Charlotte Beers at O & M Worldwide

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4/6/12

Ashish Pandey Paul Sunny Sudhanshu Vardhan Sunil Mohta

Group 1: (G11-069) (G11-093) (G11-110) (G11-113)

Was the crisis of O & M in late 1980s due to WPP group acquiring it or was it impending?

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Yes, it was Impending!!

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Changing Business Environment

The businesses were getting globalized so there was a need for advertising agencies to get globalized. For example, at the start of 1980s Unilever was the worlds 26th largest business. The company was aggressively looking to grow in Europe and US. There was the need for cost efficiencies and this prompted the companies to consolidate the product lines and to sell them in more markets worldwide. Advertising agencies were directed to sell the brands worldwide. This effort requires a strong center but O & M had light center and strong regions. O & M needed a culture of collaboration A quote from the executive -As clients demanded lower costs and greater service, Ogilvy & Mather like many large agencies at the time was slow to make adjustments. Instead of changing the organization according to the 4/6/12 changing environment O&M focused on doing the same

Organization Structure

Local offices had great deal of autonomy. The model of light center and strong regions initially worked wonders for O & M when the globalization was not in the picture. The Local offices had to concentrate on the local clients. The role of worldwide headquarters in New York was limited to that of an administrative office. Four core disciplines Sales promotion, public relations, advertising and direct marketing. First three disciplines were under a single umbrella but the direct marketing was an independent subsidiary. Quote from an executive We were a high-cost operation in a low-cost world. There was a lack of financial discipline, a lack of focus on cost, and a lack of structured decision 4/6/12 making on business issues.

Worldwide Management Supervisors Effective??

Worldwide management supervisors (WMS) were responsible for the coordination of requirements of the Multinational clients. WMS served as the crucial point of contact for local offices of O & M and client offices. They were the critical links of the network

The loss of global clients such as Unilever, Shell and American Express raises suspicions regarding the effectiveness of the WMS.

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Leadership Vacuum

O & M couldnt find charismatic leaders to fill in the shoes of the David Ogilvy. A Quote by longtime executive The next four chairmen did not have his presence. David is quirky; they were straight forward, middle-of-the-road, New York The failure of leadership was evident. The office was run by czars with big accounts . People got used to a highly political way of working and work deteriorated

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Conclusion
The crisis of O & M in late 1980s was due to change in external environment and its failure to change itself according to the environment. The problem was further aggravated by hostile takeover by WPP.

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