FOCUS: YEAR-END REVIEWS - Universal McCann survives economic downturn by maintaining focus on delivering results

<p>Without going over and re-stating the obvious over the past 12 </p><p>months, no doubt nearly everyone has had a great year with the economic </p><p>turn around and increasingly positive business off-take. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But I guess that statement doesn't exactly satisfy everyone because </p><p>we've also got to recognise that the dotcom 'rush' and certain market </p><p>economies are still lagging and we have seen they have taken their toll </p><p>on some in the industry. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Fortunately, we can say that Universal McCann hasn't been affected in </p><p>this area. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Generally speaking, that's largely because we've focused on the </p><p>important things that deliver positive solutions for our clients. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>We haven't chased equity arrangements with dotcoms in exchange for work </p><p>completed, nor have we diverted from our core business focus. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>I don't pity those agencies that chased equity or royalty deals in the </p><p>dotcom rush. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But here's what we have done over the year that's been uniquely </p><p>different and focused on our clients core needs ... </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>We've launched the Universal McCann brand across most markets in </p><p>Asia. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>We've hopefully communicated that it's not simply a situation of </p><p>following the unbundling trend but one of delivering greater integration </p><p>with our media insights providing crucial input as part of the overall </p><p>communications development process. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Unbundled media services tend to be by their separated nature </p><p>juxta-opposed to a cohesive operating condition that's needed to deliver </p><p>total communications. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>As part of our deliverables, to achieve our positioning, we've kitted up </p><p>our offices with new cutting edge tools and operating systems. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>And, we've undertaken a massive investment into our proprietary consumer </p><p>and product-based research, which is called Media In Mind. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>We've also focussed on training our people to ensure that not only can </p><p>we effectively manage and deliver our approach, but so that we can </p><p>continue to provide a growth and learning opportunity for our stars. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>All that's now paying dividends for our clients, and we expect greater </p><p>returns next year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>News of our approach has also been welcomed on a wholesale level from </p><p>both existing and new clients who have continued to award us with new </p><p>assignments. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>No doubt they are just as excited to see more substantial and value </p><p>driven returns and to say we've had a good year in this respect would be </p><p>a massive understatement. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>This year has also been a foundation year to lay down some basic engine </p><p>room facilities. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>It has been a year to get some points on the board with some areas of </p><p>increased specialisation that have traditionally been considered by the </p><p>industry outside of a media agency's focus or primary domain. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Greater justification and the need to deliver return on investment is </p><p>increasingly important. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>That's why we're gearing up our modelling expertise and interactive </p><p>specialisation. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>We're also expanding our programming portfolio, out of home media </p><p>facilitation, and digital management in terms of broadband, WAP (Web </p><p>application protocol), mobile technology etcetera. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>These are just some of the skills that we'll be talking about in the new </p><p>year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>It's all part of our insurance to our clients in the new media paradigm </p><p>to be part of the total communications era. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>