WEST AGENCY REPORT CARDS

Rubin Postaer and Assoc.Financial BBillings rose 14% to $365 million. Revenues up 13% to $41 million. Two of the biggest wins, Arco and 20th Century Mutual Funds, added $30-40 million.Creative B+Simple but highly effective, as with flagship client Honda. "Eraser" spot is a standout. Innovative print work for Discover magazine.Management A-Kept Honda happy while selectively pitching--and winning--big clients like Arco. Now in key test on Honda media consolidation.Teacher"s CommentsGerry Rubin and Larry Postaer might have to make the call this year on whether they like independence enough to forgo some lucrative buyout offers.B+=====================Suissa MillerFinancial ABillings leaped 55% to $129 million; estimated revenues jumped 52% to $14 million. Wins of SkyTel, Hunt-Wesson, Beech-Nut helped net over $30 million.Creative BNo fancy footwork here. Creative for retail clients is geared to selling product or making the phone ring. Sly humor on Jenny Craig and SkyTel.Management A-David Suissa and Bruce Miller employ guerrilla new business strategy of targeting clients at bigger agencies and pulling them in without reviews. Not the most popular agency as a result, but they"re not running for office.Teacher"s CommentsShop aiming for national status but needs a deeper management bench. Could be an acquisition target.B+=====================Team One AdvertisingFinancial C+Billings rose 6% to $230 million, mostly on America West win. Estimated revenues up 5% to $23 million.Creative B+Often-imitated Lexus work continues to shine, while shop took an interesting creative approach for America West.Management B+Scott Gilbert and Tom Cordner helped lead Lexus through the luxury import scare. Big airline win provided a second national brand after flagship Lexus account.Teacher"s CommentsWhile shop got into nearly every big review in the West, a few more wins were needed. On the spot for Saatchi to retain Hewlett-Packard this year.B=====================Wieden & KennedyFinancial A+Billings shot up 48% to $415 million, revenues on same pace to estimated $42 million. Most of $135 million billings bonanza came from Nike, Microsoft and Coke.Creative ASet the industry standard this year along with rival Goodby, Silverstein. Smart strategies across several categories. ESPN work is pure fun, may be the best campaign of the year. Nike work continues to excel, while Coke performance led to Olympic assignment.Management AClients and employees point to Dan Wieden as inspiration. Strengthened outpost in Europe, cut deal in Japan with McCann to solve global service riddle.Teacher"s CommentsWieden & Kennedy earns national Agency of the Year.AWest Agency Report Cards=====================Anderson & LembkeFinancial B+Flagship Microsoft account pushed billings up 42% to $185 million. Revenues up only 7% to $20 million.Creative BPrint work is attractive but still too reliant on technical specs. TV ad for Microsoft"s Encarta showed promise.Management B-Bill Gates has put A&L on the map. Growth spurt seemed to cause cracks in the organization: too many changes at the top; lots of reviews but few wins.Teacher"s CommentsAcquisition by IPG could help bring in some new accounts. The agency needs to ignore the itch to go consumer and focus on what it does best: talking to business customers.B=====================Dailey & AssociatesFinancial ABillings swelled 46% to $203 million. Revenues also spiked 42% to $27 million. New clients Alpo Pet Foods, Nestle USA netted $30 million. Lost $18 million Sizzler International.Creative BStrong creative for new clients like Alpo and Kaufman and Broad Homes. Ford dealer work continues to shine. Some other executions lack surprise.Management ABrian Morris and Cliff Einstein guided the agency to its best year ever and increased staff by 50.Teacher"s CommentsA more nimble Dailey is not content to stay in the background any longer. New business tactics have paid off with expanded client base.A-=====================Davis Ball & ColombattoFinancial BBillings up 8% to $164 million. Revenues up 9% to $18 million. Addition of San Diego Toyota Dealers and Safariland came to $7 million. Lost $3 million California Egg Commission.Creative CUninspiring ads for Ralphs/Food 4 Less and others. Needs a big, non-retail client to flex creative muscles.Management CBest move: getting rid of odd day/even day president titles after Brad Ball went to McDonald"s. Management reorganized with Robert Elen rejoining as a partner.Teacher"s CommentsWeathered merger of Ralphs with Food 4 Less. No significant new business and moderate growth from existing clients.C+=====================EvansGroupFinancial B-Billings up 3% to $292 million, while revenues gained 17% to $42 million. Wins throughout EvansGroup"s eight-office network offset big psychological loss of Starbucks Coffee.Creative C+Better than average reel. Pretty work for Starbucks" Blue Note blend, despite loss of account.Management BChief executive officer Jon Johnson keeps driving the agency, as shown by his five agency acquisitions last year.Teacher"s CommentsNeeds bigger brands to go with its growing network. Another flagship account to replace Starbucks is a must. High number of employees for agency revenues portends staff cuts.B-=====================Goldberg Moser O'NeillFinancial A-Billings up 21% to $175 million while revenues rose a solid 21% to $26 million, based on a number of small to medium-size wins, including Home Express.Creative B+New creative talent on display in Dreyer"s and Kia ads. Work is fun, friendly and gaining a bit more edge. A good sign.Management C+Fred Goldberg needs a broader management style to keep the shop in tune with emerging industries and to win some of the bigger pitches.Teacher"s CommentsThe shop is good enough to challenge the best agencies, but it needs the right structure. With rumors floating that GMO is interested in an alliance with a larger agency, that issue may be addressed.BGoodby, Silverstein& PartnersFinancial B+Thanks to Polaroid, Budweiser and Sutter Home, billings grew 7% to $339 million. Revenues rose 15% to $36 million. Slower growth than in past years.Creative ASets industry standard along with Wieden & Kennedy. Isuzu ads were winners; Pacific Bell ads took unique approach. Some ads not as razor sharp as in past.Management A-Lost several top creatives but added two partners so principals aren"t stretched too thin. A few disappointing reviews, but wins were blue chips.Teacher"s CommentsShop has reached a high-level plateau. The question now for Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein is how big a role their agency will play within Omnicom.A-=====================Highway OneFinancial B+Billings surged 50% to $199 million, revenues up 38% to $20 million. Blue Cross account kicked in; Moneygram, Baskin-Robbins upped spending. Revenue/billings ratio lowest among graded West agencies.Creative CGiven broad range of clients, from Baskin-Robbins to Australian Tourism, the work is limited. Safe, not snappy.Management B-Home office ousted respected veteran Jim Helin as head of Los Angles office. Diane Krouse got the top spot. Krouse and cohorts in San Francisco began to land shop in reviews.Teacher"s CommentsThe jury is still out on whether Highway One can turn into the second network DMB&B envisioned it to be.B-=====================Lord, Dentsu & PartnersFinancial C-Billings rose 5% to $197 million. Revenues down 4% to $23 million. Disney Interactive was the biggest win.Creative BStrong brand-building work for clients like Suzuki and Countrywide. Work features strong writing, solid production.Management CRevolving door saw both top managers Lee Kovel and Andy Bielanski depart shop. Kovel"s departure left big creative hole. Client fallout starting to be felt.Teacher"s CommentsDentsu"s plan to take over Young & Rubicam"s stake in the shop will give it a more united vision and possibly land a new car assignment. But can Dentsu attract American clients?CCopyright ASM Communications, Inc. (1996) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED West

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