Several US-owned agencies have been unable to take part in the league table this year thanks to reporting restrictions imposed on them by their parent companies. Omnicom, Interpublic and other US marketing communications groups say they have been obliged to take this step by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, corporate governance legislation passed in the wake of the Enron and World Com scandals.
Agencies affected by the ruling include KLP Euro RSCG, Tequila London and Tequila Manchester, Alcone and Marketing Drive. Other US-owned agencies are taking part without revealing financial details, including Arc, Black Cat, Momentum, Perspectives Red Cell and Proximity London.
This 12-month period has been at least as tough as the last, with participating agencies showing only a 7% increase on their gross profits, compared with 9% in 2001. Again, the pain has been felt by larger agencies in particular.
Some have shed staff, although a few, such as Dynamo, Dialogue and Logistix Kids, registered sturdy performances, and others further down the table posted big gains.
Apart from the disappearance of Mosaic last autumn there have been few major changes to the line-up. Notable also is the almost complete absence of the frenetic merger and acquisition activity that characterised the past two years. An exception is Dig for Fire, the result of a merger between Scope Creative Marketing and Paradigm. There have also been some rebrandings, including IMP as Arc and Interface as Osmosis.
Some agencies now report a small improvement in market conditions, partly prompted by encouraging signs of movement in the US. "Budgets have eased a bit of late, though they are still quite tight," says Robert Goldsmith, joint managing director of Haygarth. But from another point of view the volume of work is positive, he adds, with a large number of pitches taking place as clients continue to rely on tactical activity to build short-term sales.
Signs of recovery
Dynamo chairman Iain Sanderson agrees the squeeze is starting to relax to a degree. "Clients are suggesting they have a little more to spend in the fourth quarter. If that is maintained it will be the start of the recovery," he says.
A common experience is that clients are staying with their agencies while cutting back on budget and resources. But this causes two related problems, according to Stephen Callender, joint managing director of Black Cat: it reduces the amount available to spend even as internal staff cuts are creating a greater demand for outsourced expertise. "Effectively, it means we are being asked to achieve more with less," he points out.
Nor is everyone encouraged by the widespread pitching, because this often involves expensive and time-consuming activity for agencies. "A lot of companies are sniffing around to find out what's out there, but not all the budgets are being released," says Julian Reiter, managing director of Positive Thinking and director for standards and practices at the Marketing Communication Consultants Association (MCCA).
Reiter says the standard pitch has ballooned from three or four agencies to six or more. Positive Thinking took part in one in which ten participants were whittled to down four, then to two, at which stage another agency entered the fray and won the job.
"A three-stage pitch for one piece of work wastes money and is not good for the industry," he says. "If agencies are squeezed, they are not going to produce good quality work, and you can bet they will get back from the client what they have spent."
Some agencies have managed to find growth with existing clients. KLM claims to have had particular success with companies in expanding core markets such as media and drinks. Against this there have been fewer new initiatives.
"Two or three years ago, borderline marketing projects might have been given the go-ahead for testing, but now they are being quietly shelved for another 12 months," says chairman Jon Derry.
Sales promotion has now largely completed its gradual metamorphosis from a stand-alone discipline to a core element within an integrated offer.
As the focus of much activity shifts inexorably to below-the-line solutions, suppliers find themselves at the centre of the marketing universe, handling direct mail, digital media, PR and television advertising.
Many have also set up experiential marketing divisions, boosting the power of promotional campaigns with face-to-face contacts. Others are extending their expertise to the gathering of data and analysis, which is often a prime objective of sales promotion campaigns.
Changing form
These developments have led some observers to downgrade the importance of sales promotion as a discipline in its own right. Such thinking has been reinforced by recent reports from Bellwether and the London Business School, which imply that less is being spent in this area.
Yet Randle Stonier, chief executive of Skybridge and chairman of the Institute of Sales Promotion (ISP), says the demise of sales promotion has been much exaggerated. "It is definitely alive and well, but being delivered in integrated form," he insists.
Lack of innovation is another criticism that has been levelled at the industry. Rob Gray, chairman of Mercier Gray, argues that no genuinely new mechanic or technique has been introduced since instant wins a decade ago.
As a board member of the MCCA, he says he is seldom impressed by the standard of campaigns submitted for industry awards, and laments a lack of emphasis on conceptual and visual creativity. "The industry needs a kick up the backside," Gray adds. "Much of the work is busy, complicated and stuck in the last decade." Seemingly original campaigns often look fresh because they use new media channels, but this does not necessarily involve any genuinely new creative approaches, he suggests.
But even if sales promotion has slowed in terms of new ideas, there is no doubting its growing prominence, a point stressed by Gray himself.
One noticeable trend is the role many of its practitioners play in above-the-line advertising, from which Mercier Gray now receives more than 40% of its turnover.
Perception shift
"The old idea was that advertising changed perceptions, while sales promotion shifted boxes," Gray says. "These days a great piece of sales promotion and direct marketing can shift perceptions and TV commercials generate sales."
This has a knock-on effect on pure sales promotion consultancy, he adds, because clients are looking for a broader view of what they can achieve with integrated campaigns.
A sure sign of the growing respect below-the-line specialists are being afforded is that their creative ideas are often being adopted for television work, rather than the other way round. For instance, the 'movie premiere' motif in Joshua's on-pack promotion for Diet Coke was adapted for TV commercials created by Lowe and fronted by Kim Basinger.
Similarly, when Positive Thinking launched an integrated direct marketing and sales promotion campaign for Royal Caribbean International, it also handled the TV advertising.
Another case is Billington Cartmell's youth creative for Ribena, which was adopted for support commercials to provide consistency. And the agency's multimedia campaign for Lucozade adopted the imagery developed for below-the-line work for national advertising.
"Not a week goes by without a client questioning the old model in which advertising is the start of everything," says the agency's managing director, Ian Billington. "Now they are throwing it all up in the air and selecting on the basis of brand and customer need."
Leading strategy
One effect of this switch is that agencies are now looking to below-the-line agencies to start the creative process that will inform their entire marketing strategies.
