Dentsu’s Wendy Clark: ‘If I don’t use my position to change the face of the industry, shame on me’ | Advertising

Wendy Clark has laid out a four-year progress plan to generate half of Dentsu Worldwide’s revenues from buyer expertise and to “remodel” its inventive provide whereas “evolving” its media capabilities.
“Artistic would be the place that undergoes probably the most change” by 2024, she vowed, giving her first interview since beginning as world chief govt in September.

Clark, talking from her residence in Atlanta, Georgia, stated her twin priorities have been the corporate’s individuals and shoppers in her first 150 days, which have included a restructuring, a transfer from 160 company manufacturers to 6 globally and the lack of 6,000 jobs.

“We should make ourselves simpler and extra agile to do enterprise with,” Clark advised Marketing campaign, recalling the phrases of Marc Pritchard, chief model officer of Procter & Gamble and a Dentsu Worldwide consumer, who advised the advert trade in 2016: “Your complexity shouldn’t be my drawback.”

She revealed the corporate’s restructure entails reducing greater than 1 / 4 of its high 1,000 leaders.

“Having been so acquisitive over the past 5 or 6 years, we simply had too many executives,” she stated, noting the corporate had 250 individuals with the title of chief govt.

Clark was “assured” a few return to progress, after Dentsu Worldwide reported a 13% natural income decline in 2020 due to Covid-19.

She stated the brand new enterprise pipeline is about 30% greater than a yr in the past – with 80% offensive, fairly than defensive, by way of pitches.

She admitted Japanese-owned Dentsu Worldwide lagged company friends through the pandemic and cited two elements: a bias in the direction of native shoppers, who suffered greater than world shoppers, and publicity to some hard-hit classes resembling automotive and under-exposure to extra resilient sectors resembling healthcare.

However she identified the worldwide operation outdoors Japan “delivered on our margin” for the primary time in six quarters in This autumn.

The guardian firm reported a 140.6bn Yen (£960m) working loss for the yr, together with a giant impairment for the worldwide operation.

Clark, who was beforehand world chief govt of DDB and a marketer at Coca-Cola, stated Dentsu Worldwide has “an enormous alternative to develop our current consumer relationships” as a result of it already takes care of 95 of the world’s high 100 advertisers.

“I’m myopically targeted on our shoppers – each for the advantage of our personal enterprise and for his or her enterprise,” she stated, taking a folder she retains beside her desk at residence and displaying colour-coded A4 briefing notes for quite a lot of high shoppers together with Microsoft, Mastercard, Intel and Subway.
Clark is within the remaining levels of recruiting a world chief consumer officer as a part of the drive to win massive, built-in shoppers. 

She shrugged off the specter of shoppers in-housing and stated Dentsu Worldwide have to be a versatile accomplice.

“I need to be right here as this huge useful resource of capabilities that you just want, you draw on, as and if you want them, and I’ll catch something for you,” she stated.

“That’s most likely the crux of my message once I speak to shoppers: We’re right here. I’ve 45,000 individuals. Something you want, we will catch.”

Clark careworn the necessity for monetary “self-discipline” and, talking at an investor presentation this week, stated Dentsu Worldwide is urgent forward with plans to maneuver extra jobs offshore, particularly in buyer expertise administration, which goals to maneuver from round 30% to 50% of jobs in cheaper places, together with in India.

“We’re in search of to do this similar factor throughout the media and inventive service traces in addition to throughout our enterprise capabilities,” Nick Priday, the long-serving chief monetary officer, who labored along with her predecessor, Jerry Buhlmann, advised buyers.

Clark, who turned 50 in January, additionally talked to Marketing campaign in regards to the significance of worker engagement, psychological wellbeing, environmental sustainability and variety, fairness and inclusion.
As probably the most senior feminine chief within the world company sector, she acknowledged she is a task mannequin and has an ethos of “raise as you climb” in assist of different ladies.

“If I don’t use my place to vary the face of the trade, disgrace on me,” Clark stated.

What’s going to Dentsu Worldwide appear to be by 2024?

When Dentsu employed Clark final yr, it talked about her consumer and inventive company abilities and, following the restructure, it’s a less complicated enterprise with three service traces: inventive, media and buyer expertise administration (CXM).

