The Star Online: Business
The Star Online: Business |
- 2011 adex seen achieving double-digit growth
- Foetus International understands the importance of training young, promising talents
- Snapshots
| 2011 adex seen achieving double-digit growth Posted: 24 Jun 2011 06:23 PM PDT ADVERTISING expenditure (adex), which recorded double-digit growth of 16.2% to RM4.09bil in the five-month period ending May 2011 versus a year earlier, is likely to continue its growth momentum for the rest of the year, say industry experts. Omnicom Media Group managing director Andreas Vogiatzakis says that judging from the growth trend so far, adex in 2011 is likely to see double digit growth, boosted by media inflation, namely rate increases. "Our hope is that, as usual, marketers will spend a bit more in the second half of the year, as traditionally the spending pattern of the first half (versus the second half) is usually 45:55, as the past seven years' spending pattern analysis suggests." But with rising prices, spending power could be curbed, he adds. "All other things being equal, we believe that growth is likely to slow down. Nevertheless, we could have an election year, and that event alone could sway things on the upside!" According to data from Nielsen, newspapers attracted the most ad spend in the first five months of the year, accounting for RM1.7bil of total adex, which was a growth of 14.3% from RM1.5bil in the previous corresponding period. This was followed by free-to-air (FTA) TV adex, which rose 12.9% to RM1.16bil while pay-TV ad spend grew 29.3% to RM861.36mil. Vogiatzakis says the adex growth in the first five months of the year was not surprising. "Yes, it is not surprising, as it mainly reflects rate card increases. Factors that contributed to the increase was some ad growth (and) some new advertisers entering the market, but mainly the rate inflation." Naga DDB strategic brand planning director Tai Kam Leong, meanwhile, says he is surprised by the adex growth in the first five months of the year. "The (16%) growth was surprising, but it's a good surprise as it shows that there is a good level of optimism in the market. It reflects the increase in competition and that advertising is important in a competitive marketplace." However, Tai feels that adex may ease in the second half. "Inflation is likely to keep the adex numbers up but I feel growth for the year will be in the high single digits. However, I hope to be proven wrong," he says. Vizeum Malaysia chief executive officer Andy Miller is optimistic about the outlook for adex in Malaysia for 2011. "I feel that the momentum will continue this year because we're completely out of a recession. The confidence level has also improved and (advertising agency) clients are spending more this year compared with last year." Miller, who is the Media Specialists Association organising committee chairman for the upcoming Malaysian Media Awards, however believes that big budgets are not required for creative, effective ad campaigns. "Ads with small budgets are often the most innovative," he says. - By Eugene Mahalingam Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Foetus International understands the importance of training young, promising talents Posted: 24 Jun 2011 06:23 PM PDT REALISING the importance of talent improvement and retention, marketing communications firm Foetus International has been organising intense training programmes for young, promising talents over the past decade. The annual, usually three-month-plus-long training programme is a significant investment for the group, but Naga DDB strategic brand planning director Tai Kam Leong (pic), one of the many "experts" involved in the training programmes, believes it's well worth the money. "This year, we're training 30 junior to mid-level talents from within the group. Estimated investment is about RM20,000 per head, which translates to over half-a-million ringgit," he tells StarBizweek. The Foetus group comprises ad agencies Naga DDB and Milk+Co, digital agency Tribal DDB, customer relationship marketing firm Rapp, media specialist Vizeum Media Services, Milk PR, Faces Publication, Beyond Events, corporate responsibility operation StART Foundation, MNC Wireless, mobile-led digital firm Digital Kungfu and talent agency Model.com. According to Tai, the talents (within the group) who are deemed to be the most promising are selected for the training. Foetus' efforts are indeed admirable. But what if the newly trained talents choose to leave tomorrow to seek greener pastures after reaping the benefits of the course? Tai says the talents have no obligation to stay, but adds: "Of course, it's a problem when you invest in them and they leave. But I think it's worse if you don't train them and they stay!" Retaining the talents This year's DDB University (DDBU), which started on May 20 and ends on Aug 26, is themed "The New (Dis)Order". The theme is intended to reflect a working (or rather, advertising) world out there that's in a state of chaos, or disorder. But through the DDBU, the trained talents can "bring order to