29oct2004

Media Arts FCB: MERGER CREATES NEW ADVERTISING HEAVYWEIGHT

Foote Cone & Belding advertising agency announced Oct. 31 that it has merged its operations in Ukraine with the Kyiv office of Moscow based Media Arts to create a new company, Media Arts FCB.

The agency, which will be located in the Podil Plaza business center by the end of November, will have combined annual billings of more than $12 million – enough to challenge the current market leaders for a dominant spot in the Ukrainian advertising market.

Media Arts FCB Ukraine will rank in the top three agencies nationwide, said Charl Theron, a senior FCB executive and the new agency's director.

Theron said that last March FCB, the world's third oldest advertising agency, joined the Interpublic Group of companies, which include advertising agencies like McCann, Lowe Lintas and Weber Shandwick.

Martin Nunn, joint managing director of White's Shandwick International, a public relations company, said that FCB Ukraine's closest competitors are BBDO and D'Arcy.

"If D'Arcy folds, as is widely predicted, then Media Arts FCB Ukraine will be the Number two agency in Ukraine," Nunn said.

Nunn said that the new agency would set new standards for local, regional and international advertising. He said that, for example, some Ukrainian agencies promote brands by paying newspapers to print articles about them.

"That's not in a brand's best interest, because the public are not stupid. The public knows the difference between journalism and paid publication," Nunn said.

Theron said that FCB originally principally worked in Kyiv as a creative agency.

"However, as the needs of our international clients based in Moscow changed, we decided it was pointless to have two associated companies in Kyiv, so we merged their operations," Theron said.

Ilya Slutsky, the president of Media Arts Group, said that while Media Arts was initially known as a media buyer, in partnership with FCB it has developed into one of Moscow's top full service agencies.

Theron said that the standards that FCB applies to its media operations are particularly strong in Moscow, where the agency is a $25 million business. He said the company's professionalism and a strong communication network were among its strengths.

Slutsky said that his firm had planned to expand its business geographically four years ago but that the Russian financial crisis intervened.

FCB Ukraine's major clients include Chiel Advertising (Samsung) and Baltic Beverage Holdings. Theron said that advertising in Ukraine has made significant strides since the days of bulk media buying.

"Clients now want fully integrated communications strategies and the best expert advice in each of the main disciplines," Theron said.

He said each brand that his company handles has one management team working with a main strategy, creative idea and bottom line. He said that a large number of the firm's international clients, particularly those based in Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Ukraine, work with its Moscow office.

Nunn added that development plans for Europe include merging operations at the regional level.

"For example, out of Frankfurt, people handle the north European region, which may include Great Britain, Scotland and Ireland," Nunn said.

"The reason for the office in Moscow is because that is the way the world is going. It isn't for any political reason," he added.

 

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