Charlotte Beers - Ogilvy & Mather Case

1. What is Beers trying to accomplish as CEO of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide?

As the new CEO of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, Beers is trying to charter a new course of action for the company and create a more effective vision around the philosophy of Brand Stewardship. In Beer's eyes, people have lost sight of the company's impressive assets, and "We must activate the assets we already have." Beers believes that to restore confidence internally and externally, the agency needed a clear direction, "I think it's fair to say Ogilvy had no clear sense of what it stood for. I wanted to give people something that would release their passion, that would knit them together. I wanted the extraneous discarded. I wanted a rallying point on what really matters." In addition, she believed that clients wanted an agency that understood the complexity of managing the emotion as well as the logical relationship between a consumer and a product, "I became confident that I knew what clients wanted and what Ogilvy's strengths were. It was my job to be the bridge." Nevertheless, in order for Beers to achieve her objectives, she knew that she needed a core group of people who have lived in the company and who have similar dreams to help move the company forward. To this end, Beers needed to decide who to ask for help in charter a new course for Ogilvy, "I wanted people who felt the way I did about brands. I was looking for kindred spirits."

2. What is your assessment of the vision?

After Beers and her team met in New York, the group finally decided on the following vision: "To be the agency most valued by those who most value brands." By definition, a vision should capture the firm's aspirations and strategic direction. Its success depends on how well it communicates the firm's objective, key resources, and capabilities, which also, must articulate how the firm intends to compete. In the case, Beers mentions, on numerous occasions, that Ogilvy had lost its ability to connect with clients and their brands, the company had become this run-of-the-mill firm without a distinct differentiation. Likewise, she mentions that too much time and effort was being wasted on potential clients compared to current clients, basically stating that Ogilvy was spreading itself too thin. Moreover, before the final vision was agreed upon, Beers linked the company's strategies to the emerging vision by a declaration: "The purpose of our business is to build our clients' brands." Recognizing that it is much more profitable to please current clients rather than capture the potential, Beers based the idea for Ogilvy's direction on the notion of "Brand Stewardship." In my opinion, the strategy and outlook Beers, and her team, used, as a foundation for the vision, was correct. The company needed