Category: SPECIALS

Divya Gupta, the quintessential media strategist, moved to Dentsu Media as the CEO not very long back. Gupta, one of the early movers in the media space is oft admired for her clarity of thought and her business acumen. She has had an illustrious career both on the agency and client side of the business.

 

In this conversation with Ritu Midha, she discusses her experiences in the industry, the glass ceiling, and the changing face of Indian woman among other interesting things.

 

To begin with, why did you opt for media at a time when it was considered secondary to creative?

I meandered into media. I knew very little about media at that time- almost nothing. All I knew was that I was very comfortable with numbers and my love for analytics. So I started off and I loved what I was doing and that was it.

 

Had it anything to do with the fact that the domain was considered to be more suited for women?

That did not play a part at all.

 

[youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KWJH0tf_AE[/youtube]

You are considered to be a role model by many. Did being a woman ever prove to be a hindrance or an advantage?

Never. Neither which ways.

 

Never – not within the agency – not with media partners – and neither with clients. You are only as good as the value you bring to the table. There is complete gender neutrality.

 

In fact, in many ways you get treated depending on how you behave. Let me give you one example, I did a short stint with O&M Media Network, London, and at that time, belief on the media buying floor was that women were lousy buyers. That despite the fact that the CEO at that time was a woman! I observed after joining, that the lone woman on the team there was more interested in doing her nail varnish than negotiating deals. So, to cut a long story short, by the end of my tenure, I was one of the boys.

 

Looking at women across business houses, do you think that businesses are giving an equal opportunity to women now? Are they unbiased?

Gender equality in our society is lip service. Biases begin at home, and they definitely exist at work. The facts are very hard to ignore. Women are more prone to opting out than men. Companies need to examine, and address the issue.

 

There are many factors at work. Historically there has been an occupational segregation, for example, typically more female nurses and male doctors. Or the fact, that women are valued less, and paid even lesser. And then, many women with the homemakers’ responsibility, and that of parenting, get pulled down. And lastly, I find that perhaps women sometimes, don’t take themselves seriously enough. If you look at the women workforce, it is a very narrow pyramid. With women at the middle and senior level, twice as prone to opting out, than men – that needs to be addressed, for both the society and company’s benefit.

 

There are umpteen examples in our society, where the glass ceiling has been breached. So, right from banking to FMCG sector, to good old politics, and closer home, even media. But these examples are iconic in nature. There is so much more that needs to be done – the narrow pyramid needs to become far more sturdier.

 

And if you look at women at large, as consumers, do you think that they are becoming more powerful and influential now? Moving beyond their traditional territory of FMCGs…

Women were always powerful, only quietly so. As for their becoming far more influential, there are multiple factors at play- (a) They are more economically independent and financially independent,  (b) They are decision makers right from household products, to higher outlay durables – even financial products, and last, they are no longer apologetic, no longer subservient in playing this role. In fact, overtly and confidently so. So, yes, there has been a shift.

 

It’s often stated that women have a different set of priorities, references and attitudes vis-a-vis men. Do you agree?

From a young age, I believe that a woman can do all that a man can. But, by that, I don’t necessarily mean to say that men and women are the same. There is so much more beyond the traditional, stereotypical role that we’ve assigned to men and women. So, if you look at the homemaker role assigned to a woman, it requires so much of hard work and dexterity, day in and day out. And often, thanklessly so. A career is as important to a woman as it is to a man, not just because of the money that she brings home, but as much for her self-esteem. So often, a woman who is good at her job – quits, we attribute it to attitude, behaviour, priorities. I would urge you to look beyond the obvious. What happens when we stretch an elastic band? It snaps. So, who is to say whether it was the quality of the elastic, or the fact that it had been stretched too much, too long?

 

Do you think things are changing now?

Yes and no, both. There is far more awareness, acknowledgement, most importantly from their partners, as in, the men. In a lot of areas, men are not shy of taking responsibility, and there is an equal partnership. Now, that is a great thing to happen. So yes, things are changing for the better. Having said that, while ten things are changing, as many are not. The pressure on multitasking today is far more. As a homemaker working from home, you worked as hard, but to an extent that elastic did not snap. But when you try to straddle too many stools, sometimes, there is a danger of falling in between, and that is not the so good part.

 

How different is the metro woman today from the previous generation?

The previous generation, more likely was a homemaker, working as hard – so she was the CEO, the CFO and the CMO of her house. Today’s woman is all that, and more. There is a career outside the home that she tends to. Not only does she contribute to the family kitty but there is a pressure and her own self esteem that she does well. As compared to her mother she is far more hard-pushed for time and energy, and she is also at the same time far more empowered in decision making, in leading her life her way- in asking for and getting equality with her partner, family, friends and social circle.

