Universal McCann steps up roll-out in Asia-Pacific

The roll-out of Universal McCann (UM) across Asia-Pacific is almost complete, following recent launches in China, Hong Kong and Thailand. McCann is among the last of the major agency networks to set up a unified media brand; however, UM executive VP and worldwide operations director Murray Dudgeon said in Hong Kong recently that this was "to make sure we had a point of difference for our clients". He told MEDIA that the agency had to ensure that its research and analysis capabilities were up and running in each of the market in which it planned to launch UM. Added UM Hong Kong general manager Roid Sin, "Putting in place the processes and then getting the right people and training them to make them knowledgeable about the processes takes time." However, Mr Dudgeon stressed that UM did not represent an unbundling of media from the main agency. "Media must be totally integrated into the planning business. Media must be close to the agency and sit at the forefront of the planning process. That means you need the creative team and the account handlers close by," he said. Other Asia-Pacific markets UM has already launched in are Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, India and the Philippines. Japan will launch by before the end of the year. Thailand was one of the more recent countries that UM has launched in, with tailor-made media tools all developed especially for that market. These include interactive media, public relations, experiential marketing, market research and event management. The local management team is headed by MD Sakda Preechawipat, who said UM has been conceived differently compared to unbundled media operations. "Universal McCann will give new meaning to media by ensuring its role at the forefront of the communication planning process and campaign development in Thailand," Mr Sakda said. He added that UM raised the importance of media and its contribution to effective advertising. "The local resource and structure has been developed to promote more potent communication solutions facilitated by 'holy grail' media tools and tighter integration with core strategic and creative disciplines within the main agency." Echoing Mr Dudgeon's comment, Mr Sakda said UM is not a media separation, but an elevation of media products built on client needs to provide greater optimisation of message and channel integration. The company has also launched Next Generation Media Practice, which aims to monitor Thai consumer's relationship with media. This required commissioning the largest single piece of media research ever conducted by Media In Mind advertising agency. Mr Sakda said the proprietary study would allow UM media professionals to glean new insights into the way Thai consumers view media and the way in which their attention and receptivity to media changes across the day. According to Mr Dudgeon, UM's worldwide billings totals US$15.2 billion, with Asia-Pacific accounting for US$2 billion of that figure.

Sign In

Trouble signing in?

Reset Password: Click here

Contact Customer Support at

Customerservice@campaignasia.com