! The campaign succeed­ ed beyond our wildest expectations, so much so that it was unnecessary to continue over the planned three-

James Ng, "What do they put inside the teh tarik?"

Action on the set

Read sffnGaJgGet tefl 20,000* bottles of Naturel <**,<» to be given away for a healthier you!

e

month duration.

"It goes to show that if media own­ ers and brand custodians cooperate in putting their heads together, anything is possible." he said.

We'd just like to know what the stall owner is putting in his teh tarik.

"Teas ain't teas".

Institut Sledgehammer's full-time Diploma in Advertising is open for registration. Gall Zainabila on 03-7722 5710

8 ADOIM&RKETiNGCOMMUNIGATIONS

I want a 1/4" hole, not a 1/4" drill.

by Jennifer Chan, CEO, BBDO Malaysia

Tools;

you

know,

screwdrivers,

spanners and hammers, tools that help you achieve the odd job you're doing more easily and faster. But it's too easy to forget that nobody really wants tools like a 1/4" drill, what they really want is what the tool can provide; like a 1/4" hole. Handymen have their tools; the world of advertising also has its tools.

Media tools, research tools, creative tools and branding tools. But I'm rather amazed at the hype and fascina­ tion that is created around such tools as if they are an end in themselves, without terribly caring for what they can do.

Don't get me wrong. I do believe that there needs to be some form of dis­ cipline or system. And if a client spends quite a few dollars on advertis­ ing, I suppose it's fair that there is some tool or study to help him know what the advertising will do for his brand. However, the number of socalled proprietary tools and studies that are incessantly flaunted around by ad agencies, media agencies and research companies is becoming a little extreme. We are seeing more and more branding studies that claim to tell how his brand will perform and

how the brand will grow in the future.

client, their agency and the research

'danger'. Rather we are tempted by and

It will even help him determine future

company put their heads together and

hanker for the newest hi-tech, power

brand share, brand value and brand

embarked upon a series of research

packed tools to do much of our bidding

power (there are so many brand relat­

studies, dug up and used some wonder­

and replace simple intelligent reason­

ed terms these days, does anyone real­

ful proprietary tools, to see if the

ing and thinking. And who cares about

ly know what they all mean?) Today,

shampoo brand had the brand power

the size of the hole?

people claim that they have tools that

and strength to stretch into other

I worked with someone quite

can save the client loads of money on

product line extensions. Like bath and

special a long time ago. He's from

media. They have tools that provide a

shower foam

and bar soap, face

Canada and we were colleagues for a

complete foolproof way of testing his

cleansers, etc. The various studies

while in Hong Kong. He had a strong

latest advertising campaign, and give

showed and confirmed that the brand

research and planning background and

the client a definite answer whether

appeared to have the strength and

he was also a proponent of distinctive

it's going to get people to prefer and

"stretchibility" to do so. So, the client

and relevant creative ideas. He called

use more of his brand. Of course these

introduced the new products under

research and helpful tools "wisdom" as

people say these things because they

the same brand name and went out to

it uses methods of logic and rationality

are selling these proprietary studies

celebrate

bubbly,

to determine and measure what you

and they want advertisers to buy them.

convinced they had preordained the

need to find out. He saw creative ideas

And who can blame them?

success of these launches.

Another troublesome aspect of

with

Unfortunately,

lots

the

of

as "magic" because a great creative idea anticipated

is magic, in more ways than we give it

these advertising tools is they are

fame and fortune escaped them and

credit for. One question he posed left a

constantly changing. What is seen as a

the exercise turned out to be a dismal

lasting impression on my mind even

great and hip tool today is gone tomor­

disappointment and failure. What

after all these years. "How do you mea­

row, to be replaced by yet another

they forgot was something very basic -

sure magic?" If it's really magical, how

newer and more hip tool that promises

that people didn't want a brand known

does one use science to measure some­

to do even more for the brand. These

for washing hair, to be used on their

thing that sparks, something that has

tools come and go like fashion. If I

face. In fact, what cleans your hair

that special effect to influence and

were a client, I would not allow new,

could be too strong for the tender skin

change perception, something that has

untried techniques to dictate what's

on your face, unless you have a really

a special quality that is difficult to

good for my brand and what's right for

dirty face and need a heavy duty face

explain or articulate, something that

my advertising.

Basically I believe most of the tools

soap to scrub it! Research tools actual­

makes you feel. His answer? Surround

ly replaced simple common sense.

yourself with lots of magicians.

are putting emphasis on the measuring

There are still things that cannot

So, in the end, really it's not the

and predicting aspects of advertising

be measured and replaced by science

tool that counts, it's the person using

and brands and far too little on inves­

alone. Like experience, sound judge­

it. A drill in the wrong hands could

tigating the results. This reminds me

ment, instincts and naturally good, old

make a real mess. Because regardless

of a brand of shampoo from a multina­

fashioned common sense. I think

of the tools, regardless of fashion,

tional client, which enjoyed a high

there's nothing wrong or out-dated

regardless of what is proprietary or

degree of success in Japan, in the mid

with any of these; yet we relegate these

available, a great magician could

to late 8o's. As it was so successful, the

skills and traits to a zone marked

produce a 1/4" hole out of thin air.

The Ties That Unbind Us

missed one crucial meeting last month because I got carried away, going through 46 jokes and 2 indecent pic­ tures before I got to the email on the

by Jullie P. Lingan

"emergency" meeting that I realized must have been over and done with

If there is one time of the year when

love, honour and obey the rest of our

even the jaded allow themselves to be

life has long given up on the waiting

two hours ago. We only put to practice

unabashedly mushy, it's Valentine's

game and gone to bed. And once this

our "eyeball-to-eyeball" presentation

Day.

As I write this at dusk on this

gets to be more of a rule than an excep­

skills during major pitches, as more and more, our ads are either faxed, e-

blessed day, the office (where people

tion, we even fail to notice that the one

chidingly shout "half day?" when one

knot that truly mattered in our lives

mailed or presented via video confer­

leaves at 9 p.m.), is surprisingly empty,

long ago and far away, is slowly but

encing or teleconference calls.

so presumably, guilt has made its pres­

surely, being untied.

As for our

While we applaud technology and

ence felt and the workaholics have

unmarried colleagues, marriage to a

progress, advertising veterans that we

seemingly heeded the call.

fellow human being has become far­

Perfect

time for this romantic, sentimental fool to reflect quickly on special rela­

fetched, because

they have

since

embraced and married their beloved

are just have to get used to the slow

job bags. professional

death of interpersonal relationships,

front, we are, whether we realize it or

both at home and in the office. That should be okay, as long as it does not

Similarly,

on

the

tionships and how the ties that bind us

jobs, for better or for worse.

Their

not, slowly losing the personal touch

on one hand can unbind us on the

loved ones at home connect with occa­

of yesteryears with the onset of tech­

die completely. There should still be

other.

sional phone calls, but their messages

nology. As an old love song goes, it's so

some human interaction, alfteit mini­

on answering machines are left unan­

funny how we don't talk anymore.

mal. Because at the end of the day, no

the unquestionable attachment to our

swered not because their loved ones in

Instead of a quick one minute call to

man is an island, just as there is truth

jobs, and the glue that binds us to our

the office don't care but because

inform a colleague about an important

behind the line from a famous sitcom

office chairs sometimes keeps us there,

they're "very busy" and meetings rule

meeting, at the same time take the

"a good job doesn't

way beyond working hours, so when

their days as pending work rules their

opportunity to ask whether he has

Which reminds me, I better hurry

we finally reach home, the dinner left

nights. Weekends have become a thing

fully recovered from last week's flu,

home right now before I get glued to

on the table has not only become cold

of the past and private lives have been

we have long since resorted to e-mails

my chair and my husband cancels our

but stale, and the one we pledged to

put on hold, KIV like some forgotten

addressing the whole world. In fact, I

Valentine reservations

One obvious testimony to this is

10 ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

love you back."

All these clients can make your agency rich and famous Ace Canning

Cold Storage

Guardian Pharmacy

Minolta

Sharp

Acer

Colgate Palmolive

Guinness Anchor

Mobil

Shell

AIA

Cycle & Carriage Bintang

Hewlett Packard

Motorola

SIME UEP

Ajinomoto

Daihatsu

Hilton

New Zealand Milk

Slumberland

AMIM Holdings

DiGi

Hitachi

Nike

Smith & Nephew

Apple

Diners Club

Hong Leong

Northwest Airlines

Smithkline & Beecham

Auto Dunia

Domino's Pizza

HSBC

Oracle

Sony

Automotive Corporation

Du Pont

ICI

Parkson Pacific Foods

Sunway Lagoon

Berjaya

Dumex

ICI Paints

Permanis

Synergy Card & Payment

Berjaya Prudential

Dutch Lady

Johnson & Johnson

Perodua

Taisho

BMG

Eastin

Jotun

Petronas

Telekom

Boh

Edaran Otomobil Nasional

JT International

Procter & Gamble

The Wrigley Company

Boots

Edaran Tan Chong

KAH Motors

Public Bank

TNB

Bristol Myers Squibb

Electrolux

Kao

Quakers

Tohtonku

Britannia

Esso

Kellog's

Reckitt -Benckiser

TOPS

British American Tobacco

F&N Dairies

KFC

Reliance

Toshiba

Cadbury

FJ Benjamin

Kodak

Riche Monde

UMW Toyota

Caltex

Fuji Xerox

L'Oreal

Ritz-Carlton

UMW Toyota

Canon

Fujitsu

Lam Soon

Roche

Unilever

Castrol

Gillette

Levi's

Royal Selangor

Unysis

Catcha

Ginvera

Malaysian Tourism

Royal Sporting House

UNZA

Celcom

GlaxoWellcome

Mars

Sanyo

UPS

Cerebos

Godfrey Phillips

Maxis

Sara Lee

Vacances (Club Med)

Citibank

Golden Arches

MBF

Shakey's

Volvo

Coca-Cola

Goodyear

Microsoft

Shangri-La

Yeo Hiap Seng

The good news is they read this magazine every month.

To advertise with us, call Zainabila on 7726 2588 or 7722 5710.

There's No Business like eBusiness. Riiiiiight.

by Josh Sklar, global Chief Creative Officer CCG.XM (writing from New York)

on. For eight years there has been, in my opinion, a completely incorrect perception that there is some great difference between doing business online and offline. The new economy way vs the old. Because technology is now used as a conduit, a facilitator, an environment and a toolset it has been believed that none of the old rules apply. Somehow customers are no longer the same when they are empow­ ered a little more and so companies are incapable of adapting tried and proven principles.

As mind-boggling as Internet tech­ nology is to many of the people running these companies, it is equally confusing for me to wrap my head around what makes these intelligent professionals throw up their hands in surrender to the eConsultants and

When you take the 'R' out of 'Retail' you get eTail. But when you take the 'e' from 'eBusiness' you have... Business.

Same with eCRM, eMarketing and so

their bags of hype. Beyond the use of common sense in understanding how a customer might react to a new chan­ nel, how can they lay down before firms who couldn't possibly have any significant experience given the lack of truly successful models out there and the fact their average consultant's age is 24.3? I suppose it might come down to desperateness in the face of ungodly pressure from stockholders,

"Amazing! EXPAND stopped people in their tracks!"

Boards, excos and so forth to quickly get up to speed.

If only they would slow down and realize that consultants are very useful as interpreters, sounding boards, researchers, analysts, project man­ agers and even executors but more to the point, as partners. The companies and the consultancies should be in this dance together. The consultants should not be there to preach impractical blue sky opportunities to their clients and the companies should not insist or expect that the consultants will do their jobs for them. There is a neces­ sary balance.

The companies bring, generally, decades of first-hand experience with their customers. They know what makes them tick, how to motivate them, how to create and sustain a dialogue, how to up-sell and cross-sell, how to service them. If they didn't, they wouldn't be at a place where it's important for them to allocate mil­ lions in their budget to new channels such as the Internet. They would be concentrating on fixing what's broken in their biggest, most established mar­ kets. Enter the Web, email and other Internet systems that provide new means of communicating with many of

these same customers and a few more that are desirable because they fit within the same target modeling but may have been more difficult or too costly to reach out to offline. Now the company is able to spend more time with these people, customize (person­ alize) messages to them, relatively eas­ ily capture their information and then develop a continuous one-to-one rela­ tionship as well as demonstrate their products/services more fully than a DM piece, print ad or TVC could do.

How is 'eBusiness' so entirely differ­ ent than 'Business'?

It's not. And if your consultant tells you otherwise, find a new one.

One that will provide the expertise in translating offline principles into online deliverables. One that under­ stands how a customer (who has now turned into an Internet user) will want to see information. What will scare them off. What will inspire them. How to deal with the current technological constraints that exist such as disparate computer operating systems and bandwidth limitations.

Not one that will spout out new econo­ my terminology meant to intimidate their clients. A true partner will work with you as an equal, not as an arrogant, condescending suit whose objective is to squeeze every cent from you. Maybe that's the real definition of eBusiness.

