MOMENTUM
Burson-Marsteller submitted an impressive performance in 2010, growing both its top- (up 15 percent) and bottom-lines in regional CEO Bob Pickard’s first year in charge. Operations in China, India and Hong Kong were particularly instrumental in this success, along with solid turnarounds in Korea and Indonesia. Much of the growth was organic, from key clients such as Ford, HP and Mahindra. There was also significant new business from Foxconn (handling a sensitive worker suicide issue), Huawei (devices and CSR), Bayer and Merck Serono.
REGIONAL REACH
Burson-Marsteller expanded its Asia-Pacific footprint in 2010 with the addition of a new wholly-owned office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The firm’s largest Asia-Pacific operations remain in the two fast-growing BRIC economies: India and China. In the former, the acquisition four years ago of Genesis, which now operates as Genesis Burson-Marsteller, established B-M overnight as a market leader in both size and sophistication; with offices in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Pune, the firm offers comprehensive reach and impressive corporate expertise, coupled with strength in healthcare and technology, as well as a growing public affairs practice. In the latter, the firm has offices in Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shanghai, with the Greater China presence rounded out by a strong Hong Kong operation that serves as the hub for much of Burson’s regional public affairs business but is broadening its base to include consumer and healthcare expertise. The firm also has solid operations in Korea and Japan, (probably the two most difficult markets in 2009), Singapore, Indonesia and Australia, where there are offices in Sydney and Melbourne. All told, the firm offers 31 offices and affiliates in 16 countries, employing around 650 consultants in Asia-Pacific.
GLOBAL REACH
Burson-Marsteller has one of the largest US footprints of any firm. The New York headquarters has impressive strength in corporate communications and healthcare, and has a formidable media practice focused on top-tier outlets—print, broadcast and digital. The Washington, D.C., operation includes not only the BM office—noted for both its public affairs and government sector work—but also the PSB research capability, lobbying shop BKSH, and grassroots specialist Direct Impact. The firm also has notable operations in San Francisco (the hub for much of BM’s technology work; Chicago (BM probably still has the strongest Midwest presence of the New York-based full-service firms); and Texas. There’s a case to be made that Burson has the most complete coverage of key EMEA markets: the Brussels office is the one almost all others in the European capital identify as the one to beat; the German operation represents some of the largest local multinationals—Henkel, Lufthansa, SAP—as well as multinationals like McDonald’s; and the 120-person U.K. office is the turnaround success of the past few years and now serves as the hub for 25 percent of the firm’s top 20 clients. The firm is also among the largest multinationals in other major EMEA markets.
EXPERTISE
Burson-Marsteller’s traditional areas of strength - corporate communications, issues management and public affairs - drove much of its growth in 2010, bolstered by a new ‘digital corporate’ umbrella that has come to the fore in terms of managing crisis. The firm’s ‘evidence-based’ approach to communications is backed by its close ties with sister polling agency Penn Schoen Berland, which enables it to offer bespoke measurement and polling services to clients. Industry sectors where the firm sees growth include technology (it works with industry leaders such as HP, SAP and Huawei in the region) and energy, both clean and dirty. Healthcare is a less dynamic market, except in Australia and Japan.
TALENT
The biggest news of 2010 was the departure of Asia-Pacific chief executive Simon Pangrazio, in the job for just two years, to join his predecessor Bill Rylance at consulting start-up Watatawa. He was replaced in January of 2010 by Edelman veteran Bob Pickard, who has brought plenty of international and regional experience (having built market leading operations in both Korea and Japan) and an evident hunger for growth. Pickard spent much of 2010 revamping the firm’s regional leadership team, indeed there were no fewer than nine key appointments across Asia-Pacific. These included former Edelman executives Chris Deri and Margaret Key to head China and Korea, respectively, while Daisy Primayanti and Joycelyn Lee took on corresponding roles in Indonesia and Malaysia. Chrissy Jones returned to the firm to head business development, while Pickard lured Steve Bowen from Edelman to oversee marketing and training. Zaheer Nooruddin, another Edelman hire, arrived as lead digital strategist for Greater China, and Charles Hogan was named technical adviser in Indonesia.
CULTURE
Burson-Marsteller established itself as a leader in training in the region while most of its peers were still focused on their domestic markets—many of the region’s senior practitioners and most successful entrepreneurs are Burson graduates—and while a strong professional development program is no longer the differentiator it once was, the firm is still a leader. It has successfully placed Asian employees in offices elsewhere in the global network and also stands out for the proportion of its leadership that is Asian, female or both.
INTELLECTUAL LEADERSHIP
In December 2009, Burson-Marsteller unveiled what it calls “evidence-based” communications. On the one hand, the new methodology clearly draws on one of Burson’s strengths, since chief executive Mark Penn comes from a research background with Penn Schoen & Berland, and has installed several similarly-inclined senior executives in management roles at the firm; on the other hand, it would require an exceptionally jaundiced opinion of Burson’s rivals to see this commitment to research as a true differentiator. In developing markets, however, it should be enough to set BM apart from many of its local competitors, and to persuade clients that it is worth a little extra investment to ensure a PR approach that is grounded in genuine stakeholder insight. The firm’s Global Insights and Ideas unit is tasked with overseeing the agency’s intellectual capital - much of which is localized within Asia. In 2010, this included message gap analysis, the Global Fortune 500 Social Media Check-up, and the Fortune 50 Use of Mobile study. Also of note, the firm produced the Asia-Pacific Social Media Study in 2010.
CAMPAIGNS
2010 highlights included a multi-dimensional communications campaign for Earth Hour India that increased participation by 40 percent more than the previous year; an LG Electronics international awareness programme in partnership with Medecins Sans Frontieres; managing the integrated HP digital campaign that created a pioneering Chinese youth movie; supporting the International Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group in the development of a comprehensive roadmap for Indonesian healthcare reform; and, repositioning the annual Singapore Arts Festival in partnership with the National Arts Council.
BRAND
As one of the longest-established global public relations brands in the region, Burson-Marsteller enjoys a high level of awareness in the Asia-Pacific, and its long history of involvement in high-profile issues—for corporate and public sector clients—has earned it a reputation as the go-to agency for big, global, high-profile, high-stakes assignments. In 2010, the firm made efforts to modernize this profile, around a stronger focus on digital and data. If the number of returning employees is anything to go by, Burson-Marsteller appears to be doing something right. And it doesn’t hurt that both Pickard and India CEO Prema Sagar bring a high media profile to the firm’s activities.
THE FUTURE
Pickard appears to have made sound progress in evolving Burson-Marsteller beyond its relatively conservative roots into a more entrepreneurial culture. He has undoubtedly been aided by the firm’s strong position in the two most significant markets in Asia—Burson is arguably the only firm to have wholly-owned leaders in both China and India—and with a formidable network that has not quite punched its weight in recent years. Unsurprisingly, the firm is betting on Asian multinationals to lead growth over the next five years and, given the size of its Chinese and Indian operations, Burson is better placed than many to capitalise on this trend. Ten of its top 20 clients in Asia-Pacific are headquartered in the region, and the agency’s goal of improving that ration makes plenty of sense. A more focused acquisition strategy would also help Burson’s efforts to grow its regional footprint, particularly in those markets where growth has been harder to come by. Pickard is undeniably energetic and aggressive, and if he can avoid disrupting the agency too much then Burson could conceivably see a return to its position as Asia-Pacific’s pre-eminent PR agency.