Saatchi bucks advertising trend

The public has become more cynical about advertising

Despite the economic downturn causing a drop in advertising revenue Saatchi and Saatchi has bucked the trend by attracting $1.2bn in new business in 2002.

The company made famous as the advertising agency that helped Margaret Thatcher come to power Britain has also won award after award.

But chief executive officer Kevin Roberts told the BBC's World Business Report that he didn't describe Saatchi as an advertising agency - calling it instead "an ideas house".

Explaining his philosophy, he said: "Products started, then trademarks were invented for protection."

Kevin Roberts: builds an emotional attachment to a product

"Then brands were invented and brands were all about benefits and attributes - my brand does something more than yours, its better, bigger, brighter, stronger, whiter, cleaner."

But the market has now reached a level of product parity.

"There is no such thing as bad beer; all cars start first time in the snow; French fries are always crisp; most coffee you get tastes pretty good."

Love marks

What Mr Roberts attempts to do is to build loyalty and an emotional connection on top of the functional benefit - what he refers to as a "love mark."

"Love marks have three things that brands don't have - mystery, sensuality and intimacy," he said.

He agrees that persuading and selling ideas is important, but acknowledges that consumers have also changed and become more cynical.

"There is no place to hide: the internet has become an incredible enabling tool for people all over the world," he said.