"We sold more in one weekend than we did in six months!"

Mobile Phone Dealer

White Goods Manufacturer

"Eye-catching, exciting, effective!

EXPAND is fantastic!"

"Every roadshow with EXPAND has been a runaway success!"

College Director

Food and Beverage Manufacturer

"We were doing great...going like gang-busters every day, thanks to EXPAND!"

"Big ideas from a small bag that's the power of EXPAND!" Automobile Distributor

Trading House Sales Director

03-254 35 1 8

T h e proof i s right h e r e at EXPAND. Visit u s or call Jay today for a personal preview on how we can make your brand sizzle.

Email: expandasia@ppp.nasionet.net Website: www.expand-display.com

A D #1

FREE

CLASSIFIEDS

Just e-mail your recruitment messages (30 words max) to sivananthi_t@hotmail.com and they will be read by over 30,000 readers. What are you waiting for? Messages will appear subject to availability of space.

PDQ seeks an ACCOUNT MANAGER for Event Management,

Strategically strong Film Production House looking for

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE wanted by accredited ad agency in

with the following skills/experience: 1-2 years in Event

SENIOR/SALES

in Asian region.

Subang Jaya. Minimum 2 years agency experience with good communication skills, tertiary education would be an advan­

PRODUCER

to work

Management, Management/Organisation Skills. Ability to

Experience in advertising and marketing an advantage. Reply

work long/flexible hours on-site when required. Email

with CV and expected salary. Email hanellen@pacific.net.sg

tage and possesses own transport. Email proad@tm.net.my or

mew@pdq.com.my

or fax Singapore at 741 2881.

fax to 03-738 9063.

POTATO CREATIVE ART 6r DESIGN. We are looking for people

Rapidly expanding Book & Web publisher looking for

who are interested in TRANSPARENT glass PAINTING, the

WEBSITE ADMINISTRATOR, MARKETING/COMMUNICATIONS

world's UNIQUE ARTs & CRAFTs. please call : Mr. Phillip Wong

EXECUTIVES, MARKETING/COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANTS,

012 . 398 9608 ( 03.6253 4837 af. 7pm )

FREELANCE

URGENTLY WANTED!! We are looking for the young, energetic and ambitious to join us. We're searching for a VISUALISER

suitable

WRITERS.

candidates

Location: Ampang.

please

call

Interested

012-3090815 or

e-mail:

lisabz @hotmail.com DTP

Ms Sabrina at 03-6140 5322, fax your detailed resume at

QuarkXPress/Photoshop/Illustrator. Design school graduates

ARTIST.

1-2

years

experience

Mac

programmes:

encouraged to apply. Fax resume to 03-9824182 or e-mail:

SOULS WANTED. WRITERS, ART DIRECTORS, AMs and AEs who choose advertising more because of love than large mort­ gage payments. Professional, talented, experienced, honest and unwearied. E-mail full CV to saifun@publicis.com.my or fax 03-7952-2163.

composition. SYSTEM ADMIN ASSISTANT with knowledge of Networking, ASP Programmers, C++/VB Programmers.

Tel: 03-6203 1190 Sara/Email:admin@optidigit.com.

full service (Ad, Event, PR, Research, TeleCentre) agency in Malaysia. Call 03-78777289 (Mr Chin/Ms Koon) or email jwchin@roots.com.my/events@roots.com.my

ooiohsg@pd.jaring.my

Join us! A Marketing Promotions firm is looking for

Fat Lizard is looking for: PRODUCER. Will be coordinating and

a PR & PROMOTIONS EXECUTIVE. Call 03-704 1899 and Fax

overseeing the production of 2D and 3D animation projects. TV

03-704 6899, Email imsipw@pd.jaring.my us your resume.

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT, ACCOUNTS EXECUTIVE and

commercial production experience is essential. ASSISTANT PRODUCER. Energetic hard working production assistant

Young, new and vibrant Television Production house looking

needed for the production of TV commercials. Related experi­

for PASSIONATE, INNOVATIVE PEOPLE to join our team.

ence preferred. Must be proficient in MS Word, Excell, and

Please contact Su on 03-4302021 or fax CVs to 03-4302027.

Netscape. Own transport required. MARKETING MANAGER.

Various situations available.

knowledge of Maya, Digital Graphic Artist for stills and video

COPYWRITER. i-3yrs experience wanted by one of the pioneer

and a JUNIOR ACCOUNTS CLERK. Interested?! Please call 03-6140 5332 or email info@carrotfilms.com.my

Optidigit Digital Studio looks for 3D ANIMATORS with

The Company requires a person with a marketing background

DIRECT MARKETING MANAGER urgently required by an integrated multi-national agency to promote, manage and supervise its DM services.Remuneration commensurate with qualifications. Call (03) 253-1300 for an immediate appoint­ ment.

to plan and implement strategies for domestic and regional

Lowe Lintas & Partners seeks a SENIOR CREATIVE TEAM and

CREATIVE ENGLISH COPYWRITER with agency experience,

markets. Car essential - travel involved. Send resumes by

ACCOUNT DIRECTORS, ACCOUNT MANAGERS, ACCOUNT

good command of English, articulate and a flair for creative

email to doris@fatlizard.com or by fax to 6201 4378.

writing. Call Amy for appointment at 03-9833198 or email trans@tm.net.my

EXECUTIVES for several new business gains. Contact: For cre­ ative, e-mail chris.howden@lowelintas.com. For account ser­

SALES EXECUTIVE, REPRESENTATIVE ARTIST, WEB SITE

vice, e-mail keesuan.khoo@lowelintas.com. Or telephone 03-

DEVELOPER visit www.sejaya.com.my/job.htm

2545122.

Experienced YOUNG DESIGNER will add talent, skills and

Procon Leisure (M) Sdn Bhd is seeking for suitable candidates

experience. To arrange interview, please call Lily at 03-5110500

hard work to your projects. E-mail cherylng@hotmail.com to

for both JUNIOR/SENIOR position in VIDEO ANIMATION

or email resume to consul@consultium.com.my

see a sample of work.

An established advertising and event management company urgently requires a MEDIA EXECUTIVE with a few years

DOCUMAKER Seeks PA conscientous, hardworking, enterpris­

EDITING.

CREATIVE PEOPLE required to sell, develop the

Aspiring to be a giant in COPYWRITING, ART DIRECTION,

ing? We need someone with secretarial savvy. If you like what you see on www.novista.tv, (info@novista.net)

call

Rozy

03-26945501

MEDIA PLANNING and ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT? We

Out of Home industry.

have opportunities if you have the brains. Just e-mail

An established Malaysian advertising agency is looking to

BIG time rewards

expand. Interested candidate to call Rozie at 03-7729 2299 or

for the BEST people.

e-mail us at gconnet@hotmail.com for the following posi­ tions:- 1) BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER. Unique opportunity for AD, Senior Manager who possess entrepre­ neurial skills and ambition. Must have proven track record with existing business portfolio. 2) COPYWRITER. At least 1 year experience. Fresh graduate are also encourage to apply.

saakl@tm.net.my or fax 03-4042 0252.

email CVs to HR dept at:

DTP ARTIST wanted for above and below-the-line work.

Knows all Quark and Adobe software (colour sep and printing

kathy@bigtree. com.my

knowledge are an advantage). Minimum 2 years' agency expe­ rience. Call Marcia at 724 8326 for details or fax/email at

Bored of a 9 to 5 job? You have an ear for Music? Want a CAREER IN ENTERTAINMENT? Young, aggressive, creative, independent, able to work long hours and possess own trans­

JR. ART DIRECTOR: Immediate employment. Fresh grad who

port. E-mail resume to amy.lim@emimusic.com or fax

can make good tea or coffee daily. Must know how to mop con­

03-89455003.

crete floor, clean MD's toilet, send kids to school, park car. Fast learning Female with French accent preferred though not essential. BIG DREAMS which include an expensive lifestyle is a must. Email Peter Lo at magicmakers2@yahoo.co.uk.

refining the 12th draft of copy you've written. Typical display

CONFERENCE PRODUCER. This is a senior position, responsi­

call 03-254 4168 (Maggie).

department of an exhibition company. At least 5 years experi­

MODEL & TALENT wanted for TV Commercials. Male &

events. Email your CV to : denise@protemp.com.my

ence in production and management of conferences or trade Female. All races. Ages from 3 months. Contact TM Casting, Ms

your shoe, call Barry at 03 2164 2020 impiric or email position

for

a

Up

&

Coming

seeking: AES,

Ad

Agency

with

WRITERS £r G.

key

anchor

DESIGNERS.

clients

1-2 years

Total Sports Asia is Asia's leading independent sports manage­

solid agency experience compulsory.

Attention your resume

ment & marketing company based in KL and also operator of Asia's first sports portal (www.totalsportsasia.com). Due to

to pamela@maximum-impact.org

Tel: 03-90585161 Fax:

24/7 Media Malaysia, the leading Internet advertising

rapid expansion, we are looking for young and dynamic peo­

specialist in Malaysia, is hiring experienced MEDIA SALES

ple to join us as ONLINE AFFILIATE EXECUTIVES.

REPRESENTATIVES. If you've got what it takes, contact

e-mail your resumes to daison@totalsportsasia.com or fax

Ramesh at ramesh.gopal@247asia.com or call 03-7660 1008.

03-7660 9622.

You can have a FULL-TIME FREELANCE COPYWRITER work­

denise@protemp.com.my

ble for total management and profitability of the conference

Elaine at 03-78777182 or 016-273 8636. Catwalk lessons available.

have a

marketing of trade exhibition projects. At least 2 years work­ ing experience in marketing, PR or related fields. Excellent

to work late. Please e-mail resume to princip@tm.net.my or

read without pleasure" - said Voltaire. If this fits you like We

PROJECT EXECUTIVES. Responsible for management and

years' experience, with large network of suppliers and willing

of a perfectionist at work. "What is written without pain is

COPYWRITER.

724 8325/ info@one-ap.com.my

spoken and written English is compulsory. Email your CV to:

Wanted: PRODUCTION MANAGER for small size agency. 3 to 5

It's 8pm. Your date is waiting (as usual). And you are still

barry.low@impiric.com.my.

Kindly contact Sam Poon for an immediate

appointment at tel 603-703 8898 or e-mail resume to leemark@thss.com.my

Please

03-90585191 SENIOR WEB DESIGNER. Ability to train/lead junior design­ ers in our KL office. Creative and good knowledge in HTML. Min 2 years experience. E-mail resume to jobs@activefusion.net.

ing for you 3 days a week, every week. All it takes is a heavy­

Required independent workers with gumption. ACCOUNT

MULTIMEDIA & WEBPAGE DESIGNER/PRODUCER. Good

MANAGER with 3-4 years experience, JUNIOR ART DIRECTOR

written and spoken English. Must be very familiar with

weight, with a sense of responsibility to match! No EPF, etc!

with 3 years experience If you mean business. If you want

Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Director, Premiere,

Call Suzanne Schokman, 012-373 4727-

challenges without undue hassle. Then contact M2 Network at

After Effects. PASSION for multimedia mandatory. Contact

703-0170.

Victor at 03-79588357.

Media/Production House seeking energetic, creative candi­ dates, full-time and part-time for positions of GRAPHIC DESIGNER, DTP ARTIST, ACCOUNT SERVICING (with experi­ ence). Interested candidates please contact Mae at 03-734 7085 for an immediate interview.

SECRETARY Wanted. Form 5 or above with formal secretarial training. Computer knowledge (MsWord, Chinese WP, Excel).

Good command in English, Cantonese, Putonghua. Well orga­ nized with good interpersonal & communication skills. Call 2186 6099 or e-mail aki@netvigator.com (Cathy Hung).

We are 7-year old graphic design outfit, now looking for a GRAPHIC DESIGNER with or without experience. Candidate must have a diploma in graphic design from any art college.

5-day week. Contact: Thumb-Print Studio 430-4748 (Tat or Angie).

CREATIVE TEAM - hungry for great things, passionate about the small things. DESIGNER - are you a style merchant in type and design, if so call Chris Howden at Lowe Lintas 603 2545122.

Astrio

Animation

House,

a

full

fledged

production

company with comprehensive services-3D Animation,TV Commercials,TV episodes, is looking for 3D ANIMATORS.

WEB PROGRAMMERS DESIGNERS/JOURNALISTS needed by

Please send resume to: astrio@tech-center.com

Malaysiakini.com, the nation's most popular news website.

Contact tel: 22835567 Premesh/Ritches No.2-4, Jalan Bangsar Utama 9 (Behind LRT Bangsar). 5 day working week.

