Dubai: For Sebastien Desclée, advertising is inherently about keeping things simple, be it in conception or the actual delivery. Everything else — mergers and acquisitions or the explosion in digital platforms — are but tools that an advertiser can use to get the message across on behalf of the client.
“We need to keep mastering the ‘Big Idea’ and as an agency answer the need of clients,” said Desclée, president of the FCB (Foote, Cone & Belding) network and the second oldest agency which traces its origins to 1873. “The focus can only be on one thing — on clients and the products or services offered by them. That can never change.”
In recent months, the global ad industry was fixated over the merger between two veritable giants, Omnicom and Publicis, that would have created a $35 billion (Dh128.5 billion) behemoth.
However, in the final stretch before the deal was nailed, it was mutually decided not to go ahead with it. Since then, industry discussions have centred on the “what ifs” from the deal and then the no-deal play.
Desclée, however, does not want to get distracted by all that chatter.
“I don’t want to think what others should or should not be doing,” said Desclée. “I know what people within FCB are doing and that’s fine enough for me.”
Indeed, but FCB, part of the Interpublic Group, itself is in the midst of a name and culture change within the network. For the last eight years it was known as ‘Draftfcb’, formed by the merger with Draft. But last March, it was finally decided that FCB should go back to its standalone roots. Since then, the rollout of the name change has been taking place at key offices across its network footprint, including in the Middle East.
That is also the reason why Desclée had an extended stopover in Dubai last week. Is the change just got to do with branding? Desclée thinks otherwise.
“What we want to be is be a totally “local” network with local clients predominantly. The only way to compete is when you become totally locally anchored. That comes from having ‘FCB Dubai’ operating in much the same way as ‘FCB Singapore’ would do.
“In many of the markets, the Draft heritage was different from the FCB one — we needed to clarify what we are in the industry.
“We want to celebrate the fact that we are the most local network in the world. We needed to get the essence of being the second oldest agency on the doors to our offices. The change [in name] was to get our legacy to grow in a modern way.”
On whether recent acquisitions done in the Draftfcb regime would also go through the name change, Desclée said: “Acquisitions depend on the local market and one case can be completely different from the other. It depends on who we are acquiring, their position in the market and the best possible solution for us and the client.”
At the operating level, the present is offering a better set of circumstances than in the recent past. The scene out in the US looks positive, while in Western Europe, “The good thing is even if the growth is not as expected, constructive intervention has been done to try and get it back,” Desclée said.
“Portugal and Italy seem headed in the right direction, and Germany is still a growth engine. The UK looks positive, though France remains a concern.
“Overall, the bad times are behind us, but we are not yet in the growth times yet.”
