Charlotte Beers (Ogilvy & Mather)
Case analysis

At the point of planning to the launch of the business, the owner of the business is very passionate and usually experienced in the line-of-business; as David Ogilvy was at the age of 38 when he started his own advertising agency in 1948. Ogilvy & Mather, an advertising agency was started in New York and expanded worldwide. By 1991, O&M was ranked the largest marketing company in the world.[1] But there comes a time when a company must look to adapt a change. With competition growing, clients of O&M changed their demands. O&M was a high-cost agency that was failing in controlling their budget and lowering their cost; they failed to see the reason for a change. Due to that fact, O&M had lost few of their multi-million dollar accounts. Many companies may have either filed bankruptcy or have shutdown in the process of losing their clients but O&M was not the type of company that would give up that easily. In 1992, Charlotte Beers was appointed CEO of O&M and a massive change was underway. She was not the type of person who would dwell on the past, but instead look to better the future. Charlotte Beers clearly made an impression on the O&M employees as she had the ability to inspire. But more importantly, she came up with three strategies which turned the company around 360 degrees; Client Security, Better Work/More Often, and Financial Discipline. Yes these strategies were formed for an advertising agency, but if clearly read, they can be used in any line-of-business. These three strategies can also be viewed in a circular-flow model (page #6) as how they tie and support each other. Just by laying out a strategic plan does not get the job done; many other steps must be followed to have a successful change.

Starting a brand new company requires a thoroughly thought-out plan and dedication. But