MxMIndia

Category: INTERVIEWS

  • Or now better known as the big boss of the agency that created the Tanishq Ekatvam ad. A freewheeling conversation between AA and Pradyuman Maheshwari

    MxM Live with Amit Akali, Founder & CCO, What’s Your Problem

     

    His agency created the much discussed Tanishq Ekatvam advertising, which was trolled and taunted on the social media. These led to threats against the company’s personnel which finally led to the ad being pulled out. Post that there were reports of one or more Tanishq stores being vandalised and with miscreants forcing the store manager to issue an apology. At the same time, there has been a huge outpouring of love for the brand with people resolving to patronise it more than ever before.

     

    MxM Live spoke with Amit Akali, Founder, MD & CCO What’s Your Problem and CCO, Medulla on the advertising. And whether it would impact the creative process going forward. Akali also spoke about some of the work that his agency has been doing, beyond Tanishq.

     

    His very first video interview after the controversy broke out last week.

     

    Watch. Enjoy. Like.

    This interview was conducted on Sunday, October 18, 2020, and published on October 20.

     

  • Taranjeet Singh, MD, SE Asia & India at Criteo, speaks on the digital adspends, third-party measurement and more

    Future (& Present) Bright 4 Digital Spends

     

    One of the few media professionals at the top who have had hands-on experience across all sectors – print, television, digital and OTT until earlier this year, Taranjeet Singh is Managing Director, Southeast Asia (SEA) and India of Criteo. Criteo is a global tech company working with top marketers for their advertising needs. That’s over 20,000 customers and thousands of publishers across the globe.

    Singh joined Criteo while the lockdown was on, after a breezy near-two-year run heading business at Zee5. And before that he was at BBC Worldwide, Outlook Publishing, The Pioneer and a short stint at NIIT. He is based in New Delhi.

    Taranjeet Singh spoke with MxMIndia Editor-in-Chief Pradyuman Maheshwari on a variety of issues around digital media – on adspends versus print and television, on third-party measurement and the overall outlook for the sector. And of course9+0-

    also around what Criteo has been doing.

    Watch. Enjoy. Like.

     

  • The former Publicis Communications boss has now set up Wondrlab, a 'platform-first' martech firm. He speaks with MxMIndia on his plans, philosophy and promises to reveal more… soon

    MxM Live with Saurabh Varma, Wondrlab

     

    Saurabh Varma’s exit from the Publicis Groupe In December 2019 was much discussed. But what was never really debated was the great value and out-of-the-box thinking that he brought into Leo Burnett.

     

    After 329 days of moving out from Publicis Communications, Saurabh Varma set up Wondrlab with former colleagues Vandana Verma and Rakesh Hinduja. Wondrlab is being billed as India’s largest platform-first martech firm and will have three key verticals – Content, Experience and Digital business transformation.

     

    In a 25-odd-minute interview with MxMIndia founder and editor-in-chief Pradyuman Maheshwari, Saurabh Varma talks about the thinking behind Wondrlab and the concept of a “platform-first martech” firm. Of course he promises to reveal more in the days to come – four weeks to 18 months. Sigh.

     

    Watch. Enjoy. Like.

     

  • The Wavemaker CEO – South Asia speaks on the GroupM agency's three years in India, his journey at the helm, Gurugram v/s Mumbai, and the rivalry with sibling Mindshare

    MxM Live with Ajay Gupte

     

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Wavemaker India celebrates its third anniversary on Monday, November 9, and we speak with Ajay Gupte, CEO – South Asia, Wavemaker, on the occasion.

     

    Gupte took charge in January 2020, and we know of the tumultuous times across the world after that. A coincidence of course. The marketing services business was badly hit given the events and advertising spends going south post that.

     

    But in this period, Wavemaker – part of WPP’s GroupM network – has managed to reinvent itself and forge ahead, says Gupte. There is a beefing up of the top deck. Some noteworthy work. And development of analytical tools that are now adopted within Wavemaker global framework.