Because sales promotion specialists have always depended on ideas, they are well positioned for future growth, Billington argues. At Billington Cartmell, all agency staff are expected to contribute to brainstorming sessions, not just creatives.
The shift also means agencies are attracting talent that would formerly have been snapped up by ad agencies. Billington Cartmell recently took on an account manager from M&C Saatchi, for example, and another from HHCL/Red Cell, while graduates are putting below-the-line agencies at the top of their wish lists.
Clients demand the same cross-border consistency from their sales promotion campaigns as they do from their television advertising, which means below-the-line activity is taking on a global dimension.
Haygarth has seen a growth in its global activity stimulated by its relationship with French parent High Co, and has been especially active in Europe, handling the launch of Nokia handsets.
Demand for cross-border activity has also been exploited by Momentum.
As part of McCann-Erickson, it has developed an international network with expertise in several disciplines. The agency recently implemented campaigns for firms whose strengths are not in the UK itself.
"We can deliver campaigns for brands through the network in each territory to ensure their message isn't diluted," says joint managing director Kiki Tsoulouhopoulos. One piece of promotional activity is for Microsoft Knowledge centres, supporting the sale of products within major book stores, and this is to be expanded across Europe.
Proximity London, too, has seen more international work, partly as a result of the increasing centralisation of campaigns as multinational clients introduce best practice from one country into another.
The agency has recently helped Shell achieve economies of scale and quality improvements in markets that might not otherwise be able to afford it.
"As much as the promotion itself, it's about the overall strategy and finding ways to overcome legal and cultural barriers in other countries," says managing partner Ian Thomas.
Proximity is expanding its reach in other ways, by providing a strategic extension to tactical briefs. "The ideal is a situation in which a client comes to us with a particular problem and we can propose a mix of disciplines," says Thomas. That applies in grocery, for instance, where the shopper is not necessarily the consumer originally targeted, and may need to be targeted independently, broadening the scope of the original intention.
One example of crossover is Proximity's launch of VW's latest Beetle Cabriolet. A competition to win a car was included in a direct mail shot and in demonstrations aimed at signing up consumers for test drives. There was also a web site to capture data; this joining up of online and offline activity is a growing trend, according to Thomas.
While sales promotion mechanics are included in many direct marketing communications, Mark Joy, head of Gasoline, believes they are often poor quality, offering plenty of scope for specialists.
"Many of the larger agencies are driven by formula and data, and a lot of them seem to think that a 10% discount or free gift is the full extent of sales promotion," he says.
Formerly managing director of Ingrams, Joy joined start-up Gasoline when his agency was bought and merged into it by Chime. Gasoline has established itself quickly, winning contracts from Yellow Pages and Pitcher & Piano, as well as major work for Visit London, promoting the capital to tourists.
Not many agencies see virtue in resisting the trend toward integrated solutions. Nevertheless, some do prefer to project themselves as specialists in relationship and promotional marketing, believing clients prefer this to a one size fits all approach.
"Only a handful of clients will genuinely benefit from the large networks trying to cross-sell them everything under the sun," argues Luke D'Arcy, business development director at Liquid Communications. "Many have become numb to the relentless insistence of agencies peddling services they just aren't qualified to provide."
Most take the opposite view, arguing that clients benefit from a holistic view of their needs, in which a single agency provides creative consistency throughout all communications on every channel. This can be supplied by partnerships, but many agencies prefer to equip themselves with skills and competencies that go far beyond their original basis.
That applies to the acquisition and handling of data, for instance, which in some cases is at least as important in sales promotion campaigns as stimulating sales. That was the case in a campaign implemented for HSBC by Dig for Fire, providing data for profiling and segmentation purposes.
Another client, Holiday Inn, ran a six-week 'Stay cool this summer' campaign in July, offering discounts and a prize draw with a chance to win a Mini; again, data collection was a principal objective.
Liquorice, too, notes a shift toward data-driven activity and online work, to the extent of getting involved in the data-capture and manipulation elements of sales promotion campaigns. For Oddbins, the agency spent five months rebuilding its customer database and installing CRM software to run it.
"More and more clients are understanding they need to have a meaningful dialogue with customers," says chief executive Quentin Boyes. "They are using sales promotion to increase penetration in the classic sense, but behind that they are keen to know who is taking up the offers and then continue a dialogue."
Maximising data
Data is being used to provide groundwork for promotional campaigns. KLM employs a 'contextual matching' technique, segmenting consumers by their behavioural and motivational characteristics in relation to their jobs, or to specific activities such as buying a new watch or a season ticket for a football club.
"If you have this information you can change the linguistic structure and tone of the communication, which can have a big impact on how your message is absorbed and acted on," says KLM's Derry.
The agency uses the technique in a business-to-business context, incentivising Sky TV's 13,000 call centre staff. Profiling has helped boost the telephone agents' voluntary membership of an incentive scheme from 30% to more than 90%. KLM has trained all its creatives in this technique, using copywriters who are trained to interpret research.
One major trend among sales promotion agencies in the past year has been the addition of an experiential element to their offers. Triangle, Proximity, Positive Thinking are among those to have created independent brands to provide sampling, in-store entertainment and roadshow events.
"Brands want a much more involved conversation with the consumer that allows feedback on products and promotions," says Positive Thinking's Reiter.
Dig for Fire's Glover sees an important link between field marketing and sales promotion. A campaign the agency developed for a leading leisure brand used a mix of ambient, stunt and guerrilla tactics to get the promotion into people's hands. "The client did not come with predisposed ideas about media, but getting to consumers on their nights out was by far the most effective way of meeting them," he says.
Paul Woolf, chairman of Cramm Francis Woolf, adds: "A lot of organisations want a word-of-mouth buzz. That fits with sales promotion. It is about action, getting people to do something through a competition or shared experience." The agency recently received a brief for a viral campaign of this kind in Russia.
Third-party ties
Several agencies are getting involved more in collaborative projects. Where brands used to see third-party alliances as a threat to their centre-stage position, they are now becoming receptive to the synergies they can bring. This has made it possible for agencies to access wider audiences and employ a wider range of techniques.