 

How are the marketers looking at this shift?

Marketers will mirror society. So increasingly you will find that across the spectrum – from FMCG to the durables to your financial products, they will address her as an equal prospect. There is hardly any category where her influence in decision making is not considered.

 

What one needs to watch out for in this hurrah and egging her on, is that society needs to ensure that there is a support system for her. For example, one of my colleagues who is working with me currently is mother of a young baby – she needs her mother-in-law to look after the child. Family raised their hands recently. So she put the child in a crèche. A week later the child was traumatic. She just wouldn’t leave her mother – she was not able to adjust to crèche. There needs to be assistance from family, friends, society, companies – where you provide that safety net. A lot of work needs to be done in that direction.

 

To conclude this interview, who, in your view, is a Diva?

Somebody who walks the walk and talks the talk – who exemplifies and leads by example. To my mind that diva can be a lady who sweeps outside our building – or somebody sitting in an office. Anybody across the spectrum who worships her work and leads by showing other people examples. I salute such people.

 

With nearly three decades of experience in senior positions at agencies of repute like JWT, Lintas, McCann Erikson and the Publicis Groupe, Ambika Srivastava, Chairperson, VivaKi Exchange India, has been instrumental in bringing media planning and buying out of shadows and propelling its growth.

 

In this conversation with Shruti Pushkarna of MxMIndia, she focuses on understanding women’s preferences and priorities, marketers’ need to understand them well, and their increased role in making purchase decisions.

 

[youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUxJ7mzohF8[/youtube]

Q. It is often stated that women have a very different set of priorities, preferences, and attitudes vis-a-vis men? What is your take on this?

Yes, women are different. However, some priorities are the same. If you take the example of looking after the children, it’s as big a priority for a mother as it is for a father. I believe there are some universal issues that are as important to men as they are to women. But, yes, the way a woman will deal with something would be very different from the way a man would deal with it.

 

There are inherent differences – even at the workplace you will notice that women tend to approach things a little more intuitively than men, who are far more rational. Women tend to be more emotional, they have the benefit of intuition or emotion, whereas men look at life very rationally.

 

Q. Do the marketers need a specific skill set to reach women effectively? How would you define this skill set?

I think the key issue is understanding your consumer, and using that understanding to create powerful way of connecting with your consumer. Marketers do need to understand women – what motivates them, what are their aspirations, what is it that inspires them… So, you need to develop knowledge that is perhaps a little women-centric.

 

Q. What in your view are socio-economic forces behind the growth of women as purchase decision makers?

I think the biggest driver of change as far as women are concerned has been education. And this is not just in India, it’s across the globe. Education has driven them to seek better opportunities, many more women are working today. They are financially independent, and that independence has given them a sense of power and a sense of responsibility. It has allowed them to actually live their dreams.

 

Q. What are the key sectors that have gained with increase in purchasing power of women?

Many sectors have gained. To name a few, I would start with education, because today every mother wants to educate her child – not just in middle income homes but even in the socio economic strata at the bottom of the pyramid. They want their daughters to study and to be able to stand on their feet. So, education is a sector that has benefitted immensely. Women today are more conscious about how they appear at the workplace, so personal care has become a big thing. Apparel, garments etc. too have grown as a big sector. Then you have luxury and leisure sectors – women want to spend on themselves.

 

Having said that, it is not just categories that pamper women or address their specific needs.  The fact is that many more women can afford to buy a car or house for themselves, and so Auto and Real estate too have benefitted. And of course, the fast growing category off mobile telephones too have gained.

 

 Q. Does it make sense to define a set of women as ‘Primetime’ women – and use Primetime TV as the medium to reach them?

There are two ways of defining primetime, it’s when the largest number of women can be reached. The other criteria is trying to see when is it a good time to reach women when they are not distracted by anything else. We have to remember that women are multi-taskers. Is primetime the ‘me time’ or is primetime simply the largest number of women? If I were to look at the largest number of women, that would be when you have both sets of audience available, working women and the homemakers, and this would typically be in the evening. But if we were to look at the ‘me time’, then perhaps the audiences that you can reach out to through afternoon television or through magazines, would be what I would call ‘prime time’. That’s the best way of connecting and engaging with women consumers.