     

    In a freewheeling interview with MxMIndia Founder and Editor-in-Chief Pradyuman Maheshwari, Ajay Gupte speaks on a cross-section of issues around the business, around Wavemaker, his settling back into the country, the job, Gurugram versus Mumbai, the rivalry with sibling Mindshare. And more.

     

    Watch. Enjoy. Like.

     

  • A ‘Das ka Dum’ special with our Wizard with Words, who conceived and launched Mumbai Mirror in 2005. We asked him on the TOI group announcement to shut MM as a daily

    Dr Bhaskar Das: Every Strategy has an Expiry Date

     

    By A Correspondent

     

     In early 2005, when it was clear to the big bosses at the Old Lady of Boribunder that Hindustan Times and DNA were set to launch in Mumbai, there was much concern about the future of the Empire. While HT may still be this North India superpower, the paper had turned stylish and had some great writers and people at the helm.

     

    The bigger worry was DNA, short for Daily News & Analysis. It was being set up in a jv of the Dainik Bhaskar group and Zee. Bhaskar had essayed huge success in Gujarat with Divya Bhaskar and the Zee TV group chairman Subhash Chandra is a tough fighter and was keen on extending his domination to print. Plus there was Pradeep Guha, the former Times of India bossman who knew it all. And had a point to prove. When Guha moved to Zee, there was much talk of his trust lieutenant and second-in-command Dr Bhaskar Das also moving with him. But his bosses – Samir and Vineet Jain – held him back.

     

    Das suggested the flanking strategy to the Jains, and get the newbies battle it out with Mirror first. The gambit worked, and Mirror in Mumbai was a profitable venture in three-odd years. The circulation was large thanks to the fact it went free with The Times of India. The going was good, business-wise and editorially, though it had achieved its purpose.

     

    The Agarwals sold their stake in DNA to Chandra at Zee, and the paper finally folded up a year-odd back. HT could weather the onslaught, but it was a never a close #2 in Mumbai amongst broadsheets. Mid-Day, which was once #2 in Mumbai, suffered through the fight among the big ones.

     

    Post the announcement of The Times of India group on Saturday to close Mumbai Mirror as a daily, we asked Dr Bhaskar Das (BD) a few questions as part of the Das ka Dum series. We couldn’t help not asking him many questions on the development as part of the questions for the week. He was after all the boss of the project. We then thought it would be good to carry the entire Q&A together, and add a couple of more questions.

     

    Even if state this ourselves, we think it makes for a great interview, and he’s been reasonably candid. There’s a wee bit written between the lines, but then that’s BD for you. Enjoy.

     

    If the Print Media were to look at itself in the Mirror, what would it see? A self that’s Deflated, Defeated and Dead?

     

    None of them, according to me. Naysayers or doomsday predictors might agree with your observation. I am not oblivious to the emotional aspect of the reflection in the mirror. But in business, as in life, recalibration of the forward journey is a constant imperative. Learnings happen when one cleans up the mirror first before cleaning one’s face only. A deep introspection followed by a resilient approach would engender a realisation that death is the beginning of life and life is the beginning of death. Accordingly, new roadmap would emerge.

     

    Your sentiments on the closure of Mumbai Mirror, the daily, since you headed the team and started it all. In fact I am told you thought of the idea…

     

    What sentiments? � The company started a project. I was an incidental steward. When one is (in this case me) lovingly detached, launch or closure is part of a continuum, as in life. The pragmatism of business and its strategy compels an organisation to take a decision which might have to be revoked in future when the landscape changes. For business process continuity and for conservation of finite resources, an organisation has to choose an alternative from amongst multiple choices in an altered landscape.  After all, any  strategy is ultimately  a cascade of choices. Hence emotion has no legitimate space in such a decision-making. An engrossed passion helps a rational decision get wings. For the concerned daily, the dominant sentiment at that relevant time was perhaps like that. Hence an individual sentiment doesn’t matter.

     

    Does the closure of the Mumbai Mirror as a daily augur sad times for the newspaper industry. After all this is an offering from the #1 newspaper group in the country/ continent/ world, and operates in Mumbai, one of the most important advertising markets on land?

