FOCUS - JAPAN: Media independents battle looms between Tempus, Aegis

<p>A duel looks set between the Tempus and Aegis groups in Japan after </p><p>the two media independents established footholds in the country </p><p>recently. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>While they are unlikely to challenge the supremacy of Dentsu and </p><p>Hakuhodo in the media buying field, the two agencies are looking to make </p><p>an impact in strategic with Japanese clients operating at the regional </p><p>and global levels and foreign companies operating in Japan. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Tempus, CIA's parent, announced recently it had acquired a majority </p><p>share in International Creative Marketing (ICM), one of Japan's leading </p><p>market research companies. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>At about the same time, Carat's parent company Aegis purchased a </p><p>majority stake in Strategic Planners International (SPI), an independent </p><p>media planning and consultancy based in Tokyo. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>ICM has been in business for about 20 years, with clients such as </p><p>Coca-Cola, Nippon Lever, Kirin and Nike. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>SPI was set up in 1995 and now services such clients as Adidas, Club </p><p>Med, Disney, Fujitsu, Warner Lambert and Volkswagen. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>CIA Asia-Pacific regional managing director Mark Austin said that as </p><p>Japan is world's second-largest economy, the Tempus/ICM deal opens up </p><p>another area of opportunity. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Having an important Japanese business as a partner of Tempus will, we </p><p>believe, present significant opportunity for new client acquisition for </p><p>both CIA and our Tempus businesses across this region and globally," he </p><p>said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Meanwhile, Aegis chief executive Douglas Flynn said SPI's media planning </p><p>and consultancy operation was "second to none" in Japan and that the </p><p>alliance "gets around the problem of being a second tier organisation </p><p>after Dentsu and Hakuhodo in the media planning discipline". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, both media independents have adopted a 'softly, softly' </p><p>approach. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Austin said: "Japan is an extremely difficult market for foreign </p><p>companies to successfully enter, especially in the marketing services </p><p>sector." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Flynn said although Japan accepted the idea of media specialists, </p><p>Japanese agencies seemed to represent the media as much as the clients: </p><p>"These media relationships appear difficult to crack." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Despite this, however, both groups were optimistic that their respective </p><p>strategies would pay off, although it was likely that they will </p><p>initially find success with Japanese companies with overseas </p><p>ambitions. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The two groups are also likely to find a receptive audience - both local </p><p>and foreign companies - when it comes to media planning but that's not </p><p>to say that the Japanese planner is any worse. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>As with the rest of Asia-Pacific, the time of the media specialists </p><p>appear to be nigh because of the fragmentation of media, right down to </p><p>the delivery of ads to WAP users, who may represent a significant </p><p>demographic in their own right. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>This, too, appears to be true in Japan which is why the Tempus and Aegis </p><p>groups have decided they need to enter, albeit tentatively, into this </p><p>market. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Austin cited his oft-quoted phrase that strategy lies with media and </p><p>not with creative-driven agencies. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We believe that there is a genuine desire amongst many clients </p><p>operating in Japan - whether they be foreign or Japanese companies - for </p><p>a new way of working with marketing and communications agencies that </p><p>challenges the out-dated, conventional agency models. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We believe, therefore, that by building our 'agency of the future' </p><p>vision carefully and strategically, we will be best positioned to </p><p>fulfill the aspirations of this increasingly disillusioned client base." </p><p><BR><BR> </p>