The transfer to 6 company manufacturers by the tip of 2022 will see Dentsumcgarrybowen and Isobar function in inventive, Carat, iProspect and Dentsu X in media and Merkle in CXM. It’s as much as native leaders to resolve whether or not to retain different manufacturers.

The 2020 income combine was 47% media, 30% CXM and 23% inventive and all three areas took a success. The Americas was down 11.3%, EMEA 12.4% and APAC 18%.

Nevertheless, with regards to service traces, the income efficiency was extra assorted. CXM was down solely 3.2% (and Merkle simply 1.3%) whereas media dropped 15.6% and inventive plunged 18%.
So what’s going to the Dentsu Worldwide appear to be by the tip of the guardian firm’s four-year “mid-term administration plan”?

“Dentsu Worldwide will appear to be an organization that’s pushed off a base of buyer expertise capabilities, buyer expertise, martech, media funding and supply, and creativity pulsing by means of these capabilities,” she stated.

“In concrete language, we are going to see the acceleration of that buyer expertise administration service line. By 2025, that may characterize half of our income. Media funding and dealing with – we’re the fourth largest media purchaser on the earth – will proceed to be an essential part of our providing.

“Artistic goes by means of maybe the best transformation proper now, particularly coming off the pandemic, the place we noticed just about each one of many [digital] developments speed up, so how we ship creativity is reworking.”

On that foundation, media is prone to shrink considerably within the total combine.

 
The primary 150 days

Clark spent April to August on gardening go away through the worst of the pandemic and “it was onerous” – “sitting on my palms” – though “to be compelled to sit down out and be actually reflective in regards to the enterprise” was helpful pondering time and helped her to maneuver quick when she began, she stated.

“It has really modified how I’d on-board and can on-board executives into the corporate,” she stated.

Since September, she has been listening to her individuals and shoppers and reorganising and has given no media interviews.

Key to partaking employees has been two month-to-month Q&As – one with all employees and one other for the highest 1,000 leaders – the place any questions could be raised. 

“We noticed an 18% leap in management visibility and that in flip led to the very best worker engagement within the final three years,” she stated, including that analysis exhibits engaged staff are as much as 12 occasions much less prone to go away.

She shared her imaginative and prescient with the 1,000 leaders in September after which the corporate modified its identify from Dentsu Aegis Community – a legacy of the 2012 acquisition of Britain’s Aegis Group – to Dentsu Worldwide.

“It was a very essential second. Aegis anchored us in being a media enterprise. We’re a lot, way more than a media enterprise,” she stated.

Regardless of dropping the Aegis model, London will “completely” stay the headquarters for Dentsu Worldwide, Clark added.

The plan to maneuver from 160 company manufacturers to 6 globally adopted. 

Concurrently the restructuring was introduced in December, Clark distilled the corporate’s imaginative and prescient for the long run on a single sheet of paper with six key areas of focus, which she shared with all employees and which she confirmed to Marketing campaign.

They embrace individuals, shoppers, work, financials, social impression and firm transformation – with objectives, priorities and metrics.

“That is a part of being disciplined enterprise individuals,” she defined, including she was impressed by an analogous plan that Coca-Cola made when she was there a decade in the past.

“For those who’re attempting to align 45,000 individuals in 145 international locations, you gotta have a touchstone. For those who’re engaged on one thing [at Dentsu International] which you can’t discover on this piece of paper, you need to query if you happen to’re engaged on the suitable factor. That form of focus and alignment is essential to delivering this yr.”

On the hunt for $100 million shoppers

Tim Andree, the worldwide chairman of Dentsu Worldwide, advised Marketing campaign in 2019 that it had no shoppers value $100m in annual income and that’s nonetheless the case, Clark confirmed, which can clarify the group’s relative under-performance throughout Covid-19.

Against this, the highest 10 shoppers at WPP had been value a mean of about $170m every in 2019, in line with a WPP firm submitting.

Which means successful some massive pitches resembling Coca-Cola, which is reviewing each inventive and media globally this yr, is important. Dentsu Worldwide, which holds inventive in Asia-Pacific and media in a number of elements of the world, is taking part.

The truth that Dentsu Worldwide already has relationships with 95 of the highest 100 world advertisers – and that quantity rose final yr – means the job is to transform extra of them, she stated.

