Even so, Starcom often appears to inhabit a world of its own, with its regular self-portrayal as a company that is more of a marketing consultancy than the kind of run-of-the-mill media agency it finds so distasteful.
How realistic those claims really are will be put under the spotlight again following agency CEO D Sriram’s departure after 13 years. Sriram can talk a quite captivating game. And yet some see his tenure as regional chief as one dogged by instability, with departures that have included Jaswinder Kaur, Jeffrey Seah, Mabel Leung and Paul Corrigan.
Sriram asserts that only Kaur’s decision was unplanned. He admits that China, where the agency’s underwhelming performance is surely linked to the four MDs it has burned through in six years, counts as a blot on his record - but believes that Starcom probably has more senior leaders left than some of its peers.
Two of those - India chief Ravi Kiran and agency veteran Paul Maher - have now been handed the reins to an agency that continues to try and reinvent itself into one that is built around influencing consumer intent. It is a shift the US agency, says one former executive, has managed quite “beautifully”. In Asia, though, it is hard to find anyone that takes Starcom seriously as a competitor. And, as one source points out, an unhealthy fixation on the bottom line by the agency’s Chicago HQ, has not helped matters either.
Sriram discounts the charge that global has paid more attention to its US cash cow, and its problems in Europe, at the expense of Asia. “But there are times we miss opportunities. I do feel like the degree of time that needs to get spent on financial stuff has gone up a bit,” he says. “If it becomes a permanent culture, then it will start to become a problem.”
More than one source points out that, five years ago, Starcom was seen as MindShare’s natural heir - a contention that few would dare utter these days. Which may be exactly how new Southeast Asia CEO Ravi Kiran wants things. “Without disrespect, we believe all media agencies are still trying to make money off their billings - that is not what SMG is after.”
It is hard to reconcile these words with Starcom’s existing business, which includes Samsung and China Telecom, and continues to rely heavily on Procter & Gamble. None of these are often mistaken for clients that are at the cutting-edge of media thinking, leaving observers to ponder whether Starcom can fulfil its vision in Asia.
“It’s a very realistic aim, but that’s how any agency sees themselves,” says a source. “Starcom’s positioning is semantically different, but in reality not - and I don’t see the resources.”
“Some of these investments, you have to look at paying out longer than in a financial year,” counters Sriram. At the very least, Starcom’s new management duo offers continuity. “Both are extremely competent individuals, but I don’t know if that’s giving Starcom the focal point it requires at the moment,” says a source. “It seems to be a short-term pragmatic solution. ”