 

Q. You are one of the biggest success stories in media business, what would you attribute your success to?

I think hard work.  More importantly, I have been very fortunate and blessed because I’ve had a great team. I have worked with some wonderful people who helped me do the right things. Also, I would like to attribute my success to my family that has helped me, and supported my efforts.

 

Q. Has being a woman ever been a hindrance?

Never! I think it is not about being a woman, it is about being a professional. And I feel very strongly about the fact that women tend to get evaluated amongst a set of women professionals. If you are a good professional, regardless of whether you are a man or a woman, you should be actually in that league. So it’s not Top 10 ‘women’ in advertising, it’s Top 10 ‘people’ in advertising. And personally I have really never had a problem.

 

Q. What would be your message to new entrants in the media fraternity?

I think this business is really exciting and very dynamic. Having said that, it’s extremely demanding.  I  believe that people who are getting into the profession need to be prepared, it is a tough profession. You have to be very focused. It’s not just demanding physically, it also demands a lot emotionally and intellectually. Once the new entrants are ready for that, they will be able to strike a good work life balance which can help them really do well.

 

Q. The last question, how would you define a Diva?

My definition of a Diva is somebody I admire, and someone who would inspire me. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a celebrity. I have come across girls who are full of grit and great spirit, who have achieved a lot very young in their life, fought against the odds. And I think from that spirit, there is a huge inspiration. Again in my own office, I find women who are amazing at ideation… at meeting really tough deadlines. So for me, it doesn’t have to be somebody sitting on a pedestal, you look around and you should be able to find that inspiration. That’s really my definition of a Diva.

 

 

By Ritu Midha

 

It is an oft-mentioned fact that Indian women have taken a generation’s leap, and are making steady strides towards exploring their full potential. This, indeed holds more true of the urban woman than her rural counterpart – and here too her ambitions and aspirations differ from one social strata to another, Nonetheless, evolved she has.

 

In this interview with MxMIndia Diva Upclose, Lynn de Souza, Chairman and CEO, Lintas Media Group, a woman of great substance, reflects on the Indian women of today, her changing role in the society, and also the women power in media industry.

 

In your view, how are women defining the new Indian marketplace today?

Women, today, are playing a much bigger role in consumption of products of all kinds be it services, durables, etc than they were doing maybe twenty years ago. They are involved in purchase decisions which require large investments that may include purchase of a house or even a car. Certainly, when it comes to decision regarding durables in the kitchen, and home furnishings etc, women were always at the forefront of decision making and the same was the approach in case of consumer bill items like food. But when it comes to things like financial investments like higher education of children, these were not under her domain earlier. But research shows that a woman today is an important decision maker, an important influencer – and in many cases actual user in these categories and more. And most marketers are, of course, aware of it.

 

Would you say she is evolving at a much faster pace than her counterpart, man?

The progress that women have made is phenomenal. To give credit to women all over the world, and specifically women in India, they have made progress against all odds. It is not easy in a society where women were not treated on equal footing with men, to come out and perform so well. One expects them to shine in a few sectors, for instance soft ones like nursing, education and services. But in hardnosed professions like politics and finance, it is laudable to see women being there right at the top. It has a lot to do with the education system as well. How much ever we may decry it but women have benefited from it. It also has got a lot to do with the way men have changed in the way they encourage and support women in their career progression. Overall health and growth of economy too has enabled women to come out of the house and still perform.

 

However, our sisters in rural areas still have a long way to go. There is a huge dichotomy – I have seen women sarpanches in some village panchayats doing fantastically well but then there are villages where women and the girl child are still ill-treated. Even in some pockets of urban India, one gets to witness ill treatment of women and the girl child. However, if one looks at a larger picture, women today are in a much better situation.

 

Have the marketers taken note of the evolution, and, are they able to keep pace with this evolving consumer?

Marketers are now targeting more and more women and in different ways. About twenty years back, it was the FMCG companies that targeted women by primarily using women’s magazines and the general interest television, largely soaps. However, more and more products are being launched today that target women, including from sectors such as finance, insurance, educational (for children), two-wheelers, consumer durables, etc. One can even see marketers broad-basing not only their targeting, but also the kind of media they use to communicate to these women.

 

I recall the way two girls are depicted in the Stayfree commercial – very outgoing and definitely contributing to a progressive society, wanting to see things changed for the better. It is recognition of how marketers are seeing young girls and women where they are not only looking at bringing about a change in their life, but a change in the society as well.

 

Talking specifically of the metro woman – is the upmarket metro woman at par with her counterpart in terms of purchasing power parity?

