Upside to the downside

Singapore - A mini-revolution could well be on the cards in the advertising industry, as more and more larger clients opt to use local interactive agencies with their lower cost overheads and ability to get things done quickly. That's the view of The Upper Storey's newly appointed business director Euan Wilcox.

A veteran of agencies such as OgilvyOne, Publicis and DDB, Wilcox is one of three new hires for digital agency The Upper Storey (TUS), along with senior art directors David Yu and Alvaro Marquez. Yu was formerly at OgilvyOne Beijing and Rockstar Games in New York, while Marquez hails from Spain and has been awarded at Cannes.

TUS has some big plans which include the opening of an office in India in January as well as a new low-cost production unit in Malaysia.

Wilcox said TUS has been involved in talks with three big international clients in the past month and "the reason I think we can win them is because there's a little bit more focus on costs".

"Clients are starting to see that the bigger agencies give them all the overheads but are not necessarily getting the projects done," he said.

Wilcox cites an example of a large bank TUS is looking to secure, which is moving its ATL budget away from large global agencies having been instructed to look at local agencies and move money online.

"This recession might actually help big brands recognize that these local agencies aren't just low-cost production shops - they've actually got something to offer clients," he said.

"This market change should produce a significant effect on the market, with larger agencies no longer having the advantage of leveraging their name. I just don't think that that's going to work in their favour moving forward. The big agencies, because they're not reacting fast enough, their size doesn't mean anything any more. There's no reason why a boutique agency can't offer you great service."