JWT's eyes back on the ball

John Gutteridge

John Gutteridge says he is in charge of the "biggest brand that nobody has ever heard of" in advertising.

Brought in to revitalise JWT (formerly J. Walter Thompson), the Englishman acknowledges it has been some time since the 140-year-old agency has had a significant profile in New Zealand.

Despite having a presence in the market since 1976, consolidation during the past 10 years had left the business largely managed from Australia. So much so that when a joint pitch by JWT and newcomer Assignment won the prestige Tourism New Zealand account in October, many believed JWT would do its share out of Australia.

Not so, Gutteridge says. In fact, any JWT offices around the world that work on the tourism account will report into the Auckland office - which has doubled in size to 18 people since he joined as general manager in March.

Many would be surprised to find JWT works for premium clients such as Ford, Kellogg's, Nestle, Pfizer and HSBC in New Zealand.

But while Gutteridge has spent the last year consolidating, restructuring and ensuring the agency meets the needs of those clients, he is planning a big push for new business in 2006.

"We are having some interesting conversations at the moment with some companies," he says.

As part of that, the agency is on the verge of signing two creative heavyweights, one from New Zealand, one from overseas. Gutteridge won't hint at names.

JWT's renewed interest in New Zealand came with a change of management in Australasia, after Mike Connaghan was appointed managing director for the region in January 2004.

"Mike spotted opportunities in New Zealand, where JWT had taken its eye off the ball," he said.

JWT was simultaneously going through a huge cultural shift worldwide. On February 28, it relaunched itself as a "billion dollar start-up" and dropped the J. Walter Thompson name of its founder in favour of his initials. It also shed its old way of doing business. Gutteridge said the new philosophy was based around the idea that time was the new currency. "Our industry has been about interrupting people for years ... it has been a monologue. The idea is for it to be more of a dialogue."

A New Zealander, Craig Davis, was appointed chief creative officer for JWT worldwide in January and Gutteridge said Davis was driving a new creative impetus into a company that was in the past more known for its media planning and account management.

Now it has gone creative. Like the hundreds of other offices in JWT's global network, the New Zealand offices will send their creative work to a creative council quarterly, to be judged against their peers.

"We're no longer just competing with New Zealand agencies," said Gutteridge. "The goal for us is to get work we have created at JWT in New Zealand to run elsewhere in the world."

Ultimately, Gutteridge wants to put JWT among the top five agencies.