PR Report Cards: Ogilvy PR and Hill & Knowlton perform well in 2009

APCO - 6/10

Regional Head Larry Snoddon
Key Clients Dow Corning, Barclays Global Investors
Company Ownership Independent
Asia-Pacific Offices 11
2009 Ranking 6

2009 was another year of transition for APCO Worldwide.The agency has benefited from the growing interest in government relations, one of its specialities, but has also felt the need to restructure and refocus to reflect shifts in the market.

New regional boss Larry Snoddon took up his role in January, and his first year in charge brought some notable highs.The agency picked up a brief from the Malaysian Government to help ministers communicate via digital media; other wins included a partnership grant from the Rockefeller Foundation (Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network).

Government affairs will remain a focus following the launch of a service called Global Political Strategies, a team of exdiplomats and policy advisors, in early 2010.The Malaysian win was the launch account for the newly opened Kuala Lumpur office, but expansion in Malaysia was matched by cutbacks in Indonesia in August. At the time,APCO said it was shifting from a local-market strategy to a pan-Asean approach, and would shift resources to China and India where client fees were proving more robust.The fruits of that strategy should become apparent in 2010.

BITE - 6/10

Regional Head David Ketchum
Key Clients Skype, SWIFT, HTC
Company Ownership Next Fifteen
Asia-Pacific Offices 7
2009 Ranking 6

London-headquartered Bite - a relative unknown in Asia before 2009 - made its presence felt in October when parent company Next Fifteen purchased a majority stake in Upstream and set about folding it into the Bite network.

The agency’s Asian operations had previously been limited to a single office in Beijing; the acquisition has allowed it to add offices in markets such as Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Upstream’s boss David Ketchum moved onto the Bite board as regional president and Paul Mottram was appointed executive VP for Asia-Pacific, while Bill Ang, who joined Upstream in August, retains the role of MD of Singapore and Southeast Asia.

Upstream’s strength has been in the technology sector, and 2009 was no exception as it picked up new business from tech players such as SAP,Trend Micro, NDS and Cisco. It has also made noises in the social media space, launching a monitoring service in September. Its new identity is unlikely to lead to a marked change in direction, though 2010 may well see a renewed push to broaden its client base.

BURSON-MARSTELLER - 8/10

Regional Head Simon Pangrazio (to Feb 10), Bob Pickard
Key Clients Accenture, HP, Huawei
Company Ownership WPP
Asia-Pacific Offices 19
2009 Ranking 7

Burson-Marsteller remains one of Asia’s most accomplished PR networks, and the agency delivered a typically low-profile yet solid performance in 2009. Regional president Simon Pangrazio, who departs in February after just two years in charge, can look back in satisfaction at growth in revenue, profits and margins in 2009 despite the downturn.

The company’s efforts to win business from Asian brands have borne fruit. In 2009 it picked up global communications duties for China’s Huawei Technologies, won a US brief for India’s Mahindra Group and secured multi-market business for Disneyland and Draeger.

In Australia, meanwhile, it made up for the loss of its LG business with a global account for Cool nrg, a Melbourne-based not-for-profit.The Mahindra win capped an impressive year in South Asia, where Genesis Burson-Marsteller expanded its affiliate reach into Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.With public affairs and government relations work in high demand, the agency is well positioned for 2010 and for its new boss, veteran Bob Pickard.

EDELMAN - 8/10

Regional Head Alan VanderMolen
Key Clients Microsoft, Reckitt Benckiser, BMW
Company Ownership Independent
Asia-Pacific Offices 15
2009 Ranking 9

After two storming years in 2007 and 2008, 2009 felt quieter for Edelman. In some areas it was a year of rebuilding.The musical chairs continued at its key Hong Kong office, as president Bob Grieves was retrenched in a round of cost cuts less than a year after he was appointed. Six months later Damian Coory was promoted to Hong Kong MD, and Greater China managing director Charles Lankester was promoted to president for North Asia. Other senior hires included former diplomat Frank Lavin to head up public affairs, Robert Holdheim as MD in India and, in early 2010, Mark Hass as president for China.

For all the change in personnel, Edelman showed it could still pull in some big accounts, and its 2009 wins included a corporate brief for Coca-Cola and an assignment from Delta Air Lines that Fleishman Hillard had to resign. Importantly, Edelman remains one of the most active PR agencies in the emerging social media field, and the launch of a regional digital brand engagement tracking tool across 10 Asian markets has added to its credentials.

