FOCUS: 2000 REVIEW: Carat maximises return on investment as clients shift from price to value

<p>The media industry is evolving faster than any business at any time </p><p>in history. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In managing media we need new paradigms. The new buzzword in media </p><p>communications is "ROI - return on Investment". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In most markets of the Asia-Pacific region, price was the deciding </p><p>factor in media. This was the way it all started in Europe 20 years ago. </p><p>However, ultimately there's a limit to how cheap media can be bought. </p><p>Clients are now shifting from being purely price-driven to value driven. </p><p>It is the mission of a media agency to help clients recognise the </p><p>strategic value of media planning, to improve the accountability of </p><p>funds and to deliver better "Return on Investment" of their advertising </p><p>funds. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Clients' expectations from what media services companies can and should </p><p>do are also changing. We now have to manage the universe of </p><p>communications and to develop fully integrated communication plans and </p><p>solutions for our clients. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>We foresee the metamorphosis of media planning from being a matter of </p><p>putting checks in boxes to a role that positions us as the "total </p><p>communications investment fund managers". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In order to deliver the new expectations from clients, most of the media </p><p>companies seek to build their business beyond simply offering a media </p><p>planning and buying service, so gross incomes are rising at a healthy </p><p>rate, which also reflects a gradual move away from a cut-throat, </p><p>commission-based remuneration system towards a more respectable </p><p>fee-based method of payment. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>This current environment continues to be favourable for Carat. The </p><p>increasing complexity of media communications, the growing challenge of </p><p>reaching consumers effectively, the demand from clients to maximise </p><p>marketing return on investment, the proliferation of media vehicles </p><p>driven by new technologies and the move to marketing strategies on a </p><p>global scale all offer enormous opportunities for the international </p><p>media specialist. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>As the largest independent media specialist, Carat is well placed to </p><p>take advantage of these changes and our reward this year is a strong new </p><p>business performance with global net wins of more than USdollars 1.5 </p><p>billion in annualised billings. At Carat we believe in fact-based </p><p>advice. Through our understanding of media and consumers, the </p><p>relationship of these two and the attitudes of consumers towards brands, </p><p>we aim to maximise marketing return of our clients' media investment. We </p><p>continue to invest in people, system, data management, research and </p><p>tools in pursuit of our strategic goals. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Against an unstable economic in most parts of the Asia Pacific region, </p><p>Carat achieved an outstanding performance and our billing growth </p><p>exceeded 480 per cent. On the back of some strong acquisitions during </p><p>2000 we developed a solid network of 12 equity operations in 11 </p><p>countries in Asia-Pacific. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>We are excited with the current opportunities and challenges ahead. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>