One example is the combined on-pack promotion and sampling campaign for Vimto and Nintendo by Geoff Howe Marketing Communications, which maximised both partners' return on investment several times over. "The campaign generated huge sampling and brand awareness opportunities," says Geoff Howe director Simon Marjoram.
"It improved relationships with Vimto's grocery multiples and Nintendo's toy retailers in a way that a more straightforward campaign could never hope to achieve.
"This shift toward collaboration has come at a propitious time," adds Marjoram. "The retail industry is looking for creative 'retail-tainment' from suppliers, which in turn want creative inspiration and solid implementation from us. We have found ourselves well-placed to keep both sides happy."
As agencies become more involved in developing integrated strategies for clients, they are having to pay more attention to their own planning function. Dynamo's Sanderson says this does not get the attention it deserves in below-the-line agencies, and getting the head of planning involved in all campaigns and pitches has made a big difference.
"We used to come up with lots of ideas that should never have seen the light of day," he says. "With a good planner to decide whether an approach will really appeal to our target audience, we are much tighter and better in our response." Creatives work better with someone giving them a steer, he adds.
Sanderson stresses the importance of basing creative approaches on consumer wants and needs rather than on product objectives, which he claims is too often the case in the industry.
An example is the agency's umbrella promotion for Heinz across all products, supporting advertising with instant wins on more than 300 million cans and packs. "The brand was covering the functional benefits but was losing on the emotional appeal," he says. "This promotion builds on that element for mums."
The agency adopted a similar approach for a Sainsbury's 'Summer to remember' promotion for families, with prizes such as a barbecue with Jamie Oliver.
Some agencies note an increase in children's marketing promotions and communications, especially the pre-school sector. But with continuing social and political pressure, the leading children's brands are under ever more scrutiny with regard to product integrity and nutritional claims.
"The rising level of child obesity is the new media and political focus," says Dave Lawrence, planning director at Logistix Kids. The commercial sector has become an easy target for attack, he laments, despite the fact that sedentary lifestyles and fewer opportunities for physical activity are at least as much to blame.
He points to the criticisms heaped on Cadbury's 'Get Active!' programme: sports gear in exchange for wrappers is not perceived as a good thing if it means children are consuming extra fat and calories.
Negotiation needs
On the business side, agencies complain of difficulty dealing with the procurement specialists their clients are now employing to make the most of limited budgets.
Instead of discussing creative options in an informal atmosphere, they now find themselves up against trained professionals whose brief is to reduce costs by 20%, no matter what the outcome may be. They are having to respond by acquiring negotiating skills.
That extends to the business of filling in forms for tenders - not historically a strength among agencies, says Haygarth's Goldsmith. "We are used to selling ourselves on our face-to-face credentials and creative work," he says. "Now our business team needs to complete tenders in the most compelling way for clients."
Beyond these immediate pressures, some voice concerns about the long-term viability of the industry. Mercier Gray's Gray points out that fee guidelines published ten years ago have increased by only 10%, while salary costs have trebled.
And where agencies once made money by marking up bought-in services such as print, these are normally now charged at cost. Though turnover has increased and gross profit is healthy, it is harder to make money.
"We are not only far cheaper than management consultants, lawyers and accountants, we are getting down to the level of plumbers and electricians," Gray says. He believes agencies need to look at new models for remunerating agencies, specifically payment by results, and for ideas rather than implementation. Most agencies would charge either by the hour, as has long been the case with, say, lawyers and accountants, or as a percentage of the total budget.
Many agree that change is overdue in an industry whose original business model is out of step with market conditions. One agency using payment by results is Liquorice with Fulham FC, where some remuneration is through commission on web sales.
Positive Thinking is also going down this route with several clients.
One problem is that client firms are not necessarily geared up to pay the extra when campaigns go well. With no way of knowing just how effective an activity is likely to be, an open-ended agreement can be problematic.
For instance, offering an agency £50 for every extra cruise holiday that is sold above a certain target could be expensive for a client if the campaign is successful.
Model solution
One solution is a three-tier agreement based on a fixed payment in which 85% of the initial cost estimates are agreed. For example, on a campaign costing £100,000, an agency risks losing 15% if the campaign falls short of its objectives, but otherwise will be paid the full amount. If it achieves a set target over and above that, it would receive a fixed bonus.
"This payment model is exciting," says Positive Thinking's Reiter. "It encourages clients to consider the research and implementation more carefully, because they have to justify why they are paying more money."
Nevertheless, agencies may lack the flexibility they need to be competitive.
"They continue to have a fixed overhead, but clients don't necessarily want a permanent relationship," says David Blackler, chief executive of Brewer Blacker, part of the Carlson Marketing Group.
Blackler says HR legislation is ever more burdensome and suggests that agencies need to develop different ways of working - using a more 'virtual' resource that can be assembled for individual brands, for example.
One way to reduce overheads is to employ freelance creatives, but this can diminish continuity, because freelancers enjoy fewer opportunities to learn about the product and marketing strategy than permanent staff.
Working in isolation has the disadvantage of making for a less creative atmosphere. In any case, now that full employment rights are being extended to all workers regardless of status, the element of flexibility provided by freelancing is diminishing.
Such concerns suggest that the rapid developments affecting below-the-line agencies have yet to run their course. Although many now offer a wide range of services in an increasingly strategic role, adapting to changes is not without cost.
On the other hand, the sector has shown itself to be resilient in the face of difficult conditions, with sales promotion remaining an essential element of companies' marketing platforms. If an economic recovery starts to take hold in the course of next year, as many now expect, there is good reason to believe their suppliers will continue to thrive.
SLEDGE AND IRIS LEAD THE WAY IN GROWTH
In a difficult year it is encouraging to see several companies increasing their gross profit, sometimes by quite large margins.
Iris stands out with an impressive 70% and Sledge emerges as the fastest-growing of smaller firms with 80%.
Iris managing partner Ian Milner attributes the agency's success partly to its ability to attract diverse talent. "We have distributed profits throughout the company and have innovated," he says.
The agency has opened an office in Manchester and set up a music and marketing events company. Recent wins include T-Mobile, Shell and Ben Sherman.
