Media & Marketing: Three names will make advertisers shiver when they look back upon 2003: Doherty, O'Meara and Media Guilfoyle.
All three ceased to exist, at least on their own, in 2003. O'Meara became part of AFA and Doherty and Media Guilfoyle ceased trading. There have also been redundancies at Euro RSCG, formerly Arks.
Next year can only be better for the advertising industry.
But how bad was 2003? Seasoned observers cannot remember so many agencies getting into trouble in a single year since the bleak 1980s, that's how bad. With a US presidential election and the Olympics due to take place in 2004, forecasts are rosier for next year, particularly the second half.
Most agencies expect advertising spending for 2003 to be down by 4-5 per cent, with TV and press taking the hardest hits. This could be reversed in 2004 if the US economy powers ahead. While the advertising industry has a penchant for gloomy forecasts, in reality many agencies have prospered in the past two years and accounts lodged with the Companies Office recently show that while overall spending has slowed, some have made money.
On the media-buying side, a giant of the industry, All Ireland Media, appears to be trading healthily based on recently lodged accounts for 2002. Turnover rose from €48 million to €65 million, while pre-tax profits jumped to €1.9 million from €1.2 million. All Ireland Media is owned by British company Aegis plc, which bought out the shareholders in January 2002. It is one of the big three media buyers so its figures indicate the health of the sector generally.
Another reasonably large player, Irish International, saw its turnover staying static at €27.5 million in 2002, but pre-tax profits rose from €1.7 million to €2.1 million. A major cut in costs helped the firm's performance - general and administrative expenses dropped from €4.5 million to €3.6 million and this was a major factor behind the profit rise. The company was able to pay a €1.7 million dividend to its shareholder, US giant Omnicom.
'Rings' trilogy swells cinema advertising
The largest cinema advertising firm Carlton Screen is reducing its production costs as cinema advertising booms on the back of box office hits like the Lord of the Rings series. The trilogy appeals to teenagers, but also to seasoned Tolkien readers. This is bound to interest advertisers targeting key consumer groups early in the new year when activity is sparse.
Production costs are costs associated with putting together a cinema advert. Carlton offers a production service and these are the charges being reduced. Production costs are traditionally regarded as the biggest obstacle to clients taking cinema advertising.
Ms Eithne Billington, general manager, Carlton Screen Advertising, said: "This initiative has already proven to be a great success in our marketplace with expenditure from the motor industry up threefold and the cosmetics sector up twofold year on year." While there is no doubt this year's cinema story has been Lord of the Rings, other movies managed to pack cinemas too. According to figures from Carlton and Nielsen, Veronica Guerin and Finding Nemo topped box office charts, followed by Matrix Reloaded and American Pie: The Wedding.
Dunne moves on from Newstalk
Former boss of McConnells media arm Mr Aidan Dunne has set up a media consultancy, Objective Communications: Analysis and Planning. It will offer advertisers and media owners an independent overview of their communications strategies. Mr Dunne until recently was chief executive of Newstalk. "The advertising to sales relationship is still one of the great marketing mysteries, particularly in mid-size companies and public service bodies. But causes and effects can be identified through detailed analysis," he says.
Emmet Oliver can be reached at eoliver_at_irish-times.ie
