by Kathleen Tan
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Omnicom Media Group (OMD) has made further inroads into the Indochina market with its entry into Cambodia and Laos via a Cambodian advertising agency, Red Dot (Cambodia) Co Ltd.
The move expands OMD’s network in the region’s developing markets. OMD entered Vietnam eight years ago via a Vietnamese partner, VAC Media.
Omnicom Media Group Southeast Asia regional managing director Jim Goh told The Edge Financial Daily in a telephone interview from Singapore yesterday that its business in Cambodia and Laos would consist of more full-service offerings than specialised ones at the moment.
Goh said the advertising market in both countries was relatively small compared with neighbouring Vietnam. He estimated Cambodia’s adex to be around US$60 million to US$70 million per annum, which he described as “really, really small”, with Laos’ adex to be significantly less.
However, he foresees that Cambodia’s ad industry would reach the specialisation level in two to three years’ time, depending on the state of the economy. “With WTO (World Trade Organisation) opening Vietnam up further to foreign investments, it has changed how the advertising industry works in this market. Likewise, when Cambodia opens up, there’ll be more competition, efficiency and expectations,” he said.
“Some clients are looking to deal with media on its own. Five to six years ago, when clients talked about Vietnam, they preferred full service but now they’d rather have specialised service offerings as international, global and regional clients start looking at media separately from the creative,” he said.
“Even in Malaysia, eight years ago (the trend was) full-service, but now, there are all sorts of specialisations — CRM, digital, creative, media, events and activation… likewise in Cambodia, eventually,” he said.
Asked about the state of the advertising industry in Cambodia, Goh said it was “very basic” as the industry was very dependent on the economic development of the country.
He said OMD had put plans in place four to five years ago but it was only three years ago that the company “went through a number of agencies before settling for Red Dot”. Goh said Red Dot was chosen based on its business philosophy and the way it worked, which complemented that of OMD. The deal was signed in December last year but was only announced last week.
Goh added that under the tie-up, Red Dot would handle “the full works” with mostly below-the-line (which includes direct mail, public relations and sales promotions) and activation (events, promotions, retail display, outdoor, digital, and customer relationship management) accounts, with broadcast being the main medium of choice.
“Print media is marginal due to its low cost of entry point,” he said.
OMD and Red Dot share some common clients in Cambodia, among them Visa International and Fonterra.
Goh added that OMD was not targeting specific sectors as it had a wide clientele, from private sector to government. “It depends on opportunities in the market as they come along,” he said.
Goh said OMD had spoken to some clients in Malaysia and Singapore about representing them in Cambodia. Clients like consistency in account handling, he said.
Red Dot was started in 2001 by John Seow, a Singaporean who is currently its managing director. The company gretw from a workforce of three to 50 over the last eight years, expanding its reach to Laos early last year. Aside from Visa International and Fonterra, Red Dot’s clientele in Cambodia include Sony-Ericsson, Dumex, Seiko, Rado, Duracell, World Vision, Khmer Airlines and the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism.
Seow, in a statement last week, said the tie-up with OMD would propel Red Dot to a new level, enabling it to take more aggressive steps toward media campaigns. “With OMD’s resources behind us, we will be able to offer our clients a whole new level of brand-building and media communications capabilities,” he said.
Aside from the three Indochina countries, OMDs’ regional network covers Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka via its partners. One of the world’s largest media agencies, OMD operates in more than 80 countries, servicing clients such as Visa International, McDonald’s, Johnson & Johnson, and Standard Chartered Bank. It was recently awarded the global media planning and buying business for Intel Corp.
The move expands OMD’s network in the region’s developing markets. OMD entered Vietnam eight years ago via a Vietnamese partner, VAC Media.
Omnicom Media Group Southeast Asia regional managing director Jim Goh told The Edge Financial Daily in a telephone interview from Singapore yesterday that its business in Cambodia and Laos would consist of more full-service offerings than specialised ones at the moment.
Goh said the advertising market in both countries was relatively small compared with neighbouring Vietnam. He estimated Cambodia’s adex to be around US$60 million to US$70 million per annum, which he described as “really, really small”, with Laos’ adex to be significantly less.
However, he foresees that Cambodia’s ad industry would reach the specialisation level in two to three years’ time, depending on the state of the economy. “With WTO (World Trade Organisation) opening Vietnam up further to foreign investments, it has changed how the advertising industry works in this market. Likewise, when Cambodia opens up, there’ll be more competition, efficiency and expectations,” he said.
“Some clients are looking to deal with media on its own. Five to six years ago, when clients talked about Vietnam, they preferred full service but now they’d rather have specialised service offerings as international, global and regional clients start looking at media separately from the creative,” he said.
“Even in Malaysia, eight years ago (the trend was) full-service, but now, there are all sorts of specialisations — CRM, digital, creative, media, events and activation… likewise in Cambodia, eventually,” he said.
Asked about the state of the advertising industry in Cambodia, Goh said it was “very basic” as the industry was very dependent on the economic development of the country.
He said OMD had put plans in place four to five years ago but it was only three years ago that the company “went through a number of agencies before settling for Red Dot”. Goh said Red Dot was chosen based on its business philosophy and the way it worked, which complemented that of OMD. The deal was signed in December last year but was only announced last week.
Goh added that under the tie-up, Red Dot would handle “the full works” with mostly below-the-line (which includes direct mail, public relations and sales promotions) and activation (events, promotions, retail display, outdoor, digital, and customer relationship management) accounts, with broadcast being the main medium of choice.
“Print media is marginal due to its low cost of entry point,” he said.
OMD and Red Dot share some common clients in Cambodia, among them Visa International and Fonterra.
Goh added that OMD was not targeting specific sectors as it had a wide clientele, from private sector to government. “It depends on opportunities in the market as they come along,” he said.
Goh said OMD had spoken to some clients in Malaysia and Singapore about representing them in Cambodia. Clients like consistency in account handling, he said.
Red Dot was started in 2001 by John Seow, a Singaporean who is currently its managing director. The company gretw from a workforce of three to 50 over the last eight years, expanding its reach to Laos early last year. Aside from Visa International and Fonterra, Red Dot’s clientele in Cambodia include Sony-Ericsson, Dumex, Seiko, Rado, Duracell, World Vision, Khmer Airlines and the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism.
Seow, in a statement last week, said the tie-up with OMD would propel Red Dot to a new level, enabling it to take more aggressive steps toward media campaigns. “With OMD’s resources behind us, we will be able to offer our clients a whole new level of brand-building and media communications capabilities,” he said.
Aside from the three Indochina countries, OMDs’ regional network covers Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka via its partners. One of the world’s largest media agencies, OMD operates in more than 80 countries, servicing clients such as Visa International, McDonald’s, Johnson & Johnson, and Standard Chartered Bank. It was recently awarded the global media planning and buying business for Intel Corp.
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