Michael O'Neill
Jun 16, 2010

Agency Report Card: Creative agencies in 2009

ASIA-PACIFIC - Weighing up performance in a year of accountability, the annual report cards show Ogilvy maintain their position at the top. Here follows an assessment (mark out of 10) of the region's top 23 creative networks.

Agency Report Card: Creative agencies in 2009

Now in its seventh year, Media’s Agency Report Card remains the most comprehensive overview of advertising and media agencies in Asia-Pacific. The results are compiled according to a variety of criteria, including new business analysis, agency submissions, creative wins, new staffing hires and the Agency Image Survey.

In a year when the global financial crisis has put agency performance and accountability among marketers under a much brighter spotlight than in has traditionally been the case, this report takes on special significance.

Among the agencies to have climbed the ranks was BBH, which although lacking the scale of many competitors is building itself into a solid network with a creative reputation parallel to that in the UK by focusing on selected high-growth markets.

Agencies to have suffered as a result of the economic downturn and consequently dropped in the rankings include Japanese giants Dentsu and Hakuhodo. Their core business shrank considerably in the domestic market forcing increased diversification.

Click here to access Media Agencies Report.

5

Asatsu-DK
2008: 5
 
It was one of the toughest years on record, with revenue declining 15 per cent as the Japanese marketing scene imploded.
ooooo

7

Bates 141
2008: 6
 
There were few surprises. Bates used 2009 to focus on building the agency brand and talent following the loss of Heineken & Nokia.
ooooo

8

BBDO
 2008: 8
It was a solid year for BBDO on the back of two breakthrough years under the leadership of Chris Thomas.
ooooo

6

BBH
2008: 5
 
Despite the harsh economic environment, BBH emerged with account wins to bring in some US$56 million in total billings.
ooooo

5

Cheil Worldwide
2008: 5
Cheil further distanced itself from the label as Samsung's in-house agency. New business mostly focused on the domestic market.
ooooo

8

DDB
2008: 7
 
In a year of downward trends, DDB won 220 local, regional and global accounts and new billings in excess of US$180 million.
ooooo

5

Dentsu
2008: 6
 
Despite a 17 per cent decline in revenue and missing out on the Razorfish deal, Dentsu did its best to explore new markets.
ooooo

3

DraftFCB
2008: 2
 
Three years since the merger, it looks like things may finally be picking up for the IPG shop, albeit at a slow pace.
ooooo

7

Euro RSCG
2008: 6
Euro won the much coveted regional DBS account at the start of the year. Other key wins added to new billings of US$168 million.
ooooo

4

Grey Global
2008: 4
The appointment of Nirvik Singh as CEO for Grey APAC meant the agency entered the year with a fresh approach.
ooooo

5

Hakuhodo
2008: 6
 
The agency saw the same double digit decline as others in Japan but hopes to grow through investment in other markets.
ooooo

7

JWT
2008: 7
 
JWT welcomed good news when they won the Thai Airways creative account at the end of an otherwise lean year for new business.
ooooo

5

Leo Burnett
2008: 5
The agency recorded a decent amount of new business from high profile accounts adding up US$57 million in billings for 2009.
ooooo

3

Lowe & Partners
2008: 3
Thailand chairman Charuvarn Vanasin's retirement in June presented Lowe with an missed opportunity to re-establish its identity.
ooooo

3

M&C Saatchi
2008: 2
Despite recent actions to downsize its teams earlier in the year, 2009 was one of expansion and new accounts for M&C.
ooooo

8

McCann Erickson
2008: 8
The loss of key account Intel and the global move of UPS impacted Asian operations which saw large-scale lay offs, esp in China.
ooooo

9

Ogilvy & Mather
2008: 9
Under new regional leadership, Ogilvy remained a consistent winner in one of its most successful years with new billings of US$263 million.
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7

Publicis
2008: 7
 
New business was a priority for Publicis in 2009 and the agency responded well with over US$150 million in new billings.
ooooo

5

Saatchi & Saatchi
2008: 6
The appointment of Justin Billingsley as chief executive for Greater China came along with two big wins: Amway Nutrilite and Siemens.
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5

Sapient Nitro
2008: n/a
The big story for Sapient was the global success of their 'The best job in the world' campaign, also a big hit at Cannes.
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8

TBWA
2008: 8
 
In 2009 TBWA's stronghold remained in China with highlights including winning all the ATL advertising for McDonald's in 2010.
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5

Wieden & Kennedy
2008: 5
W&K remained characteristically low-key in 2009. They almost lost Nike's creative account and new wins were relatively small.
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4

Y&R
2008: 4
 
It has been a year of upheaval for Y&R. Their change of leadership in eight markets across the region will be a focal point in 2010.
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The full report for each agency was originally published in the 28 January 2010 issue of Media.

Source:
Campaign Asia

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