Iris also finds itself carrying out more and more international work and plans to open offices in the US and Asia.
Sledge, too, has grown rapidly, and has been adapting its in-house skills to suit clients' evolving requirements.
"We have seen them become more optimistic and aggressive about market share," says marketing director Ian Irving. The agency was recently buoyed by winning a two-year contract with O2.
BRYANT HOMES FLAGS UP INTERNATIONAL CREDENTIALS
Sledge has developed an autumn campaign for Bryant Homes, part of Taylor Woodrow Developments. The aim is to promote the brands as premium home builders in the UK and Spain.
A prize draw offers a holiday home in Spain, highlighting the company's offering. Visitors receive a free 'lifestyle' book about moving home and special 'dream offers' encourage people to reserve a property. The promotion is delivered via a mix of responsive media, including press inserts, direct mail and online activity.
Respondents can use mail, telephone or the web to enter the prize draw and seek further information on the firm's developments. These channels are regionalised to encourage site-specific enquiries at the first stage.
Online activity includes banner advertising, to be refined throughout the duration of the campaign. Keyword searches are used to raise Bryant's position in the most popular property-related searches, both generic and regionalised. A page on Bryant's web site is used to incentivise visitors not already reached by the campaign.
The campaign is measurable using online tracking and a call centre handling post, phone and web responses. It will report conversion of leads, pre- and post-campaign awareness tracking, take-up of the offers and comparative sales figures.
All leaflets are coded by region and medium so that response can be fully measured and analysed.
VOLKSWAGEN TAPS INTO VALUE OF KIDS' INFLUENCE
Iris developed a national summer campaign for Volkswagen dealers to support the launch of the Touran people carrier. The promotion centred on the Cubbies, four characters who live in and around the Touran's many cubby hole storage compartments.
When families entered dealerships, children were invited to search for eight Cubbies hidden inside the vehicle, using clues found on gamecards to win prizes. These included stickers, balloons, magnetic book sets and lunchboxes.
Every retailer was supplied with a dedicated activity centre to keep children occupied. The best drawings from this activity centre were entered into a nationwide draw to win one of five family weekend driving breaks.
Promotional equipment was also provided to enable retailers to take the Cubbies out on the road to local events and shopping centres.
Brands often underestimate the power children have on influencing purchasing decisions made by their parents, says Iris managing partner Ian Milner.
That applies even in the purchase of products not directly used by them, such as cars.
"Our strategy was to get them on-side with a product benefit they could see, enjoy and experience," he says. "Kids need intense, exaggerated and entertaining communications that catch the eye and capture the imagination." Research indicated that the promotion needed to make parents' lives easier.
"By creating activities to keep the children entertained we made it easier for VW to talk to the parents without interruption, leading to an increased likelihood of a sale," says Milner.
DIGITAL REVOLUTION
From previously being seen as a nice-to-have peripheral activity, the internet is now a mainstream channel for sales promotion. Most briefs can benefit from an online application, agencies say, even if this was not originally anticipated by the client.
Carlson Marketing says it is using e-mail to communicate its offers, finding the medium quicker and more responsive than other channels. It is interactive too. One example was the rebranding of Immac as Veet earlier this year.
Multi-layered promotions including on-pack promotion, live sampling, text messaging and web promotions are especially popular.
"Consumers are becoming more adept at handling several interactive elements to enter and win prizes," says Paul Woolf, chairman of Cramm Francis Woolf.
Mobile phones have proved to be an ideal medium for youth and young adult brands. Triangle pioneered SMS promotion with last year's 'Text & Win' promotion for Cadbury, and managing director John Toppin expects this to develop as a communication channel for other consumer groups. It will provide targeted information and entertainment relevant to particular demographic sectors as well as promotional messages.
"It is now the role of brands not only to inform but also to entertain," says Toppin. "Those that recognise this trend and respond to it in innovative ways will win the hearts and minds of consumers."
One campaign with a strong interactive element was carried out earlier this year by Black Cat on behalf of Motorola. This supported the launch of the Bluetooth wireless application and was aimed at early adopters.
A competition offered a prize of an adventure holiday anywhere in the world, underlining the theme of unlimited connectivity. This was delivered via a specially constructed microsite, with traffic driven by advertising, on-pack and e-mail communications. The campaign also included interactive training for the Motorola sales force across the EMEA region.
Digital technology offers other avenues for innovation. Joshua is experimenting with touch screens at point of sale that produce three-dimensional holograms of a sales person on the shop floor.
"That is the level where we are going to go next," says business development director Dick Bloomfield. It is not cheap, but will bring good returns for clients, he believes, with applications for sectors such as financial services and FMCG.
INSTITUTE OF SALES PROMOTION AWARDS 1993-2003
The ISP has created a table of winners of its annual awards for most effective promotions in various categories over the past ten years. The table is calculated under a system in which various grades are allocated between two and 16 points. Points were added to calculate top scorers in the past ten years of the awards.
"These are agencies that have been carrying out outstanding work over a long period," says director Edwin Mutton.
At the top of the table is SMP, which Mutton praises for consistency - although it has only occasionally scored top prizes, it has a large number of silvers to its name.
In second place is Arc, formerly IMP, which used to walk off with the top prize so frequently that other agencies were sometimes said not to bother entering.
However, it slipped in the table because of a decision - reversed after two years - not to compete for awards. Equally successful in outright wins is Triangle, though only in recent years.
Mutton believes the table underlines the fact that, though sales promotion is now seen just as one of many marketing tools, it is still of crucial importance.
"According to the DMA, 97% of direct marketing involves sales promotion, and if one is growing, so is the other," he says.
The initial judging is carried out by 150 senior industry members, and the final grand prix is chosen by a panel of 20. Categories include loyalty promotions, product launches, art direction and design, copywriting, best use of point-of-sale and digital, and best integrated campaign.
