EDITORIAL: 'Play safe' attitude will stop creativity.(Brief Article)

It's hard not to read Bob Willott's analysis of the world's communication supergroups (page 15) without shifting uncomfortably in your seat. References to operating margins, revenue growth, share options borrowings and reward packages pepper his report. That, of course, is a natural consequence of a global industry in the final throes of consolidation. It's also a welcome indication that a business ridiculed and criticised by clients for its unbusinesslike habits appears to have mended its ways.

So why the unease? Perhaps because the industry, which has always been suspicious of 'corporateness' and has relied on youthful energy, innovation and creativity to drive it forward, is now in serious danger of strangling its golden egg-laying goose and playing it safe. Networks have been forced to attune themselves better to client needs and to create a range of services which would insulate them when adspends fell. The pressure to satisfy shareholders has only accelerated the process.

That's all well and good. But, as Willott rightly points out, the emerging supergroups now have new and different problems to confront. 'One-stop shopping' will only remain attractive to clients if quality remains consistent across every division. Willott also highlights a potentially worrying trend of group boardrooms becoming ...