Broadbent claims that differences still exist between multinational and local agencies with regard to effectiveness, pointing out that Western firms continue to dominate awards shows. He describes the tendency among local firms to compete on low price and speed rather than quality as a potential disaster, and believes “effectiveness should be higher on the agenda in Asia than it is”.
However, citing new research that quantifies the financial benefit of effective work that is creative, as opposed to work that is effective but lacks creativity, he says that appreciation of effective creativity is growing significantly.
“It’s very clear that creativity gives a turbo boost to effective campaigns, leaving less creative ones behind in the dust,” he states. Linked to this, he observes that the stereotypical emphasis in Asia of “finding a faster, cheaper way of copying something that already exists” is coming to an end.
“More and more Asian companies see the value of building brands that have greater stability of demand across the economic cycle and for that they need business creativity,” he explains. “Creative output is still lagging behind the West. There is a big gap to make up, but the trend is in the right way. More Asian clients will insist on effectiveness from their agencies and make it part of their requirements.”
