Dentsu Aegis Network Singapore announces significant restructuring, job cuts
The Singapore operations of the Dentsu Aegis Network is undergoing a restructure, primarily affecting the media business.
It is likely to result in 2% staff redundancies, across all levels. The changes will affect the Singapore office which also doubles up as a hub for the region.
Speaking about the new structure, Dentsu Aegis Network South East Asia CEO Phil Teeman said there will now be three component parts: brand solutions, an integrated one Singapore media group and finally a virtual group.
Brand solutions has been conceived to focus on new business and new product development at a global, regional and individual market level. It will be run by Joanna Catalano, currently the CEO of iProspect.
The one Singapore media group will reorganise media and performance agencies such as Carat, Vizeum and Dentsu X as a unit designed to offer the best possible capabilities and solutions for clients. It will be run by Carat Asia-Pacific CEO Jonathan Chadwick, supported by Dentsu X general manager Phil Adrien.
The virtual group will work on finding ways to leverage and maximise the potential of existing client relationships.
Explaining these groups and their roles in greater detail over a conference call with trade publications, Teeman said: “Brand solutions will comprise of media and performance agencies: Carat, Vizeum, Dentsu X and iProspect.”
As a group focusing on new business, brand solutions is expected to play a role in everything from global pitches where Asia-Pacific forms a key component, to regional or even local business opportunities in particular markets.
Teeman added: “The brand solutions group will also support product development.
“It will involve deepening our partnership with media and technology players. And ensuring that we continue to evolve products through these partnerships for our clients.”
Brand solutions will also play a regional role in the data and analytics space. Teeman said: “We have significant capability in Singapore in those spaces and this group will be the conduit between the region and the markets.
“It is a deliberately agile and brand fluid team with the specific resources to support the core pillars of its operation.”
While the current focus is media, Teeman hinted the mandate could expand and said: “Increasingly, we see opportunities from clients to present more integrated solutions. We see this group evolve to support those integrated opportunities.”
The second component is an integrated one Singapore media group which will bring together existing media and performance brands and amplify them into a singular unit. The agency brands themselves will have a client-orientated structure.
Teeman said: “By bringing those teams together, we ensure we capitalise on capabilities that operate across the brands. It is deliberately designed to ensure we develop the best possible solutions for our clients.”
Dentsu Aegis Network will also be moving away from the structure of regional media agency chief executives, it was announced.
The third element involves a virtual group: a DAN client solutions team that will work on key client relationships across the group through a team structure. The team will meet regularly to identify opporutunities to enhance relationships with existing clients and bring new capabilities to bear.
Nick Waters and Phil Teeman of Dentsu Aegis Network
Speaking about the reasons for this reorganisation, Dentsu Aegis Network’s outgoing CEO for APAC Nick Waters said: “Last year in Singapore we initiated a transformation programme to support our business, now and for the future.
“We took steps to bring together regional and local market teams based in Singapore. Working groups have been formed over the past six months to look at how we organise ourselves at Dentsu Aegis Network.
“This week, we will take steps to create an effective structure that supports changing client needs to further activate our operating model of one P&L per market and give us the ability to build up our offering in the faster moving areas of business.
“These changes are purposefully put in place before my move to lead the business in the UK and Ireland to complete the work done over the past six months and set the region up for future success.”
He also admitted that the reorganisation will involve some people leaving the business. He said: “It will be a relatively low 2% of the staff here. Those affected are from across the spectrum of seniorities and throughout the business where roles have been identified as duplicate or no longer relevant in the context of the new structure.”
He added that the exits would be made on “the best possible terms.”
Speaking about how the success of the new structure will be measured, Waters and Teeman believed it would be in terms of new product and new business for the brand solutions team.
Asked what this new structure enabled that couldn’t be done before, Waters said: “Greater agility and a simpler way of moving appropriate resources, skillsets, capabilities and disciplines across clients, depending on their specific needs.”
The developments come in the wake of a relatively turbulent time for the Dentsu Aegis Network in the Asia-Pacific region.
In June last year, several senior agency leaders were retrenched including Rohan Lightfoot, the managing director for Isobar Asia-Pacific, Shrivathsa Raghunathan, the MD of Vizeum Singapore, and Rosemary Lising, the MD of Columbus.
At the time, in a statement to Mumbrella, DAN had said the retrenchments were part of an effort to “harmonise synergies” between the APAC region and Singapore, and that the network had “initiated a transformation programme to support our business now and for the future.”
A DAN earnings report said that while its growth in the third quarter of 2018 was at 8.2%, organic growth in the first nine months of financial year 2018 was just 2.1%.
Ravi is the editor at Mumbrella Asia. He has covered the marketing, advertising and media business for over two decades.
…and so where do the formidable Dentsu creative agencies fit in the “client centric” model? apparently nowhere.
ReplyCreativity, innovation and solid leadership continues to be [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]. Are you kidding with [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] Brand solutions? [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines].
DAN was a powerhouse heading towards tremendous growth. Sad story all the way through and the fact that all the [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] is gone is even more sad.
You can’t data data data your way out of this one and certainly the product will suffer further. On top of this, retaining and acquiring the real talent will be near impossible.