THE BEST OF THE BEST
1 SMP 320 points
2 Arc 272 points
3 Triangle 240 points
4 Blue Chip 152 points
5 KLP 144 points
6 Saatchi & Saatchi 132 points
7 Promotional campaigns 121 points
8 Bd-ntwk 108 points
Source: ISP (points allocated as bronze 2, silver 4, gold 8, platinum
10, grand prix 16)
TALKSPORT/SMP
One of SMP's most recent award-winning campaigns was for talkSPORT, promoting the radio station to brand owners and media buyers as delivering a male audience. The aim was to obtain interviews with respondents and persuade them to advertise.
Targets were telephoned and asked their shoe size and favourite sport. They were then sent a box containing a single sports shoe and detailed data on reach and audience.
Each recipient was invited to meet a talkSPORT representative to discuss advertising and sponsorship and given a matching shoe at the end of the presentation.
They were then invited to check a picture of the shoe's sole against one on the station's web site, winning tickets to the FA Cup Final if it matched.
More than 90% of all contacts provided information and 20 interviews were arranged. This resulted in several companies advertising on the station for the first time, including IBM, Coors, Ladbrokes, HP Bulmer and GlaxoSmithKline.
Of the £1m extra revenue, a quarter was directly attributed to the mailer and the remainder was influenced by it.
The piece also helped secure John Smith's as sponsor of the talkSPORT breakfast show.
GUINNESS/TRIANGLE
To engage consumers in pubs and retail outlets, Triangle came up with the award-winning concept of 'free footy hairware' for Guinness. This involved collecting wigs that replicated famous England players' hairstyles over the years: Goalie Pony, Midfield Mohawk, Champion Sweep and Pro Perm.
Wigs and other materials were produced and placed at point of sale. Field teams visited bars and pubs, encouraging staff to wear the wigs on game nights.
Customers who bought four pints could claim a free wig at point of purchase on match days. In the take-home trade, can volumes grew by 33% against an average 16% uplift across the beer market generally. In the on-trade there was a 7% uplift over the equivalent period in the previous year.
More than 10,000 pubs participated and one million wigs were distributed. The wigs were worn by fans in homes and bars across the country, as well as in the stadia in Japan and Korea.
TOP TEN FOR GROWTH, SMALLER AGENCIES
Rnk Consultancy Gross profit Gross profit % chng
2002 (pounds) 2001 (pounds)
1 Sledge 2,138,000 1,189,000 79.81
2 Angel 746,000 474,000 57.38
3 KLM 2,855,000 1,912,000 49.32
4 Osmosis Marketing 3,628,000 2,607,000 39.16
5 The Church Agency 1,890,000 1,380,000 36.96
6 Liquid Communications 1,189,000 1,009,000 17.84
7 The Marketing Services Centre 1,585,000 1,446,000 9.61
8 CBA 547,000 504,000 8.53
9 Liquorice 1,400,000 1,300,000 7.69
10 Ainsworth & Parkinson 1,445,000 1,353,000 6.80
TOP TEN FOR GROWTH, BIGGER AGENCIES
Rnk Consultancy Gross profit Gross profit % chng
2002 (pounds) 2001 (pounds)
1 Iris 4,288,000 2,528,000 69.62
2 Billington Cartmell 5,611,000 3,898,000 43.95
3 Bd-ntwk 5,765,000 4,642,000 24.19
4 The Russell Organisation 4,200,000 3,474,000 20.90
5 Logistix Kids 6,603,000 5,463,000 20.87
6 Dynamo 9,793,000 8,327,000 17.61
7 Dialogue Marketing Group 7,600,000 6,500,000 16.92
8 Dig For Fire 6,164,000 5,349,000 15.24
9 The Marketing Store 15,376,000 13,464,000 14.20
10 Poulter Partners 4,226,000 3,730,000 13.30
TOP SALES PROMOTION CONSULTANCIES 1-43
Rank Consultancy Gross profit Gross profit % chng
2002 (pounds) 2001 (pounds)
1 Carlson Marketing Group 26,254,000 28,600,000 -8.20
2 Joshua 15,400,000 14,400,000 6.94
3 The Marketing Store 15,376,000 13,464,000 14.20
4 Haygarth Group 13,267,000 14,771,000 -10.18
5 The Triangle Group 12,354,000 11,375,000 8.61
6 Dynamo 9,793,000 8,327,000 17.61
7 Geoff Howe Group 9,190,000 8,430,000 9.02
8 Dialogue Marketing Group 7,600,000 6,500,000 16.92
9 Logistix Kids 6,603,000 5,463,000 20.87
10 Mercier Gray 6,597,000 6,108,000 8.01
11 Dig For Fire 6,164,000 5,349,000 15.24
12 Bd-ntwk 5,765,000 4,642,000 24.19
13 Billington Cartmell 5,611,000 3,898,000 43.95
14 Interfocus Network 4,900,000 7,563,000 -35.21
15 Iris 4,288,000 2,528,000 69.62
16 Poulter Partners 4,226,000 3,730,000 13.30
17 The Russell Organisation 4,200,000 3,474,000 20.90
18 Osmosis Marketing 3,628,000 2,607,000 39.16
(formerly Interface)
19 Positive Thinking 3,022,000 2,840,000 6.41
20 GFM Services 2,923,000 3,058,000 -4.41
21 KLM 2,855,000 1,912,000 49.32
22 Sledge 2,138,000 1,189,000 79.81
23= SMP 1,890,000 2,530,000 -25.30
23= The Church Agency 1,890,000 1,380,000 36.96
25 Teamwork Marketing 1,882,000 2,032,000 -7.38
26 Hicklin Slade & Partners 1,800,000 2,000,000 -10.00
27 Cooney Bains 1,700,000 1,600,000 6.25
28 Cramm Francis Woolf 1,600,000 3,479,000 -54.01
29 The Marketing Services Centre 1,585,000 1,446,000 9.61
30 Ainsworth & Parkinson 1,445,000 1,353,000 6.80
31 23red 1,434,000 1,399,000 2.50
32 Liquorice 1,400,000 1,300,000 7.69
33 Liquid Communications 1,189,000 1,009,000 17.84
