Media unite to perk up spend

The ads in the campaign, created on a pro bono basis by independent advertising agency Crush, will run on television, radio and print, using free space provided by the participating media organisations

Most of the creative work features a wounded soldier holding up a watch to attract a medic's attention. The campaign seeks to demonstrate that even when a company is suffering from the effects of a bad economy, it is important to continue marketing to survive, said Patrick Mowe, IAS honorary executive director.

"We're telling clients you have a powerful tool for survival. If you don't invest in marketing now then when the economy recovers you'll be playing a catch-up game against your competitors that may be way ahead of you because they didn't cutback so much in the recession,

he added.

The catalyst for the campaign, which launched early this month, was Singapore's public broadcaster MediaCorp, which mooted the idea.

Mowe explained: "MediaCorp said we need to find some way to rally the troops,

and handed the problem to the IAS, which then got other media organisations involved including Singapore Cable Vision, radio group UnionWorks and magazine publisher Australian Con- solidated Press (ACP).

Media organisations, particularly TV stations, have experienced a significant decline in ad revenue because of the recession, Singapore's worst since 1965.