Oh well, typical agency problems where they shoot themselves in the foot and where they themselves are their biggest threat to their business. Let the [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] culture burn it to the ground before you can rebuild it into something again…
ReplyHere’s a tip:
How about ditching all the severely overpaid (and doing [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]) CEOs and hiring people who actually are hunter-gatherers that can build and bring revenue to the group instead of pontificating? I’m not sure if there is a dire shortage of good locals but surely DAN can hire a Singaporean to do one of these jobs? Might even avoid the [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] too. (GASP!)
“Transformation programme” – call it a reality check, dudes.
ReplyYou’re right but that would mean a non English person in a position of power….. [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] … ALL the meaningful positions are held by [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] .. Đsoon to be Japanese….what could possibly go wrong?
Reply2% is nonsense. My (internal) sources say more like 30 people (many senior) were let go yesterday. That’s a lot more than 2% – let’s say – 100% of regional roles were dispensed with. that might not be a bad thing (?), but telling the truth is always [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines].
ReplyIt’s time to let go the creative “hotshots” who are only there because of their [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] reputations. You know who they are.
ReplyIt’s about time DAN does something drastic or else it will collapse for the burden of its own legacies and scandals. Many unreported [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] are still weighing them down such as Japan, Australia, Malaysia and many others that needs to be corrected if not done.
Kudos on the changes!
Reply“…He added that the exits would be made on “the best possible terms..”. I don’t know any details about this latest round of “fire him, not me” – I hope the redundancies are generous, there are a lot of people that have given a lot of their time to Dentsu in that office and I can only hope that is recognized. But some recent retrenchments have shown a real [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] so I’m not holding my breath.
ReplyYep. My severance was shit. Absolute [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] ,..
ReplyYeah, and you’re one of many, so the new casualties should get prepped for a disappointing and [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] offer.
Someone above mentioned the scandals in Japan – not sure which they were referring to (such a buffet to pick from), but some of those were how how treated their staff… For all the nice words and mia culpa’s the actions continues in Singapore office.
Can do better.
ReplyI was not even paid any severance despite 10 years of service and a dismissal with no reason
ReplyThe ones responsible are still there and now even given further leadership roles. Irresponsible decisions aren’t just with the leadership, but also who facilitates them such as HR.
ReplyDysfunction is the [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]. We highlighted these issues well over a year ago when management of client business was [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]. Ignored through to loss of business.
Its not surprising that this happened, but more surprising there is [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] happening.
in a couple of weeks Dentsu will announce a major win (or two?) and all of this hate will be forgotten as you all saying that there was no way it could be a straight win. haters gonna hate but Dentsu gonna win
ReplyI love it when discussion gets down to the wisdom of Taylor Swift. If you (like me) poured more than a decade of your life to the organisation and you were dispensed with in a disrespectful way, you may feel the same. If “Dentsu gonna win” that’ll be a first outside Japan – we’ll all await it with bated breath.
ReplyIf they’re going to announce a major win or two, then letting go of over 30pax isn’t cool.
ReplyWas that big win supposed to be Singapore Airlines?
ReplyFirstly in a slight defense of DAN all holding groups are having a tough time. These issues can be said to systematic of the wider industry, but I can’t help feeling that their troubles are of their own making.
The strategy of chasing shiny new things through M&A has bought growth and some good innovation over the last few years, but this has meant little investment on the major agency brands or talent.
The data everything mantra is essentially pitch ware. If you look at the number of real data scientists in the building you would be lucky to find more than four.
The one P&L model is plainly not true. Every branded agency has its own revenue targets and is competing for client resources. To suggest otherwise is spin and semantics.
Clients are getting sick of been blindly pushed Google and Facebook on every plan. Its a sad day for any media agency [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] are your largest revenue source.
As for the expat leaders vs locals debate, there are Singaporean leaders heading up HR, Innovation, Data, Branded Agencies – they have been set up for failure as much as the expats by the lack of a coherent strategy.
There are some great people, doing great work at DAN but they are consistently been set up for failure by the lack of leadership.
ReplyCould be worse, you could be working at WPP!
ReplyKnee jerk reactions that’s all DAN is going through now. Slow to react on situations, and if acted earlier could have save them all these trouble. Even there were some local leadership who [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] and DAN just sat and watched. Hope it’s not too late for all these changes.
Replycarat had a dream team. not a single person there anymore either fired, attacked or left. let’s face it the problem is media and carat is or was the money maker. however if you think you are going to fix it with iprospect leadership that is insanity and doubles down on the problem. you removed the visionaries on the product and who really drove the revenue. sorry, but this is only going to sink further.
ReplyStill remember when Carat won apac agency of the year and a drunken senior Ogilvy head was shouting about how they were giving awards to vegetables
Whatever happened to Carat?
ReplyThe problem with good staff is they ask questions and call bullsh*t on poor strategy and leadership.
They had to go.
ReplyCorrect. I think it was Mao who observed that the fish rots from the head. [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] short term leadership in London and singapore that was focussed on senior leadership getting to end of Dentsu earn out, and therefore their bonuses. Bugger the business…
ReplyTime to get rid of organised [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] and the capos who run it.
ReplyAll top-bods hide behind the crevices in this department. Agencies get the talent they deserve, and when the excrement hits the aircon, funny how all that’s left is a bunch of political backstabbing highly paid finger-pointers. Anyone with sense left a long time ago, with no money but ‘some’ dignity at least.
ReplyHave your say