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Disorder pays off for TBWA chief [New Straits Time (Malaysia)]
[September 29, 2014]

Disorder pays off for TBWA chief [New Straits Time (Malaysia)]


(New Straits Time (Malaysia) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) KUALA LUMPUR: Aaron Cowie appears to be unruffled - even in the most troubled situations. But that's his finish-line of serenity.

From a business perspective, Cowie favours disruption as a means to creating new opportunities and carving a bigger slice of the future.

As TBWA Group chief executive officer, he oversees four agencies: TBWA, the brand agency; Creative Juice, the digital agency; Being, a fully integrated brand communications consultancy assigned to work almost exclusively on the Mondelez business; and Tequila, the activation agency.



"Advertising is only a fraction of what we do as an agency," said Cowie. "We like to think of ourselves as specialists. This is our new vision for influencing change by targeting communications with deep insights and a strategic charge." Clearly, disorder has been good business for TBWA. Last year, the agency won top honours as Agency of the Year at the Kancil Awards, Agency of the Year (Gold) - Campaign Asia Pacific Southeast Asia, Most Awarded Agency in Malaysia - Promotion Marketing Awards for Asia (PMAA), and Overall Agency of the Year - Advertising and Marketing Malaysia.

Winning awards was a positive external assessment of the agency because it was recognised for delivering results.


"Obviously, there is a lot of pride in being a winner," said Cowie. "However, the complexity of what we do is largely driven by what's happening online and evolving changes in the media landscape. We need to consistently seize opportunities to be bold and innovate without being paralysed by the proverbial ROI trap." In propagating the new business model, TBWA set up two divisions, Capital Markets and Field Marketing, in 2012. Capital Markets serves as consultants for financial institutions, including government- linked companies and government agencies. Field Marketing specialises in on-ground activation - promotions, redemptions, and sampling.

Last year, TBWA recorded doubledigit growth in revenue, the biggest growth since Cowie took over as CEO in 2011. The agency is hopeful in maintaining earnings this year with possibly some growth.

"Every year, we win and lose some accounts. In tender situations, anything can happen. We always plan for such eventualities. Sometimes, it's about re-evaluating our client relationships, or re- directing our goals and objectives." Staff working on the DiGi (youth segment) account was re- assigned to other accounts and divisions within the agency when the contract ended this year. Fortunately, the agency was cushioned by the expanded portfolio of its existing clients, including Genting, Nando's, F&N, Lee Kum Kee, Bursa Malaysia, Nissan, and Atiqah, among others.

Rather than looking over the shoulders of the 130 employees, Cowie leaves the respective teams to work independently and make their own decisions.

TBWA conducts workshops in its Pirate University with tailored modules based on the concept of "Disruption" as an avenue to build strong leaders within the agency.

"We want them to break barriers and reconfigure tried-and-test business models," said Cowie. "We're already leaping to suggest potential growth areas that they believe can help clients reach their audience." (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved.

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