JWT taps Carmody to develop Connect unit

Carmody's appointment as regional director represents a belated move by JWT to expand and brand its CRM offer, although the agency's regional chief operating officer, Kevin Ramsey, said the delay had allowed JWT to learn from the flaws of competing offers. "We are not building ThompsonConnect as a silo organisation with its own P&L,

said Ramsey. "We will maintain a virtual P&L; revenues of ThompsonConnect will be consolidated into each agency's office."

Although Carmody's role is regional, his initial focus will be Hong Kong followed by Singapore as both are maturing markets where clients are looking for more than just traditional advertising. "Hong Kong is a sophisticated market, which is receptive to real integration. If something works, people use it. If you're able to provide results more tangibly, then the market will react very favourably."

Carmody said JWT maintained CRM skills sets in a number of regional offices, and that his priority would be to use technology to pull the offer together.

In Asia, JWT has extensive database development and management expertise in India and direct marketing skills in Thailand.

The Digital operation will also be brought under ThompsonConnect as "the convergence of technology and direct is happening pretty quickly; there's no longer a differentiation".

Carmody expected Hong Kong's skill set would be more strategic in nature.

"I see it as a strategic centre of excellence for CRM, the ability to think in a different way about how this can drive business solutions for clients and then cherry picking from our executional centres."

Carmody worked with JWT Hong Kong in the early '90s before moving to OgilvyOne's US brand team to handle IBM's initial drive at integrating its marketing.