     

    As if this is the first time a publication has been shut. Every strategy has an expiry date. The publication had served a strategic purpose perhaps at that relevant time. Changing times need new strategy to navigate the operating environment. So I can presume the group has enough in its arsenal to leverage in the most important advertising market of India. From the outside it might look as a dystopian development. But it can be a precursor to a ‘manthan’ too. Who knows? As an incorrigible optimist , I think so.

     

    Our heart goes out to the employees engaged by newspapers, esp those who aren’t shared resources. With jobs not easily available what would you recommend to people who are set to be displaced?

     

    I can empathise with this question. I really have no answer to this. Sometimes silence is important to respect emotions. I can only pray for their well-being. The employees created a fantastic brand. They will do well anywhere. I am convinced.

     

    There are sentiments that BCCL should have absorbed the losses and grow the brand. Your thoughts.

     

    Theoretically, everything is possible. But how do I simulate a probabilistic answer without having any access to the compulsions that led to this decision? The only point that I can make is that the print sector itself is under dual threat  of format obsolescence and Covid-led tepid business headwind, and hence, even a supposedly deep-pocketed organisation  may not have the luxury of  taking  decisions that are unrelated to the basic tenets of commercial viability.

     

    As an academic in marketing, would you say that the existence or longevity of a product or service that’s set up essentially to combat competition is always in suspect?

     

    Not necessarily. INS Vikrant was also useful once upon a time. Then it got replaced by a more state-of-the-art aircraft carrier. Besides, strategic imperatives change. A market-facing organisation has to continuously readjust its gear depending on the terrain change and organisational priorities. Hence any deterministic prediction on this matter is as reliable as any decision that is predicated dominantly on convenient sampling.

     

    Do your responses really reflect your true emotions? Or are you just being politically correct?

     

    Political and correctness are oxymoronish terms, to my mind. I am neither political nor  claiming to be correct in my answers. May be my answers are not fitting into an expected paradigm of response. Then you should first decide if you want a rational answer or an emotional one. I am sure you would prefer the former.

  • An interview with the veteran media specialist Shripad Kulkarni post his analysis of festive advertising on television in 2020 on MxMIndia on Tuesday

    MxM Live with Shripad Kulkarni

     

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    We interviewed veteran media specialist Shripad Kulkarni post his analysis of festive advertising on television in 2020 (which appeared on MxMIndia on Tuesday, December 8).

     

    Watch his interview with MxMIndia founder and editor-in-chief Pradyuman Maheshwari to get upclose with study on the market, the emergence of the digital dominators and the two masterbrands who took the plunge to turn out on top.

     

    Read the full report here: https://www.shripadkulkarni.com/report.html

     

    Watch. Enjoy. Like

     

  • The Saffron Brand Consultants Creative Director spoke on the thought behind the ABP Network rebranding and his views on the visual identity of other news channels

    MxM Live with Matt Atchison

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    As the ABP Network commissioned the Madrid, Spain-based Saffron Brand Consultants to undertake the complete rebranding, including the new logo, on the eve of the unveiling, MxMIndia co-founder and editor-in-chief Pradyuman Maheshwari caught up with Matt Atchison, Creative Director at Saffron.

     

    Atchison spoke about the journey of the rebranding, his views on the visual identity of other news television entities in the country and more. Atchison has been a key designer at Saffron since 2008, as a Creative Director there he has put his name to the rebranding for clients such as A1 Telekom Austria, Bankinter, BBVA, Cepsa, C&A, El Corte Inglés, Kyivstar, Megafon, Madrid Open, Raiffeisen, Swiss Re, YouTube and Volotea, among others. He has been on the jury at Cannes Lions Awards and the Kinsale Sharks Awards and a guest keynote speaker at the CXI Konferenz in Germany, A visiting lecturer at the IE School of Architecture and Design in Spain.

     

    Watch. Enjoy. Like.

