Universal McCann launches in China: Media specialist will maintain full-service links with its parent agency

Universal McCann has launched in China aiming to elevate the role of media in the mainland's increasingly complex media and communication environment. However, in contrast with the current trend of unbundling media units, Universal McCann has opted to maintain its full-service link with its parent agency. Universal McCann worldwide operations director and executive VP Murray Dudgeon told MEDIA the launch aimed at not just establishing another network, but enhancing the existing network's media discipline. Media plays a key role in driving the whole branding and creative process, according to Mr Dudgeon, who said fragmented media consumption was expanding the strategic importance of media in advertising and marketing plans. Media should be at the forefront of all strategic communication plans, as it is the media planner who needs to sort out solutions on what, how and where to carry the message tactically in the branding and creative process. With global billings of US$15.2 billion, Universal McCann will complete its worldwide launch by the end of this year, with operations in about 127 countries. Despite the current spree of mergers and acquisitions, Mr Dudgeon ruled out further mergers with Initiative, another media brand under the same holding parent, Interpublic. Mr Dudgeon said Universal McCann would not build its network through acquisition or by merging operations of different cultures. However, he did not rule out the possibility of combining forces in terms of sharing research knowhow and techniques within the Interpublic network. There are, nonetheless, potential acquisitions to be made in the arena of specialist disciplines, such as the Internet. Advertising conglomerates have rolled out their media independents one after the other over the past couple years, with McCann-Erickson Worldwide announcing the global launch of Universal McCann just last year. Mr Dudgeon said the agency had to make sure that all the criteria - such as research tools, techniques and staff training- were fully in place prior to the launch. Universal McCann has invested on the worldwide launch of its proprietary study, Media in Mind, which is a single source media usage and product consumption research. In a bid to expand media's core driver role in the communication process, further proprietary tools such as the media neutral Mixology are being developed to enhance the agency's planning clout. "It's now the right time and right place to launch," said Universal McCann Asia-Pacific regional director and senior VP Allan Medforth, who said cheap media buys should not form the competitive clout of a media agency. The crux should be the big creative idea, as clients will not turn to advertising agencies only for production services, but also branding and ideas. The point was to optimise the focal communication point with consumers, according to Mr Dudgeon. "It's the time to understand (and explore) the (most effective) contact point with consumers," said Mr Medforth, who said the traditional method of creating a 30-second commercial and leaving the media division to fight for the spot was no longer relevant in today's advertising process. Spinning off media divisions was not a profit-driven move, but it was about long-term development to prepare for the next generation of media practice, said McCann-Erickson Guangming Greater China CEO Joop Broeren. Universal McCann is also eyeing further third party and media-only businesses and has won US$1.25 billion worth of new business so far. With a total of 108 staff in China, general managers Gary Sin, Aaron Wild and Gilad Coppersmith are respectively heading up the offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Universal McCann's clients in China include: Colgate Palmolive, Motorola, Johnson & Johnson, Maybelline, Nestle, L'Oreal, Gillette, Darlie and Ping An. Asked about expansion plans for China, both Mr Broeren and Mr Medforth said further penetration inland was not necessary at the moment.

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