Dynamic Media Group (DMG) – “What you see on the outside...is just on the outside.”

Pros

DMG has been in the China market for more than ten years, as it started out as a post-productions company in the early 1990's. Dan Mintz (CCO, Chief Creative Officer) is a highly talented man in creative and productions, and the company's "guanxi" connections are very solid. He is also a talent to watch as he pitches to clients, as his dynamic persona is also part of what DMG is "selling". DMG is constantly pitching against other 4A agencies and has a solid client portfolio. Beautiful office environment for staff, as DMG puts in the special effort each time to "wow" the clients.

Cons

Because the company is very "guanxi" based, the working environment is more political towards who you are or know, not what you are capable of. The other partners within the company are not pleasant to work with, as they tend to have a very subjective view towards matters and situations.

Working hours varies, as the working schedule goes along the CCO's schedule - which pretty much starts from 11am until the average nights of 8-9pm, and frequently midnights. As any "creative" working position in China is like, "creativity" is purely based on what the boss thinks...not necessarily your own innovative ideas.

Advice to Senior Management

DMG is a company that has extensive knowledge of China, however, despite it prides itself with a corporate culture of where West Meets East's...it's management structure is more tailored towards the East than West. Within the company, because there are so much communication (or rather, ineffective communication) happening, sometimes it gets too caught up within "all talk and no action".

With such a structure, a lot of the staff's time ends up playing politics and favorites, to impress the boss or client for their own benefits, and forgetting the importance of advertising: to actually try and make a difference for the clients.