Multinationals bolster China agency arsenal

Two multinational agency networks - J Walter Thompson and DDB - have announced that they are adding significant below-the-line capabilities to their communications arsenal in China, a move that underlines the growing sophistication of the mainland market. JWT is setting up Image Factory and Rave to handle below-the-line strategic services and large-scale events respectively. Both are wholly-owned by JWT. DDB, in its bid for supremacy in Greater China, has acquired Crimson - a below-the-line, integrated services company - and renamed it Beyond DDB. It has also taken ownership of independent Omnicom CRM support services company, Rapp Collins. The agency is now restructuring itself in order to be ideas-centric rather than advertising-centric, which includes plans to establish a management consultancy. DDB Greater China president and CEO Aaron Lau said the aim was to be "an enemy of the ordinary". He added that the restructuring was aimed at meeting client needs within the framework of an intensely competitive marketplace. "Clients aren't coming to us and saying, 'Give me an ad to promote my product,' they're saying 'Give me a solution that will keep me ahead of the game'." Diversification of advertising services is an inevitable trend in the mainland, where big clients, particularly foreign brands, are designating a larger proportion of their marketing budget to non-traditional activities such as sponsorships and PR events. In addition, advertisers are assigning promotion-oriented campaigns to smaller agencies. MNC agencies, therefore, are increasingly feeling the need to establish a total communications framework in a bid to safeguard their business prospects. "We have created an integrated yet flexible total communications capability within which each unit can operate autonomously or as part of a great whole," said JWT China CEO Tom Doctoroff. He said the network's Beijing office is expected to grow more than 80 per cent in billings this year, largely because it had won the Ford business and several local accounts, including China Construction Bank. Both Image Factory and Rave have a direct link with JWT's account servicing team which allows for the sharing of strategic thinking, ideas and resources. Image Factory is set up to "provide longer-term strategic and implementation service for integrated below-the-line programmes," said Mr Doctoroff. - Additional reporting by Iris Lai.

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