MxMIndia

Tag: CVL Srinivas

  • Uncertainty about IPL's future freezes ad sales

    Freeze! Media agencies put on hold IPL-7 buys given uncertainty over tourney

    By A Correspondent

     

    Media-buying firms have frozen all ad sales of the Indian Premier League for the next 48 hours as they await clarity on the future of the tournament, two top officials of leading media buying firms said.

     

    They said advertisers are considering either re-negotiating ad rates for the IPL, or considering pulling out of the twenty20 tournament and putting their money on elections instead, after the Supreme Court on Thursday recommended suspension of two teams – Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals.

     

    Gautam Kiyawat

    Gautam Kiyawat, CEO at media buying firm Madison Media group, said the development will hit the sentiments of marketers. “There was a bit of scepticism from the beginning with some matches being moved out of the country and now with the potential disappearance of two star teams, advertiser sentiments are going to tank even further,” he said. Media buyers, which represent some of the country’s biggest advertisers, are of the opinion that if 20-30 per cent of the IPL matches are scrapped, it would bring down the overall revenues of the popular twenty20 tournament by half.

     

    Multi Screen Media-run Sony Entertainment, which holds broadcasts rights for the tournament, would also face a similar quantum of losses because advertising airtime would also shrink with less number of matches, said the CEO of a top media buying firm.

     

    Multi Screen Media (MSM), which is charging Rs4.5-5 lakh for 10 seconds, was expected to better its last year’s IPL earnings of around Rs900 crore that was helped by 30 per cent – 40 per cent jump in advertising revenues. Rohit Gupta, president at MSM, said: “Since the final order has not come yet, it is too early for us to comment on the matter. Let the order come.”

     

    If Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals are banned, then it would have a direct negative rub-off on advertisers. Title sponsor PepsiCo, which had has committedRs400 crore for five years, stands to lose the most, as it has hinged its entire annual plans on the tournament that falls in peak summer season for the soft drinks sector. PepsiCo declined comment on the matter.

     

    CVL Srinivas

    CVL Srinivas, CEO at GroupM, the country’s largest media conglomerate that also represents PepsiCo, said, “It is too early to take any decision (on whether or not we should advice our clients to stay away from the IPL) as we don’t know which way the scenario will pan out. We will get more clarity in days to come and then we will weigh the options for our clients.”

     

    Some matches of the IPL will be played in the UAE, which is not a market for many brands, and with the Supreme Court banning two teams, advertisers stand to accrue huge losses if the tournament is scrapped. Navin Khemka, managing partner at media buying firm ZenithOptimedia, said absence of two key teams will bring down the value of IPL as a property.

     

    IPL’s brand value grew 4per cent, from $2.92 billion in 2012 to $3.03 billion in 2013. The total brand value of the nine franchises last year reached $325.8 million from $321.12 million in 2012, according to consulting firm Brand Finance.

     

    Nandini Dias

    Mr Khemka said that big advertisers may choose to be on elections over IPL, while likely lower ad rates may open IPL doors to smaller companies. “The sense is that overall ad rates could come down in the IPL. The flip side is that many small advertisers, who otherwise were not able to afford IPL as the entry costs were very high, may get a chance to be a part of it this time,” he said. Nandini Dias, CEO at media-buying firm Lodestar UM, said the agency was not advising clients to pull out of the tournament.

     

    “Controversies in cricket seem to have become a regular occurrence. Advertisers like PepsiCo have paid unprecedented amount of money despite all the controversies and uncertainties,” she said. “There are enough clients who want to ride on the higher viewership likely due to controversies. In fact, there are clients who change their media plans and skew their media plans to news channels when the channel is breaking news regarding controversies and scams.” The hospitality industry too could take a hit if some matches are cancelled.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2014, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • According to a Gartner study, by 2015, 25 per cent of organisations will have a Chief Digital Officer (CDO)… will the wave to hire CDOs hit India soon?

    Chief Digital Officer: A fancy meaningless designation or a crying need of the hour?

    By Amit Bapna

     

    A recent Gartner study in the US predicted that by 2015, 25 per cent of organisations will have a CDO and that the chief digital officer may be the most exciting strategic role in the decade ahead. While such statistics are often swept aside by Indian head honchos as a US reality, the wave may reach Indian shores faster than expected.

     

    Though a relative late starter, digital has made swift inroads into the Indian marketplace. Brands are upping the ante on digital allocations. No Indian marketing head can have a conversation without talking about how serious they are about digital. They’ve even moved to saying “It’s not the wave of the future but what’s happening right now!” which is an improvement.

