This was a great year for FCB Asia-Pacific.
The merger that brought Bozell and FCB together in fourth quarter 1999
really took off in 2000.
The benefits of the merger were more than we had hoped.
Specifically:
- Tremendous new business growth
- Critical mass in key countries
- Good retention of key employees
New business included a number of wins - locally, regionally and
internationally.
At the top of the list was Compaq.
This business, in addition to its incremental revenue, validated what
FCB Worldwide has been building for the past five years - a truly first
class global network.
One of the key criteria in deciding on the right agency was the level of
internal IT development the competing networks had.
We came out on top on this.
However, having said that, Compaq will challenge us to continue to
strengthen those IT skills - which is good!
Other worldwide wins included Clairol and Boeing. On the local and
regional front, there were also some notable wins: Gatorade and AOL in
Australia, Standard Chartered Bank's Internet banking in Hong Kong,
Timberland in Japan, Bombay Stock Market in India, Cadbury in Indonesia
and Equitable CardNet in the Philippines.
Overall, FCB Asia-Pacific grew by 27 per cent in year 2000.
You may ask what about Chrysler?
The impact of this on FCB will be felt until next year. However,
fortunately for FCB Asia-Pacific, the implications are minimal.
FCB's critical mass continues to strengthen across the region.
We are expecting to end up ranking No.8 or No.9 on a regional basis.
More importantly, is the quality of product we are able to deliver our
clients.
In this area, I would like to highlight our Sydney office's
progress.
The work developed for Nike around the Olympics was world class.
Our expectations are that we will receive international recognition for
that work in the coming few months.
Retention of key employees was of paramount importance to the group
during the merger.
Keep in mind, we were bringing together some 15 operating units across
the region. For the most part this all happened without a hitch.
Truth be told, one of greatest things about the merger was the
strengthening of our senior talent pool.
In summary, FCB is closing the year feeling pretty good about
ourselves.
We still have a lot of work to do in the coming year.
However, with the addition of Korea, after the acquisition of Hahnin, we
now have full distribution of majority-owned offices across the region,
proven senior management in place and solid development of our direct
capabilities with the expansion of FCBi.
