After years of indecision, the fourth ‘M’ in WPP’s media agency unit GroupM seems determined to become more than a conflict shop.
The appointment was a year in the making, and saw Maxus look outside the media agency sector. Stewart brings with him a wealth of knowledge and contacts from his days on the client side with Motorola, and the agency world with One Barrack Street, which serviced Vodafone in Australia. His new role reflects global changes in the network. Last October, Kelly Clark, a former CEO of Mindshare Asia-Pacific, was named global CEO. Since then, WPP-owned media shops in London and Spain have rebranded as Maxus tries to establish a coherent footprint.
The appointment was a year in the making, and saw Maxus look outside the media agency sector. Stewart brings with him a wealth of knowledge and contacts from his days on the client side with Motorola, and the agency world with One Barrack Street, which serviced Vodafone in Australia. His new role reflects global changes in the network. Last October, Kelly Clark, a former CEO of Mindshare Asia-Pacific, was named global CEO. Since then, WPP-owned media shops in London and Spain have rebranded as Maxus tries to establish a coherent footprint.
In Asia, its strength has been in India, where clients include Vodafone. Clark calls the Indian operation a “powerhouse agency”. Its Australian and Chinese operations have also performed well, though in many other parts of the region it has, in the words of one GroupM insider, “barely existed”.
“Our focus over the next two years will be to turn this group into a cohesive network, accelerate our development in China, win share in Southeast Asia, and shake things up a bit in Australia,” says Clark.
The question for Maxus is where it can fit in in an already crowded market. Its ambition appears to be similar to the role that PHD has tried to build within Omnicom — the ‘smart’ younger brother to the scale-driven networks.
That’s certainly the goal of Clark, who talks of a plan “to combine elements of communications planning and customer relationship marketing into a new model that is powered by creative media thinking and sophisticated, real-time customer data analytics.”
In that sense, the decision to appoint a former client, especially one with experience in a data-heavy sector such as telecoms, makes sense. And Stewart is very keen to make the same point, arguing that clients will pay a premium for an agency capable of maximising the value of their assets — for example, helping retailers turn their real estate into a media channel, or helping companies make the most of their databases.
In the short term, other agencies within GroupM may be required to lend a hand, especially given the current business climate. One source within the organisation says that Maxus “will have to make money very quickly” and that “we will all be called upon to support it”, citing pitching as a potential area of co-operation. There is also the issue of support within GroupM. “The problem the group has is that it is dominated by Mindshare,” says the source. “That has made it tricky for MediaCom and MEC — they don’t have the same voice within the organisation.”
Stewart admits Maxus cannot change overnight, with work to be done to identify areas of strength and create a “Maxus experience” that is standard across the region.
There is also the task of educating clients. “This is new and embryonic,” he says. “Are we clear that this space exists? No. But it will be interesting to find out.”