     

    But where are all the CDOs then? Globally, organisations as diverse as Starbucks, Metropolitan Museum of Art, BBC Worldwide, Amnesty International are known to be already deploying the services of a CDO. While the title is yet to gain vogue, some companies are making a few non-cosmetic changes.

     

    PepisCo tweaked its structure to make digital a strategic vertical reporting in directly to the head of marketing. Earlier, it resided with individual brands. Deepika Warrier, vice president – Po1 (Power of 1) marketing, PepsiCo India, is clear that digital needs to be incubated by the CMO as it requires focused mentoring to build interactions with other business functions. Their team is led by Rishi Dogra, who along with the digital mandate is involved with a unique concept called Pepsi Labs. He works with co-creators incubating, experimenting and testing new content ideas. PepsiCo claims to have doubled its digital budget from last year.

     

    SBI Life has a business vertical to tap the potential of online sales of life insurance policies. Shares Chandramohan Mehra – country head – digital business, SBI Life Insurance, “Through the channel, it distributes products exclusively developed for online business, and has gained leadership position in direct-to-consumer sales.” He was formerly the VP and head of brand at SBI Life Insurance.

     

    Jasmin Sohrabji

    Jasmin Sohrabji, CEO India and South East Asia, OmnicomMediaGroup is convinced about the case for a CDO. The reason it hasn’t happened thus far is due to scale and scope. Even among the more digital aware, spends hover at about 10 per cent, offering little or less than threshold scale. As focus (and spends) move to digital platforms, the relevance for a CDO will come into play, she feels.

     

    Adds Rishad Tobaccowala, Chairman, DigitasLbi and Razorfish, “CDOs should be the evangelist for ensuring the company remains relevant to changing behaviour. His role is important in the early years of digital to ensure a voice for tomorrow.” The case for a CDO becomes even stronger in a backdrop where digital budgets are increasing but cutting edge case studies are few and far between.

     

    Most conversations hover around aggregating fans and likes on Facebook as also prerolls of campaigns on YouTube. But has the market reached a stage where the advent of a CDO is imminent? Or is this yet another instance of India leapfrogging a few stages of development, to create its own delivery-mechanisms?

     

    At L’Oreal India, where the digital spends have been ramped by nearly 125 per cent over the last year, the function is embedded within respective brands. Satyaki Ghosh, director, consumer products division, L’Oreal India avers that they could eventually have a CDO, but he would service the entire company as against just the Consumer Product division.

     

    The CDO role needs to have a larger platform to build the digital capability of the entire organisation and the digital business, according to Arjun Srivastava, consumer practice leader – India, Egon Zehnder.

     

    Marico too is currently embracing a decentralised structure. Sameer Satpathy, EVP and business head, Marico India says, “The medium gives enormous flexibility in terms of engagement, creativity and speed.” All their brand managers are being trained and certified on using digital, in order to have an enabling ecosystem.

     

    CVL Srinivas

    Which is as it should be says CVL Srinivas, CEO (South Asia), GroupM: “CMOs need to drive digital as part of their core job. Most advertisers still look at digital as a silo and struggle to integrate it into their mainstream plans.” However digital specialist Harshil Karia, cofounder, Foxy-Moron makes a case for digital having grown too big for a CMO’s mandate.

     

    He says, “CMOs haven’t naturally taken to ‘digital thinking’ and ‘digital as an ecosystem’. It is difficult in a world where maintaining Share of Voice, pleasing brand ambassadors, coordinating to get the best out of various agencies and reporting to management and sales teams is a priority.”

     

    A private sector bank claims that only 5 per cent of its business is coming from branches. The rest is from other channels that include digital: mobile and internet as well as telebanking. In such a scenario the medium is no more just for marketing or brand building but has a huge business implication as well. The biggest need for CMOs today is to adapt or otherwise provide for the digital landscape since it will emerge as a key component of marketing strategies.

     

    Kent Wertime, COO, Ogilvy Asia Pacific, and co-author of DigiMarketing, believes “The CMO has to determine today how to integrate traditional means of marketing/channels with digital channels, the capture and use of data, and build new relationships with big digital media players/platforms.”

     

    Digital gives insight in real time through social media and its endless streams of conversations and insights. Increasingly, it will be about harnessing this information. For instance, Dell has a chief listening officer, who “listens” to what consumers are saying and feeds these insights to the CMO. So whether as an adjunct to the CMO or his equal, a company serious about the future would do well to consider the CDO.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2014, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • The GroupM CEO South Asia in conversation with Rishi Vora on growth areas for digital and how digital is at the centre of all business verticals

    A lot of change in world & media landscape is thanks to digital: CVL Srinivas

    The GroupM CEO South Asia in conversation with Rishi Vora on growth areas for digital and how digital is at the centre of all business verticals. Excerpts:

     

    How would you look at Group M’s focus on digital media? Where does digital stand in Group M’s priority list?

