Insights

Anthony Larmon has spent more than five years in Myanmar and witnessed its transformation after the lift of trade and economic sanctions. The Managing Director of ERA Myanmar spoke about changes in the PR industry there and the vision behind the first agency merger the market has ever seen.

 

 

Categorised as a Least Developed Country (LDC) by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Myanmar has struggled in terms of infrastructure in various sectors in the past, including communications.

 

“When I moved here in 2013, people were still paying to make calls from banks of landline phones on the corners of downtown blocks because SIM cards cost hundreds of dollars. Social media and digital management were virtually non-existent, and the only real marketing functions being performed were events, advertising and some peripheral activities.”

 

Anthony Larmon was “passionate about charting unchartered waters” and moved to Myanmar in 2013, where he founded Zagar Communications on behalf of an investment firm, Anthem Asia.

 

Throughout the five years that he has spent in Myanmar, Anthony bore witness to some of the biggest changes to the comms market, including SIM cards becoming accessible to the entire population of Myanmar overnight, the liberalisation of the media around the same time and the new companies entering rapidly on top of the positive outlook for Myanmar’s economy ahead of a general election in 2015.

 

With regards to the other players in the market, Anthony observed that the top ad firms were no longer just “pure” advertising agencies. They started to offer 360 solutions and doing everything for everyone, despite having no experience in certain areas of communications.

 

“That was kind of our growth plan from day one: to use our expertise in communications to grow along with the market. We were just doing press releases and basic media events and social-digital communications in 2014, same as the ad agencies at the time.”

 

However, as client sophistication and expectations increased, Anthony and his team found themselves leveraging their expertise and background at global firms to offer more powerful integrated communications and reputation management work to meet those changes and evolutions in the industry.

 

 

The PR industry is almost completely new in Myanmar. Compared to the PR market in Germany and the US, which are both very specialised due to their statuses as developed markets, Anthony observed that it was the opposite in Myanmar, which housed a community of communications generalists, and forces players to rise to the occasion in situations where specialisation is needed.

 

“We’re all still kind of figuring it out together - clients, our team and even the media itself. Part of the reason I came here was to develop the first generation of PR professionals and to ensure Myanmar never became like Vietnam - a pay to play PR market.

 

“That mission expanded quickly to educating clients and media what PR is and is not.”

 

Before Anthony moved to Myanmar, he had previously worked in comms for various global networks in the US, Germany and Vietnam. Today, Anthony leads the team at ERA Myanmar - the product of the first merger that has ever taken place between agencies in the Myanmar market - as Managing Director.

 

“As first agency merger in the market, I think no one knows what to expect, even though we have our own plans.”

 

So far, Anthony finds that the reaction has been positive from both his clients and his team. “If I wasn’t doing this with the people I have around me now I would be miserable. I’m so indebted to them for believing in something they’ve never seen. I’m excited to do this together with them.”

 

 

“You need to take the lead in educating the media about your industry, your company, its jargon, best practices and more. In my opinion it’s the most overlooked opportunity for companies in Myanmar,” Anthony explains, as he feels that Myanmar is relatively new to the media profession.

 

When he first arrived, Anthony found that the media houses and related NGOs were investing in training and other opportunities for journalists. Recently, he found that those efforts have slowed considerably. “Journalists aren’t paid enough here, and each crop of new journalists (often fresh graduates) aren’t getting the on-the-job training requisite of the profession.”

 

Anthony also notes that the campaigns that stand out the most to him are CSR programmes. “Myanmar may be new to communications but they’re not new to doing things for others, and they’re possibly the best at it. This openness to giving has allowed our agency to get creative in the way we celebrate our clients’ shared values with various communities around the country.”

 

He also finds that there is still a strong print reading culture amongst the Burmese, but like anywhere, the people are starting to consume media and entertainment on screens, so Anthony and his team have had to adapt accordingly as well.

 

Additionally, Anthony feels that as much as it is an opportunity, a threat to journalism is around the lifting of censor review ahead of publishing. It opened the door to greater enforcement of vague, dated and draconian defamation laws of thin-skinned public servants have not hesitated to take advantage.

 

“On the case of the two Reuters journalists, I am incredibly optimistic that the recent decision to grant them amnesty is a sign that the sitting government (and powers that be) are learning that media freedoms and accountability are important to Myanmar’s transition to a globally respected democracy.

 

This all stems from the lack of understanding of the role of journalists in a democracy and the law itself, Anthony claims.

 

“Until the government takes a serious look at updating these controversial laws, journalism will struggle. It is worth noting the brands and organisations not in the public sphere are not under such scrutiny and in that respect, Myanmar journalists have free reign to hold corporates and brands accountable.”

 

Myanmar has fulfilled its eligibility graduation criteria from UNCTAD’s LDC list for the first time in 2018, ever since its inclusion back in 1987. For the country to be excluded from the list, they must meet the eligibility criteria again in 2021 to be considered for graduation. With a brighter outlook on the country’s development, bigger changes in the comms industry can be expected as well.