The brand’s Red Lounge initiative would appear to suggest so. At a time when marketers are yearning for all disciplines to be brought under one roof, Coke is addressing the issue — uniting communications channels with brand strategy and execution under one core team, Red Lounge, in mainland China.
The initiative is essentially a one-stop shop — bringing the likes of Leo Burnett, Starcom, interactive agency Wwwins, and outdoor specialist Heartland under one roof.
Importantly, the set-up of Red Lounge shows that clients are no longer organising themselves by channels, but looking to work with a talented group of individuals to get the best advice for a powerful creative product.
Unlike WPP’s ‘dream team’ concept, which gave birth to Team HSBC and Team Samsung, Red Lounge brings all parties in one room, looking at a business issue from every angle, without blinkers or financial bias.
If it works, Red Lounge should offer Coke the fullest picture of its marketing problems and the right solutions, involving all partners in the ‘big idea’ as it prepares to battle chief rival Pepsi ahead of the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
Red Lounge isn’t about integrated strategy, but about giving Coke a clear brand proposition that comes to life at every touchpoint.
If ever there was a headline destined to write itself, it was the departure of Chris Jaques as Y&R North America CEO.
Jaques — who last week tendered his resignation after just five months in the New York-based post — is publicly tight-lipped on his decision to leave the WPP agency. Privately however the former Y&R Asia chief may take a mischievous delight in his infamy.
Jaques has had more column inches dedicated to his career than any other agency head in the last six months, and leaves Y&R North America almost as sensationally as he joined it. He was appointed to the US role in mid-2006 just three months after resigning amid speculation that his career at Y&R was over. The move at the time marked a reunion with Hamish McLennan, one time subordinate and now global Y&R head closely aligned with WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell. For McLennan, Jaques’ resignation is likely to be a blow that’s both professional and personal. Having brought his former colleague back into the Y&R fold, McLennan was depending on Jaques to reinvigorate the important US operation. He now faces yet another leadership crisis at a network that has been plagued by account and talent departures in recent years.
Indeed, few will argue that the task Jaques faced in New York was more formidable than that in Asia, where, since mid-2003, he rebuilt a flagging regional network into a profitable operation.
Whether or not it was personal or professional factors that led to Jaques’ decision, it was always questionable how long the Jaques-McLennan pairing would last. Jaques is a mercurial reminder of the industry’s extravagant days. McLennan, meanwhile, is cast more in the Sorrell mould as a hard-nosed business leader.
The next few months will call for some tricky decisions on both sides. WPP will undoubtedly be watching the newly-empowered Jaques with growing discomfort as he navigates his next move in Asia. The holding company, however, could do worse than hold on to an agency chief who has the ability to inject passion and ambition into a network sorely in need of strong leadership in Asia. Indeed, Ogilvy aside, there are few networks in Asia with a regional leader who can match Jaques’ enthusiasm for the business. Rival agencies in talks with Jaques have been wise to recognise that.