FINANCIAL DYNAMICS - 6/10

Regional Head Diana Footitt
Key Clients Royal Golden Eagle, Qtel, Bank of New York Mellon
Company Ownership FTI Consulting
Asia-Pacific Offices 9
2009 Ranking 6

After aggressive expansion in Asia in 2007 and 2008, last year was decidedly quieter for Financial Dynamics, as the agency sought to consolidate acquisitions and bring in new business.

Advising on mergers and acquisitions remains a key focus for the network, and the agency secured a major win working on
Sinochem’s unsuccessful bid for Australia’s Nufarm. However, in a subdued mergers market opportunities in this area were
always going to be thin on the ground. On the flip side, with so many financial institutions under fire, 2009 was a good year for media relations work.

Financial Dynamics now handles AIA/AIG across Asia following its rebranding in the region. It has also picked up a regional media relations brief for HSBC.With the financial space increasingly crowded, there are now signs the
agency is looking to expand its expertise, and in October it announced the hiring of Jack Zhang to head a new public affairs
practice in China.

FLEISHMAN HILLARD - 7/10

Regional Head Lynne Anne Davis
Key Clients Smart, City of Dreams, Pertamina Oil
Company Ownership Omnicom Group
Asia-Pacific Offices 12
2009 Ranking 7

Fleishman-Hillard failed to retain its Network of the Year title at the Asia-Pacific PR Awards, but 2009 proved a solid enough year.

Fleishman proved particularly adept at winning Government business. The Hong Kong team began developing a new brand positioning for the SAR, while the Korean Government has become one of its 10 biggest regional clients. Broadly, public affairs proved a fertile hunting ground, though there were setbacks. The agency briefly worked for Delta Air Lines in Japan to promote a tie-up with stricken carrier JAL, only to resign the account when it became clear that a deal could mean JAL left the Oneworld alliance, of which client British Airways is a prominent member.

The agency talked a good game in digital, and the hiring of social media expert Napoleon Biggs was a step towards raising the network’s online expertise.The group remains strongest in North Asia, and in June it brought together the leaders of its offices in this area to develop a growth strategy based on its grounding in public affairs and Asiabased MNCs. Expect more of the same in 2010.

GOLINHARRIS - 6/10

Regional Head Tim Sutton (Interpublic)
Key Clients Dow Chemical, Unilever, Jardine Matheson
Company Ownership Interpublic Group
Asia-Pacific Offices 11
2009 Ranking 5

Was 2009 the year GolinHarris emerged from the shadow of big brother Weber Shandwick? Perhaps.Tim Sutton, who heads both agencies, can certainly reflect on a vintage year for some parts of the smaller of his two charges. Hong Kong proved the key office for GolinHarris, winning landmark clients such as the West Kowloon Cultural District and Hong Kong Airport Authority. In all, Hong Kong accounted for seven of the network’s 10 biggest wins last year—a performance that earned the office the title of PR Consultancy of the Year at the Asia-Pacific PR Awards.

Meanwhile, after a turbulent 2008 that saw a change in management, the Singapore operation delivered the highest profit margin in the global network. Questions remain about the coherence of GolinHarris as a network and its differentiation from rivals, though there are signs it has recognised these hurdles. In 2009 it launched a ‘Get real’ branding platform, including Twitter feeds from senior executives, to build its profile. It will need to persevere with these efforts in 2010.

HILL & KNOWLTON - 9/10

Regional Head Vivian Lines
Key Clients Hewlett-Packard, LG, Procter & Gamble
Company Ownership WPP
Asia-Pacific Offices 18
2009 Ranking 8

Although the downturn has limited its opportunities to shine, the agency has continued to improve under the steady hand of Vivian Lines, and for the second year running came in as runner-up for Network of the Year at the Asia-Pacific PR Awards. Southeast Asia CEO Jimmy Tay was also named PR Person of the Year at the awards, and was the only Asian representative on the inaugural PR jury at Cannes.

The most significant move last year was the takeover of IPAN, one of India’s biggest PR agencies and a longtime H&K associate, from WPP sibling JWT. The deal raises H&K’s presence in the market significantly, adding 140 people and six offices.

The agency also expanded in China, opening an office in Chengdu and planning a presence in four other lower-tier cities. In terms of new business,H&K secured a slice of LG’s consolidated global business and some more big-money work for Haier. It also secured international PR duties for Indian giant Tata and won a brief from the Beijing authorities to boost the city’s profile overseas. With a good mix of clients and a more convincing regional structure, H&K would appear a good bet in 2010.

