FOCUS - 2001 PREVIEW: Best to be prepared for the unexpected

<p>More than ever, we will have to gear up our organisations to be </p><p>prepared for the unexpected. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>I am convinced that going through 2001, I will be challenging more than </p><p>once our offering and the organisation supporting it. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Two years ago, I wrote in the same column that I believed the only </p><p>operations that could deliver totally integrated communication </p><p>programmes to their clients were the ones in which all the </p><p>communications disciplines were developed under one bottom line. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>At the time, integration for most people meant the same colour coding </p><p>from bunting to print ads. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Integration for Euro RSCG means the ability to re-deploy. And this </p><p>ability will be the most valuable asset of our organisation in the years </p><p>to come. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>We have to make sure that the structures we put in place are flexible </p><p>enough to accommodate the succession of changes we will have to go </p><p>through. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>It means fewer operations managers and more discipline leaders working </p><p>in teams in the same organisation. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>From delivering integrated communication programmes, to delivering </p><p>interwoven communication programmes, agencies shouldn't think of 'having </p><p>an Internet division' but look at how they could integrate digital </p><p>communications into everything they do, because in fewer years than we </p><p>all think, all communications will be digital. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Understanding how the Internet fits into and affects other </p><p>communications media is a role that we are embracing at Euro RSCG. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>It is more than just integrated communications, where creative relates </p><p>across different media. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>It is 'interwoven' communication, where one media's creative is </p><p>dependant on the other. Soon, we will develop TVCs, websites and direct </p><p>marketing as one execution rather than three. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The media revolution is driving dramatic change. It is fragmenting </p><p>audiences and creating vast new opportunities. This revolution is </p><p>changing how we interact with each other and with the consumer. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>For our industry, the impact will be neither in B2C or B2B, but in C2B. </p><p>Our role will move from accessing consumers and translating their needs </p><p>to giving them access and moderating the dialogue. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Our ability to listen to people should improve through the use of </p><p>interactive media, and so should our ability to learn. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In 2001, we will expand the direct marketing e-learning programme that </p><p>we have put in place in the last quarter of 2000 to other communications </p><p>disciplines, starting with interactive, and allow more than 300 of our </p><p>employees as well as our clients to access them. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>We are moving into the creative economy. It is an economy based on ideas </p><p>rather than physical capital. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Companies that embrace the notion of creating value through ideas, </p><p>through strategy, will be those that profit the most in the coming </p><p>decades. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Those who dare to be first will be rewarded. I will conclude with an </p><p>abstract from our worldwide vision summarising our attitude towards </p><p>change. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The people of Euro RSCG embrace the great opportunity of the times we </p><p>live in. Times that demand the courage of new ideas and new </p><p>solutions. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Times that greatly reward those who are first with those ideas and </p><p>solutions. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Our agencies and our people are committed to applying new organisational </p><p>concepts and information technology in ways that make us the leading </p><p>network of the new century." </p><p><BR><BR> </p>