I don’t know how you want to define purchasing power parity – there are many ways in which one can do it. If your question is whether a woman can buy as much of products that she likes as a man, I would still say no. She may earn, but not necessarily keep whatever she earns for herself or her children. In majority of cases it goes into the overall household pie. A man is more likely to decide what to do with his income. As shown by research, it is still true for a majority of cases. As for salary levels, I believe that there is a slight difference in the kind of salary a woman earns versus what a man earns in some professions.

 

Moving on to the media fraternity, it is observed that women professionals are excelling superbly in the way they run a show. What would you attribute this showing to?

In the media and entertainment sector, women have done well partly because it is a creative sector and partly because they have a greater opportunity to shine on the basis of their own capabilities.

 

In the entertainment sector, women have certainly done extremely well. As for media planning, it is a very small industry. There are about ten or twelve agencies – may be employing 2000 people – out of that many women have made it to the top. Some of it is historical – media planning was more of a desk job and girls got into it in early days and stayed there. Having said that, media is a practical profession and women have done well on that front as well.

 

You yourself are counted as one among the best in the business. How would you define your journey so far in the industry?

My journey has been fairly long – about 25 years. It has had its movements in rotation. I have been in media, in integrated marketing…I have done a bit of healthcare, launched our knowledge portals…I have also been involved in training. Interestingly, I have always come back to media. The whole business of media has changed now, and I am happy to have been a part of the change. In many ways, I pioneered the change and am always happy to contribute in whatever way I can. I can see the media environment completely transforming itself and this has a lot to do with the world going more tech-savvy. It is great to be a student of media now, and that is what I am doing right now.

 

Among young women from the current lot, which are the ones that have a promising future ahead of them?

There are a number of promising young women on the creative side of the media owners’ end who are very passionate, very knowledgeable and really wanting to do something for the society. They are not self-centred. As for the media planning industry I would like to mention Nandini (Dias) and Sudha (Natarajan) – both have completely different style of working – but are extremely talented and are doing very well. Another name I would like to mention is Jasmin (Sohrabji) who again is very talented. In fact we have worked together in Trikaya for three years and I still remember the first day she came into the office to work with me. I knew even then that she has a bright future ahead.

 

Lastly, a question that’s a slight deviation from the professional front: how would you define a Diva?

A Diva is a very special woman who may come from any walk of life – she may be from art, culture, politics or business but what characterises a Diva is her ability to stand out. She has the ability to aspire people to be better people because she herself is an achiever through sheer hard work and talent.

 

(Work Experience: 18 years+)

Being born in a family that had to shift base quite often, most of Mausumi Kar’s early days meant travelling and accommodating to different settings across the state of Nagaland. Her father’s frequent posting exercise didn’t allow her to grow roots in a place for more than two years. But then it was time to restore some stability and that’s when her parents opted to send her to Kolkata. From Plus Two to graduating with Honors in English Literature and then specializing in Marketing for MBA, all of this happened in the city of Kolkata for Kar.

 

It has been close to 18 years now that Kar has been working. She started out in account management after completing her MBA. An accidental bump into media planning and she has been hooked on to it ever since. Kar had a brief but fascinating foray in Sports Research and Strategy. For Kar, it has been an interesting ride so far and she doesn’t see herself hanging the boots anytime soon.

 

On her reasons for joining the media planning & buying domain, Kar confessed saying, “To be honest media planning and buying was not my profession of choice. Given my academic and extra-curricular activities track records it was a forgone conclusion that I would join the Civil Services. Infact, I had qualified and was just waiting for my training to commence. However, Dr. Subrata Sengupta had happened to see me in my final semesters at B’ School and I was not willing to give up advertising in favour of becoming a bureaucrat. So, that’s what happened.” In fact for Kar, media is a subset of advertising and the fact that there is this fine balance of strategic thinking, consumer insights and creativity is what drew her away from the account management profile that she handled earlier in her career.

 

(Total work experience: 18 years+)

Jhaveri has more than 18 years of professional experience. She began her career with an NGO only to move on two years later into the media and advertising arena by joining the media planning department at Contract Advertising.

 

She has several years of experience in media planning and research and has worked in companies such as Carat, Mindshare Fulcrum, TME and Synovate.

 

Jhaveri has worked with clients across categories including names such as Unilever (oral care and deodorant brands), Colgate, Britannia, Godrej Appliances, Heinz, Castrol, Viacom18, ICICI Bank, STAR Network, Shoppers Stop, HDFC, and more.

 

On the research side, she has been involved with media research, micro market planning software, various ad-tracking studies and also conceptualizing and tracking customised research for various brands.