The world's largest producer of computer painted images for the outdoor advertising industry is looking for a MARKETING EXECUTIVE with relevant sales experience and good inter­

WEB DESIGNERS needed to spin great award-winning ideas and concepts for a list of exciting clients. Minimum one year's

RECEPTIONIST wanted with experience to work in Subang

personal and communication skills. Please submit to: MMT

experience. Drop a line to Sze at Guava Interactive: 03-

Jaya. Computer knowledge advantage.For immediate appoint­

(M) SDN BHD, PT12873, LotDi7B), Nilai Industrial Estate, 71800

78806933.

ment. Call 03-737 5555 Jessy

Nilai, Negeri Sembilan or email fpyong@mmtglobalwp.com.

ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS 13

No reason to party

At the spur of the moment, post-production house APV threw a party. Simply because they hadn't had a party in a long while. At the event, they took the oppor­ tunity to introduce the capabilities of their new 5D masher Infinity to clients and friends. This was followed by some wild partying, all night long.

Welcoming the Snake, Arachnid style

Interactive brand agency Arachnid welcomed the year of the Snake at the Hyatt Regency Saujana with clients and partners such as Astro, Ford, HSBC, Entellium, ICI, BBDO, McCann-Erickson and FCB. Spirits were high, so to speak, at the gathering. It was back to work as usual the following day for all staff at 9am.

Canned into going?

MALAYSIA

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Tel: 603-2696 2124/2121/2150/2119, 2694 1024 Fax: 603-2694 1021/1022/1023 Website: www.asiapoc.net/bemama/prwire E-mail: prwire@bemama.com 5th Floor, Wisma Bernama, 28, Jalan 1/65A, Off Jalan Tun Razak, P.O. Box 10024, 50700 Kuala Lumpur. Website: www.bernama.com

Madame X sits at her writing desk and twirls with her pen. Famous for both her wit and her beauty, her desk is piled with invites to all, in what modern parlance is referred to as, the 'happening' parties in town.

Classy invitation cards beautifully engraved, trendy cards in the millen­ nium colours of silver and gold, chic cards chequered black-and-white. And this does not include the countless number of e-mail invites, yet unopened. Amidst these, a plain white box stands out. Intrigued, Madame reaches out and picks it up. The box opens up and reveals a can of sardines - and no, it is not a sample from the manufacturer rewarding her for the millions of sardine cans purchased. It is - would you believe it? - a party invite. Cunningly worded, "Remember our old office? Any surprise we moved?" Madame cannot help but be

New Home for FGB

charmed by such a clever invite and she found herself at FCB's party at Mid-Valley. With modern technology clamouring for a person's attention, sometimes the simplest messages hit home. For party update, see below.

FCB welcomed friends and clients to their spanking new premises on the 17th floor of Menara IGB in Mid-Valley City on Feb 20.

Harry Reid, International President of FCB, flew in from Chicago to open the new premises. Managing Director Andrew Crombie (left) and Executive Chairman Dato' Jaffar Mohd Ali welcomed guests to a great party.

"Turn one person into c\ c r o w d . ^Appeal to a broader spectrum w i t k t k e 0\\'\v\e.se- ( S o n n e c t i o r v .

(Z\\OV\Q) c^owd

C0NMeCTiON NANYANG C SIANG PAU U CHINA PRESS CoMBiHep

:

^0

-J

A_

ordinary

}

adj - 1. of the usual everyday kind, 2. plain ; uninteresting

Many prefer the easy way.

Preferably a nine to five routine

(of course, breakfast and tea breaks included).

No appointments with pushy clients to drive you nuts.

No gruelling assignments to murder your weekends. ...practically everyone's dream job.

less ..

ordi nary adj - Yet, there're naturally the madcap few who love being driven to the extreme.

To them, the notion of mediocrity stinks.

And they're zestful about moving ahead with their brains, sweat and guts.

If you're one of them, this is your cue to join us as MARKETING EXECUTIVE You will be - market-savvy - no stranger to the art of selling - a versatile thinker - multilingual - holding a recognised degree/diploma fax : 03-7783 5871 e-mail : hr_admin@thesundaily.com tel : 03-7784 6688 ext 527 - Anna A l l a p p l i c a t i o n s will b e t r e a t e d c o n f i d e n t i a l l y .

closing date : April 7, 2001

System of a Down I'm no super journo. Just an ad person with a lot of questions and opinions about the business of advertising. Most of the views are culled from various discussions with my peers. Now, I figure if there are things that get in the way of good work, then we can pick the bones out of it.

Put a match under some asses.

So what's the biggest gripe about the industry? Let's talk about the suit-versus-creative issue. Again.

The Fundamentals: Hiring You get what you give, if you ask me. Understand first that good atti­ tudes cost money. Secondly, shortages cause indiscriminatory hiring. Which means that we run the risk of paying exorbitant amounts to idiots.

to make up for their flaws. But hey, creative people aren't gods. They're just a creative bunch of Jack-Of-AllTrades with an opinion about every­ thing. Because they see things (not dead people) on a bigger scale. If the suits continue to rely on them to run the show, why turn around and blame them for the egos they themselves help inflate?

Separate Agendas And Why Integration May Never Work.

Nothing's worse than an employee with a secret agenda. The MeSyndrome will be more pronounced now that the universal patience index is fast hitting zero. But if we're going to shove "integration" down the clients' throats, there must be a way

It happens. Frisky little hopefuls walk in, offer model answers to very general questions, and boast about experiences or creative work they've never even laid a pinky on. And we snap them up like free food. It's only later you find out they're as smart as Pamela Anderson's you-know-what.

And we wonder about turn-around time. Let me tell you how many meet­ ings I've attended where the ratio of suits to creative have been 10:2. Five in a month. The only contributors are normally the Account Director and the creatives. Everyone else just waits for pizza/kfc/keropok.

Between hiring fewer, more capa­ ble people and countless wall decora­ tors, you know which is the better choice. The thing is, if you're not going to have time to train the greenies, leave them to corporations who do.

It's Them Suits Who Grow Creative Egos Agencies almost always allot more budget to the hiring of suits. And still they spread that budget thin by recruiting an army of them JUST IN CASE. Maybe they're expecting creative

for us to pursue personal glory and riches via a common goal without look­ ing like Bozo and Co. in front of them.

As it is, the fundamental differences between servicing and creative pre­ vent us from spontaneous bouts of group-hugging.

The Proverbial Vicious Cycle Somebody Please Stop It Let's not NATO* anymore. Human Resource and Management have the power to change the system if it's not working. Short cuts, wait-and-see, cronyism, they're all human frailties we'll always have trouble ridding off. But try a little honesty some time. If we can be honest about ourselves and our personnel, it'll only take five words to start the cleaning-up process. It's difficult to spit them out, but the top American and Brit agencies have done it very well: "I'm sorry. You suck. Next!" * No Action, Talk Only [Binky is a "concept person" working in a KL agency. Binky takes offense to the term "dog" because this is a column about things people should bitch about in the industry. And she happens to look like a dog. And know...it's too easy to mix up the two.]

you

Corporate types, transvestites, fashion models, working girls (the 9 to 5 variety), working girls (the 5 to 9 variety), pimps, pols, cops, thinkers, movers and shakers, Harley Davidson bikers, kap chai, mat motors, minah motors, fengtau boys, alcoholics, wide eyed expatriates, washed out expatriates, handycam tourists, F1 drivers, F1 groupies, alcoholics, hawkers, gawkers, pill pushers, jazz singers, the rich and famous, the rich and wannabe famous, the wannabe rich and wannabe famous, 13 year olds with fake IDs, alcoholics, hags, wags, shoppers, layabouts, time-passers, Mercs, Beemers, modified Kancils, backstreet boys, SPGs, bulls, bears, haves, have nots, have somes, maitre d's, mamaks, international DJs, bootleg DJs, alcoholics, 45 year olds masquerading as teenagers, hip hoppers, ravers, chill outers, rock and rollers, disco dancers, high flyers, low lifes, card carriers, trespassers, holy men, unholy spirits.

Smack bang in the middle of Real Life. Where else would you expect to find Malaysia's No.1 agency ?

McCANN - ERICKSON (M) SDN BHD HAS MOVED TO LEVEL 8, MENARA IMC, 8 JLN SULTAN ISMAIL, 50250 KUALA LUMPUR. Tel: (603) 2718 6118 â&#x20AC;˘ Fax: (603) 2712 6668

Sellebrities One of Sydney's most prominent

advertising identities is an absolutely brilliant creative person. But talent alone didn't get him to where he is today. The extra ingredient that's made him very, very wealthy and his name a household word has been his ability, not to say genius, for ingratiat­ ing himself with the rich, the power­ ful, the famous and the notorious and using a good many of them in his most memorable campaigns.

Of course he has his detractors.

There are those who envy him his amazing collection of contacts, cronies and cash. Others see him as a syco­ phant and slimeball. But, love him or loathe him, the fact remains: he's a consummate player of the fame game, and living testament to the fact that celebrity sells.

Like just about everything else in this business, the building of careers, agencies and brands on mankind's

weakness for idol-worship is nothing new. J. Walter Thompson launched the phenomenally successful "9 Out of 10 Film Stars" campaign for Lux Soap in 1929. And this formula has been repeat­ ed countless times since with similar results, most recently by Nike.

Some celebrity advertising is dumb, some is highly creative. One of my favourite examples of the latter was the campaign many years ago for the New York financial-services house Smith, Barney that featured famous Americans who, like former World Heavyweight Champion boxer Joe Louis, had made and lost fortunes and were broke. Each ad in the campaign featured an illustrious loser's face with the line "Smith, Barney where were you when I needed you?"

Advertising has long been making stars of clients, too. Walter P. Chrysler invited new car buyers to "Look All Three Low-Priced Cars" in 1932, a per­

formance repeated by Lee Iacocca in his attempts to revive the Chrysler Corporation in the 1980s. Other long­ time clients-as-celebrity-spokespersons have included Frank Perdue of Perdue Chicken ("It takes a tough man to pro­ duce a tender chicken") and Kentucky Fried Chicken's Colonel Sanders, now immortalised in plastic by KFC. Of course, all the success stories

notwithstanding, celebrity advertising has its drawbacks. The most obvious one is that the cost can be astronomi­ cal. Then there's the fact that even the brightest stars are only human, and may behave accordingly. In any num­ ber of ways ranging from taking bribes from bookies, like South African crick­ et captain Hansie Cronje, or standing trial for murder in the case of O.J. Simpson to getting sick, growing old or even dying. One proof against such hic­ cups is to use a "type", not an individ­ ual, as in the case of the phenomenally successful "Marlboro Man" campaign, or a "living" symbol like Ronald McDonald. Another is to invent a car­ toon character that personifies the brand like Mr. Sheen, Speedy Alka Seltzer or Joe Camel.

However you do it, it could be worth a try. Who knows? If you can find yourself a star with perfect chem­ istry with the product, and persuade the client to pony-up the fee, the results could be well worth celebrat­ ing.

Dean

Johns is a partner in Sydney-based

regional creative/motivational consultancy

CreAsia and strategic/creative hotshop StrADegy. Website www.stradegy.com.au

Do you think you take advertising seriously? Here's a simple way to find out - and some free advice

by Drayton Bird

If someone at a party asks you what

you do for a living you probably admit, perhaps with a touch of pride, that you're in advertising. It's one of those sexy professions isn't it?

It wasn't always. When I was young, it was one step ahead of being a used car salesman. In fact the profes­ sion, or trade as I see it, was in such low esteem that a few years ago the cel­ ebrated French advertising man, Jacques Seguela wrote rather a funny book with the title - which was even funnier - Don't Tell My Mother I Work In Advertising. She Thinks I Play The Piano In A Brothel.

I could see a radical shift had occurred when, some five years ago I saw a TV programme on schools. The star was Sir John Harvey Jones - chair­ man of ICI, before becoming a sort of all round pundit and personality.

Sir John was looking at young peo­ ples' ambitions when they leave school. I was interested because one school was Clifton College, where my daughter went before she decided to become a singer - which I must admit proved very wise, because her first album went platinum. I was aston­ ished that most of the senior boys and girls in the programme didn't want proper jobs in things like engineering (which disappointed him) but han­ kered after media related jobs like

18 ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNIGATIONS

advertising.

So I imagine that when you announce that you work in advertis­ ing, apart from fleeting qualms lest people might think you are a crook who cons people into buying things they don't want or which are positive­ ly harmful for them, you feel quite pleased with yourself.

Of course, you and I know very well that most advertising is so badly conducted and subject to so many of the hazards of fate that it rarely per­ suades people to buy even the things they do need. One reason is that most advertising people know very little about the subject, believing that the only talent required is a flair for self promotion and a winning personality.

The secret of success Certainly these things help, and we all know people who have got ahead on sheer bullshit without any percepti­ ble knowledge. However I have found that those who have done really well, the outstanding successes, almost always know an awful lot about the subject. In fact, if I may be permitted a small boast, I did rather well at quite an early age, being a creative director of quite a large agency at twenty seven.

Before I even got into advertising I made it my business to learn what it was all about: I read lots and lots of

books. In fact, I have a terrible confes­ sion: most of the stuff I wrote for the first five or six years of my career was complete rubbish but I was able to sell it, as I knew all about the principles, if very little about the practice.