the chaos." "They (the young talents) are considered the new world order and we need them to be able to bring order to the disorder," Tai enthuses. According to him, among the areas of training will be basic finance, strategic development, modes of (effective) communication, public relations, digital marketing and mobile marketing. The full-day training sessions, which is held primarily on weekends, is conducted by respected industry experts that include managing directors and chief executive officers in their relevant fields, says Tai. "We avoid the mistake of getting trainers that are not well versed with the industry and have taken the best practitioners for this," he says, adding that the trainees are given both theoretical and practical training. "We also give them real-life challenges, to try and have them solve real problems." At the end of the course, everyone gets a certificate and rewards are also given to those who excel at certain challenges, says Tai, adding that the DDBU has become somewhat of an "urban legend" over the years for being a gruelling training program. He says that some trainees actually get emotional once the course is finally over. The main purpose for having the training, says Tai, is not only to improve the group's working ability, but to also keep them engaged in their work and of course, to be able to retain them. "We want our people to be better at what they do and also want them to learn new things and challenges." Tai believes that talent retention is about keeping things interesting and challenging, adding that the turnover rate (in terms of talent) in the advertising industry is high. "If work remains challenging and interesting, your people are more likely to show passion in their jobs." He says that in today's working world, a lot of people switch jobs not purely for monetary reasons. "(To these people), their jobs give them challenges that keep things exciting for them." Tai adds that the training is also inline with the group's "3P" philosophy, namely people, product and profit. "Profits are reliant on the product, which, in our case, are ideas, and ideas are driven by people. "However, if you don't take care of your people, there won't be anyone to come up with ideas (and ultimately a product). And without this, you can't generate profits." Given that the DDBU targets junior to mid-level participants, Tai adds that having a more efficient (younger) work force also helps elevate the efficiency level of the rest of the group. Bragging rights To date, the DDBU has successfully trained more than 200 participants since it first started in 2001. Among its more well known "graduates" is former BBDO/Proximity Malaysia executive creative director Mun Tuck Wai, says Tai. He believes that no other creative agency in Malaysia invests as much as Foetus does in its people. "A lot of companies say they place a lot of emphasis on talent investment but I don't think they put their money where their mouth is. "No one teaches you three months of the ins and outs of marketing and advertising. "I don't think there is also anyone that is as expensive as us. "It's not a bragging right, but we believe this is the right thing to do. We encourage everyone else to do it. In fact, we're even open to help anyone do it!," he says. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Posted: 24 Jun 2011 06:22 PM PDT Tribal Leadership: Leveraging natural groups to build a thriving organization Authors: Dave Logan, John King and Halee Fischer-Wright Publishers: Harper Business Every organisation composes tribes. These are naturally occurring groups of between 20 and 150 people. Until today, only a few leaders could identify and develop their tribes, and those rare individuals were rewarded with loyalty, productivity and innovation. This book shows leaders how to assess, identify and upgrade their tribes' cultures one stage at a time. The result is an organisation that can thrive in any economy. Chinnovation: How Chinese innovators are changing the world Author: Yinglan Tan Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Drawing on a wealth of on-the-ground stories and thorough research, this book shows how Chinese companies have dispelled the myth that China's entrepreneur class has grown due to their knowledge of the domestic market and their adaptation to change. The author is of the view that it is innovation that has helped the Chinese entrepreneurs, although a knowledge of the domestic market is also important. Drucker's Lost Art of Management Authors: Joseph A. Maciariello and Karen E. Linkletter Publisher:McGraw Hill A much-needed blueprint to make corporate America management more functional and redeeming. Management guru Peter Drucker made clear connections between the liberal arts and effective management but he passed away before providing a detailed exposition of his ideas. Maciariello and Linkletter integrate their Drucker expertise in management and the arts to redefine the corporate world. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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