Clark has already participated in a number of pitches. “I like pitching. I like getting in and below the challenges that our shoppers are coming to us with and getting filth below my very own nails,” she stated.

“The mentality I’d love our group to have is: hear, hear what shoppers are saying, speak in regards to the challenges, after which make options round methods we could be useful – if it’s issues we’re not engaged on.

“I need us to have a continuing, perpetual movement of ‘What else can we do? How else can we be useful? What useful resource [do you need]?’”

The corporate has a library of case research that it may possibly present to shoppers, for instance. “That’s the advantage of doing enterprise with Dentsu,” she stated. “I need our shoppers to really feel they’re a part of this neighborhood.”

The ambition is to win shoppers throughout inventive, media and CXM – what the corporate describes internally as “built-in progress options”, though she admitted that’s not at all times the easiest way to speak about it to entrepreneurs.

“For shoppers, it’s, ‘Remedy my enterprise issues, carry me capabilities that I want to do this, don’t make it troublesome,’” she stated, referring once more to Pritchard’s line about avoiding complexity.

Shoppers have to know that “it’s going to be agile, it’s going to be at pace, it’s going to be environment friendly and, finally, it’s going to be anchored in your progress, and if we will’t say that, then we’re not organised to make any of those world shoppers profitable”.

Investing in Merkle and inventive 

Buyer expertise and information administration matter to shoppers due to the “demise of the third-party cookie” and the transfer to first-party information, in line with Clark.

Millennials and Gen Z, specifically, “need experiences” and “have an expectation that manufacturers and firms know them”.

For Clark, “it’s about utilizing that info properly to have interaction and construct a relationship with a shopper – with a human. I believe we should always at all times say human as a substitute of shopper. That’s what Merkle does.”

Dentsu Worldwide already has shut relationships with martech platforms resembling Salesforce, Adobe and Amazon Net Companies which shoppers more and more use.

Which means “we’re then those who accomplice with the tech stack and the tech funding {that a} consumer has made” and “interpret that information and make it helpful for advertising programmes”, Clark stated.

“We make that massive funding they’ve made on expertise work.”

Dentsu has advised buyers it expects to make M&A acquisitions in CXM and, in a touch that it needs to keep away from the complexity that got here with lots of small purchases previously, it expects to do fewer, greater offers.

Trade watchers are most all in favour of what Clark does with inventive – given her document and the truth that it has not been a energy of Dentsu Worldwide.

Dentsumcgarrybowen has lacked a world community and the droop in revenues within the inventive service line final yr underlines the problem.

“We’re not arrange for the place we must be,” Clark admitted, however she is making adjustments.
Getting concerned in pitches “permits me to see the place we’re working properly and the place we’re not”.

As well as, Dentsu Worldwide has been constructing a “technological backbone that should exist now in inventive” to cater for shoppers’ extra versatile wants.

“We name it company on demand – AOR on demand”, she stated, explaining the way it connects each employees and freelance expertise who can “throttle up and down” at pace in step with a consumer’s enterprise.

She stated American Categorical’ resolution to consolidate all of its worldwide inventive with Dentsumcgarrybowen in November was proof that shoppers are satisfied that the company can deal with work in a number of native markets – with 22 studios linked below an inner banner referred to as “content material symphony”.

Clark added “there may be way more to return” by way of shaking up the inventive operation: “It has lots of my focus.”

Transferring Dentsu Worldwide from adolescent into maturity 

Clark has been taking two classes in Japanese per week, though she can’t handle entire sentences but. 

“My ambition was to point out reverence and respect and present curiosity and intrigue with an organization that existed for 120 years earlier than I confirmed up,” she stated.

Against this to the Japanese enterprise, the worldwide operation solely “actually got here onto the map” when Dentsu purchased Aegis Group and then Merkle in 2016.  

“So right here in 2021, we’re not even 10 years previous but. I say we’re this adolescent and coming into maturity.”

There isn’t a “constraint” on her from the Japanese guardian firm. “I’m actually not attempting to sound Pollyanna to you. Have a look at what we’ve put in entrance of the Dentsu Group board they usually have backed us,” Clark stated.

The restructure has been a part of this transfer into maturity. “Simplifying our organisation will cut back duplication and price but additionally create a greater working expertise for our individuals and our shoppers,” she stated.

