PHD APAC’s Susana Tsui on agency transition from bldg reputation to driving growth

From upping its energy into building the brand, PHD APAC’s big focus in 2015 is of driving business growth. The year that also marks the 25th anniversary of the agency globally, is critical for PHD Asia Pacific as it looks to monetise the reputation that it earned in 2014, and live its promise of being the agency of the future. While it is only eight years now that PHD has been a brand of traction in Asia, the 25-year milestone has implications for the region too.

“It is a major milestone for the network but for us, it is important. We have seen the agency really take off in the last few years and we cannot call ourselves a start-up any longer. When I first started, it was about building the product and re-ogranising ourselves for future proofing, which has a whole different meaning for an agency like us than it would for an older agency,” observed Susana Tsui, CEO, PHD APAC.

According to Ms Tsui, PHD’s young age ‘requires’ it to be ‘the future agency’. “Because we don’t have the size or the legacy, which has its upside, we could jump right in and become the agency of the future. One of the key things is to infuse digital inside the agency. We do not have digital teams that are typical to agencies that are catching up and still living by old set ups. Our teams are built with digital components across, which is in line with new client demand for true integration,” she explained.

PHD Asia’s digital focus can also be seen in its hiring pattern in the last 18 months. The agency is putting together a team of people with sound digital experience, finally connecting it all in its communication planning offer. “PHD in Asia today is a very different animal from what it was when we first started, and 2015 will build on this momentum,” Ms Tsui stated.

The culture of collaboration:
PHD began the year with some changes to its overall structure including the creation of a new position of Regional Head of Strategy and Planning for APAC. The move saw agency veteran Chris Stephenson relocate to Singapore to lead regional accounts, and grow the capabilities of PHD’s Global Communications Planning Unit, based in Singapore. “We have always prided ourselves in thought leadership and integrated communication planning. Without a planning partner for me in the region, we could not call ourselves that in a serious way. We created the position so the region is propped up at a different level,” Ms Tsui reflected.

In addition to this, one of the key KPIs for Mr Stephenson’s role is to drive SOURCE across PHD APAC markets. “All the heavy lifting of building the platform, data integration and training is done. In the 25th year, SOURCE’s focus too is the uptake by all the planners. In 2014 PHD Asia Pacific took the lead in launching the gamified leaderboard – SOURCE Earth. Each market in APAC runs SOURCE Earth on screens showing real-time data overlaid on an earth image. It shows the offices as dots, with large dots where people are in SOURCE. It also shows suggestions in red lines and the responses in green lines. The ticker tape along the bottom will tell you when people have moved up and down within the last seven-day leaderboard. In a world of multi-screens, SOURCE also exists in forms of mobile and desktop apps.”

Beyond this however, PHD has worked towards being a truly integrated offer for its clients. The agency has created a structure that sees a collaborative working style with Omnicom Media Group’s special business units including the likes of Accuen, Fuse, Resolution amongst others. “We have brought search, programmatic, performance advertising, mobile, content – all on the same table. Working with PHD, marketers would not have to meet 10 other people with different cards. The culture of collaboration is the only way of moving PHD forward,” Ms Tsui stated.

Staying in pace with the changing marketer
The year ahead will see PHD’s APAC office celebrate the agency’s heritage. In the works, is a new book that will take a closer look at consumer behavioural sciences. Much of this would connect back to Asia. What Ms Tsui is more excited about is the evolution in the marketer mindset, which is now asking for a new age of thinkers. “We have been speaking the language but the biggest change is that with clients ready, there is now a demand for this. That is where the magic happens,” she stated.

One change that she foresees benefitting the agency in its growth plans is the decentralisation, putting more power in the hands of sub-regions. “It took 15-20 years for digital to take off in some markets. But markets today don’t have to wait. A lot of the power shifts are already taking place bringing decentralisation back. This will help PHD in Asia, because the focus now is to sell the strategic part, across markets. Clients who are now asking agencies to challenge thinking, which will then automatically result into creativity, are looking for these solutions,” Ms Tsui summed up.

Three questions to Susana Tsui on PHD’s 2015 agenda
A 21 per cent growth over last year and winning most agency network titles must be building some pressure on the agency’s performance this year. How are you preparing for that?
It is true that the hardest piece of the puzzle is reputation. We will be defending the big title but this year we will take a more data driven approach and go back to the science. We need to be the first to do this. However industry recognition and client recognition must ultimately drive business. We have to see how we now monetise the product development, structural development and reputation that we focussed on in the last year. We have to put all of it together and pitch for the clients we want. I don’t think we are going to be competing with ourselves in that sense. The year 2014 was about building brand but this year is about building new businesses. It is about time to seriously grow the business on the back of a great year.

What are some of the steps that you have taken in this direction?
We are building on our momentum in sectors such as luxury, FMCG, pharma and hitting these categories harder. We are new in most of the mass markets. We have spent time building Australia and New Zealand, China, Hong Kong. This year will be all about Southeast Asia and India, which are the big opportunities. Across the region, we will also focus on partnerships, working closer with creative sister agencies and bringing a lot more integrated approach. Where we have affiliates, we are aggressively looking to put a stronger foothold.

And marketers are ready for this play?
I believe they are. Mostly for legacy reasons, marketers have worked closer with creative agencies but the industry will catch up. The traditional piece will also be important but technology will drive many changes and ask for new skillsets. Marketers will move beyond appointing 10 different agencies that does not help the brand in the long run, to giving more responsibilities to experienced players and people who know how to dot the i’s and cross the t’s.

Via Digital Market Asia Mobile