THE HOFFMAN AGENCY - 4/10

Regional Head Chris Tang
Key Clients Symantec, SonicWALL, NetOne Systems
Company Ownership Independent
Asia-Pacific Offices 5
2009 Ranking 4

Chris Tang’s first full year in charge at tech specialist Hoffman brought some change, but perhaps not as much as Tang would have liked. Early in 2009 the agency took the decision to pull out of Taiwan as IT clients shift their focus to mainland China.

Hoffman’s client base remains resolutely IT-focused, despite efforts to diversify its portfolio. Only one of its top 10 wins was for a client not in the tech sector, and that was for Black & Veatch, an engineering and construction company. Hoffman will be hoping that a project win for nutrition company Herbalife in Southeast Asia can serve as an opportunity to show it can transfer its expertise to other sectors. The agency has been aggressively promoting itself, and Tang in particular, as a social media expert. Its tech skills should lend weight to this positioning as the bigger networks also move to target the social space.

KETCHUM - 6/10

Regional Head Kenneth Chu
Key Clients FedEx, RCG Holdings, China Construction Bank
Company Ownership Omnicom Group
Asia-Pacific Offices 5
2009 Ranking 7

Ketchum begins 2010 with a new global structure, having combined operations with European giant Pleon. In Asia the deal will have few repercussions, for now at least. The agency’s five regional offices are all in Greater China, leaving it well placed to benefit from mainland growth last year.

The focus on new business was raised in 2009, and Greater China CEO Kenneth Chu can bask in the glow of a mix of MNC and local client wins. Among the former were Land Rover China and Pernod Ricard in Hong Kong. The most interesting local win was awareness work for the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, showing that the establishment of a Pearl River-focused group in 2008 is bearing fruit.

However, the year ended on a sour note with the loss of McDonald’s to Weber Shandwick. Outside China, Ketchum will continue to operate via affiliates, and last year sealed a tie with Hakuhodo to enter Japan. Smartly, it is as keen to go deeper into China: deals with Chengdu agency Sailing PR and Beijing-based fashion specialist New Successfor Public Relations are a sign of things to come.

LEWIS COMMUNICATIONS - 6/10

Regional Head Andy Oliver
Key Clients Equinix, Audi, Lexmark
Company Ownership Independent
Asia-Pacific Offices 5
2009 Ranking 6

It was all change at the top for Lewis PR in 2009, as company veteran Andy Oliver relocated from the US to Singapore to take over as senior VP for Asia-Pacific. He replaced the BMW-bound Erin Atan, who had steered the network through several years of growth and helped to build a solid reputation for what is still a small, tech-focused company.

Thanks to its new office in Tokyo, the agency claimed a 57 per cent increase in Asia-Pacific revenue in its financial year (August to July), and it is a sign of the network’s growth that seven of its 10 biggest clients were picked up within the last two years. In particular, last year saw Lewis secure a big new client in data giant Equinix and extend its alignment with Lexmark from other markets into Asia.

The early signs in 2010 are that Lewis wants to broaden its portfolio, though whether January’s launch of a global consumer division based in London will have serious implications for Asia remains to be seen.

MANNING SELVAGE & LEE - 7/10

Regional Head Glenn Osaki
Key Clients P&G, Coca-Cola, Business Software Alliance
Company Ownership Publicis Groupe
Asia-Pacific Offices 15
2009 Ranking 6

MS&L was the big winner in last year’s sweeping reorganisation of Publicis Groupe’s PR assets, as the holding company consolidated its global PR operations under the one brand. The restructure left Glenn Osaki in charge in Asia to continue the agency’s softly-softly approach to regional expansion.

The backbone of the network’s regional operations remains its work for major MNCs. Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Pernod Ricard and Sanofi-Aventis appear among the agency’s leading clients, and its biggest new business wins include briefs from Ford, Nestlé and the World Gold Council.

The merger aside, it was a relatively subdued year for the agency in Asia, the upside being client and staff retention rates of above 85 per cent. It was also one of the few Asian PR agencies to walk off with a PR Lion at Cannes; the winning campaign, conducted with Beacon Communications, was for Yubari City in Japan. Its strong Indian arm, Hanmer MS&L, also picked up a gong at the Asia-Pacific PR Awards for its work for Lifecell International.

