FOCUS - 2000 REVIEW: TBWA sees 12 per cent growth across A-P region, ahead of target

<p>2000 had been a good year for TBWA agencies around the region. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Across the region as a whole, we have experienced a 12 per cent income </p><p>growth with all of our offices showing significant improvement over 1999 </p><p>- even beleaguered Indonesia has grown ahead of the targets that were </p><p>set for the year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Of particular note has been our performance in Australia where we have </p><p>dominated the new business league table through the year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>From Melbourne, we launched the GST campaign and managed to convince a </p><p>skeptical Australia that a sales tax was not such a bad thing while in </p><p>Sydney we finished the year with the win of the St George Bank. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In Korea and Singapore, we had significant new business wins from </p><p>Samsung and DBS Bank respectively. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In Thailand, our retail capability was considerably enhanced by the 7 </p><p>Eleven win and across the region as a whole, we started working with </p><p>fantastic drinks brand such as Chivas Regal and Martell. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The great relief about these wins was that they came from 'traditional' </p><p>advertising sectors rather than placing too great a reliance on dotcom </p><p>categories to fund short-term growth. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Of particular importance to the TBWA Group in the region as a whole has </p><p>been the development of our through-the-line company, Tequila. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>From our key office in Singapore, Tequila has now managed to develop a </p><p>regional network that enables us to work with clients in all of our key </p><p>markets, including Tokyo and Seoul. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>On the back of this we have also continued to make significant progress </p><p>in the development of our digital/interactive companies and now work for </p><p>a number of large companies across the region including major </p><p>telecommunication groups. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>So, our key achievement this year has really been our ability to offer </p><p>our clients a truly integrated communications service, for the first </p><p>time, in the Asia-Pacific region. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Even in China, we have had notable success in the development of this </p><p>aspect of our business offering, which has greatly enhanced our </p><p>traditional, above-the-line advertising capability. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>There are still two or three key markets where we do not have TBWA </p><p>offices. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>One of these, the Philippines, will however be up and running by early </p><p>this year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>