Even if you only play a piano in a brothel, it helps to have a passing acquaintance with a few relevant facts - like how many octaves there are, and that the keys are in black and white arranged in twos and threes. Not to mention the way the notes sound very low at one end of the keyboard and very high on the other.

Ignorance of simple facts about advertising cruelly curtails many oth­ erwise highly promising careers. That is one reason why you will notice something very interesting: there are very few old advertising people. They say it's a young person's business. This is complete rubbish actually: the rea­ son most ad people are young is that quite quickly most get found out and have to go and get proper jobs in the real world.

Cursed amateurs This brings me to something I have asked countless people all over the world: How many advertising books have you read? In Britain the answer is in many cases, none. Or maybe one or two. My favourite example is that of

the people at Ogilvy & Mather. I was lecturing to a group including four of them three days before I drafted this article. Only two had actually read Ogilvy on Advertising. Quite typical.

I suppose that's rather like profess­ ing to be a Muslim without ever having opened the Quran or a Christian with­ out reading the Bible - you get the idea. Of course this was in Britain where is a cursed tradition of ama­ teurism. In many countries where for a brief time the British governed, there is more respect for education and people read more. But very few read enough.

But let me ask you how many books you have read. Or have re-read repeat­ edly because you learnt so much out of them? I will not embarrass you by ask­ ing you to write and tell me, but I have a horrible feeling many of you have read far too few. And I have a simple solution for you. It will appear in my next column: a list of books that have helped me in my career - and will help you - with the reasons why.

If you do take advertising serious­ ly, you'll find them invaluable. I have.

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Direct marketing creative maestro and one of Asia's top awarded advertising stars, Mr Kurt Crocker.

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Mad in Malaysia

Deranged scrawling recently drawn from the advertising press.

Do we need any more evidence that the advertising community is going off its rocker? In the February issue of Adoi the editor reprinted an e-mail in its entirety from someone calling themselves Zarathustra attacking Adoi, the editor, myself, my company and my family in the nastiest possible way. Hidden behind a cloak of anonymity this person was not afraid to say whatever he or she liked, copy­ ing it to all manner of people in the agency business. The editor, I thought, was very magnanimous in not con­ demning this poisonous mail nor ask­ ing for comment. Certainly printing it at all was very bold given the com­ ments were possibly libelous. But per­ haps I shouldn't be too surprised. Most of us are aware of the existence of the on-line news site devoted to the ad industry called 'Seams'. This has also attracted a snake-pit-full of raving loonies. People are e-mailing in and

rubbishing each other with apparently great relish. These venomous oiks are snapping at each other's heels like crazed whippets. Calling people morons, accusing people of cronyism or of being crooks. Accusing women of being streetwalkers and worse. It's actually quite startling to read the noxious stuff they have to say about folks who, at best, are complete strangers or, at worst, quite possibly their colleagues. Scams actually shut down the forum part called Verbal Assailant because it got so bad. They then took a vote on whether to keep it in or not (the vote was a huge majority to keep it, the vicious buggers). But the nastiness is not the real problem. The actual problem is the total absence of moral fiber that causes these critics, accusers, twats to hide behind the sad shelter offered by false or fabricated email names. (Some particularly sick individuals actually pretend to be

Boxing smart on the Web.

by Shane Weaver, Creative Director, Ogilvylnteractive Singapore.

That's me getting smacked in the head. Before my entry into the marketing arena, I was a professional boxer. I got paid for thumping people. Today, I still get paid for thumping people, but I try to do it with a Big Idea rather than a big left hook - unless, of course, they don't like my big idea!

(Ego compels me to digress and say that the featured photo is actually a studio shot. It was in an ad for a homebuilder and the headline read, "How to tell your landlord you're not paying rent any more").

"Hello", I hear you say, "This entire bloody article is a digression. What the hell does this has-been's pugilistic past have to do with mar­ keting on the Web?" Everything, if you're George Foreman.

In October, 1974, an undefeated Foreman stepped into the ring to face Muhammad Ali. The odds were 5 to 1 against Ali. And early on, George smashed him at will. But it was all part of the plan. Ali's now famous "Rope-a-Dope" strategy allowed the champ to punch himself out, and in the 8th round, Ali put him out of his misery. Strategy and creativity had won the day.

Too many websites whale in like George, trying to knock out prospect resistance with hard sell tactics. Let's take, for exam­ ple, the heavyweight contenders for the world's most bat-shit boring sites: online car sales. I checked out Autotrader.com and Onlineauto.com, among others so mind numbingly similar that they all blurred into one nameless blurb. Talk about bludgeoned by mediocrity. Shiny cars, "shiny happy people", and interchangeable lifestyle shots. Each with as much charm and social grace as Mike Tyson at a beau­ ty pageant. No concept of customer courtship. Huffing and puffing and trying to

22 ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNIGATIONS

ple doing it some serious damage. I would be the first to admit ad people are far from perfect but the great majority at least have the guts to criti­ cize or comment out in the open using their real names. But, for a large audi­ ence of susceptible or ill informed pun­ ters, it takes just a few (and it don't

SHUT-UP ABOUT ADVERTISIN Paul Looslev

other people). One can respect a person having a serious go at someone. To rub­ bish them, to ridicule them even but to attack without feeling or apparent con­ science (one wonders how they sleep) from behind the smirking veil of secre­ cy is deeply disturbed and disturbing.

But just for a moment let's forget the hurt these sods might do to the individuals concerned (personally I could give a flying toss) but what about the effect on the ad business? What might the clients, the advertisers, the general public feel? Here a great many people are trying to build a sense of credibility and professionalism for advertising and here are nameless, faceless (mindless? Ed.) bunch of peo­

take many) ignorant, vindictive, infantile and scared little prats to spoil things.

And given that electronic media are not confined to these shores (nor indeed is Adoi) think of the impression this might create amongst people who may wish to do business with Malaysian Advertising and related companies. They may feel we are all tarred with the same brush. I mean, what would you think of an industry peppered with people who are so hat­ ing and hateful?

Unfortunately, in the final analy­ sis, I don't really have a solution. I don't believe in censorship, so shutting anyone down is not an option. Asking them to reveal themselves won't work either (it's been tried). So I can only ask what makes people so horrid? Is it sociological, is it particular to Malaysians, is it this business or is it just because they are crackers? Cos seriously I don't have a clue.

Oh, I almost forgot. Zarathustra, you're a cowardly little shit PS. That feels better.

get their dirty fingers into my wallet.

Compare this with the awesome online presence of the New Beetle 1.8T at www.turbonium.com. Remember Bernbach's legendary "lemon" metaphor? The New Beetle propels the allegory into the 21st century by creating an ad campaign focused on a mythical element called turbonium.

The site itself is a laboratory. Visitors are researchers, exploring the efficacy of the latest breakthrough scientific discovery. Unlike the journeyman car sites that fight a losing battle to stand out, this one races away to a convincing points lead.

While many sites use Flash as bit of gratuitous "Ali shuffle", forgetting that the champ backed up the razzle-dazzle with dynamite, the New Beetle site com­ bines the extensive use of Macromedia Flash with full-force communication. The car whizzes around in a helix parodying atomic particles in a molecular dance. Links to multi-media presen­ tations enable you to explore the intricate machinations of the car - the various models, the engine, specifications, options and safety features.

Did you see Rocky? Doesn't the theme from that movie still stir you to want to go out and thump the crap out of a full side of beef? It does me. And in the same way, the original music on the New Beetle site adds a pulse pounding and emotive component (downloadable, of course).

In fact, there's nothing static about www.turbonium.com. Even the "newsletter" is miles away from the usual yawn. Check out the "GTI REPORT". It's like sitting in the car. You can almost smell the upholstery. Set in a metallic frame, it echoes the polish of the vehicle it heroes. If a rule of marketing is, "Talk within the experiential back­ ground of the message recipient", boy, does this site rev! Take the section on the Monsoon Eight Speaker Stereo System. While you're reading the specs, you're rockin' to Bjork or tapping your foot to "Beaucoup Fish" by Underworld. Hey, and if you like what you hear, you can order the CD on the spot.

The lesson: Sometimes it pays to lead with your right brain.

A Nation Talking To Itself Gripping observations The Sun Daily

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Second Opinion

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Reason With...

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The Dot Com Client - Inspired Genius or Freak of Nature?

by Gareth Gwynne, Associate Creative Director, Grey Direct InterActive Malaysia

They woo you with big budgets. They entice you with the prospect of sexy work. They even promise stock options. But here's the real story behind dot com clients...

I have recently returned from a three year stint in the States working exclusively with dot com and tech­ nology clients. And here is the sum of all I learned: Be careful what you wish for.

Now don't get me wrong. There are opportunities in the dot com world to actually do some sexy work, with some big budgets. But they are, for now, few and far between. Because the fact is that over 90% of dot com businesses fail. Why? There are many reasons, but the top ones are:

"She blinded me with science" There are lots of technological geniuses out there, but that doesn't mean they can make a business out of their brilliance. Problem is, they think they can. So if your dot com prospect does not have an experienced business driver actively involved, be careful, because the business "idea" could be little more than a pipe dream.

"Show me the money" What are the chances that your average dot com has RM20 million in the bank? Not high, as you can probably imagine. Dot com money comes from angel investors, venture capitalists and other companies who want to play the dot com game. But beware. When a Web prospect says that he has money in the bank, it maybe worth your while to check that his funding has actually been secured, and to find out what round of funding the company is in. Case in point: Many televi­ sion networks, publishers and other media owners in the US learned the hard way about dot com money troubles, and have since demanded payment for huge media buys (like the Superbowl) up front as protection.

"If I build it, they will come" A vast majority of dot com denizens neither understand nor appreciate the value of marketing. As far as they are concerned, their product will sell itself.

Watch out. Because chances are you will get caught up in a small-time corporate collateral paper chase with very little to show for it at the end of the day. And often, the time and energy (translation: Money) expended on these clients will drag you far over the allotted budget, resulting in a financial loss for you.

So what do successful dot corns have that their bungling brethren do not? For many, it is the fact that they have already invested in establishing a great offline brand. They are grounded in the real world and have the back-up of a brick-andmortar business. But just having an established brand is not enough. The key to online success is ensuring that the online experience matches the good offline experiences that customers have already had. Which brings up all kinds of cost-ofentry issues that dot corns must have covered in order to succeed: timely and accu­ rate back-end fulfillment, attentive customer service before and after a sale, and a host of others. The total outtake - if the business won't work in the real world, there is nothing technology can do to make it work in the virtual one.

Only when all those issues are tackled can a dot com start to look at how it is going to make money online. And it is something you should take a good long look at, too. What is the business model, and where is the revenue going to come from?

Ad sales, subscription, products and services? With online business moving at Internet speed, business models come and go in the blink of an eye. So you had bet­ ter ensure that your potential client has what it takes to make money. Because that's the only way you are going to make some.

A dot com client is not one to approach lightly, or one to take on simply because you want one in your line-up. But, all that said, there is a bright future for dot corns. As the industry matures, and individual companies take on more experienced business executives, there will come a dot com renaissance. And I look forward to that day, because the opportunities will be limitless for those who can recognise a good thing when they see it!

Over 65 billions ads were served in December 2000. How many did yon serve for your clients?

by Leslie Jeyam, CEO of egency.com Sdn Bhd

Contrary to the widespread doom and gloom that has seemingly befallen the In­ ternet advertising market, online ad impressions in December 2000 reached an all-time high of over 65 bil­ lion, according to a report by AdRelevance, a Jupiter Media Metrix company. That figure represents a 21 percent jump over the previous month.

Microsoft's MSN.com (not taking into account the coun­ try specific portals) ranked, by far, first place in ad rev­ enue for the month of December 2000. The portal • LESLIE JE YAM brought in $180 million.

Ironically their biggest client was from Amazon.com. While MSN took first for revenue earned, Amazon.com ranked first place for ad dollars spent. The online bookseller spent $61.8 million in December, and 42 percent of the company's spending was on MSN, according to AdRelevance. Amazon rival Barnesandnoble. com was second in ad spending, at $23.8 million.

Although MSN took in the most ad dollars for December, Yahoo! (YAHOO, info) served up the most ads of any Website, more than 7.5 billion, followed by MSN and

iWon.com. MSN was still able to outpace Yahoo! in earnings because of its concen­ tration on the biggest spenders in the online advertising market, receiving an average of $486,000 in revenue per advertiser, compared with $105,000 for Yahoo! and Netscape.

The December data from AdRelevance is the second bit of encouraging research for the online advertising sector. A Forrester Research report released in January 2001 says that the current slump in dot-com ad spending is a mere "pause [in] online marketing's growth." The report, entitled "Online Advertising Eclipsed," says that, "Banner bashing and low click-through rates won't deter advertisers from doubling online spending by 2003." And that, of course, is wel­ come news to the Internet ad firms that have been feeling the pain of the slump.