     

  • Rohit Ohri, Chairman and CEO, FCB Group India in a video interview with Pradyuman Maheshwari

    The Road to Being Killer-Diller

     

    By Our Staff

     

    Some five-and-a-half years back, when he had just taken charge as CEO of the FCB Group in India, our editor-in-chief Pradyuman Maheshwari  had asked Rohit Ohri about a general perception of FCB Ulka/India being an efficient, successful but a fuddy-duddy agency. We followed it with a similar question to Global CEO Carter Murray a few months later on the sidelines of Goafest.

     

    As he tells us in this interview, Messrs Murray and Ohri took this comment rather seriously and were determined to purge this perception. Fast and furiously. Which they did. From being considered a servicing- and planning-centric network, creative has gotten centerstage, which is what creative agencies are meant to be.

     

    After having asked this horribly rude question in 2016, Pradyuman Maheshwari interviews Rohit Ohri, Chairman and CEO, FCB Group India, on the road from to being a, as Ohri calls it, a killer-diller agency. It’s a looooong, 54-minuter, so bring along that cup of chai. Or coffee, if you are a trueblue adperson.

     

    Watch. Enjoy. Like.

     

  • An interview with veteran mediaperson and author of the recently released Alphabetica – A Satire on Majoritarianism

    MxM Live with Kaushik Roy/Roy Phoenix on ‘Alphabetica’

     

     

    By Our Staff

     

    Veteran mediaperson Kaushik Roy needs no introduction in the marketing services domain. But the media professional was not content with resting on his past laurels. Last month, he launched his debut novel ‘Alphabetica’ with a subtext saying ‘A Satire On Majoritarianism’ written with the pseudonym of Roy Phoenix.

     

    In an extended interview with MxMIndia founder and editor-in-chief Pradyuman Maheshwari, Roy talks about this book, why he wrote under a pseudonym and what’s coming next. As a bonus, watch and hear both Roy and Maheshwari read passages from the book.

     

    Watch. Like. Enjoy

     

  • A freewheeling chat with the Wunderman Thompson South Asia CEO

    Up, close & personal with Shams Jasani

     

     

    When in November 2018 advertising and marketing services conglomerate WPP merged the 1896-born J Walter Thompson with Wunderman to form Wunderman Thompson, there were many advertising purists who were upset that the new name was not Thompson Wunderman, but the other way around. They feared that creative would possibly take a backseat in the new dispensation.

     

    But folks in India were happy that a JWT senior Tarun Rai was at the helm to head the South Asia division. There were mixed reports about the health of the agency, and the lockdown ensured that the business model of the creative agency domain was under question.

     

    In October 2021, Wunderman Thompson announced the appointment of Shamsuddin Jasani, a digital advertising specialist, as the CEO. Jasani took charge on November 1, and has charted an all-new direction for the agency with the confluence of creative, data, commerce and technology.

     

    In a freewheeling chat with Pradyuman Maheshwari, founder and editor-in-chief, MxMIndia, Shamsuddin ‘Shams’ Jasani speaks about his plans for Wunderman Thompson, the foray in healthcare and his focus on technology and commerce. But, as he says, WT will always be creative-first.

     

    Watch. Enjoy. Like

     

  • A quick chat with NS Rajan, who was unanimously elected  Chairman, Advertising Standards Council of India last week

    ‘Misconception that regulation and self-regulation compete’

     

     

    At the board meeting of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) held last week, public relations industry veteran NS Rajan was unanimously elected  Chairman. Rajan, Director, August One Partners LLP, was Founder and Managing Director of Ketchum Sampark. Sampark is an agency that Rajan set up with his wife Bela which was later acquired by the Omnicom group. Rajan was Vice Chair of ASCI over the last two years, and was an active participant of the weekly complaints meetings that the Council conducts for complaints redressal. Excerpts from a quick interview over email.

     

    ASCI has reinvented itself over the last few years. What next for the self-regulator?

