The challenge of inspiring 'team thinking'

Ann Fudge, president of Young & Rubicam Brands, is pleased with the work of one of her companies, design agency Landor, which recently crafted a new corporate look for its parent. "Now we're starting to look like truly one global community," she enthuses. "That is very special to me, because when you get that confidence and you get people feeling they're really part of a strong, talented team, there's nothing you can't do together." Team thinking is at the heart of a cultural overhaul Fudge has instigated since taking office last year, giving the companies in her charge not just a fresh identity to work under, but a new vernacular to help reshape the dynamic of business relationships. When she hears employees referring to clients as 'client partners', she knows her reforms are taking effect. Fudge, a former client for major US corporations such as General Mills and Kraft, sees personal connections as key to business success, citing poor communication as a major reason for clients switching from agency to agency. She won't be drawn on whether the priorities of her agencies in Asia lie with winning new business or developing existing relationships, backing both, but one gets the distinct impression the Young & Rubicam Brands chief, marshalling brands such as Wunderman, Landor, Burson Marsteller and Sudler & Hennessey as well as Y&R itself, favours the latter. "For me," she says, "the biggest vote of confidence is when you get more business from a current client partner." Although many of Fudge's initiatives have yet to reach Asia, they do offer a taste of what lies in store for the region, which she calls "my green field". Earlier this year she piloted a new training programme in North America, Virtuoso, bringing together mid-level staffers from different companies to work together on a fictitious client problem (Fudge got to play the client), while she is currently experimenting with different compensation models in certain markets that reward group rather individual company performance. When asked what the biggest change her employees in Asia will notice in the next few years, she replies instantly: "Collaboration -- understanding each other's business and the value they can bring to a client partner's marketing communications challenges." Fudge was famously lured out of early retirement in May last year by Sir Martin Sorrell to restore direction to what was then Young & Rubicam Inc, a disparate group of agencies clustered round an ad agency that had lost its way. The recent decision by Fudge's former employer Kraft to drop Y&R from its agency roster shows the battle hasn't been won yet. Y&R had also lost momentum in Asia, where, 10 years ago, it was one of adland's shining lights, stalled by a succession of changes at the helm, including a joint chairman structure in which operations were co-directed from separate offices flanking the region in India and Japan. Although the appointment of Chris Jaques as the ad agency's Asia-Pacific CEO over a year ago has restored some stability to Y&R, Japan and India still present problems: a 20-year relationship with Dentsu threatened by the takeover by Sir Martin's WPP, which has a representative from Dentsu rival Asatsu on the board; while operations in India have been bogged down by a deadlock over the future of a joint-venture with local agency Rediffusion, in which Y&R and Dentsu have equal stakes. Dentsu has kickstarted its Indian operations with the launch of a second agency, Dentsu Communications India, together with former Rediffusion exec Sandeep Goyal. Fudge remains tightlipped over her future plans for India ahead of a visit scheduled for November, but highlights the importance of the country's huge growth. "We have a great relationship with Rediffusion now," she says. "Stay tuned." Fudge has reportedly made good progress rebuilding bridges with Dentsu, rumoured to be unhappy over communication during Y&R's IPO and subsequent takeover by WPP. However, the future of the relationship looks far from clear, and will probably ultimately be decided by Fudge's boss, Sir Martin Sorrell. Local issues aside, Fudge's vision has started to take hold in Asia, with the creation last year of a cross disciplinary board linking Jaques at Y&R with his regional counterparts at sibling agencies, and the co-location of Wunderman, Landor and Y&R in Shanghai a sign of things to come. Exactly how Young & Rubicam Brands companies work together will be down to its people, says Fudge, who is keen to promote local autonomy as well as more integrated working practices, not just regionally but across the world. "If you really want to create global brands, you can't just do that from North America, or Europe or Asia," Fudge says. "You've got to mix it all up. We're really making it work. People talk about it, but we're actually making it happen."