British agencies have started to trickle across the Atlantic to the
largest and most lucrative advertising market in the world. So far, four
have set up shop there. Is this the start of a British invasion or is
the US agency culture such that few would be foolhardy enough to test
its mettle?
The most recent arrival is Bartle Bogle Hegarty, which opened a New York
office in September. Leagas Delaney opened its doors in San Francisco in
1996 and M&C Saatchi landed in New York the year before. Lowe Howard-
Spink chose an organic and, perhaps, more subtle approach, through the
acquisition in 1993 of the US hotshop, Scali McCabe Sloves.
Setting up in the US is not for the faint-hearted and the cachet of
British advertising creativity is no longer enough. M&C Saatchi opened a
New York office when it won British Airways. It has since picked up
clients such as Packard Bell, Qantas and Asprey with billings totalling
dollars 110 million, but it has not been an easy ride.
In September, the agency lost its joint creative chiefs, Brent Bouchez
and David Page, who are said to have resigned because they felt
frustrated at the lack of support from their London parent.
British shops face the choice of relying on the brand heritage of their
parent agencies or putting down new roots as independents.
Bruce Haines, chief executive of Leagas Delaney, who is overseeing the
San Francisco office, is adamant that the agency will operate on its own
merits. ’You are only as good as the people you have. The idea of coming
across and trading on a reputation so enormous and dynamic as ours would
give you no more than five minutes grace,’ he says, modestly.
The agency’s plan was to come across and nab the best US people to grab
client attention. ’We took a conscious decision to hire the best
American people we possibly could to operate an American agency, ’
Haines says.
Cindy Gallop, president of BBH in New York, is aware that client doors
will not be flung open by the arrival of a British brand. ’We are very
realistic about that fact that we will need to introduce to clients what
BBH offers.’
But she believes the agency can fill a gap. ’We did a lot of research in
the US before opening an office, and clients, industry observers and
analysts said it was very difficult to find agencies which combine a
great strategic focus and partner it with great execution of these
strategies. We have demonstrated worldwide an ability to combine
these.’
Like Haines, Gallop wants to recruit mostly American staff. ’We are keen
to learn from the cultures we go into and keep refreshing our own
culture - it’s not a one-way process.’
It is very early days but BBH New York celebrated its opening by winning
the global account for Reebok Classic, worth an estimated dollars 25
million.
Reebok’s director of global advertising, John Wardley, says BBH is ’one
of the world’s greatest agencies’ and was keen to talk to them when he
heard they were opening in New York. In this case, BBH’s reputation
outside the US had opened a lucrative door. But as Gallop points out,
’people don’t tend to talk about representing British creativity, but
BBH creativity.
There’s a lot of very good work in the US and there doesn’t seem to be a
nationalist divide.’
Leagas Delaney’s hiring of a number of senior staff from Nike’s agency,
Goodby Silverstein & Partners, to work on its Adidas account did not
endear the UK start-up to its neighbours. GS&P’s co-founder, Rich
Silverstein, said at the time that San Francisco was ’a small city and
(Tim Delaney) is not a good neighbour. He’s not welcome.’ But despite
Leagas Delaney’s astute realisation that hiring nationals was the best
route to establishing the agency, it took more than a year to attract a
non-Adidas account.
Haines admits that the start-up was not all plain sailing. ’We had a
difficult time in the first six months when we lost our office manager,
Jack Rooney, who became vice-president of marketing for Miller Brewing.
It was unsettling for the first three months of 1997.
But it was worth it. ’We’ve got more than 50 people now, we have dollars
80 to dollars 90 million in billings. We’ve had three offices because we
outgrew the other two. That, combined with some terrific work and good
clients, means we are absolutely where we want to be.’
So how do the established US agencies view these UK entrants? Bob
Kuperman, president and chief executive, Americas, of TBWA/Chiat/Day,
says that any agency branching out faces a cultural problem.
’For agencies, whether they are British or not, it’s very difficult,
close to impossible, to transfer a culture. I don’t mean if you are
American or British - I mean an agency’s culture. If you look at the
history of most agencies, it’s been very difficult to move that agency
coast to coast.
It’s very difficult to put BBH in New York or Leagas Delaney in San
Francisco.’
Kuperman points out that establishing an agency’s reputation across the
US is also hard because the past days of TV mass marketing have given
way to a much more segmented approach which impedes the ability to build
prestige in a quick and easy fashion.
Allan Rosenshine, chairman and chief executive of BBDO Worldwide, agrees
that it’s difficult for agencies to establish their reputation outside
local markets successfully. ’Take a market like Boston, which is a major
market in the US. No New York agency brand has successfully operated in
Boston, including BBDO. The reason is that clients in Boston who want to
be important want a Boston agency. If they want a New York agency they
get on a plane and go to New York. With technology today it’s not
difficult to cut the distances down. Coming from the other side of the
Atlantic, however, is different.’
Kuperman dismisses the idea that successful British agency brands
command a certain kudos among US clients. ’I don’t think there’s
anything particularly special about what they have to offer. They’ve
done some nice work but again, I don’t think they’ve set the town on
fire and I don’t know if that’s possible in this day and age.’
But let’s not forget that the Brits have an important and natural weapon
in their armoury. Rosenshine quips: ’We Americans still have an
irrational, exuberant reaction to the British accent - there’s something
about it that makes us think that they are sharp, smoother and more
urbane, so it’s not such a bad thing to approach the client with.
Britain has a great history and great creativity.’
ACCOUNTS WON BY UK AGENCIES IN THE US
M&C Saatchi Leagas Delaney BBH
Launch date: 1995 1996 1998
Account wins: British Airways Adidas Reebok Classic
Packard Bell National Ski Areas Cointreau
WorldSpy Association
Qantas Sebastiani Vineyards
Shady Brook Farms Beyond.com
Real Media
Billings dollars 110m dollars 85m dollars 27m*
*Estimated billings