Here are some figures: Top 5 Sites by Ad Revenue Rank Site 2000 WebAd Revenue 1.

Yahoo $442,336,726 2.

Excite $249,248,846 Lycos $190,261,291 3CNET $167,309,781 4Netscape $134,623,234 5Source: Competitive Media Reporting (CMR)

1999 WebAd Revenue $276,199,251 $162,073,525 $114,003,750 $100,671,750 $82,661,915

%Change 60.2% 53.8% 75.8% 66.2% 62.9%

Wondering who placed these ads... consumer and retail companies spent about 30 percent of all online ad spending, followed by computing (18 percent), financial services (14 percent), business services (10 percent), and media (11 percent) compa-

Media buyers, media planner:1, media managers, media directors read lots every day. The good news is that they also read this magazine every month of the year.

24 ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

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It's Festival time again!

The New York Festivals presented four 'Best of Show' awards at its 2000 International TV & Cinema Advertising Awards on February 2nd. DDB Chicago won Best Commercial for 'Whassup Wasabi' from the popular 'Whassup' Budweiser campaign which features a comical dialogue at a lively Japanese restaurant. Best Campaign was won by Headquarters, New York for 'Tons of Toys / Just a Few Days to Go / I Spent Two Minutes' a series of spots featuring an a cappella men's choir singing Christmas

"At 35, the last thing I expcctcd was to suffer from erectile problems*

Sugar Daddy

Blue Lady

carols and jingles to promote Amazon.com as the holiday shopping solution.

LA's Independent won Best Creative/Production Achievement for Pacific Bell's 'COPS /Neighborhood/ Mailman' campaign which depicts the chaos a community undergoes as Internet access is severely limit­ ed when everyone chooses to share a single cable line.

McCann-Erickson Spa of Milan, Italy secured the Best Public Service Grand Award for 'Mr Parkinson' a disturbing spot for the Italian Parkinsonian Association which details the trials of victims.

On the same front of TV & Cinema Advertising Awards, BBDO Agencies worldwide struck gold winning a total of six Gold WorldMedals - with BBDO New York taking home four golds and CLM/BBDO of France notching up two. The world­ wide agencies of McCann Erickson, Ogilvy & Mather and Young & Rubicam won three Gold WorldMedals each.

The 2000 AME International Advertising Awards, a com­ petition that recognizes both the effectiveness and creativi­ ty of advertising and marketing cam­ paigns from a global vantage point, saw several hundred campaigns from 54 coun­ tries competing for honors. McCannErickson New York captured the grand award 'Best of Show, Best Product & Service' for the 'Priceless' campaign that positions MasterCard as "the best way to pay for everything that matters."

McCann-Erickson also bagged a total of 10

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The New York Festivals was founded in 1957 and ranks among the most prestigious awards shows worldwide, encom­ passing annual media competitions in television, print and radio advertising, marketing effectiveness; television and radio programming; new media; non-broadcast educational and industrial film &• video; healthcare communications, and financial services communications.

The Flu is not a cold

Teddy Bear

Gold AME Medallions this year. BBDO, DDB And Young & Rubicam tied for second place with two Gold AME Medallions apiece.

In the TV & Cinema Advertising, Public Service Announcements and New Media announced on February 2nd, 2001 the following Finalist Certificates were presented to Malaysia.

In the Craft and Technique Categories for Best Computer Animation - to ISCB Worldwide Partners for 'Fever 1', the Formula 1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix 2000.

In the Public Service Categories for Civic/Social Education - to Dentsu Young Er Rubicam for 'Door', an ad against domestic violence for Women's Aid Organisation.

6 Grand Global Awards for Healthcare Communications were presented in four umbrella categories: communication, craftsmanship, direct-to-consumer and COMMUNICATION TO THE HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL, Australia, CWFS McCann, North Sydney Copywriter: Alex Tagaroulias Art Director: Sam Simper Photographer: John Curnow

I'd Like/Swimmer/Sports Day Title: Sugar Daddy Advertiser: Bayer Australia

COMMUNICATION TO THE CONSUMER, Australia, Medicus R&R, Media Park Title: The Flu is not a cold Advertiser: Glaxo Welcome Art Director: Tim Brierley Director: Paul Baigguerra Production Company: R.I.P. Productions Music House: Duffield Kenihan

Creative Directors: Hugh Fitzhardinge, Grant Foster

Creative Director: Doug Robb

Copywriter: Gabrielle Williams

COMMUNICATION TO THE CONSUMER, Germany, Ogilvy & Mather Frankfurt, Frankfurt Title: Teddy Bear Advertiser: Kondomshop-fun.de Creative Directors: Thomas Hofbeck, Dr. Stephen Vogel Copywriters: Jorg Schrod, Jens Frank Art Directors: Jens Frank, Jorg Schrod Photographer: Phillipp Pfeiffer Production Company: Gambit Film Music House: Sinus AV Studio Director: Andreas Botschka CRAFT - TYPOGRAPHY, England, Junction 11 Advertising, Weybridge, Surrey Title: Rubbish Advertiser: Janssen-Cilang Creative Directors: Richard Rayment, John Timney Copywriter: Richard Rayment Art Director: John Timney Photographer: John Ferrara SOCIAL COMMITMENT, Australia, Sudler & Hennessey Sydney, North Sydney Art Director: Peter Ryan

Title: Blue Lady

Advertiser: Pfizer Limited

Creative Director: Bob Lallamant

Copywriter: Marlyn Docherty

DIRECT TO CONSUMER, New Zealand, Meares Taine, Auckland Title: I'd Like/Swimmer/Sports Day Advertiser: Roche Products Creative Directors: Roy Meares, Jeremy Taine Copywriters: Roy Meares, Jeremy Taine Art Directors: Roy Meares, Jeremy Taine Director: M.Bridge, A. Ballantyne, C. Dudman Production Company: Silverscreen Agency Producer: Jackie Clark

26

ADOIMARKETINGGOMMUNIGATIONS i

AG Nielsen and VNU DraftWorldWide Weds Three merge for $2.3 billion AC Nielsen Corporation has merged with VNU N.Y. creating a world leader in marketing and media information. "Today marks an important milestone for ACNielsen," said Nicholas L. Trivisonno, the company's chairman and chief exec­ utive officer. "With the closing of this transaction, this management team has fulfilled its commitment - first made in 1996 - to create long-term value for ACNielsen shareholders.

"Now, together with VNU, we enter a new era for ACNielsen, as we move for­ ward to create a new global leader in marketing and media information, ready to deliver the value-added insights and end-to-end business solutions our clients need to succeed in today's complex, fast-changing environment," Trivisonno said.

But VNU and AC Nielsen are no strangers to each other. In October 1999, VNU acquired Nielsen Media Research and through that, VNU also had a majority interest in NetRatings, Inc. , AC Nielsen's partner in AC Nielsen eRatings.com.

The companies have started to work on establishing Nielsen//NetRatings service as the global standard for Internet audience and advertising information.

The $2.3 billion merger became effective on Friday, February 16, following a successful cash tender offer by a wholly owned subsidiary of VNU, and regulato­ ry approvals from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the European Commission. Under the terms of the tender offer, shareholders are receiving $36.75 in cash for each of their ACNielsen shares.

Trading in the common stock of ACNielsen ceased at the close of trading on Friday, February 16. VNU shares continue to be traded on the Amsterdam, Brussels and Luxembourg exchanges, and, in the U.S., American Depository Receipts (ADRs) are traded on the NASDAQ Over the Counter Bulletin Board.

Engaged, but not Married

DraftWorldwide, one of the world's premier integrated global marketing agencies, is continuing its rapid expansion into Asia Pacific with the announcement of a significant invest­ ment into a new joint venture opera­ tion in Japan. The new agency is a partnership with Commons Co., Ltd., and two of the Nikkei Group's strongest business units, Nihon Keizai Shimbun Inc. and Nikkeisha Inc., and opens for business today.

Called DraftWorldwide Commons K.K., it will be based in Commons' office in Shinjuku, Tokyo, with a start up team of 8 and will leverage the world-class integrated resources of Commons' 100 people along with the marketing resources of the Nikkei Group. It will service both DraftWorldwide's global client base as well as locally acquired businesses in the areas of Brand

Building, Direct Response, Promotions, Digital Marketing and Promotions.

"We're very positive about our opportunities in the Japanese market

working with these two great part­ ners," said Greg Paull , Regional Director of DraftWorldwide Asia Pacific.

"We intend to make this joint ven­ ture as powerful in Japan as DraftWorldwide is in the U.S. and now Europe," said Makoto Namioka, presi­ dent of Commons Co., Ltd., and repre­ sentative director and president of the

new joint venture. "The Japanese mar­ ket is starting to recognize the power of database driven marketing and digi­ tal marketing, and we are very hon­ oured to be working with the leader of these services in the U.S. This will be a long partnership."

"The opportunity to bring our spe­ cialized marketing, which leverages a one-to-one dialogue with consumers, is truly exciting," said Mr Paull. "We have invested a great deal of energy and time already sharing our unique range of marketing services with our Japanese partners, as well as learning from them more of the challenges in this market."

BBDO buys Korean agency Seoul - BBDO Worldwide, the New York-based network owned by Omnicom Group, has acquired a 50.1% stake in South Korean ad agency Dongbang communications, which is changing its name to BBDO/Dongbang.

BBDO hopes to better serve its interna­ tional clients in Korea, although it must first seduce them into switching agencies. Dongbang already is the local agency for Visa and DaimlerChrysler clients of BBDO Worldwide interna­ tionally. But other clients that BBDO works for in many international mar­ kets, such as Pizza Hut, Pepsi and FedEx, have their accounts with other

Korean agencies. "We'll probably per­ suade them to switch agencies in the near future," says a BBDO/Dongbang spokeswoman. In 2000, Dongbang was Korea's 13th largest agency, with about $80 million in total billings. BBDO does not plan to send any expatriate managers to Korea. Pacific Group, Dongbang's parent company, hopes the relationship with BBDO will allow it to build its line of cosmetics products into a powerful international brand. It aims to become one of the world's top 10 cosmetics companies using BBDO Worldwide's network.

Starcom Down Under Big Tree Outdoor Sdn Bhd and UPD Sdn Bhd are considering the prospect of merging. Both companies signed an MOU agreement to under­ take a Due Diligence Exercise to exam­ ine a proposed merger. The Due Diligence Exercise will last at least three months. The MOU was signed by Encik Nasir Ali, the Chairman of UPD Sdn. Bhd. and Encik Zulkifli Hashim,

28 ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNIGATIONS

the Chairman of Big Tree Outdoor Sdn. Bhd. and overseen by Ruslan Rahman, CEO of UPD and Suridah Jalaluddin, MD of Big Tree (pictured above). Both parties hope'that the Due Diligence Exercise will be successful and are looking forward to creating a significant consolidation of the indus­ try, providing clients a total out-ofhome media solution.

AIS Media, Starcom in Sydney and Total Media in Melbourne have merged to create a top three media buying company with billings of $85001. The merged entity will be known as Starcom and Starcom in Australia will report directly to Starcom MediaVest Group in New York. It bills itself as the second-largest global media network with billings of US$22.3 billion and clients including Coca-Cola, Heineken, Kellogg, Procter & Gamble and Mars.

The coming together of Dentsu (owner of AIS Media and Total Media) and Leo Burnett in the Bcom3 group enabled the merger, part of a spate of rationalisation which has swept the media buying industry globally.

Newly appointed chief operating

officer John Sintras said this week Starcom was a young, global brand that had"positive associations", and the merger gave the brand the bulk it had formerly lacked in the Australian market. He said the company would be actively seeking growth via the media business of clients whose accounts it handled elsewhere in the world.

Starcom MediaVest's Kevin Malloy said Starcom aimed to be one of the five or six great media brands that would be left globally after the current round of consolidation was over.

Malloy all but ruled out global deals on fees to help Starcom acquire global clients locally, saying these were gen­ erally a "fallacy".

3-D

Gold Medal Winner best invention at inventors exhibition, 1997, .

Nuremberg, Germany; rewarded three times at P0PAI Europe Awards 1998:

>c*

Golden Oscar in category - Standard system and material

Golden Oscar in category - Technical awards

Grand prix de la Creation - Best in beauty and design, innovation and originality

CAl-L

-jews.

03

STOP! LOOK! DON'T GO! Presenting the revolution in virtual display! 3-D in the air, so powerful it entices more than 50% of passers by to stop and

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give it intensive attention for more than one minute!

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Projected images show the objects natural colours and are perfectly visible in daylight.

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image intensifies at night, resulting in round the clock attention.

Motion Pro can be installed anywhere.

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Dealer: Ambient Media Tel: 03-253 7198 Fax: 03-253 7199

Media In Mind - Great insights, Greater strategies How much attention does TV command?