34 PMA Marketing 955,000 1,003,000 -4.79
35 Swordfish 926,000 1,122,000 -17.47
36 KHWS 824,000 948,000 -13.08
37 WDMP 790,000 n/a n/a
38 Angel 746,000 474,000 57.38
39 WDPA Communications 672,000 980,000 -31.43
40 CBA 547,000 504,000 8.53
41 Gasoline 426,000 n/a n/a
42 GCAS Sales Promotions 173,000 165,000 4.85
43 JDI Integrated Advertising 129,000 200,000 -35.50
Rank Consultancy Staff 12 Current Gross profit
mths ago staff per head
(pounds)
1 Carlson Marketing Group 474 490 55,388
2 Joshua 180 180 85,556
3 The Marketing Store 194 174 79,258
4 Haygarth Group 135 154 98,274
5 The Triangle Group 141 170 87,617
6 Dynamo 119 125 82,294
7 Geoff Howe Group 104 101 88,365
8 Dialogue Marketing Group 76 83 100,000
9 Logistix Kids 58 48 113,845
10 Mercier Gray 82 79 80,451
11 Dig For Fire 90 n/a 68,489
12 Bd-ntwk 95 100 60,684
13 Billington Cartmell 55 n/a 102,018
14 Interfocus Network 60 70 23,050
15 Iris 85 40 50,447
16 Poulter Partners 143 140 29,552
17 The Russell Organisation 120 111 35,000
18 Osmosis Marketing 53 24 68,453
(formerly Interface)
19 Positive Thinking 45 41 67,156
20 GFM Services 55 47 53,145
21 KLM 33 32 86,515
22 Sledge 35 27 61,086
23= SMP 45 32 42,000
23= The Church Agency 30 n/a 63,000
25 Teamwork Marketing 48 45 39,208
26 Hicklin Slade & Partners 40 38 45,000
27 Cooney Bains 31 n/a 54,839
28 Cramm Francis Woolf 42 50 38,095
29 The Marketing Services Centre 21 23 75,476
30 Ainsworth & Parkinson 34 32 42,500
31 23red 30 30 47,800
32 Liquorice 24 18 58,333
33 Liquid Communications 19 16 62,579
34 PMA Marketing 16 16 59,688
35 Swordfish 17 21 54,471
36 KHWS 14 18 58,857
37 WDMP 12 n/a 65,833
38 Angel 11 8 67,818
39 WDPA Communications 12 16 56,000
40 CBA 15 n/a 36,467
41 Gasoline 12 n/a 35,500
42 GCAS Sales Promotions 4 4 43,250
43 JDI Integrated Advertising 7 5 18,429
Rank Consultancy
1 Carlson Marketing Group
Founded 1961. Ch Robert Janes, MD Frank McCusker. Clients not
given. Member of ISP, MCCA. E-mail
lisa.worthington@brewerblackler.co.uk, web site
www.carlson-europe.com
2 Joshua
Founded 1998, subsidiary of Grey Global Group. Ch Peter Thompson,
MD Nick Spindler, creative director Mitch Levy. Clients include
Coca-Cola GB, Post Office, BAT. Member of ISP, MCCA, DMA. E-mail
dick.bloomfield@joshua-agency.co.uk, web site
www.joshua-agency.co.uk
3 The Marketing Store
Founded 1986, privately owned. MD Mike Bowen, creative director
Shelford Chandler. 95% SP. Clients include McDonald's, Walkers
UK/Frito-Lay International, Asda. Member of ISP, MCCA. E-mail
susan.quayle@tmsw.com, web site www.themarketingstore.com
4 Haygarth Group
Founded 1984, subsid High Co. Ch Stephen Morris, Joint MDs Robert
Goldsmith/Sophie Daranyi, creative director Grace Goni. 51% SP.
Clients include Nokia, Tropicana, Kerry Foods. Member of ISP, DMA.
E-mail enquiries@haygarth.co.uk, web site www.haygarth.co.uk
5 The Triangle Group
Founded 1975, subsidiary of Publicis Groupe. Ch Kevin Twittey, MD
John Toppin, creative director Nick Presley. Clients include
Safeway, Diageo, Britvic. Member of ISP, MCCA, DMA. E-mail
sarah.howell@thetrianglegroup.co.uk, web site
www.thetrianglegroup.co.uk
6 Dynamo
Founded 1990, subsidiary of Incepta. Ch Iain Sanderson. 90% SP.
Clients include Coca-Cola Enterprises, J Sainsbury, Anheuser Busch.
Member of ISP. E-mail iains@dynamo.net.uk, web site
www.dynamo.net.uk
7 Geoff Howe Group
Privately owned. Ch Geoff Howe, MDs Steve Connors, Ed Hughes,
creative dir Julian Routledge. 35% SP. Clients include Hills Pet
Nutrition, Hitachi, Wella. Member of ISP, DMA. E-mail
simon.marjoram@geoffhowe.com, web site www.geoffhowe.com
8 Dialogue Marketing Group
Founded 1995, subsidiary of WPP. Ch and MD Richard Church, joint
creative directors Andy Cowley/Richard Jones. Clients include
Gillette Group, United Biscuits, Burger King. Member of ISP. E-mail
enq@dialmkg.com, web site www.dialmkg.com
9 Logistix Kids
Founded 1989, subsidiary of Equity Marketing Inc. Ch Ian Madeley,
MD Elizabeth Taylor, creative director Liz Pilgrim. 85% SP. Clients
include Kellogg, Burger King, Procter & Gamble. Member of ISP.
E-mail liz.pilgrim@logistix.co.uk, web site www.logistixkids.co.uk
10 Mercier Gray
Founded 1993, privately owned. Ch Rob Gray, MD Anton Mercier,
creative director Jackie Davis. 28% SP. Clients include Beiersdorf
(Nivea), Sega, Kraft Foods. Member of MCCA. E-mail
robg@merciergray.com, web site www.merciergray.com
11 Dig For Fire
Founded 1983, privately owned. Ch Charles Buddery, MD Charles
Glover, creative director Nigel Wood. 39% SP. Clients include first
direct, Budget Insurance, HSBC. Member of ISP, DMA. E-mail
charles.glover@digforfire.co.uk, web site www.digforfire.co.uk
12 Bd-ntwk
Founded 1990, privately owned. MDs John Donnelly (London), Claire
Hardy (Scotland). 70% SP. Clients include Orange, Coca-Cola, Arla
Foods. Member of ISP, MCCA, DMA. E-mail carolyn.laing@bd-ntwk.com,
web site www.bd-ntwk.com
13 Billington Cartmell
Founded 1990, privately owned. MD Ian Billington, creative director
David Booth. Clients include Nestle, GlaxoSmithKline, Vodafone.