    ASCI has reinvented itself to keep pace with the nature of the new and emerging advertising ecosystem. Besides upgrading our complaints systems and processes to become more agile and responsive, we have also invested in monitoring technology. As we go ahead, we will strengthen the preventive side of our work to become more robust and mainstream. ASCI Academy through training, outreach, and thought leadership is an important pillar of taking ASCI into the future. I look forward to advancing the agenda of the Council to rapidly increase ASCI’s awareness among consumers so that they engage more readily and in greater numbers, voicing their concerns, anxieties, and questions about what they experience in the form of thousands of ads per day.

     

    Has the ghost of the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) usurping ASCI’s status/role vanished?

    It is a common misconception to think that regulation and self-regulation compete. Both these mechanisms are part of the ad regulation ecosystem and, they are complimentary in nature. Self-regulation is the first line of defence that looks at voluntary compliance and education and essentially this is an inexpensive and quick method to resolve issues related to advertising. It comes at no cost to the taxpayer. ASCI has a very robust infrastructure setup to resolve consumer grievances as well as take suo-moto cognisance and action. Across the world, self-regulation and regulation co-exist and work together in complementary ways. When the advertiser refuses to undertake voluntary compliance, ASCI works with regulators to resolve the issue. It is also important to note that the CCPA advertising guidelines and ASCI’s guidelines on misleading ads are very similar. We will continue to work with the government together on this common agenda. It is also pertinent to note that the Consumer Protection Act deals with misleading ads, but the ASCI code also looks at indecent, unfair, and unsafe ads in addition.

     

    How has the prevention offering worked? The pre-approval process that was announced with much fanfare.

    We would like to clarify that there is no pre-approval offering. ASCI has s a voluntary due diligence exercise that advertisers or endorsers can avail of. They can seek advice from ASCI at the pre-production stage. Many brands have used this service both for technical and non-technical claims before major campaigns. We also have some companies signing up for an ongoing subscription and this shows that the culture of preventive responsibility is taken seriously. In time, we expect this to become a more mainstream practice. So far, about 30 ads have undergone a pre-production scrutiny at ASCI.

     

    What’s your view on influencer complaints. Are advertisers and influencers gaming the system?

    Honesty and transparency are the bedrock for any system that wants to be sustainable. As with any category, there will be a set of people who will always try to game the system and undermine it. However, by and large, we have seen a very positive response around the influencer guidelines and increasing awareness about their responsibility when it comes to promotions. We are also keeping a close watch on this category, and 30% of the complaints that we looked at last year have been from influencer advertising. As influencers become more aware of their responsibilities, we see a more long-term honesty-based orientation. Compliance is at 86% in the first year itself. We will continue our efforts to educate advertisers and influencers as to the importance and benefits of honesty in advertising.

     

    The awareness levels of self-regulation appear pretty low. What are ASCI’s plans for outreach across the trade?

    While ASCI’s awareness has seen an increase, it is still lower than desired. Our outreach budgets are low; however, we are happy to note an increase in our interactions with industry, government, domain experts, consumer organisations and other stakeholders. Now, with the soon-to-launch ASCI Academy, we look forward to interacting even more with young industry professionals, students, influencers, endorsers consumers as well as non-industry stakeholders.

     

    Tell us more about the AI-driven engine that ASCI has development for complaints redressal

    ASCI has been upgrading its complaints system ‘TARA’ to offer a seamless experience to both consumers and advertisers in the management and resolution of complaints. TARA will offer features like real-time tracking of complaints, dashboard views, automatic updates etc. In the second phase which we are embarking on now, the system will allow for a rich access to its archival data and cases.

     

  • A freewheeling interview with Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas Group India

    We’ve built a fabulous place. We’ve grown, hired talent, got clients…

     

     

    It’s not easy doing an interview with Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas Group India. He reads your mind, and has perhaps guessed all the questions you are going to ask. But that’s why it’s challenging interviewing him, as we revive a new series of power interviews with industry captains. Excerpts from a freewheeling interview with Rana Barua.

     

    Let’s start by taking a stocktake of how things have been since the last time we interviewed you. How has it been since then?

