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Perriss: pooling buying power

Zenith Optimedia Group chief executive John Perriss said this week the networks were about to begin work on pooling their negotiation buying power in the latest round of agency consolidation sweeping the industry.

He said  the bosses of the Publicis-owned agencies in the UK had been tasked with drawing up areas of business in which they could enter joint negotiations, adding: "You'll see a difference in the way we do business."

Perriss revealed his plans while paying tribute to the "fantastic contribution" of Optimedia founder and Zenith Optimedia European chief executive Simon Lloyd, who resigned last week,  prompting a restructure of the network's senior line-up.

He said: "Phase one of Zenith Optimedia was to sort out the financial reporting systems. We're now nine months down the line and the second phase is about starting to work much closer together in the way the agencies do business in the different countries we operate in.

He said the size of Zenith Optimedia made it a key player, along with other agency networks, such as WPP's MindShare and Mediaedge:CIA, who are also looking to pool their global buying power.

"Because of the merger we're now able to say we're one of the top-five networks that's going to dominate the world of media.

"How we do it in the UK will be up to Greg Turzynski and Simon Marquis [Optimedia managing director and Zenith UK chief executive]and they're looking at areas where the agencies can work together.

"We're saying to all our people that we want to grow top line revenue in a time when things are tough for the industry."

Lloyd announced he was quitting last week, having been at the helm of Optimedia since its  birth in the UK in 1992.

Despite playing a key role in the formation of Zenith Optimedia, he was overlooked in favour of Zenith's Perriss when Publicis boss Maurice Levy chose the  chief executive.

Some suggest he was unhappy at missing out on the top job, although he spoke of "sharing the same goals" as Perriss and looking forward to the "exciting time ahead".

optimedia international director of operations John Taylor takes over as global head of the Optimedia brand, with Steve King, Zenith's global chief executive, taking on his European chief executive's task.