Member of ISP, MCCA. Email ian_billington@bcl.co.uk, web site
www.bcl.co.uk
14 Interfocus Network
Founded 1989, subsidiary of Maxxcom. Ch Matthew Hooper, MD Chris
Zandonati, creative director Ian Thomas. Clients include Lloyds
TSB, EDF Energy, Xerox. Member of ISP, MCCA, DMA. E-mail
kevin.jackson@interfocus.co.uk, web site www.interfocus.co.uk
15 Iris
Founded 1999, privately owned. Joint MDs Ian Millner/Stewart
Shanley. 65% SP. Clients include Sony Ericsson, Shell, T-Mobile.
Member of MCCA. E-mail ian@iris-london.co.uk, web site
www.irisnation.com
16 Poulter Partners
Founded 1969, privately owned. Ch Peter Toynton, MD Gary McCall.
65% SP. Clients include Britvic Soft Drinks, Gala, William Hill.
Member of ISP, MCCA, DMA. E-mail info@poulterpartners.com, web site
www.poulterpartners.com
17 The Russell Organisation
Founded 1982, privately owned. Ch Rob Allen, MD Keith O'Loughlin.
10% SP. Clients include BMW, Orange, Honda. Member of ISP. E-mail
info@russellorg.co.uk, web site www.russellorg.co.uk
18 Osmosis Marketing (formerly Interface)
Founded 1986, privately owned. MD Vincent Tickel. 70% SP. Clients
include Mitchells & Butlers, Carlsberg-Tetley, Nestle. Member of
MCCA. E-mail vincet@osmosismarketing.co.uk, web site
www.osmosismarketing.co.uk
19 Positive Thinking
Founded 1994, privately owned. Ch Tim Miller, MD Julian Reiter. 50%
SP. Clients include Mitchells & Butlers, C&G. Member of ISP, MCCA.
E-mail lance@positive-thinking.co.uk, web site
www.positive-thinking.co.uk
20 GFM Services
Founded 1994, privately owned, subsidiary of GFM Holdings. Ch/MD
Peter Sakal. 78% SP. Clients include News Group Newspapers,
Telegraph, Park Resorts. Member of ISP, DMA. E-mail
response@gfm.co.uk, web site www.gfm.co.uk
21 KLM
Founded 1986, privately owned, subsid of KLM Group. Ch Jon Derry,
creative director Wayne Attwood. 50% SP. Clients include BSkyB,
Diageo, Parcelforce Worldwide. Member of ISP, MCCA, DMA. E-mail
jond@klm.co.uk, web site www.klm.co.uk
22 Sledge
Founded 1991, privately owned. MD Nic Cooper, creative director Tom
Beaumont-Griffin. 15% SP. Clients include Taylor Woodrow, 02
Communications, Peugeot. E-mail ian.irving@sledge.co.uk, web site
www.sledge.co.uk
23= SMP
Founded 1983, privately owned. Joint MDs Simon Mahoney/Chris
Simpson. 50% SP. Clients include Kimberly-Clark, Unilever,
Novartis. Member of ISP, DMA. E-mail simon.mahoney@smp.uk.com, web
site www.smp.uk.com
23= The Church Agency
Founded 1987, privately owned. MD Martin McInnes, creative director
Ian Read. 45% SP. Clients include Unilever, Nestle, Interbrew.
Member ISP. E-mail bob.jackson@thechurchagency.com, web site
www.thechurchagency.com
25 Teamwork Marketing
Founded 1981, privately owned. MD Bob Wood. 78% SP. Clients include
Kellogg's Foodservice Solutions, McCain Foods, Premier Foods.
Member of ISP, MCCA, DMA. E-mail all@teamwork-marketing.co.uk, web
site www.teamwork-marketing.co.uk
26 Hicklin Slade & Partners
Founded 1998, privately owned. Ch Nick Horswell, MD Justin Hicklin,
creative director Philip Slade. 88% SP. Clients include Camelot,
Honda, Coors Brewers. Member of MCCA, DMA. E-mail
info@hicklinslade.com, web site www.hicklinslade.com
27 Cooney Bains
Founded 1987, privately owned. MD Kevin Cooney, creative director
Roy Ferguson. 80% SP. Clients include DaimlerChrysler, Plantronics,
London Underground. E-mail jas@cooneybains.com, web site
www.cooneybains.com
28 Cramm Francis Woolf
Founded 1993, privately owned. Ch/MD Paul Woolf, creative director
Terry Trower. Clients include British Airports Authority, American
Express, Meat & Livestock Commission. Member of ISP, DMA. E-mail
paulw@cfw.co.uk, web site www.cfw.co.uk
29 The Marketing Services Centre
Founded 1989, privately owned. Ch Stuart Mitchell, MD Adrian Watts.