    Honestly, we’ve probably surpass the expectations of the group in terms what India could overall build or achieve. Every global media company has a certain ambition when you are literally starting from a certain base or scratch. I think we have built a fabulous place-we have grown, we have built, we have created, we have hired talent, we have got clients.

    We have got an ecosystem where we currently have close to 15 agencies under the three verticals of creative, health and media. We are over 1200 people. We have become a very strong ecosystem where we have acquired agencies, we are doing well our creative and media are independently doing very well, and health is been quite steady. So, I think where we have reached a point where we are now only going to get bigger in our own ecosystem of Havas Group internally. We are setting much higher targets within the Group for ourselves and the global team is supporting us.

     

    You spoke on expectations – were the expectations high or low given that even though it’s been a while since Havas has been around in India, it has never really been among the top flight agencies.

    Havas Group, a French network, had not really invested in India. They were testing waters carefully and cautiously, which is why Bobby and I were brought on board to help turnaround the network. That’s what a lot of international companies have done – they have come to India, they have seen, they have tried and if it’s not happened, they have quietly left. Or some people have reduced their investments or some people have stayed there because of whatever reasons.

     

    You’ve spent some time in the recent past with the WPP Group. What is the key differentiator between WPP and Havas? The WPP Group is said to be run by accountants. What would you say is Havas?

    So, the WPP Group was naturally very finance-driven, very clear about the bottomline and numbers and all. I think the clear difference between WPP, and I think that is why I am enjoying my time at the Havas Group, is that Havas  is very entrepreneurial-led. Of course numbers are important, profitability is key, and why not? We are not a charitable institution – we are all running a business. But it allows you take a lot of risk, t allows you take a lot of decisions on your own.

     

    They allow you to make mistakes?

    Yes, of course. Absolutely.

     

    Anything that you can give an example of that perhaps as you look back may have been a mistake and they have said screw it, it’s all right.

    So, I wouldn’t call it a mistake. One of our acquisitions  didn’t work out for cultural reasons, for the reasons of the business model changing post-Covid. Before Covid, there was a reason why we had bought a certain agency with expertise on digital and we thought that this is how we are going to integrate it into the system. In the Covid years, we realised that it was very tough, things changed and the model changed. There were different conversations. So, culturally, we drifted.  But we moved apart beautifully. No clients got impacted. We are rebuilding and we have started looking for newer acquisitions which fit our culture.

     

    Would you look at another acquisition in the same space?

    Absolutely in the same space. The agencies that we are talking to are aware of everything. I think one of the big conversations that happen in our group is reputation. What is your reputation in the market? And that is something which is tougher than deliveries on financials.

     

    On a scale to 1 to 10, how would you rate the agency since you joined

    There are two ways to look at it. We see it one is as per your external environment — how you are doing in India vis-a-vis people and competition. And the other is your internal benchmarking. So, if I do an internal benchmarking, let’s say at a time when we came in, it was a 2 or 3. Are you part of the global team? Are you part of the global council? Are you part of the G9 or G10 as we call it as the best companies? No, we were not anywhere near that. There was no global reporting, we would never have any direct interactions and all. So, let’s say we were at a 2-2.5-3 out of 10 which probably has moved to 6-6.5 internally or a 7 which is a great place to be. Because now you are among the Top four-five countries where investments are happening, conversations are happening, centres of excellence are being formed, expansion plans are happening, acquisitions are happening. We didn’t have clients then and were probably at 2-2.5 to 3. We have done a fab job, So a 5.5-6. .

     

    On creative output, on creativity?

    5.

     

    And where were you earlier before you came?

    I don’t think we had any value. I don’t think we were even known, Now there are so many new clients who have come on board. I am not saying that the last two years has been very easy for the industry. So, I would say that we have raised the bar to a certain quality from where we were, and the investments have started.

     

    Investments?

    In terms of people and quality that we are hiring we have just announced few days back that Anupama (Ramaswamy) has joined us as the CCO with Bobby. We are going to be investing in a very strong CSO very soon. I think we realised that we probably invested a bit too early on a senior strategy head maybe we should have got the ecosystem right and then have someone.

