For the second year running, Ogilvy & Mather has topped Media's Asia-Pacific agency ranking, while its WPP sibling MindShare has taken top honours among media agencies.
The WPP sweep came as both networks achieved impressive scores in at least three of the four components measured - new business wins, network strength, awards won and integrated capabilities in the creative category; and new business wins, non-aligned business wins, network strength and awards in the media segment.
The ranking, compiled by Media and R3, found that O&M was by far the strongest network in the region, even picking up a perfect 10 for awards because of its consistently strong performance at virtually all awards shows from Cannes down to national creative competitions organised in the different Asian markets.
Even a mediocre score of 'five' in new business wins - a component which was determined primarily from the Business Performance League, compiled by R3 and published monthly in Media - did not derail O&M's sprint to the top. O&M does not report wins to the league in line with a WPP order not to release billings figures. A best estimate by Media and R3 was, therefore, given to O&M.
Four agencies - Leo Burnett, J. Walter Thompson, TBWA and Euro RSCG - tied for the distant second place, followed by McCann-Erickson, Grey Global Group and Dentsu.
The media contest was considerably harder to call. There was just one point separating top-ranked MindShare and second-place runners-up OMD and Universal McCann. ZenithMedia and Carat were also among the chasing pack. What swung the ranking MindShare's way was its tremendous, overall size in key markets of Southeast Asia as well as India and China.
In sizing up a network's abilities based on a broad range of criterion, the rankings provide an up-to-date indication of a network's strengths and skills from one year to the next. In particular, this year's rankings provide a timely assessment of a network's performance under especially challenging circumstances that have seen a number of agencies shave their head count.
But balanced alongside the network's penchant for geographical expansion and "under one roof" service integration philosophy, not all marketers - like HSBC senior advertising and sponsorship manager, group public affairs department, Anthony Lau - believe that bigger means better. "That they can win new business undoubtedly shows their strength, however, if an agency adds new business but doesn't add to the head count, which is not unusual in this economic climate, then the agency's resources would be stretched and that would affect me, the client," Lau says.
Canon marketing manager for Hong Kong and Taiwan, Connie Wong, adds: "Saying they have 20 offices around the region isn't good enough. It's how they use their resources in the areas of knowledge creation, management and training which will ultimately help their client's business."
In Lau's opinion, successful agencies are those that can identify the needs of their clients, allocate resources accordingly and then tailor-make advertising solutions. With intensifying competition amid sluggish economic conditions, marketers are also increasingly looking for agencies, which can deliver integrated solutions, combining above- and below-the-line disciplines.
However, very few of the agencies in the ranking scored highly on this count. Lau notes: "I have yet to see an agency which offers truly integrated services. Co-ordination among disciplines and markets, yes, but not true integration."
For the moment he said that integration along with strategy would continue to be set internally by HSBC executives.