    Last year we got together as a team and we created a new vision for ourselves. The vision was to have digital at the heart of everything we do, to create a digital culture and to provide digital solutions to clients with new ideas, new approaches. We decided to do more of the new and less of the old.

     

    We created a three-year programme called the ‘New Me’. For GroupM, New Me is a repositioning in terms of how we approach business practices across the GroupM verticals. We want each and every member of the Group M community to take notice that the world is changing and that the rules of the game are also constantly changing.

     

    As a media agency brand we are No 1 but there is no guarantee we will continue to be No 1 if we continue to have the same approach we did for many years. The world is changing, the media landscape is changing and a lot of that change is happening due to digital. It is with this thought we came up with the New Me approach.

     

    So the agency has evolved from its core of being a media agency and that it is adding a lot many layers to it?

    Absolutely! Earlier the media planning and buying was the core business. But now we have changed the definition of Core. We have seen the growth happening in non-core areas, and we are in fact calling these non-core businesses the new core.

     

    At the industry level, what are the various initiatives GroupM is taking on the digital front?

    Last year we partnered with Social Media Week, an event which came to Mumbai for the first time. The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) is another industry event which we are associated with. We, in fact, are setting up MMA in India this year to evangelise mobile as a medium to help rest of the industry and the ecosystem.

     

    Digital Rendezvous was another initiative, but that is more internal. Maybe at some stage we will take it to the industry.

     

    So everything is flowing in from the New Me philosophy which we have adopted. Even the tools that we have created and launched.

     

    As an industry we need to take notice of the changes happening and manage the transition from practices of the old world to the practices of the new world effectively. It means investments in new tools, knowledge, skill sets etc.

     

    Talking about the rapid growth of digital as is estimated in the report, what are the implications on advertisers?

    Advertisers will be keen on investing in digital as consumers have got many options in the digital space – be it social platforms or mobile apps. We are going to see a rise in the user generated content. So all these aspects will have a positive impact on the advertisers’ mind.

     

    A lot of advertising will come from the entertainment sector for the mobile industry as smaller towns and cities – the mobile device is also seen as an entertainment device given lack of infrastructure.

     

    How do you see 2014 pan out for social media as a business?

    In 2014, we will see the emergence of new platforms. While platforms such as Facebook will continue to do well, we will see a lot of brands moving towards, Instagram, Pinterest etc.

     

    Are we going to see a rise in M-commerce in 2014? What are the implications on the industry on that front?

    Yes, there will be a growth in the M-Commerce space as well. Research online (from a PC) and pay offline. The thing is shifting to research on mobile and pay offline. If operators can connect consumers with payment gateways on the mobile phones, there will be a huge growth in M-Commerce where consumers will start buying products and services from their mobile phones.

     

    To mention a few clients – Nokia, Vodafone, Perfetti, Pepsi – they all have taken mobile as a serious platform and they have kind of experimented with it. 2014 definitely see a lot of initiatives on the mobile advertising front.

     

    Overall digital pie is at 35 per cent, what is the share of mobile in that?

    Last year the size of mobile advertising was about Rs 350 crore. By the end of 2014, we should see that increasing to Rs 450 to 470 crore.

     

  • The annual adspend estimates digital to grow 35% in the overall 11.6% growth in adspends

    GroupM estimates: TV degrows, Digital, print grow

     

    By Rishi Vora

     

    At the launch of GroupM’s This Year Next Year (TYNY) Report  2014,  chief executive officer CVL Srinivas, while presenting the report to a media gathering in Mumbai, stressed on the media agency’s renewed focus on digital, and the need for a change in approach and mindset in order to be relevant with the changing business scenario.

     

    Mr Srinivas, of course, stated that in the context of GroupM’s advertising expenditure (AdEx) 2014 where digital is the fastest growing medium with a 35 per cent growth rate, followed by TV with an estimated growth rate of 12 per cent. It may be noted that TV’s growth has reduced from 13.6 per cent in 2013 to 12 per cent in 2014.

     

    Sector – wise growth
     

    Elections

    With general elections and 5 state elections on the anvil, government spending and political party election spending adding significantly to the AdEx of all media. It is estimated that the government spending will lead a 2.5 per cent growth in the industry.