OGILVY PR - 9/10

Regional Head Chris Graves (to June 09), Steve Dahllof
Key Clients Intel, Microsoft, Nokia
Company Ownership WPP
Asia-Pacific Offices 25
2009 Ranking 9

A stellar year for Ogilvy PR, but also a year of transition. In the last few weeks of the year, the agency scooped the Network of the Year award at the Asia-Pacific PR Awards, and also unveiled the replacement for its highly popular regional CEO Chris Graves.

The new man, Steve Dahllof, inherits a highly impressive China operation; the network’s three biggest wins in 2009 were all Chinese briefs, and just one of its 10 biggest accounts overall does not involve work on the mainland. However, new business was quieter in Australia, traditionally another Ogilvy PR stronghold.

Its growth strategy has been built around developing specialised practices targeting emerging disciplines. It looked outside the PR world to hire former journalist and blogger Thomas Crampton to head up social media as director of 360 digital influence. It also appointed Stephanie Stamatakou to head up its fast-growing healthcare arm, OgilvyHealth, and expanded sustainability unit OgilvyEarth from its Australian base into a global business. Dahllof will have a lot to live up to.

PORTER NOVELLI - 4/10

Regional Head Ed Dixon (S. Asia), John Orme (N. Asia)
Key Clients Dow, Huawei, Procter & Gamble
Company Ownership Omnicom Group
Asia-Pacific Offices 8
2009 Ranking 4

2009 was another quiet year for Porter Novelli, and for a network that has struggled to build a presence in Asia that matches its strength elsewhere in the world, that isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Much of the agency’s focus remains on servicing its global clients, and two of its key internal initiatives in 2009 focused on just that. It brought over two senior executives from the US to Singapore to help boost its ability to roll out global work, and introduced its PNPoints Insight campaign development tool to standardise its offering around the world.

In terms of business, the agency lost out on Vodafone Hutchison’s AOR account in Australia to Weber Shandwick (it had been working on the 3 brand), but it can take consolation from wins such as Novartis in Australia, General Motors in Korea and Calloway Golf in India. Two years after it secured a joint venture with Shunya in China, it will be looking to build momentum in that market in 2010.

PROFESSIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS - 5/10

Regional Head Richard Lazar
Key Clients Landcorp, Forrest Wood Products, Dell
Company Ownership WPP
Asia-Pacific Offices 14
2009 Ranking 5

Having ventured beyond its Australasian base in previous years, PPR spent much of 2009 focusing on its domestic markets. Two new offices in Australia (Newcastle and Gold Coast) reflected a drive to find new clients at home rather than add to its four offices in Greater China and Singapore.

Indeed, its eight biggest client wins last year were all focused on Australasia. It has an increasingly strong hand to play in these markets, having partnered with Australian Public Affairs to improve its government relations coverage, introduced an agribusiness practice and launched sponsorship and events arm PPR Seal.

The latter got off to a promising start, scooping 13 clients including Tennis Australia. However, its Hong Kong office appears to be taking the lead digitally, launching online products to track online opinion and analyse brand sectors. PPR remains a fixture at Australasian awards shows, and picked up a winners medal for Promotional Activity of the Year at the Asia-Pacific PR Awards.

RUDER FINN - 5/10

Regional Head Jean-Michel Dumont
Key Clients FAW-VW Audi, Moet Hennessy Diageo, Li Ning
Company Ownership Independent
Asia-Pacific Offices 5
2009 Ranking 5

Ruder Finn remains solidly focused on China (four of its five offices are in the mainland), and given the strength of that market the decision is understandable. The company scored some impressive wins, including a B2B account for Cotton Inc, a consumer brief for sports brand Lotto and the global public affairs work for the US pavilion at the Shanghai Expo. It also retained its lucrative Cartier and Emirates briefs in the mainland. Its strength has been offering brands full-service PR in China, and its top eight clients all use the agency on this basis.

The highlights weren’t all in China, though; in March, Ruder Finn worked with MTV on an interesting project to tackle human trafficking. However, the network’s coverage outside China remains an obstacle to growth. And its traditional strength in healthcare is being challenged by other operators targeting this market; significantly, Ruder Finn moved Mai Tran from her role as MD of its French office to EVP of its Asia-Pacific health and wellness division. With Novartis and Pfizer among its Asian clients, Ruder Finn needs to ensure its healthcare offer remains strong.

