ANALYSIS: Newsmaker - Young vows to bring internet focus in remaking Zenith - Antony Young is promising to sharpen Zenith's digital edge, reports Alfred Hille

Antony Young has promised to shake up Zenith Media, vowing to make it a far more competitive media agency than it is now. Young, who quit as the chief executive officer of internet marketing company AdXplorer, believes he can achieve his objectives by offering clients what he calls integrated media solutions. He says these will truly take into account marketing opportunities available in the digital medium. In the 12 months that he headed AdXplorer, Young found a noticeable lack of understanding about the true potential of internet advertising and marketing in his dealings with media agencies. "Agencies are good at establishing business units to handle the internet but very few understand how to integrate it effectively into their marketing communications plans," he claims. Naturally, few media agencies shared his sentiments. MindShare, Universal McCann and CIA said they regularly offer internet recommendations as part of integrated campaigns. MindShare China chief executive, Chris Walton, says his agency treats the internet as one of the many media channels available to clients and that "there is a general expectation among clients that media planners have a deep understanding of the internet in addition to their expertise in traditional media". Universal McCann Hong Kong managing director, Roid Sin, describes Young's comments as hype. "We have a specialised unit to perform internet work with an integrated overview, so what he is talking about is nothing special at all," he says. But Young hits back, saying: "The current proposition of most media agencies in communications strategies sounds very similar. They're all singing the same tune, but I am not convinced that many are delivering truly integrated solutions. "Looking from the outside in over the past 12 months, I can say that there is still a big gap between what agencies say and do." Young declines to reveal details of what he is planning, except to say that "initially, we'll be internally focused on formulating new platforms". He also said that Zenith would adopt a more competitive profile compared with its current positioning. He believes that his experience at the helm of a start-up agency has made him more entrepreneurial and revenue-focused - a mindset he wants to bring to Zenith. "We'll be more entrepreneurial. We'll keep up with changes to use technology to improve efficiency and speed and we'll think about forming strategic partnerships in order to place more resources on our core competencies. "My role coming back is to instill a vision and a sense of urgency because, while the client side is moving forward very rapidly, big successful agencies are less inclined to make radical changes quickly. They would rather avoid risk and go the tried and tested route," Young says. AdXplorer recently received a second round of funding from investors, one of the fortunate few digital companies to enjoy fresh funds amid the current cash crunch. However, Young says that the operating conditions of internet companies have been harsh, especially since last autumn. But he believes that business could have been better if agencies became more progressive. "Over the past three years, there has been a huge growth in Hong Kong people going online. One estimate puts Hong Kong's online population at 70 per cent of its total population. But marketers and agencies are still mostly thinking in terms of the 30-second TVC. They don't see that other equally effective channels are available." While Young's comments are likely to prove controversial, other media agencies said they would watch Zenith very closely over the next few months. They say that as they all operate within an industry, it becomes very difficult to differentiate themselves from competitors, especially if all are progressing at the same rate. All eyes are on Zenith now that Young has vowed to remake the agency. As McCann's Sin notes: "Time will be the judge of what will really happen."

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