FOCUS: 2001 PREVIEWS: To be the 'best communications resource' in Asia

<p>With so many new developments in DY&R's operations planned for </p><p>2001, our leaders across all communications disciplines convened </p><p>recently in Bali for a planning session. Our major focus in 2001 will be </p><p>on making DY&R the best communications resource for our clients and </p><p>there are aggressive plans within the network to achieve our goal. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Right from the start, major initiatives will develop, including a </p><p>primary focus on our people across the network. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In the final quarter of 2000, Noel Pearse joined the network as </p><p>vice-president, human resources. His brief is to examine our staffing </p><p>structure and assess the best resources to bring the best </p><p>people-development programmes to our staff at all levels in the </p><p>network. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In addition, we have appointed one of our most experienced </p><p>internationalists, Brian Harrison, to lead our training programme for </p><p>the region, in addition to his leadership role in Singapore. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>We have forecast approximately 11 per cent growth for DY&R in 2001. This </p><p>is slightly lower than the previous year, but our intention is to grow </p><p>alongside an increase in budgets from existing clients and also through </p><p>a substantial number of new business pitches. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>We expect the development of online marketing and brand building to </p><p>continue at a rapid rate, to coincide with and embellish the impact of </p><p>traditional off-line communications. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>As the impact of the economic recession fades, almost all DY&R offices </p><p>look forward to 2001 with their senior management intact and with strong </p><p>prospects. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Our progress will be underpinned by several client-focused initiatives, </p><p>including extensive research to pave the way for a new round of our </p><p>global brand study, BrandAsset Valuator, which will be initially fielded </p><p>in three countries and then extended to others through the year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Shortly, we will announce important steps to drive our creative </p><p>standards and consistency in the region. We have also focused on our </p><p>strategic capabilities and each of DY&R's agencies are tasked with </p><p>strengthening our planning and consumer-knowledge teams. The DY&R </p><p>network will continue to expand with major Japanese and Western clients </p><p>in 2001, but our primary business development focus will be on winning </p><p>and growing with major national advertisers and those who are already </p><p>operating regionally. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>