ANALYSIS: Newsmaker - MindShare bullish on China adspend spike. Chris Walton sees plenty of China opportunities ahead.

<p>Foreign brands are having an especially traumatic time in China </p><p>these days, but competitive pressures ahead of the mainland's WTO entry </p><p>have provided something of a boost for multinational advertising </p><p>agencies. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In the last few months alone, China's leading corporations - from China </p><p>Telecom to TCL - have taken their branding accounts to international </p><p>agencies. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Media, though, remains tightly controlled by local brokers. This is </p><p>partly the result of long-standing relationships, but more to do with </p><p>the way local firms have divided budgets across their nationwide </p><p>networks. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But there are signs that even this is starting to loosen up, especially </p><p>since media owners have moved to a single rate card, doing away with the </p><p>three-tier cards they previously had for foreign, joint-venture and </p><p>local advertisers. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>MindShare claims its local business component is taking off, according </p><p>to newly-promoted China chief executive Chris Walton. "We're still </p><p>multinational-biased, but we're starting to see a recognition from local </p><p>clients that knowing the cost of everything and the value of nothing is </p><p>actually not the best long-term way to build their brands." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The former regional business director of MindShare landed the top post </p><p>after Leo Wong - encouraged by China's double-digit adspend growth rates </p><p>- left to set up a media buying company in Shanghai. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Last year, total monitored adspend shot up by a whopping 57 per </p><p>cent. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Even economic uncertainties in the US this year don't appear to have </p><p>dampened the growth momentum. Adspend in the first quarter is up 22 per </p><p>cent over the same period in 2000. At the time of his departure, Wong </p><p>noted: "There is plenty of room for people like us." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Indeed, there is also plenty of room for multinationals. Both MindShare </p><p>and Zenith are pouring in more resources to capitalise on the expected </p><p>spending spike. As Walton takes over the helm, overseeing offices in </p><p>Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Zenith has also created a similar </p><p>position . It has promoted its managing director Lee Li to oversee its </p><p>four China offices, including Taipei, with a brief to open offices in </p><p>second tier cities and boost share from the current 12 per cent to 20 </p><p>per cent before 2005. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Equally bullish, Walton has forecast billings of Rmb 2.5 billion (about </p><p>USdollars 302 million) to three billion this year. Economic and </p><p>political jitters across the ocean, involving China's leading trade </p><p>partner, have not deterred Walton. Instead, he is buoyed by encouraging </p><p>signs like the eight per cent growth in China's first quarter GDP </p><p>performance. "It ain't bad at all in times of uncertainty." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>To a large extent, China's low- tech economy has spared it much of the </p><p>pain afflicting its high-tech regional rivals like Taiwan, Malaysia and </p><p>Singapore, where the technology slowdown is cutting deeper. Beyond </p><p>healthy adspend figures, government programmes should go some way to </p><p>keeping the economy buoyant amid troubles emanating from the US. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Looming hiccups on the export front have led the Chinese government to </p><p>bank on domestic demand to drive growth. Far-reaching initiatives like </p><p>the ambitious "Go West" programme to develop infrastructure and industry </p><p>in China's poorer western regions are expected to go a long way in </p><p>spreading domestic demand beyond the big three cities of Beijing, </p><p>Shanghai and Guangzhou. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Admittedly, such programmes are years from fruition, but a spurt in </p><p>investment should have a multiplier effect on the economy. "A lot of </p><p>China growth will be domestically generated. The government knows that </p><p>the export markets are potentially weaker and there is a need to invest </p><p>significantly in the infrastructure," says Walton. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The other more pressing factor driving the "Go West" push is the need to </p><p>curb rural migration to the cities because of its potentially </p><p>devastating social consequences. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Adds Walton: "If people don't start to realise the benefits en masse in </p><p>China wherever they come from, they will start heading to the big cities </p><p>and this could lead to social unrest. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"For these reasons, there is a recognition in the government that </p><p>they've got to try and stimulate domestic demand." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Walton's promotion also marks a return to Shanghai - his first overseas </p><p>posting when he arrived from the UK in 1996 to work as media manager at </p><p>J. Walter Thompson. MindShare was set up a year into his JWT stint, </p><p>prompting a move to the media agency, which was then followed by a </p><p>transfer to Hong Kong in 1998. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But it will be a different China that Walton expects to return to. </p><p>MindShare has offices in the three big cities and a team of 200 </p><p>employees. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"When I first arrived in Shanghai, there weren't even people meter </p><p>ratings, just diary ratings," he recounts. "China is developing so </p><p>quickly that we can now offer a service that is light years ahead of </p><p>what the situation was back in '96." </p><p><BR><BR> </p>