PR grapples with consolidation's 'awkward factors'
As seen in Media
30 October 2008
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Landing prestigious global accounts may not always make economic sense or be a good grassroots fit . By Arun Sudhaman
While Asia struggles in its attempts to decouple its fortunes from flagging markets further West, its multinational PR agencies are grappling with a continuing client proclivity for global alignments that do not always translate into stellar returns over here. The latest contender to opt for this approach is Unilever, which is finalizing a global agency roster organized according to brand. The FMCG giant is hardly alone in its preference for a consolidated approach to its PR requirements, but the development highlights what Burson-Marsteller global vice-chairman Bill Rylance calls the "awkward factors" that accompany global AOR arrangements. "Often a big global account is seen as a highly prestigious win, but quite often what's being globally aligned is a lot of executional work," says Rylance. "You're talking about a multi-market, global tactics-driven programme and that puts a lot of pressure on the global pricing model." Pricing is just one gripe for Asian agencies that are compelled to take on business mandated by headquarters in the US and UK. Some believe that the very concept of a global account is flawed, given PR's status as a necessarily local function.