Dentsu Worldwide was already below stress earlier than Covid-19 and revenues declined in 2019, leading to job cuts in quite a lot of markets, together with Australia, China and the UK.
Clark has needed to make deeper cuts a yr later. Requested the place the job losses are falling, she stated in all three areas: the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific.

The discount in company manufacturers has led to a cull in administration, not simply the decrease ranks.
“Now we have roughly 1,000 individuals within the C-suite, higher management stage. That may go down by 25% or extra within the first iteration after which we’ll most likely have some extra to do,” she stated.

Having 250 individuals with the title of CEO hampered the sleek operating of the enterprise – “you possibly can’t run an organisation like this”.

Leaders desire a “span of management and duty” to drive adjustments and ship progress, she stated. 
“We had such a density of inhabitants [with so many agencies and CEOs] that your span of management and your means to make change and your means to do what we would like leaders to do was actually restricted as a result of we had too many.

“For those who speak to our leaders, there’s not a dispiriting end result from that [restructuring]. It’s really: ‘Thanks, I’ve obtained the empowerment, I’ll ship the outcomes.’ That’s been a really optimistic dialog.”

Dentsu Worldwide has been trying to save prices and has “exited or materially restructured” 110 property leases around the globe, Clark stated.

“We merely don’t want the bodily house. There’ll by no means be a time once more that we now have 100% of our workforce bodily in our places of work.”

The corporate is estimating a 60-40 break up between individuals working within the workplace and remotely at any given time in future.

“Place, location and time now turn into fully non-obligatory,” Clark stated, including that giving individuals extra flexibility can assist staff of their residence life – for instance, if somebody is sharing childcare wants with a partner and every of them works at a special time of the day.

Given how some individuals have “actually struggled by means of this pandemic”, she stated employers must be extra understanding. “Organisations need to be prepared for that,” she stated.

Transferring useful resource to cheaper places “off-shore” is one other a part of the cost-cutting drive.

Dentsu Worldwide needs to make annual financial savings of JPY54.7 billion ($520m) by 2022. 

Psychological wellness, fairness and supporting ladies

Clark’s dedication to carry a “human” contact to Dentsu Worldwide extends to psychological wellness.
“I believe that is an trade name,” she stated. “I fear a lot about our individuals.”

The onus is on leaders to speak about how “it’s OK to not be OK and that we ourselves have skilled these moments” and “it’s extremely standard, common”, Clark stated. “There have been moments in my profession that I wanted to hunt useful resource and I wanted counselling.”

Dentsu Worldwide is providing entry to counsellors and app-based instruments for a workforce the place the median age is 27.

“Once we say carry your entire self to work, we imply complete wellness,” she stated. 

The necessity to present higher duty contains environmental sustainability and variety, fairness and inclusion.

Clark, who has suggested Hillary Clinton and has sturdy ties to the US Democrats, stated manufacturers already recognise that there’s a “industrial alternative” in doing good resembling Procter & Gamble’s current “Lead with love” marketing campaign.

Corporations might want to do extra. “All manufacturers are going to be anticipated to earn their social licence to function, it’s not simply sufficient to have a enterprise licence to function,” she predicted.

Dentsu has dedicated that its carbon emissions will likely be internet zero by 2030 and has appointed Clark to steer its sustainable enterprise board.

That’s good for shoppers which audit their provide chain, together with their companies, she identified.
“Enterprise goes to be anticipated to be regenerative,” she stated. “It is not going to be sufficient to easily function your corporation and do no hurt. You’re going to be anticipated to function your corporation and truly contribute – regenerate the world’s sources.”

Clark can be hiring chief fairness officers for every area – with an EMEA appointment in London imminent – and can make an organization gender dedication for Worldwide Girls’s Day in March.
The important thing to driving change is measurement, she stated, citing a former boss, Ed Whitacre of AT&T, who appreciated to say: “You gotta examine what you count on.” Clark added: “What will get measured will get performed.”

Commitments round sustainability and fairness are essential. “We’re placing these stakes within the floor publicly, which drives accountability each internally and externally,” she stated.

In terms of supporting ladies, specifically, she stated: “There’s no query it’s a part of my narrative, it’s a part of my journey. You’re speaking to a child who was raised by a single mom with not lots of prospects.

