Springtime in Portugal

“Annus horribilis” is the label APMA Worldwide president Iain Ferguson put on 2001, calling it a tough year for agencies and a rough ride for everyone. It was a period, he said, in which “marketers moved from caution to slow to stop, one in which, for many agencies, caution turned out to be a best-case scenario.”

Opening the 24-year-old organization’s annual spring retreat at a golf resort in the gentle rolling hills of Sintra, Portugal, in April, Ferguson reported to nearly three dozen agency heads from all over Europe, North America, Australia, and — yes, Russia.

Promotion shops tended to do better, in general (both pre- and post- Sept. 11) than their ad industry counterparts, said Ferguson, who makes his living as president of Euro RSCG Marketing Services. Ad agencies, however, “even as we speak, are making themselves over in order to leverage special relationships with clients — as they know how to do so well.”

Promotion agencies did as well as they did last year “by moving companies, not just brands, forward,” said Ferguson and, suggesting that the bad news is mixed with the good, added that “so many companies are still being run not by ceos but by cfos, who view promotion as being more accountable and thus a ‘more accountable’ return on investment.

“Our focus at this conference,” he told his APMA audience, “is on what has worked and how well, on what responses and what values today define the winners in our business. “Benchmarking against our peers has never been more important,” he said. “That’s what the APMA is about.”

Attendees participated in interactive sessions on “Integration vs. Specialization,” led by Caroline Johnson of Johnson Day Consulting, London; “Building and Motivating Power Teams,” conducted by Jim Petzing of Exceleration Training and Consulting, Chicago; and “Change-Management in Agencies,” directed by Jim Bell of Results, Ltd., London. Their conclusions:

Specialization is the only way, said Johnson. “Clients prefer to do the integration themselves,” she said. The reasons: Power. Protection. Safety. Control. “Better to narrow down your focus to do a few good things well.”

Re-make your agency, suggested Petzing. Do whatever is needed to project an image of “high-quality performance, at the right price, with unsurpassed client service.” Build a cross-functional “real team,” one that enjoys senior-management commitment and support and comprises the “right” type of highly motivated individuals.

Change your very structure, urged Bell. “Opportunities abound today. There’s never been a better time” to do such things as: Integrate client/agency operations; dump minimally profitable activities; “over-service” high-performance accounts; evaluate agency/client strategic fits; devise innovative ways for getting paid.

Using an “Account Evaluation Matrix,” Bell showed how to decide whether an account should be given more or less service or simply dropped outright. Large or small, he suggested that activities offering low profitability and low growth potential be given the heave-ho.

Promotion agencies, it seems, “lack confidence and clarity regarding their specific role,” Johnson said in her summary. They are “hung up about getting to the top table, and they’re looking (for new business) in some of the wrong places.” They should be determining what their clients’ needs and weaknesses are, and positioning themselves as being the ones to help solve their problems.

All in all, this year’s event was everything a professional get-together for top-level promotion agency people ought to be: comprehensive in scope and constructive in intent, with relaxed and informal social interaction. Too bad the attendance wasn’t higher; we’ve seen better turnouts for events with far less impressive agendas.

And as if to emphasize the multinational dimension of the APMA as well as the event — and the dawn of a wonderfully capitalistic new age for America’s erstwhile Cold War adversaries — the APMA board unanimously approved the membership applications of Sergei Moiseev and Yulia Zelenyuk of Moscow-based Market Communications.

When not writing for PROMO or navigating the East Coast, PROMO co-founder Kerry E. Smith is writing a book on promotion marketing. Reach him at [email protected].