(Monday - Friday 1800 - 2000)

Working/studying |0.6%

Household Music/reading No other activity

Source: Media In Mind Malaysia Survey Wave 1, 2000 Weighted by: Population

After months of extensive research and detailed analysis, Media In Mind, Universal McCann's latest proprietary tool, hits Malaysia. The biggest ven­ ture to date for Universal McCann Worldwide, Media In Mind is a stan­ dardized Global research study that provides robust statistics on the specif­ ic relationship between consumers and their media consumption. The main function of this tool is to support local planning efforts, especially at the 'Insight' stage of the Universal McCann Planning Process. This is achieved by complementing tradition­ al research data with findings from MIM. Through a combination of detailed

diary data and self-completion ques­ tionnaires, MIM is a single-resource research survey that addresses the issues of mood, mindset, advertising attention and activity with media con­ sumption. This can be analyzed at an individual country and regional level.

The resulting product is superior con­ sumer insight on consumers and their involvement with various media. For instance, it is now possible to gage the time of day and week where consumers will be most receptive and responsive to advertising messages, leading to more effective advertising campaigns.

Equipped with this proprietary research information, Universal McCann is now able to make better

strategic decisions with media budgets, and through the process of data harmonization, place the whole range of media choices in a much larger context.

In Malaysia, the fieldwork was conducted in March 2000, with a representative sample of 750 across Peninsular Malaysia.

The data was available, up and running on systems across the department in late July 2000.

MIM explains people's use of and involvement with media... and it links this with product consump­ tion. But this is just an overview.

More specifically, MIM sets out to discover: The times of the day when people are most receptive to advertising messages The impact of media when it is consumed alone or in a group What media is consumed prior to major shopping trips and other activities How purchasers of your products consume media during the day The amount of a single medium consumed at any one time Attention levels (high, medium, low) by indi-

I am Young, hear me ROAR International brands like Nokia, Levi's, Swatch and Nike command a strong following among young Asians but the latest study reveals that these young adults actually differ greatly in values and aspirations according to nationality. ROAR which stands for Right of Admission Reserved is being rolled out across Asia in 8 countries India, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. It is an international ini­ tiative driven by OMD with the aim of gaining insights into the Asian youth, covering topics such as gauging the level to which other countries influ­ ence local trends (music, fashion, etc.) or to what degree youth buy fake brands and how they feel about life and themselves.

The study was conducted by AMI and surveyed a total of 4,400 youth, aged 15 to 29 years, in the 8 countries, with a sample of over 500 in each mar­ ket. Given the youth target and topics

of interest, the study was co-sponsored

by Star TV, Channel V, Hachette Filipacchi, Fox and dotlove.com.

ROAR Asia provides insights on self image, health, fashion, music,

vidual media The position of pan-regional media in people's daily media repertoire One of the advantages of MIM is the ability to not only compare all media activities but also non-media activities such as household chores, driving, and shopping habits. This allows for the identification of 'hot spots' in media consumption where consumer targeting can be more accu­ rate. MIM also allows for the examina­ tion of consumers' moods throughout the day. This provides for greater con­ sumer understanding and insights as it allows planners not only to place advertisements more precisely but also to link the message of a commercial to a target group's prevailing mood.

Preferred types of Advertising Sponsorship Aware

til

orship Not Aware

love, money, career, worries and aspi­ rations. It also examines the more sen­ sitive topics of sex, drugs and politics.

In addition, to understand the daily activities of the youth today, respon­ dents were asked to fill in a week­ day/weekend day activity diary. The most interesting aspect of the survey is the clustering of like-minded individu­ als that will allow us to plan beyond demographics and move into psychographics.

Did you know that creative directors, copywriters, art directors read this magazine in between meals?

30 ADOIMARKETiNGCOMMUNICATIONS

David Ogilvy once said "I find that if I drink 2 or 3 brandies, I'm far bet­ ter able to write. Can you relate to this? What are your comments?

Not anymore.

Since I've been try­

ing to limit my alcohol intake to 1 or 2 glasses of wine a day, I discovered that imagination can take on new heights even with sobriety.

Where do you go to celebrate when you win a new account?

Depends on where we are when we After a hard day's work what do you

hear the good news.

do just to unwind?

office and it's a long way to cocktail

Drive home slowly.

If we're in the

hour, we pop open a bottle or two of champagne then celebrate later - in

•

«»

1

David Ogilvy once said, " I find that

places that are decided on a spur of the

if I drink 2 or 3 brandies, I'm far

moment.

better able to write". Can you relate to this? What are your comments?

r

Alcohol makes me rude, brash and uncouth - not always appropriate for

—w

i

favourite

pursuits

No hard and fast rule.

I'm a very

sleep for intoxication.

can mean a different pursuit.

Where do you go to celebrate when

If you were told to manage a pub or

you win a new account?

restaurant, will you say yes?

Every weekend

Well, though I believe that people should stick to what they're good at, I could always learn in a few years' time

What's a hard day's work???

What

are

your

favourite

pursuits

outside the office?

David Ogilvy once said, " I find that

- on one condition: as long as it faces the Pacific Ocean.

Shen - my rather quick 18-mth-old

if I drink 2 or 3 brandies, I'm far

son.

better able to write". Can you relate

Jullie P. Lingan, ISCB WorldWide Partners.

to this? What are your comments?

If you were told to manage a pub or

Can't relate to that at all. In fact I totally abhor

your

spontaneous person.

fridge in my room.

do just to unwind?

are

the brands we have. Prefer lack of

The nearest source of alcohol; the

After a hard day's work what do you

What

outside the office?

restaurant, will you say yes?

that statement. Even

Yes. But I'd rather a coffee-shop.

though I work for his company I still

Better food, no pretense, smoking.

totally disagree with Mr.David Ogilvy.

There are two reasons for that. [1] I only drink Scotch. [2] I am an art direc­

Edwin Leong, Creative Director,

tor

Grey Malaysia.

therefore unable to be writing

whether good, better or the best.

After a hard day's work what do you Where do you go to celebrate when

do just to unwind?

If I get home early and there's still

you win a new account?

Same place I go to when we lose an

light I'd tend to the garden , work on

account which is the same place I go to

the car or play with my daughter. Not

when I get a 'creative block' which

in that order, of course.

incidentally is the same place I go to it's

David Ogilvy once said, " I find that

the same drink every time. Refer to

if I drink 2 or 3 brandies, I'm far

answer 2.

better able to write". Can you relate

when

I

get

a great

idea

and

to this? What are your comments?

What

are

your

favourite

pursuits

I don't drink. And I can't write.

outside the office?

I don't like 'suits' very much so I can't relate to anything that has a suit attached to it which means a'pursuit' is

definitely

not

in

my

list

of

Where do you go to celebrate when you win a new account?

To the bank and then to pay off the I try not to get too stressed - it

client.

gives you wrinkes - but a beer or two

favourites whether inside the office or pursuits

certainly helps as does a long run. I

Crotchet, lawn bowls and backgam­

brate since the beer is only 1.20 a can.

outside of it. In fact a 'Pursuit' reminds

What

me of a very catlike suit and I hate cats

outside the office?

too. .

are

your

favourite

would recommend Langkawi to cele­

If you were told to manage a pub or

mon. And the occasional Norwegian

restaurant, will you say yes?

log throw. (Is that

What else do u think I am doing

how crotchet is

spelt?)

these days? In fact our speciality this

I've worked in a pub but can't count After a hard day's work, what do you

without using my fingers - so I proba­

do just to unwind?

bly should be the last person on earth

To keep my sanity, I make sure I

to run a pub. (just got back from South

year is 'Kancil Well Done' and 'Lion

If you were told to manage a pub or

spend time with my family and loved

Africa - now there's a good spot to chill

Rare'. Goes well with scotch. Cheers!!!

restaurant, will you say yes?

ones.

out!)

How much do they pay?

who's a psychologist by education so he understands

Sonal Dabral, Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy if Mather KL.

I'm blessed to have a husband

Hwa, Creative Director, BBDO Malaysia.

tions and all.

me

perfectly, imperfec­

Chris Howden, Lowe Lintas & Partners, KL.

AD0IMARKETIN6C0MMUNICATI0NS 31

Scoring a Century AdAge Global launched the year 2001 with 'The Advertising Century' and rounded up the best icons, slogans, campaigns, jingles and ad people in the last 100 years. Topping the list of 100 most influential people in the ad industry was William Bernbach. Marion Harper Jr., Leo Burnett and David Ogilvy followed closely on the heels of Bernbach. Bernbach's "Think Small" campaign for Volkswagen was voted the best campaign in the 20th century.

On a more fun side, the top 10 ad icons which captured the imagination and dominated the lives of people in the last century were voted as follows: 1.

The Marlboro Man

2.

Ronald McDonald

3.

The Green Giant (Green Giant vegetables)

4.

Betty Crocker (Betty Crocker food products)

5.

The Energizer Bunny

6.

The Pillsbury Doughboy (Pillsbury foods)

7.

Aunt Jemima (Aunt Jemima pancake mixes and syrup)

8.

The Michelin Man

9.

Tony the Tiger

10. Elsie (Borden dairy products) The top 10 slogans of the century: 1.

Diamonds are forever (DeBeers)

2.

Just do it (Nike)

3.

The pause that refreshes (Coca-Cola)

4.

Tastes great, less filling (Miller Lite)

5.

We try harder (Avis)

6.

Good to the last drop (Maxwell House)

7.

Breakfast of champions (Wheaties)

8.

Does she ... or doesn't she? (Clairol)

9.

When it rains it pours (Morton Salt)

For details, contact D'Casting on 03-2282 6133 or 2282 2133

10. Where's the beef? (Wendy's)

CNBC beats CNN and BBC According to the latest results Peoplemeters: ACNielsen

Hong Kong Viewership Hong Kong: Average Weekday Reach Individuals Aged 4+ in Cable Homes

from

ACNielsen

Hong

Kong

Television Audience Measurement (TAM),

CNBC outperformed all

other international news & infor­

PRWeek's 2001 Agency of the Year

mation channels. CNBC's average

Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide

receive this honor, which is a tribute

weekly viewership during week­

was named PRWeek's 2001 Agency of

to our staff and their dedication to

days among 4+ cable individuals

the Year on 20th February.

clients," said Mr. Seltzer.

was 126,000, or 80% higher than

In naming Ogilvy PR 2001 Agency

Ogilvy PR is just the second agency

CNN and 45% higher than BBC

of the Year, PRWeek noted that 2000

to ever win this award, solidifying it as

World, for the period January 1 to

was a year of celebration for Ogilvy PR.

an elite agency in terms of both

28, 2001.

Under the tutelage of Chairman and

growth and client service. In addition,

Says Scott Goodfellow, CEO,

CEO Bob Seltzer, global revenues were

the firm's work for BP won in two

CNBC Asia: "This confirms what

up 35 percent, capping a three-year

Campaign of

we've suspected all along: business news - not general news - is the leading tele­

run in which the agency has tripled in

Brand Development Campaign of the

vision category. And in the financial centre of Hong Kong, that means viewers are

size, making it one of the fastest-grow-

Year and Internal Communications

tuning in to CNBC."

ing PR agencies. "We are thrilled to

Campaign of the Year.

the Year categories,

V~j launches new identity in Asia Pacific Ogilvy & Mather has launched a new corporate identity for itself across Asia

"The Ogilvy name sends a very clear

message,"

commented

Miles

visionary who was talking about 360

David. "David Ogilvy had very clear

degree brand communications long

ideas of how the agency should oper­

before we gave it that name."

ate, how it should grow, what it should

Pacific. Its brand icon is founder David

Young, Chairman of Ogilvy & Mather

Ogilvy's signature, under which all

Asia Pacific. "David Ogilvy is regarded

The use of David's signature as a

Ogilvy companies' identities are now

as one of the founders of the modern

brand icon makes a strong, personal

employ, and the kind it would not tol­

based.

communications business. He was a

and yet contemporary connection to

erate," continued Young.

stand for, the kinds of people if should

If you don't advertise in this magazine, you're ignoring the attention of over 30,000 readers who decide how to spend millions of ad dollars every month.

32 AD0IMARKETINGC0MMUNICATI0NS

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But when you use the sky to support what's happening on the ground, you will be the only one who stands out in the crowd. Guaranteed.

Call 03-755 1284 and we'll rent you a piece of the sky, for free.

Returning to the fold Ogilvy £r Mather Asia Pacific has

convinced prodigal son Bill Merrick to rejoin the ad industry with the lure of a regional director position.

Merrick, currently with Compaq Australia, will be responsible for the IBM account in the Asia Pacific region, the agency's largest account, and for

Action in AXN

Gregory Ho (left), formerly AXN's Director of

Marketing, has been promoted to the position of Vice President, Marketing. Mr Ho, who reports to Ricky Ow, AXN's Vice President of Advertising Sales & Marketing, will continue in his role of overseeing AXN's marketing initiatives in Asia, and with an increased focus on the channel's activities in India.