STRATEGIC PUBLIC RELATIONS - 6/10

Regional Head Richard Tsang
Key Clients Volkswagen Import, Melco, Google China
Company Ownership Independent
Asia-Pacific Offices 7
2009 Ranking 6

Last year’s Agency Image Survey identified SPRG as top agency for value for money, a handy reputation to have going into a recessionary year. Yet with IPOs thin on the ground, the agency had fewer opportunities to demonstrate its expertise in investor relations. Just three of the company’s 10 biggest account wins were for IR assignments.

Nevertheless, the agency is keen to build its investor relations practice. The focus for this has previously been Hong Kong, but in 2009 SPRG set up a financial communications team in Singapore to extend its coverage. And the agency also sought to target companies preparing to go public in the future by introducing a pre-IPO brand-building programme.

Overall, SPRG remains strongest in Greater China, and has shown an encouraging ability to pick up local clients. Last year’s crop included Mongolia Energy and the Sichuan Provincial Government. Early signs in 2010 are that the agency remains keen to build its portfolio: when Waggener Edstrom resigned Samsung in Hong Kong, SPRG was quick to take on the business.

TEXT 100 - 7/10

Regional Head Rowan Benecke
Key Clients Lenovo, IBM, Cisco
Company Ownership Next Fifteen
Asia-Pacific Offices 12
2009 Ranking 7

Text 100 enjoys a strong reputation for its digital expertise, and in 2009 it scored points for releasing a widely reported global survey of bloggers. That capped a pretty impressive year for the network. It picked up some big-name clients, including Yahoo in India, Cisco Consumer in Australia and the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. It also managed to expand some of its existing relationships; the number of clients engaging the agency in three or more markets rose from nine to 16.

Text 100’s ability to punch above its weight (key clients include Lenovo and Nokia) earned it an honourable mention for Mid-Size Network of the Year at the Asia-Pacific PR Awards. It wasn’t all plain sailing, though. The agency faced a leadership vacuum at its key India operation after the departure of Rishi Seth at the end of 2008. Finally in July it announced Amit Chaudhery, formerly at Text 100 client Motorola, as the new man in charge. With that role filled, expect China to see greater focus in 2010. Text 100’s record there is still not as strong as it could be.

WAGGENER EDSTROM - 5/10

Regional Head David Ko
Key Clients Microsoft, CSL, DHL
Company Ownership Independent
Asia-Pacific Offices 4
2009 Ranking 4

With just four offices in Asia-Pacific (it uses affiliates elsewhere in the region), Waggener Edstrom arguably still needs to expand its presence. But given the difficulties in the market in 2009, doing so has proved difficult. Yet that did not stop the agency adding some significant business last year from clients such as CSL, Hewlett-Packard and Fujitsu.

Encouragingly, there were further wins outside its tech heartland, notably Asia-Pacific Breweries and the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society. On the debit side, Waggener decided to resign the Samsung Hong Kong account, previously one of the agency’s biggest-earning pieces of business, after a change in personnel and a shift in direction by the client.

For all that, the company’s lynchpin client remains Microsoft, and that relationship looks solid for now after the agency secured global PR for its mobile business in May. Not surprisingly, then, boosting Waggener’s digital offering will remain a key focus of 2010, and last year’s hire of digital strategy leads in both Hong Kong and Singapore should help it in this direction.

WEBER SHANDWICK - 8/10

Regional Head Tim Sutton (Interpublic)
Key Clients Procter & Gamble, MasterCard, Microsoft
Company Ownership Interpublic Group
Asia-Pacific Offices 17
2009 Ranking 7

Chairman Tim Sutton’s efforts to restore Weber Shandwick’s spark seem to be paying off after some decent business wins. Among these were Vodafone in Australia and AstraZeneca in Japan, while the agency capped the year by scooping the McDonald’s consumer PR account in China. Weber Shandwick also added extra duties for its biggest client, Procter & Gamble, though it missed out in a pitch for the company’s corporate PR and crisis communications work.

The network’s rebuilding continues, and 2009 saw considerable turnover in senior management. In came Akihiko Kubo from McCann Worldgroup as president/CEO in Japan (now one of Weber Shandwick’s most successful offices), Lalana Santos as MD in Thailand and Rozani Jainudeen as GM in Malaysia. Meanwhile, Tyler Kim was poached from Edelman to head up the network’s new Korean office.

Despite the recruitment drive, Sutton’s focus on talent development paid off as Linda Lee scooped Young PR Professional of the Year at the Asia-Pacific PR Awards. All eyes are on the network in 2010 to see whether the new-look team can deliver on its promise.

This article was originally published in the 11 February 2010 issue of Media.