     

    And awards? Not too many awards so far.

    No. Not at all.

     

    So, when do you think they will happen…

    From next year we will definitely see some…

     

    Your budget on sending entries will increase?

    Yes. Absolutely.

     

    Will you sending some 500 entries?

    No, not so many.

     

    That’s the shortcut to get many awards.

    Now, you are taking me to a heavy discussion.

     

    No. Fine. At the end of the day, awards are important for a creative agency

    Very important. When I joined, I said let’s give it three years. But then the pandemic happened. I have now done four years now, so in my fourth, fifth, sixth year is when we will see a lot of these recognition, awards and proper movement into a higher zone of growth and size and everything that’s now.

     

    Would you say that in the next two years you should be getting a good amount of awards?

    100%.

     

    A creative agency is looked at by the kind of work you do, and the awards you get?

    Yes, and that’s the same focus for media also we are looking at Emvies and Effies in a much bigger light. If your client list has moved up from two or three or four. If you look at the media client list or the creative clients list it’s now into 40s, 50s, 60s there are too many clients now they are all going to ask for recognition in any form.

     

    What is the pitch you give a person who is with another agency – why should they select Havas? Or, why should a start-up come to you?

    I think one of the main conversations we have on is the philosophy. It’s for everyone to see that people have started investing in this brand. So, if you look at the Havas brand, in the last few years, it has suddenly become a brand of choice for many people. They are seeing a very positive ecosystem which is delivering effective results. We have zero attrition in media, not a single client drop out in creative. There is a genuine effort to get the product right for the client, there is a partnership intent. I am actually telling people: invest in Havas and you will see the difference. If you ask me, what number am I? I will say I am number 4, 5, 6 whatever you tell me. But we are a very big number in our scheme of things, which is giving us the confidence to taken on large clients. We are invited for some of the largest pitches in the country. We may be winning some, we may be losing some… but we are striking gold in many places. We have got a lot of Tata work in… Tata CLiQ, Tata Luxury, Tata Beauty, Tata… we are part of most of the Tata pitches that are in the market right now. In media too, we are doing very well.

     

    How is the status of your acquisitions? Anything new coming up?

    I would like to first integrate and then look for newer ones and not just keep adding on agencies. Because one of my core philosophies is that you don’t grow on acquisitions, you need to have your own code and then add the acquisition. You can go buy 35 companies and you will have a number, but you will not have a culture. You won’t have a Havas Group. You will have a plethora of agencies which form a group. So, that was never the intent and that was one of the clear beliefs.

    I have always maintained that in India you have to build an ecosystem around creative and media.. So, while there were few acquisitions which came in under the creative banner, it took us two three years to fully integrate. There is absolute clarity on where we are headed, we are looking at an acquisition in performance marketing, we are definitely looking at a PR agency.. we are  looking for a digital agency. A B2C, hardcore, an integrated one and we are also looking for size. That’s the big difference from three years back. We are also looking at consumer experience journey, content, data…

     

    And how is activation and events agency doing?

    Very well.

     

    Even though the last two years were bad…

    Yes, Shobiz has done a phenomenal job this year.

     

    Since you are talking about Havas Integrated, is the money more on digital or is the money more in traditional advertising?

    In terms of media spends?

     

    Yes.

    In terms of media spends, it’s pretty much I would say 60-40. When you say traditional means you are talking about TV and all offline mediums right? It’s still 60%-65% there in media. But your returns on that 65% might be very little because you know how the commission model works. Your returns on that 35% would be much higher because that’s what digital allows you to do. In sum, if you look at the mix, India is still very skewed towards traditional formats.

     

    If we interview you a year from now what are the two three things that you think we will be talking to you about

    I think one will be on awards. And when I say awards, it means it just not one creative award it can be you won a lot of Emvees or you won a lot of Effies or you won an international award or something. So, I think that is one thing you are going to definitely talk about, is did you move the needle at all? The ecosystem is now on track. You can’t pull it back because the foundation has been created, people have come, system has been created. It’s in a great place now…