New Business Opinion 4
TAKING A BITE
How the UK’s ad pioneers are faring Stateside
We looked at this article by Ann Cooper in Campaign. It looks at the challenges confronting British agencies attempting to eat from the Big Apple. Ann Cooper reports that UK agencies launching in New York adopt modest, low-key tactics to counter the city’s infamously unwelcoming attitude to any foreigner on the make. Right now, M&C Saatchi are there; BBH, Michaelides & Bednash and Mother too. Naked is also launching there in order to take advantage of the improving economy and changing media climate. The planning shop’s founder John Harlow said "We're being led by demand and we're meeting potential clients and going through the process… we want to do it at our own pace and get it right". He goes on to say he favours a delivery that offers an authentic US feel and so doesn't want "an all-Brit line up".
How are the UK shops faring? M&C Saatchi set up in New York to service an existing client, British Airways. They then opened a Los Angeles office employing local resources. Michaelides & Bednash set up in NYC in 2001 with just three people to provide a US footing for their Unilever account. George Michaelides says that although they did get some local media business, "to get work from the bigger brands, we realised we had to do it by building the relationships in the UK." He goes on to stress the importance of being culturally engaged: "Our whole premise is based on cultural, rather than brand, ideas and making brands part of popular culture. If it doesn't happen in New York, London or Tokyo, it's not going to happen on any scale". Michaelides feels that "the market is there but that you've got to have one big client and be in it for the long-haul".
The most successful Brit outfit, according to Ann Cooper, is still BBH (which was already Adweek's ‘Eastern Agency of The Year' just four years after arrival). Former Chair Cindy Gallop says it was tough to get established and that if "you're not in the US, you forget how big it is”. For BBH, she says, the 2002 win of Levis in North America really did the job.
US agencies are unconcerned about British arrivals. Executive Creative Director Fallon Ari Merkin says, "I hate to be lofty about this, but this is a multicultural country, and if it's in America, then it's an American agency. America has its own set of rules. Every agency has to find its place. It's about being true to your own culture and adapting to the new one. And that mix can be extremely successful”. Interestingly, since this article, Fallon New York has closed down, supposedly due to potential clients being too big for the New York office, or conflicted with its Minneapolis clients.
Rainmaker’s Analysis:
This article confirms our experience that by far the typical way to set up overseas is to service an existing client in another territory. Witness: M&C with British Airways, Michaelides & Bednash with Unilever, and BBH with Levis. Not only does this help secure a grip on the account and facilitate it, it also provides credibility and a presence in the region. This allows you to use a new business push to establish a permanent footing in that region irrespective of what happens with the foundation account.
A common mistake, then, is to under-resource a new business push to expand your foundation presence, perhaps hoping that the account team over there will generate sufficient interest/leads. But remember: it's a new venture. The same rules apply as with setting up a UK business and require the same attention to detail. If a dedicated new business/marketing team drive the new business programme, the toehold office will stand a better chance of becoming sustainable.
It goes the other way too. New Media Age reported on the launching of the digital agency R/GA in London, to service their Nokia account. R/GA boss Bob Greenberg said that opening in London wasn't a requirement for his business, but that it made sense to have a European presence in order to serve his client better. R/GA are using their other IPG partner agency offices and apparently now actively exploring new business opportunities here. Like the UK traffic going the other way, Greenberg says, "we'll start small. We're not in any hurry to be the largest". He believes the main opportunity in London is that UK digital agencies are great boutiques, but not set up to handle the largest websites (he mentions IBM.com's 6 million pages or other $10m+ accounts) - whereas R/GA is. Now there's a gauntlet chucked in the dust…
But the point is, why wait for serendipity - or an obliging client - to hand you a foundation account overseas? Accidental business development is all very well and good, but if your research confirms you have a compelling offer in other territories, it makes sense to prospect for business there. If this activity is supported by an embassy of your leading torchbearers to the main business-centres involved, you might very well (and this is often the case) seize your foundation client when and how you decide.
Best Practice Seminars
Rainmaker pioneered accurate insights into what clients look for in new business approaches by marketing agencies. These provide the backbone for our seminars. Contact Charlotte Fletcher for more information.
»