Said Mr Ow, "As Director of Marketing, Gregory proved himself to be an excellent marketer. His effective handling of tentpole marketing initiatives such as the AXN Anime Festival in four Asian cities, and the Action Movies Festival and launch of the blockbuster voyeurism/reality television series Survivor in India have made AXN a preferred choice amongst viewers and advertisers across Asia, and one of the top international

Grey Worldwide's Asia Pacific President Eric Rosenkranz

announced today the following promotion and new appointments to accelerate the network's growth in the region.

Susan Reingold (left), currently Regional Information and Development Director has been pro­ moted to Vice President, Corporate Development and Communications. Susan joined Grey Worldwide in March 1999 following a career in marketing in the publishing and travel industries with companies including TIME Magazine and Bass Hotels & Resorts.

Martha Collard (right) joins the company as its first regional Human Resources Director. Ms. Collard, a Canadian citizen and permanent resident of Hong Kong, has extensive HR consulting experi­

Moving up in Bozell Ku Kok Peng (left) is the newly promoted

managing consultant of Bozell PR Malaysia, respon­ sible for the overall management of the company in addition to strategic counselling duties. Ku was pre­ viously account director and led major accounts including Caltex, Dell, Celcom, Cadbury, Bausch & Lomb, Luxxottica Groups and Stars of the Musicals.

Grace Ong Su-Chen is now senior account man­ ager who holds Cadbury, Bausch & Lomb, Glaxo SmithKline and Carlsberg in her portfolio.

Irene Thng Jee Pheng has joined Bozell PR also as senior account manager.

34 ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNIGATIONS

communicating IBM's changing view of the world to the agency.

"I think his heart and soul was always back in the advertising busi­

ness. That's why he was interested in talking to us," Ogilvy £r Mather chair­ man Miles Young said. Labelled by Young as the "dream candidate", O&M headhunted Merrick because of his experience from the client perspective as well as an agency perspective. O&M are expecting big things from Merrick when he joins the team on March 5, based in the Sydney offices of Singleton Ogilvy & Mather.

Undoubtedly, he will deliver!

cable and satellite networks in the region."

"In his new role as Vice President Marketing, Gregory will continue to lead the channel's regional mar­ keting and communications efforts," continued Mr Ow. AXN also injected new blood into its marketing arm when it appointed Jeanne Leong (left) as Senior Manager, Marketing & Communi­ cations, and Edith Liang as Marketing Manager for AXN's operations in Taiwan. Ms Leong will oversee AXN's program publicity, corporate communi­ cations as well as consumer marketing efforts in East Asia, which include key markets such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia. Her work experi­ ence includes working at global communications consul­ tancies, and marketing Singapore as a tourist destina­ tion for the Singapore Tourism Board.

Edith Liang (right) has more than six years of expe­ rience in Taiwan's competitive cable and satellite television industry. She will assist Steven Tsou, Associate Director of Advertising Sales & Marketing for AXN's Taiwan operations, in driving the channel's marketing objectives in Taiwan.

ence in the region, gained through her work with leading companies such as Bank of Boston and Manulife Insurance. Ms. Collard will be working closely with Grey Worldwide's ten companies in the region to develop strategies to make the company the preferred agency employer in Asia Pacific.

Her brief includes working on benefits packages, career planning, exchange programs, and training.

Meghan Donaldson (right top) joins the Grey Worldwide man­ agement team as Regional Account Director from a six-year career at the company's headquarters in New York, where she worked on leading accounts including Super 8 Motels, Hess Oil and Jackson & Hewitt. In Asia, Ms. Donaldson will work on key regional accounts as well as new business initiatives.

Star presenter on ESPN STAR sports Award-winning sports journalist

Eric Young has joined Sportsline ESPN STAR Sports' daily sports news program. Young, the New Zealand-born journalist is a veter­ an with more than 20 years expe­ rience in radio, print and televi­ sion and has hosted the critically acclaimed 'Tight 5' and 'Game of Two Halves'. He joins the Sportsline team which consists of ESS presenter John Dykes and for­ mer Indian squash player Misha Grewel. The program is broadcast live 3 times a day.

Ogilvy and Mather gets Highest Asian Accolade in Campaign's "10 Best International Print Ads of 2000" In Campaign's "10 Best International

Print Ads of 2000", the industry's most coveted and recognized annual awards showcase in Europe, Ogilvy and Mather clinched the 6th and 9th place respectively with work for Tabasco and Pond's. The two entries include Tabasco Sauce 'Cigarette' by Results Advertising (a subsidiary of Ogilvy and Mather in Bangkok) and Pond's 'Face'

by Ogilvy and Mather Mexico.

Ogilvy & Mather is the only agency with two entries in the international category.

The Tabasco ad, also a Cannes Gold Lion winner, was the highest scoring Asian print ad beating Saatchi & Saatchi's Toyota Corolla 'Pool bike/ Bubble wrap' campaign, the only other Asian print ad in the category.

Tham Khai Meng, Regional

Creative Director for Ogilvy and Mather Asia Pacific, who worked on the award-winning Tabasco ad, says "whilst these are Campaign's own scores, getting into Campaign's '10 Best International Print Ads' underlines the growing importance and recogni­ tion of Asian advertising on the inter­ national stage".

Tabasco Sauce 'Cigarette' The Tabasco ad shows a hand rest­ ing on a table holding a lit cigarette, in the background is a bottle of Tabasco Sauce, just visible. However, it is the filter end of the cigarette which is burning red-hot...testament of the fiery power of Tabasco.

"Tabasco is fire," explains Mr Tham, "The executional style of the ad builds upon the tonal personality of

the Tabasco brand. It's a very simple idea that clearly demonstrates the product attribute in a way that makes you stop and take notice."

Tabasco "Cigarette", which has proven to be a favorite with award judges around the world this year, also holds the accolade for being the first ever Cannes Gold Lion for Thailand.

This award, together with the five other Lions clinched by Ogilvy and Mather last year, propels the agency's creative position in the region: it boasts more Lions than any other agency group in Asia Pacific.

Results Advertising Results Advertising, the affiliate agency of Ogilvy and Mather in Thailand, has been a major contributor to the regional awards haul of Ogilvy and Mather over the past five years since its inception. Results' awardwinning portfolio include [Black Cat, Peugeot, Hacks, etc.].

"Jureeporn Thaidumrong and Korn Tepintarapiraksa are the ones to watch out for in Thailand. They have unique and genuine ability to do the truly out­ standing work," says Mr. Tham. "Thai advertising is unique. Their commer­ cials and print have developed through the years. They not only have their own quirky sense of humour, the great thing is, it has a sense of confidence about it and they are not doing it to

ASTRO hits 500,000 In

four

short

years,

ASTRO's

subscribers have grown to 520, 000 as of January 2001. At its launch, ASTRO only carried 22 television and 8 radio channels. Today, the service boasts of over 29 television and 13 radio services from around the world, 24 hours a day.

ASTRO will also venture into offering interactive services to its subscribers and users will soon enjoy, through their Digital Multimedia System (DMS), share information (StockLink) followed by e-mail, home banking, home shopping and distance educa­ tion.

When asked what is in store for ASTRO in the years to come, Chin said, "We are quite well known for our edu­ cational, news, information, documen­ tary and entertainment programming.

The new development for ASTRO is in

multimedia and interactive services."

Reaching 500,000 subscribers or in excess of 2.5million viewers nation­ wide has not been an easy task. When ASTRO was first introduced, the Malaysian public was not familiar with the concept of pay television. The experience of most people up till then had only been with free-to-air terres­ trial TV that they had had for the past 35 years.

Now, every Malaysian has the opportunity to access over 40 televi­ sion and radio channels delivered not only to every corner of the country, but in digital quality. It was a technologi­ cal revolution that affected everyone in the country. ASTRO had to slowly educate the public about the way PAYTV worked, and how for just a modest monthly fee, not to mention an

entrance fee involving the set top box and satellite dish, ASTRO subscribers can gain access to thousands of hours of top-quality programming. Today, more and more Malaysians are accept­ ing ASTRO as part of their daily lives.

ASTRO has certainly redefined televi­ sion viewing.

To date, more than half a million households, one thousand commercial establishments, six thousand schools and 30,000 hotel rooms now have access to current news, entertainment, education and sports programming from around the world. Needless to say, the number is still growing.

As a customer oriented company, it is ASTRO's policy to progressively introduce new and better services to accommodate the tastes and demands of its subscribers. Since its launch, ASTRO has brought 'Direct-to-U' exclu­ sive 'LIVE' events such as the 16th Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games and the ever-popular English Premier League soccer. 'LIVE' sporting events

please the award judges either.They just enjoy doing great ads, and clearly, are having lots of fun along the way. " I feel very encouraged in this age of globalisation, that more and more clients are treating Asia as a special entity and not part of a world template, it cannot be. What triggers someone in Boston may not necessarily apply to what turns some­ one on in Beijing, for instance. Global brands being played-out on the world's stage with a local bent is, by any means, a very challenging proposition.

Its execution, when understood, I feel is even more rewarding. That is the exciting challenge we face in Asia." concluded Mr. Tham.

Tham Khai Meng joined Ogilvy & Mather in September 1999 as Regional Creative Director for Asia Pacific. An MA scholarship graduate from the Royal College of Art, London, he has won numerous international advertis­ ing awards and is also a judge of many award shows.

such as World Cup Cricket and Golf, never before shown in Malaysia, is now a feature of its programming.

There was also the Sydney 2000 Olympics where ASTRO subscribers were privy to a whole lot more as there were 6 channels dedicated to the Games at no extra charge.

As a company built on the cutting edge of technology, ASTRO has also developed for its subscribers advanced sub-titling and parental guard func­ tions, as well as interactive education­ al games. And with the introduction of the state-of-the-art Digital Multimedia System in September 1999, even more interactive services are in the works.

So, when subscribers invite ASTRO into their homes, it is not just entertain­ ment of which they are getting the best, but they are adopting a fast track technology into the world of multime­ dia and interactivity; staying many steps ahead of others as the whole world moves swiftly into the informa­ tion age.

AD0IMARKETINGC0MMUNICATI0NS 35

The best form of flattery is...

. TO. OttlM * JUUIMIS (iKlJklRY ll • 1T0fi 60 .04 MIMJ .WKUKC TO MilTV

. orunrt , QiU| «&A 0A tt(| , «1*1nun A* , it1100 to tmi nirr

DIRECT MINI DISC RECORDING Versace jeans. After all, they cost a fraction of what they cost at Star Hill.

And apparently on Petaling Street, the

Imitation. And we Malaysians love

imitation Louis Vuitton bags, imita­ tion gold Rolexes, and imitation

current rage is imitation TMNet per­ sonalities. These images have been plastered on to sell mish-mash

items.... TMNet is more flattered than anyone else.... It is free advertising isn't it?

One-to-One Web Marketing

Authors: Cliff Allen, Deborah Kania, Beth Yaeckel

Publisher: John Wiley

The World Wide Web offers the whole

technologies that are available for building relationships. Amongst the technologies explored are one-to-one web site personalisation, email, adver­ tising and promotion, web community, web data analysis, web CRM, web col­ laboration, web privacy and of course the bright, bright future of web mar­ keting. The book is rather successful in enlightening the reader about all the different stuff out there - which is changing on an almost daily basis.

How does it help? It shows how differ­ ent web strategies work for different

world of possibilities of marketing products and services to customers.

And there are innumerable benefits from applying one-to-one marketing techniques. Initially marketers used one-to-one marketing to build relation­ ships that bring Web visitors back over and over again. As Web traffic grows, marketers can use one-to-one market­ ing to generate repeat sales to loyal and profitable customers for the longterm. The book is designed to allow the reader to access the variety of Web

customers. How does it help your client? Heck, that's your job isn't it? All the book does is help widen your horizons just a little bit and intro­ duce you to MUDs, MOOs and MUSH and MUCK. The book is accompanied by a nice little CD-ROM fiey, y^1 Karija which helpfully proffers checklists, tem­ plates, personalized newsletter and special reports for ardent devotees of textbooks.

TO S U B S C R I B E TO ADOI MAGAZINE, CALL ZAINABILA ON 0 3 - 7 7 2 6 2 5 8 8 OR 0 3 - 7 7 2 2 5 7 1 0 . i

36 ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNIGATIONS

Burger King picks Draft for $150m CHICAGO - Burger King Corp. has tapped DraftWorldwide, Chicago, as its global promotional and merchandising agency. Draft beat incumbent Alcone Marketing Group, Irvine, Calif., in a shootout after a protracted review where seven semi-finalists were select­ ed to present in late September and the two finalists were named in December. In addition to the promo­ tional business Alcone had also han­ dled marketing services, calendar planning and point-of-sale work which will now be handled by Draft. Industry observers estimate that the account exceeded $150 million. Burger King executives were unavailable for com­ ment.

