CAREERS: Holgate puts focus on CRM at Bates' 141

<p>The new head of Bates' marketing agency 141 Communications in Hong </p><p>Kong, Ben Holgate, says that his priority is to build up the agency's </p><p>customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Holgate, who came on board a few weeks ago, spent the past year </p><p>re-engineering Coca-Cola Australia's merchandising department. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Prior to that assignment, he was responsible for setting up and </p><p>directing the team which delivered all the Coca-Cola sponsorship </p><p>promotions in Australia for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The challenge at the moment is to build up the CRM business. There's </p><p>been a late demand in Hong Kong in this area. We're now looking at </p><p>adding to our knowledge base in terms of solutions, and we are planning </p><p>to hire four to five people in the course of the next six months, </p><p>including database marketers and below-the-line creatives," he said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Holgate is an advertising industry veteran with more than a decade, </p><p>specialising in the direct marketing and sales promotions business. </p><p>Prior to Coca-Cola, he worked in a number of advertising agencies - </p><p>mainly with Euro RSCG and Dentsu Young & Rubicam in the UK, the Middle </p><p>East and Australia - leading promotional and integrated marketing </p><p>activities for a variety of clients, including American Express, Nestle, </p><p>and DHL. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, the Olympics was one of the high points of his career, </p><p>according to Holgate. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Sydney 2000 set a new benchmark for Olympic activation, and Coca-Cola, </p><p>as a major sponsor, played a major role in creating an air of </p><p>celebration in the Olympic venues." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The brand undertook a variety of activities aimed at boosting and then </p><p>fulfilling consumer demand leading up to and during the games, as well </p><p>as closely aligning the brand with the "once-in-a-life-time" Olympic </p><p>experience. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>These activities included major events across Australia for the opening </p><p>ceremony, special packaging promotions and heavy marketing activities in </p><p>Sydney's city centre and stadia. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Holgate originates from the UK, where he started his career as a </p><p>graduate trainee with Rothmans. A large part of his tertiary education </p><p>involved studying theatre and films, which he says shares a few </p><p>intrinsic similarities with advertising and marketing. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"One of the essences of advertising and marketing is that they make you </p><p>change the way you think about some things. Theatre and films are the </p><p>same. It's about taking a subject and making people look at it in a </p><p>different way," he said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>