“My complete orientation is ‘Raise as you climb – how are you bringing individuals with you?’. I’ve made it a spotlight for 30 years of working – bringing different ladies with me.

“It’s not that I believe I’m solely right here as a result of I’m a lady. I really feel assured in what we’re doing – properly outdoors my gender.”

Dentsu Worldwide already has some senior ladies, together with Jacki Kelley, CEO of the Americas, and Jean Lin, world CEO of inventive, Clark identified, however there may be extra to do.

Therefore her declaration that “if I don’t use my place to vary the face of the trade, disgrace on me”.

‘Candid and open’

Clark seems to have made a great, early impression in conversations with employees and different trade figures.

“Wendy may be very passionate and is successful the individuals over,” one Dentsu Worldwide govt within the UK stated, “though I really feel the ability shifting to the USA.”

One other trade determine from outdoors Dentsu who has spoken to her stated: “She was very candid and open in regards to the challenges.”

Rob Foster, a senior marketing consultant at The Observatory Worldwide, which advises world advertisers, stated: “What is evident is that Wendy has her work minimize out to show issues round. Far more than a cost-cutting train, getting the suitable new construction, and the right stability of roles inside that, will likely be pivotal to any potential success Wendy delivers.”

Foster added simplification and integration carry dangers in addition to advantages. “The retirement of the Vizeum model by merging it into iProspect dangers over-emphasising digital efficiency on the expense of expert strategic planning,” he instructed.

“Wendy will want a robust management group who all purchase right into a ‘one Dentsu group’ ethos and who can be certain that they’ve the suitable stability of roles in a simplified construction to supply shoppers tailor-made options to their enterprise challenges.”

The enduring function of promoting

Loads of inventory market analysts stay bearish on the expansion prospects of the large company teams due to a number of threats, together with in-housing, administration consultants resembling Accenture and Deloitte Digital and smaller, agile gamers resembling S4 Capital, You & Mr Jones and Dept.

“We completely can develop,” Clark responded, including companies will at all times have a task as a result of manufacturers want companions to assist them – one thing she is aware of from her time at Coca-Cola when she in-housed some capabilities.

“I don’t see a risk from in-housing,” she stated, noting Dentsu Worldwide works with P&G’s in-house group. “We accomplice exceptionally properly with in-house capabilities as a result of – guess what? – very similar to our enterprise there’s volatility in it.” 

There’s a greater query in regards to the function of promoting in a world of promoting expertise.
Does she agree with Mark Learn, the WPP chief govt, who stated promoting is slipping down the hierarchy?

“I believe we get actually spun up about nomenclature on this,” Clark stated. “The definition of promoting is taking a set of actions and actions that compel a shopper/human to do one thing as an end result. We’re attempting to vary behaviour and create an end result. 

“So, all of what I simply stated” – by way of Dentsu Worldwide’s capabilities throughout CXM, media and inventive – “falls into the definition of promoting. We will name it buyer expertise and say that’s not promoting or it’s. I simply don’t get plussed by this.

“I consider us as an built-in communications firm. Now we have end-to-end capabilities throughout the spectrum of something and all the things you [as a client] would need to do in advertising and communications and you employ us in the best way that you just need to – to drive your marketing strategy. 

“Inside that, I believe individuals would say that they work in promoting. Once more, the nomenclature just isn’t going to carry us again from progress. You possibly can label it what you need to. We’re going to develop.”

Clark in quotes

On management: “I’m the CEO however you possibly can commerce out that ‘E’ for no matter you need. As a result of if I’m speaking to you about our staff, I’m the chief engagement officer. If I’m speaking to you about our shoppers, I’m the chief expectations officer – they’ve huge expectations. If I’m speaking to buyers, I’m most likely the chief effectivity officer – they need us to run an environment friendly enterprise.”

On individuals: “You can’t get confused within the company enterprise about what it’s that’s your IP, your innovation, your benefit – and it’s individuals. It’s the easiest P&L. There may be nothing else. We’ve obtained lease and lease and we’ve obtained individuals.” 

On Dentsu: “They take the lengthy view. I’m abundantly clear: an organization referred to as Dentsu will likely be round 120 years from now. I’m simply one of many stewards of one of many elements of that firm for a way ever lengthy I’m right here and I take that with nice duty.”