Saatchi billings down but agency holds lead

<p>BEIJING: Saatchi & Saatchi has retained its status as China's </p><p>top-billing agency in 2000 in the long-awaited China Advertising </p><p>Association (CAA) report, which has been criticised for having the same </p><p>flaws as the Hong Kong 4As' ranking. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>CAA - a semi-government industry body that reports directly to the State </p><p>Administration of Industry and Commerce - had Saatchis billing RMB1.38 </p><p>billion (about US$165 million) after tax last year. But Saatchis' </p><p>billings were sharply down from the RMB1.83 billion it reported for </p><p>1999. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>McCann-Erickson Guangming, J. Walter Thompson, Ogilvy & Mather and Grey </p><p>round off the top five. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>A similar ranking compiled by the Hong Kong 4As puts O&M on top, with </p><p>Saatchis running second. Saatchis' Asia chief executive Patrick Pitcher </p><p>said the CAA figures were more reliable because they were calculated on </p><p>taxes paid. Pitcher said: "I'm not sure if the CAA numbers are the most </p><p>accurate but they represent the best effort. The 4As relies on agencies </p><p>sending in their audited billings but these are open to interpretation </p><p>because some companies get paid in Hong Kong and there might be </p><p>inter-company charges which confuse the whole picture." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Rival agencies have pointed to the discrepancy between Saatchis' </p><p>billings and the taxes paid. Despite its pole position, Saatchis was </p><p>only ranked fourth in tax paid, while second-placed McCann paid the most </p><p>taxes. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>O&M Greater China group managing director Joseph Wang claimed that all </p><p>of Zenith Media's billings, including accounts handled by Bates, were </p><p>listed under Saatchis. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He said this was similar to MindShare's billings being booked only under </p><p>JWT, irrespective of whether some accounts were serviced by O&M, a </p><p>fellow WPP agency. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>This would account for the sharp drop in Saatchis' billings, after </p><p>Zenith took a huge hit when it lost the Procter & Gamble China media </p><p>buying account last year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, Pitcher argued that since CAA had not changed the methodology </p><p>in compiling the rankings, the figures were consistent and therefore </p><p>reliable. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But other agencies countered, saying this also applied to the Hong Kong </p><p>4As figures. "Unless there's more transparency somewhere, we're </p><p>deadlocked," said Wang. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>