50% SP. Clients include Peacocks Stores Group, United Co-operative
Group, Express Dairies. E-mail adrian@mscltd.co.uk, web site
www.mscltd.co.uk
30 Ainsworth & Parkinson
Founded 1990, privately owned. Ch Tony Ainsworth, MD Tim Parkinson,
creative director Ian Pinches. Clients include Seven Seas, Princes,
Arla Foods. Member of ISP. E-mail t.ainsworth@a-p-salespromo.co.uk,
web site www.a-p-salespromo.co.uk
31 23red
Founded 2000, privately owned. Ch Jane Asscher, MD Adam Wylie,
creative director Sean Kinmont. 25% SP. Clients include COI, Marks
and Spencer, World Rally Championship. Member of ISP, DMA. E-mail
info@23red.com, web site www.23red.com
32 Liquorice
Founded 1998, privately owned. CEO Quentin Boyes, managing partners
Sam Brownfield, Lisa Betti. 20% SP. Clients include Johnson &
Johnson MSD, Eurotunnel, Kettle Foods. Member of MCCA. E-mail
quentin.boyes@liquorice.net, web site www.liquorice.net
33 Liquid Communications
Founded 1999, privately owned. Joint managing directors Olly
Raeburn/Andy Annett. 90% SP. Clients include Heinz, News
International, Timberland. Member of MCCA, DMA. E-mail
excitingtimes@liquidcom.co.uk, web site
www.liquidcommunications.co.uk
34 PMA Marketing
Founded 1992, privately owned. Ch Richard Mortimer, joint MDs
Leslie Fleischman/Mark Cluer, creative director Alex Barlow.
Clients include L'Oreal, Dixons, Dominos. Member of ISP. E-mail
enquiries@pmamarketing.com, web site www.pmamarketing.com
35 Swordfish
Founded 1998, privately owned. Ch Mark Whitmore, MD Steve Richards,
creative director Paul Salisbury. 85% SP. Clients include BBC,
Danone, Reebok. Member of ISP, MCCA. E-mail info@swordfish.co.uk,
web site www.swordfish.co.uk
36 KHWS
Founded 1993, privately owned. Joint MDs Andrew Watts/Nick Hawkes,
creative director Mark Skelton. 55% SP. Clients include ExxonMobil,
Sony, Bosch. Member of ISP, DMA. E-mail andreww@khws.co.uk, web
site www.khws.co.uk
37 WDMP
Founded 2002, privately owned. Ch Gavin Wheeler, MD Craig Wheeler,
creative director Jamie Spencer. 65% SP. Clients include eBay, NTL
Home, Johnson & Johnson MSD. E-mail craig@wdmp.co.uk, web site
www.wdmp.co.uk
38 Angel
Founded 1998, privately owned. MD Trevor Rudder, managing partner
Paula Ronan. Clients include BT Wholesale, Emap Performance,
Coca-Cola Enterprises. Member of ISP, DMA. E-mail
info@angellondon.co.uk, web site www.angellondon.co.uk
39 WDPA Communications
Founded 1999, privately owned. MD Russell Abbott, creative head
Christian Nelson. 50% SP. Clients include Tesco, Radisson
Edwardian, 3663. Member of MCCA, DMA. E-mail info@wdpa.co.uk, web
site www.wdpa.co.uk
40 CBA
Founded 1977, privately owned. Client services director Alex Young,
creative director Peter Barney. 66% SP. Clients include Mitchells &
Butlers, Greggs South East, Western Wines. E-mail london@cba.co.uk,
web site www.cba.co.uk
41 Gasoline
Founded 2002, part-private, part-owned by Chime Communications. Ch
Chris Killingbeck, joint MDs Mark Joy/Simon Melville, creative
director Greg Tustain. Clients include RAC, Yellow Pages, Visit
London. Member of ISP. E-mail mjoy@amdgasoline.com, web site
www.gasoline.uk.com
42 GCAS Sales Promotions
Founded 1994, subsidiary of GCAS Group. MD Sara Callanan. 70% SP.
Clients include Bass Ireland, Translink, Stena Line. Member of ISP,
IISPC (Irish Institute of SP Consultants) E-mail
promotions@gcasgroup.com, web site www.gcasgroup.com
43 JDI Integrated Advertising
Founded 1994, privately owned. Ch/MD Duncan Richardson, creative
director Mark Harrison. Clients include OneTel, Theatre Tokens,
CFA. Member of ISP. E-mail enquiries@jdi.co.uk, web site
www.jdi.co.uk
THE SARBANES-OXLEY EFFECT
COMPANY NAME Year end Gross income Turnover Staff
(pounds) (pounds)
Arc Integrated Marketing 31/12/2001 14,419,000 26,816,000 165
Black Cat Agency 31/12/2002 9,352,910 14,134,110 103
Momentum Field Marketing 31/12/2001 1,210,544 7,948,538 19
Perspectives Red Cell 31/12/2001 6,570,356 11,509,496 83
Proximity London 31/12/2001 n/a 37,035,290 209
COMPANY NAME
ARC INTEGRATED MARKETING
Founded 1968, subsid of Publicis Groupe. CEO John Quarrey, MD Mike
Spicer, creative directors Graham Mills/Jac Nolan. 39% SP. Clients
include Fiat, P&G, Philips. Member of ISP, MCCA, DMA. E-mail
john.quarrey@arcmarketing.com, web site www.arcconnect.co.uk
BLACK CAT AGENCY
Founded 1991, subsid of WPP. Joint MDs Stephen Callender/Diana Tombs,
exec creative director Neil Francis. 40% SP. Clients include Avis,
Motorola, Household Bank. Member of MCCA, DMA. E-mail
centre@black-cat.co.uk, web site www.black-cat.co.uk
MOMENTUM FIELD MARKETING
Founded 1995, subsid of McCann-Erickson Worldgroup (IPG). Joint MDs Kiki
Tsoulouhopoulos/Alison Coulson, creative director Mark Bowers. Clients
include Nestle, Coca-Cola, Meat & Livestock Commission. Member of ISP.
E-mail kiki.t@momentum-uk.com, web site www.momentum-experience.com
PERSPECTIVES RED CELL
Founded 1987, subsidiary of WPP Group. CEO Miles Murphy. 65% SP. Clients
include Carlsberg-Tetley, Chevron Texaco, Wilkinson Sword. Member of
ISP, MCCA, DMA. E-mail peter@perspectivesredcell.com, web site
www.perspectivesredcell.com
PROXIMITY LONDON
Founded 1991, subsidiary of AMV BBDO. Ch Simon Hall, CEO Chris Thomas.
20% SP. Clients include Shell, Persil, Masterfoods. Member of ISP, MCCA,
DMA. E-mail greggains.f@proximitylondon.com, web site
www.proximitylondon.com
Source: Willott Kingston Smith (alphabetical order), with figures from
Companies House
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