"I want to emphasize how fabulous it is for Burger King and for Draft Worldwide to be working with a single promotions resource on a worldwide basis," says Lee Hill, president of DraftWorldwide, Chicago. "That's a very big deal for us and them. They

were interested in an infrastructure that could accommodate a substantial workload," he added, noting that Draft has offices in 27 countries. Alcone and Equity Marketing, Los Angeles, will retain their status as global premium manufacturing agencies where each program is pitched and awarded on a project-by-project basis.

Matt Alcone, chairman and CEO of Alcone Marketing was philosophical about the loss, saying he was honored to have served Burger King and proud of his agency's achievements in kids marketing and new product launches over the past 15 years. "During that time we were able to successfully work with five different CEOs, 10 different VPs of marketing and a dozen differ­ ent people in the promotion marketing area," he says. "We understand that the current marketing staff is facing severe challenges with their business and they have to make those decisions which will drive it forward."

XS-Media serves Time XS-Media, the only portal for the advertising and media industry in Asia-Pacific, announced that it has signed an exclusive deal with Time Inc. Asia to host media inventory for sale through the XS-Media online trading platform. Both Asiaweek and TIME, two of Asia's leading English-language newsweeklies, will host regular inven­ tory, special inventory and sponsor­ ship packages on the XS-Media trading platform.

XS-Media's portal, launched in November 2000, is a community site for the media and advertising indus­ tries, providing the industry with a one stop shop real-time platform for industry related news and opinions, media kit information, research high­ lights, jobs, and now an online trading platform.

The media transaction site will go

New Zealand Milk has named FCB Worldwide its global agency of record.

Just last month, FCB Latin America was appointed New Zealand Milk's regional agency of record for Central and South America and the Caribbean.

Global billings for the New Zealand Milk account are put at approximately US$100 million. With this win, FCB Worldwide picks up the account for Asia, Africa and the Middle East. FCB will now provide integrated advertis­ ing and marketing services for New Zealand Milk in some 28 countries including Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Saudi Arabia.

New Zealand Milk is the consumer division of the New Zealand Dairy Board, the largest exporter of dairy goods in the world, marketing milk powders, UHT and fresh milks, natural

and processed cheeses, yogurts and butter in over 90 countries.

"This is a terrific win and once again the great global network of FCB comes through," said Brendan Ryan, CEO of FCB Worldwide. "New Zealand Milk wanted an agency partner that could not only deliver the creative goods, but also the systems and com­ munications to bring their messages to consumers on a global scale." FCB's task is clearly cut: "Among the agency's lead assignments will be to help New Zealand Milk move to a global category management system, as well as to develop global brand marketing plat­ forms for key brands and to improve synergy, quality and effectiveness of marketing activities across key regions," said Mike Harley, NZ Milk's Global Marketing Director.

addition Time Inc. Asia also publishes the Asian editions of FORTUNE and Japanese-language publications: President, Dancyu and Bises. Chineselanguage ventures include Fortune China, TIME Express and TIME Digest.

XS-Media has excited a great deal of interest in the advertising and media industries. Mr. Paul McNeill said: "We are also delighted to announce today that XS-Media has suc­ cessfully signed up over 1,100 media buyers in the key countries of Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. This repre­ sents about 60% of the media buyers in these key countries representing a reported buying power in excess of US$5 billion. With several key media compa­ nies lining up to list their media inventory on XS-Media, I am very con­ fident that the transaction site will yield considerable transaction volume by the end of the year."

The site mimics the current buying methodology whereby media buyers and media sellers can negotiate over multiple insertions and added value elements. In short, XS-Media provides a real-time platform which enables media buyers to buy complete yearly schedules, negotiate volume discounts and added value elements associated with multiple insertions deals in an easy accessible and always up-to-date manner.

Ms. Julie Harrison said: "The tradi­ tional function of buying media is labour intensive, cost impaired and efficiency challenged, XS-Media offers media buyers the opportunity to con­ nect with media sellers in real-time, seek opportunity and transact in min­ utes rather than days. For the sellers, XS-Media offers the opportunity to connect with thousands of potential buyers who would otherwise be impos­ sible to reach."

Registration for media buyers, sell­ ers and media and advertising profes­ sionals is free of charge.

Visitors to the site will soon be treated with an extensive community section featuring screensavers, wallpapers, ecards, forums, voting polls, contests and interactive games, which will suc­ cessively be launched in the first and second quarters of 2001.

AXN is currently running its mul­ tiple Web servers and database solu­ tions from Webvisions' Singapore Internet Data Centre, where it is lever­ aging Webvisions' carrier-neutral and high-speed connectivity capabilities.

In addition, Webvisions provides AXN with managed security, traffic and content distribution solutions, and site administration services to ensure smooth operation with minimal down time.

"Webvisions is delighted to host and manage axn-asia.com," said Roger Lim, Chief Executive Officer of Webvisions. "Our 24x7 mission-critical web hosting solutions ensure that AXN Asia's power-packed content is easily accessible to everyone."

s

live in February 2001. Upon launch, it will host over US$150 million worth of media inventory for registered media buyers to choose from. Media invento­ ry listed on the XS-Media transaction site includes local and regional print titles, outdoor media, online media, conference and exhibition sponsor­ ship and television pack­ ages.

Asiaweek and TIME are expected to add signifi­ cantly to XS-Media's listed media inventory.

Asiaweek, the region's leading newsweekly, has a circulation of 128,500. TIME is the largest English-language weekly maga­ zine in Asia and has a regional circula­ tion of more than 316,000 and world­ wide circulation of over 5.6 million. In

xs-media

Webvisions garners AXN s act AXN, Asia's first and only action and adventure network, has appointed Webvisions Pte Ltd, a leading Asian provider of premium hosting services for mission-critical Internet business­ es, to host its Web site, http://www.axn-asia.com. Under the agreement, Webvisions will also host all AXN Asia's Web presences, includ­

FCB's Got Milk

ing its India and Taiwan-specific Web sites, which will be launched in the second quarter of 2001.

Launched in June 2000, AXN's online portal has already received more than 18 million page hits in just over six months, and serves as the key information source for AXN's enter­ tainment programmes and activities.

Did you know that more than half the readers of this magazine come from the top 200 Adex ranking of advertisers across all major media in Malaysia?

ADOIMARKETM COMMUNICATIONS 37

MeEd-Value As part of its global investment in

promoting the professional growth of its personnel - the Human Futures Development: McEd learning program, the Malaysian operation of McCannErickson recently concluded an inten­ sive 13 week Communication Essentials course with a graduation ceremony and dinner recently.

As Daniel Binns, Managing Director McCann-Erickson Malaysia said at the ceremony, "At McCann, there is complete cognizance that we need to invest, both at the global and local level, in equipping our people

with all the skills and tools required in order to continue to be the best in the business. The 2000 Communication Essentials programme is testimony to that commitment."

Coordinated by Kapil Sethi, McCann-Erickson Malaysia's Director of Planning, it brought The graduating class of McCann E rickson HFD:McEd Communication Essentials 2000 course with the Exco of McCann Erickson Malaysia together junior agency person­ tion and creative, the course focused From the history and power of the nel from all functional areas, namely on imparting an all round apprecia­ McCann Erickson brand to the details Account Management, Creative, Media tion of the communication process to of achieving success in specific disci­ and Strategic Planning for an in depth the participants. plinary areas like account manage­ orientation on all aspects of the com­ ment, integrated brand communica­ munication business.

Ad Spend Up Last year, advertising expenditure on

media soared by 24% with advertisers spending more the RM 3bil on media space/airtime, AC Nielsen Malaysia reports. Malaysia's adex is stepping up

by RM ibil every three to five years and this "reflects the general confidence of Malaysians to push on despite uncer­ tainties" said Christina Low, ACNielsen executive director. ACNielsen moni­ tored 126 product categories and found that 69% recorded positive growth rates. The information technology ser­ vices category (which includes dotcom companies) recorded a 624% rise in spending to RM23.7 mil. The biggest advertisers last year were British

American Tobacco who spent RM 99mil, followed by Nestle (RM 751ml); JTI International (RM 6imil); Unilever (RM 44mil); Telekom Malaysia (RM 4imil); Petronas (RM 4omil); DiGi (RM 36 mil); Celcom (RM 351ml); Procter & Gamble (RM 32 mil) and Measat Broadcast Network / Astro (RM 311ml) The top 5 product categories in advertising spending were Classified/Appointments (RM 4781ml); Telecommunications (RM201 mil); Banks, credit cards and security com­ panies (RM123 mil); Communication, publishing, media and exhibition (RM 1231ml) and Corporation, government agencies and utilities (RM121 mil).

% Growth

Media

!999

2000

Newspapers

RMi, 47imil

RM1.866.2mil

Television

RM 771.41ml

RM 935.71ml

21.3

Magazines

RM104.1 mil

RMi3i.2mil

26.0

Radio

RM85.imil

RMi02.0mil

19.8

26.9

Cinema

RM9.7mil

RM9.7mil

0.1

Video

RMio.gmil

RM9.4mil

-14.1

Point-of-sale

RM22.imil

RM24.2mil

9-2

TOTAL

RM2.474.3mil

RM3.078.3mil

AXN Challenge On March 31st, AXN Asia holds

Singapore's first ever one-day multidiscipline endurance team race - the AXN Challenge. This race is in the spir­ it of Eco-Challenge®, the Olympics of all expedition races. AXN will broad­ cast the Eco-Challenge Sabah 2000® in

38 ADOIMARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

24

April. AXN acquired regional broadcast rights to show Eco-Challenge Sabah 2000®, scheduled to be telecast from 2 — 6 April 2001 (8 — 9pm), with a twohour special wrap-up on 7 April (8 10pm). There will be special focus on the Asian teams and their battle against their more experienced inter­ national rivals .AXN Challenge will also be filmed and vignettes will be tele­ vised on AXN in April.

Eye on the world It's all about finding new ways to

capture people's time and minds.

Here's taking a look some interesting stuff happening around the world.

Live Taxi Ads On the Gold Coast, interactive advertising is climbing aboard taxis in a new medium, iTV. The taxi ads are shown on a LCD screen fitted onto the back of the front seat headrests and the ads scroll through a when the pas­ senger boards the cab. If and when the passenger presses for more informa­ tion and is shown the full TVC-like ad in different languages. Advertisers using the medium include theme parks, hotels and restaurants. This will first be tested in 50 taxis in Queensland and the base will be slowly expanded from there.

Laundry Spa P&G is quietly testing Juvian, a valet laundry and home fabric care service in suburban Atlanta, offering pick-up and delivery services that whisk clothes away to a 'Laundry Spa'.

Rival, Unilever, is also preparing to launch a similar service signaling the new trend in clothes-care. Juvian is rather an upscale 'spa experience' for clothes offering additional services like 'aromatherapy', 'perfume free' and 'hue and tone preservation' treat­ ments. A Juvian concierge will assist customers with an in-home evaluation of "fabric care needs."

Boys will be boys...

Harris Interactive studied the spending habits of young adults aged 8 to 21 and found that they spent US$2.4 billion during the 2000 holiday period.

Girls were more generous in the giftgiving, spending more than boys across all age ranges though boys may have

more money. Boys were more likely to buy holiday gifts online and were com­ fortable with the concept of e-commerce. But online shopping among youth is expected to grow significantly as enabling strategies such as eWallets, online purchase cards and online bank accounts, debit cards targeted to teens, are adopted.

Customized to Strike The International School of Management in Dortmund, Germany suggests that fully customized direct mail is nearly 300% more successful than standard mailings. A municipal utility was offering customers price advantages on. gas and electricity in exchange for a signing a one-year con­ tract to purchase from the utility. Half of the 1,400 targets received a fully personalized brochure which included the power-usage statistics of the prospect and the specific savings they could expect to achieve. The other half received the conventional brochure with a cover letter personalized with the recipient's name and address.

More than 15% who received the cus­ tomized brochure signed on the dotted line within 7 weeks compared to the 5.4% who received the standard brochure and signed contracts.

Beer by Phone EdgeMatrix is launching what it believes to be Australia's first wireless interactive, permission-based market­ ing promotion using Short Messaging Service (SMS) for Heineken Australia.

Promotion registrants receive a daily SMS asking them to pick the winner of the Australian Open Tennis match of the day. Five correct entries entitle registrants to enter a draw to win free Heineken beer for a year.

W h a t e v e r y o u w a n t t o say, we'll p u t it o n - s c r e e n . T h i s w a y y o u g e t t h e f r e e d o m o f d e l i v e r i n g y o u r m e s s a g e h o w e v e r y o u w a n t . A n d w e c a n g e t a w a y with it s i n c e w e c a n e n g i n e e r y o u r a d v e r t i s i n g in a n y w a y y o u w a n t , a l m o s t like h a v i n g a t v s t a t i o n b e l o n g t o y o u . C u r i o u s ? G o o d .

Find o u t h o w y o u c a n t r e a t a t v s t a t i o n like y o u o w n it b y calling B r a n d E n e r g y a t 0 3 - 2 5 5 1 1 7 7 .

brand