Media & Marketing/Emmet Oliver: The wave of consolidation sweeping the Irish advertising industry looks set to continue, with news that agencies Grey Advertising and the Helme Partnership have held discussions about a potential alliance.
The discussions are described as "open-ended" at this stage, and an agreement is still some way off.
Until about two years ago, Helme was linked with an international partner, TBWA.
But in July 2002, TBWA bought Cawley Nea and, since then, Helme has operated on its own.
Grey Advertising is the largest advertising agency in New York. Its Irish subsidiary made an operating profit of €345,881 in the year to September 2002. Its client list includes Roches Stores, Procter & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline, Nokia mobile phones and SuperValu.
Grey employs 21 people. Mediacom is its media buying/planning arm. The agency was involved in the recent high-profile campaign for Roches Stores on Henry Street.
Helme, which employs about 20 people, also has a diversified client list, including Beamish & Crawford, Eagle Star, Robert Roberts and Irish Distillers. It is a full-service agency and also has a public relations operation, called PR@The Helme.
The agency recently underwent some internal restructuring after it lost two accounts - PlayStation and Cadbury - due to international realignment, with staff numbers reduced from 30 to 20.
While sources said there was no "white smoke" yet on a deal, both parties will be anxious to end speculation as soon as possible.
Mr Helme was previously managing director of Arks and set up Helme in 1986.
Last year was a tough one for the agency, but it has done a lot of international work over the years, acting as international brand consultants for Miller, for example.
International outlook brightens
One of the giants of the advertising industry, Omnicom, this week reported strong results which should lift the whole media industry.
Omnicom, which owns TBWA among others, reported a 5 per cent increase in net profit and a 14 per cent jump in worldwide turnover for 2003.
It also indicated that 2004 would be as good, if not better. Net profit for 2003 rose to $675.9 million from $643.5 million a year earlier, and worldwide revenue rose to $8.6 billion from $7.5 billion.
The company's chief executive, Mr John Wren, said increased client spending and some merger activity would benefit the whole media sector. He said public relations was on the upswing for the first time in two years.
Rugby television audiences drop
After the painful exit from the Rugby World Cup, television audiences for the Six Nations have dropped back.
Fewer adults tuned in to last weekend's opening match in Paris, compared with last year's home French match - or even last year's Scottish away match.
AFA O'Meara says there could be several reasons for this.
"More worryingly for RTÉ, this year the station is competing with dual broadcasts on terrestrial BBC, whereas last year the British rights were held by satellite broadcaster BSkyB," it added.
The figures tell their own story:
the World Cup quarter-final on November 22nd, 2003 between Ireland and Australia was watched by 479,320 adults (a Saturday morning away match);
the Six Nations match between Ireland and France in Dublin, last Saturday, had an audience of 221,000 adults;
the Ireland v Scotland Six Nations clash in Edinburgh on Sunday, February 16th last year, was seen by 294,000 adults.
RTÉ has enjoyed some success with last week's opening episode of its new drama series, the Big Bow Wow. It attracted 25 per cent of those aged between 15 and 34.
Pulse lands health campaign
The marketing company, the Pulse Group, has launched a new campaign on television and radio for the health and nutrition company, Sona.
Consumer research indicates that more and more people are looking to natural supplements to complement traditional medicines.
Sona is the Republic's oldest producer of nutritional supplements and herbal remedies, selling more than 150 products through pharmacies and health food stores, both in Ireland and internationally.
