MindShare Japan to target digital media, local clients for growth

<p>At the end of 2000, its first full year in business, MindShare </p><p>Japan had media budgets totalling Y53 billion under management, </p><p>according to CEO Mark Patterson. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>MindShare plans but does not yet buy media in Japan, and so "funds under </p><p>management" is one measure of the scale of the business. The figure is </p><p>similar to the media billings of tenth-ranked Asahi Advertising measured </p><p>the traditional way. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We've created the brand, we've built up a good client base. I see my </p><p>job now as taking MindShare Japan through to its next phase; continuing </p><p>to develop both the product and the people and to push for new business </p><p>aggressively," said Mr Patterson. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Current MindShare clients are mainly Western multinationals, aligned </p><p>with either JWT or O&M. These include IBM, Nippon Lever, Northwest </p><p>Airlines, Haagen Dazs, de Beers and Nestle. It is a blue ribbon list, </p><p>but Western MNCs only account for around five per cent of all media </p><p>spending in Japan. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>For MindShare, as for other Western agencies, the key to growth is </p><p>winning major assignments from Japanese advertisers. Only McCann </p><p>Erickson has achieved this, with 50 Japanese corporations from their 80 </p><p>clients providing about 40 per cent of billings and ensuring the </p><p>agency's consistent top 10 ranking. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>MindShare's strategy for building business relies partly on new </p><p>technologies that will improve the quality of service, adding value that </p><p>prospects should find attractive. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>This year, MindShare will invest in 3D (see story this page). </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>To augment 3D, MindShare plans research to aid planning for B2B clients, </p><p>such as IBM. There will also be developments from MindShare's Advanced </p><p>Technology Group (ATG), a specialist in fee-based market modelling, </p><p>whose clients include Nippon Lever. M.Digital, MindShare's digital arm, </p><p>is also winning business with new assignments from IBM and Zurich </p><p>Insurance. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We hope to grow digital (in 2001). It could be easier to win Japanese </p><p>clients for digital than for traditional media," said Mr Patterson. </p><p>About 25 per cent of MindShare's staff is with M.Digital, which only </p><p>contributes four per cent of revenue, an imbalance Mr Patterson hopes </p><p>market opportunities will correct. The start of Digital Television in </p><p>Japan should also bring syndication opportunities for a new unit Mr </p><p>Patterson has initiated. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Asatsu-DK, WPP's Japanese partner, plays a key role in MindShare's </p><p>plans. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Its links with major domestic advertisers could introduce MindShare's </p><p>enhanced media services to Japanese clients. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The time, it seems, is ripe for media agencies operating in Japan. </p><p>Research by Nikkei Advertising Research Institute, shows that </p><p>advertisers reckon the top priorities for agencies are: effective media </p><p>planning (82.5 per cent) and sales-boosting initiatives (64.9 per </p><p>cent). </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"This plays to modern media planning techniques which media specialists </p><p>are best equipped to handle," said Mr Kim Walker, president of </p><p>Carat-SPI. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But things will not change overnight. True strategic media planning is </p><p>rare in Japan, so global best practices will be useless without a </p><p>willing client culture and planners trained in these new skills, added </p><p>Mr Walker. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>While many Japanese agencies lag, the leaders, Dentsu and Hakuhodo are </p><p>both investing large sums in proprietary research and planning </p><p>technologies, as is McCann, said Mr Ron Pullen, EVP at </p><p>McCann-Erickson. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Multinational media agencies have always had an opportunity to do </p><p>business in Japan provided they were prepared to make the necessary </p><p>investments in the market," said Mr Pullen. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>MindShare is paying the admission fees to that select club and hopes to </p><p>have Y73 billion under management as a result a year from now. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>