Good news at long last

Well, Rob has asked if the reason I have not been posting as frequently as I should is because my cynicism doesn’t allow me to see anything positive in the industry (that’s what I decided this blog is going to be about). While to some extent that is true, the other thing I have found as part of this experiment is that the industry as a whole has become so cynical that we rarely talk or publicise the good we do. That being my belief I am going to continue with my ‘Positive Only’ approach for some more time to see if it works if I am more diligent about updating the blog…so here’s something that gives us hope.

There’s a really big client (top 5 in ad spend in the country), who’s never really been known for great work, called for a pitch recently. The incumbent declined to pitch even after being given an automatic entry into the second round, so there were 4 big agencies left in the fray. In a surprise move today two of those four also withdrew from the pitch, sending a loud and clear message to all clients out there that we do still care about the work and the value we add. And that ad agencies are not complete slaves to money.

This is a huge move in a country like Singapore, and one which I believe will take the industry a long way towards regaining our rightful place and respect as key players in the success of a brand.