LEADER: Time 4As rankings reflected changes

<p>It's surprising to say the least that the Hong Kong 4As has again </p><p>chosen not to reflect the huge changes that have taken place in the </p><p>advertising business in this year's agency rankings. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>These changes have fundamentally altered the very fabric of the </p><p>industry, from the continued fragmentation of media to the hiving off of </p><p>media functions, the rise of the internet and the increasing importance </p><p>of marketing communications. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>And now, despite client reluctance, the latest seismic shift to occur is </p><p>the move away from commissions to fee-based remuneration. Yet the manner </p><p>in which the 4As has chosen to take these changes into account can only </p><p>be described as jurassic - it has simply grouped the diverse revenue </p><p>streams as production income, a category which is growing faster than </p><p>media, traditionally the key revenue earner. However, an increasing </p><p>number of agencies are earning their livelihood from fees. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Coupled with this, agencies are pulling in revenue from a variety of </p><p>sources - marketing, PR, direct, interactive, below-the-line and so on - </p><p>in addition to advertising and media. This change will only become more </p><p>entrenched in the years ahead. For the first time, WPP and Omnicom's </p><p>non-advertising income has overshot their advertising revenues. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Yet in Hong Kong, there is no other category except production to </p><p>reflect changing revenue streams. Since the situation has been on the </p><p>boiler for some years now, it's in the interest of agencies that the 4As </p><p>rectify the oversight immediately if it truly wants to represent the </p><p>industry as it evolves and grows. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>One possible solution involves the setting up new categories to account </p><p>for the different disciplines. Another would be to report figures on the </p><p>basis of business units. Whatever way it chooses to format the rankings, </p><p>it's essential that the 4As act this year to reflect the changes in time </p><p>for next year's compilation. Failure to do so will only provide fertile </p><p>ground to sow more challenges, as Saatchi & Saatchi has done over Ogilvy </p><p>& Mather's rise to the top of the China rankings. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>