     

    FMCG

    FMCG will continue to be an important sector for the industry as it accounts a 29 per cent share in total ad spends this year due to the following factors:

    [] Volume growth back for FMCG companies on the back of good monsoon and hence good rural income

     

    [] Raw material prices benign and hence more flexibility with advertisers

     

    [] Ad spends of most FMCG companies on the rise to ride on the back of higher disposable income due to election spending

     

    Retail

    The retail industry will experience growth from the entry of new players into the food and beverage segment, growth in E-commerce, and regional retailers  expanding their reach across markets in India.

     

    Auto

    Despite slowdown in the  four-wheeler segment, there is growth for entry level cars, sports and multi utility vehicles.  Two-wheelers to continue the focus on small town and rural India.

     

    Competition is likely to intensify  on the back of recent market developments leading to more launches by existing players, which subsequently mean higher ad spends.

     

    Telecom

    Smartphones penetration  is on the rise, however, stiff competition in the segment will continue. Phablets  and connected devices will gain popularity in 2014.

     

    Cellular phone service providers too will witness growth in revenue.  Service providers will bring down the price points for 3G, therefore completion is more likely to intensity.

     

    Banking, Financial Services & Insurance

    For the Banking and Financial Services and Insurance industry, year 2014 will see a revival happening with a likely reduction of interest rates. IPOs to pick up pre-election owning to better market sentiments.

     

    Recent RBI policies will result into a more favourable business environment and new bank licenses will push advertising expenditures of the category.

     

    The report estimates  that print will grow at  8.5 per cent in 2014 as against the 2013 estimate of 4.6 per cent, thanks to the growth in vernacular print publications across the country. The report also states that while newspapers  are to grow by 8.5 per cent, magazines will witness a negative growth of 5 per cent.  Outdoor will grow at 9 per cent, Cinema 12 per cent and Retail 8 per cent, states the report.

     

    If one looks at the sector-wise break up of spends, FMCG constitutes a majority share (29 per cent) followed by Consumer Durables (22 per cent)  and retail (12 per cent).

     

    CVL Srinivas

    Commenting on the growth prospects for the industry in 2014, Mr Srinivas said: “It’s going to be an okayish year for the media industry. I’m saying this because the 11.6 per cent growth estimate also accounts for the 2.5 per cent growth that will come from advertisements from political parties as the elections are around the corner. If you take elections out, which is a one-off event, the growth in 2014 is about 9 per cent.”

     

    He further noted that the growth of the industry will also depend on how things are panned out on the measurement front, on IPL’s success or failure and the outcome of the elections, which will have an impact on government policies.

     

    In his final remarks, Mr Srinivas said that the year 2014 will be remembered for two reasons — one being the fast growth of digital at 35 per cent as is estimated, and also the fact that the industry will cross the Rs 40,000 crore mark in 2014 from its current size of Rs 38,000 crore.

     

  • A freewheeling chat on his first year as CEO, GroupM South Asia + plans for 2014 and the focus on digital

    The term ‘media agency’ is a bit outdated: CVL Srinivas

     

    When CVL Srinivas’s name was announced as successor to Vikram Sakhuja as CEO of GroupM South Asia, not many were surprised. Srini, as he’s known in the industry, had worked in GroupM before and had established himself as a seasoned media agency captain. While his tenure required him to ensure GroupM business was as usual, he took measures to steadily get the media services group to reinvent itself, without disturbing the status quo.

    In a free-wheeling chat with Pradyuman Maheshwari of MxMIndia, Mr Srinivas talks of his year at the helm of GroupM South Asia , how 2013 was for the business, his plans for 2014 and how he misses being a media planner/buyer in the digital age.

    Excerpts from the interview:

     

    As you look back at 2013 which has just passed us, how would you describe it? Annus Horribilis, as Queen Elizabeth had termed the year 1992 in a speech? Was it a good year, or a year that could’ve been worse?

    It was the year of the perfect storm. On the one hand there were structural and policy-level changes especially in the broadcast sector. On the other hand, we had a bit of a yo-yo year in terms of ad spends, up in the first six months, a slowdown post-July and a minor blip towards the year-end. Having said that, it could have been far worse. Given the fundamental strengths of the economy, advertisers continue to invest in brands and media organizations continue to innovate and diversify.  Things continue to keep happening in India, no matter what the economic or political scenario is. I am just back from a long overseas trip and I can definitely say that the most exciting market to be in today, at least from a media industry perspective is India.

     

    It’s also been a year for you as head of GroupM. How has it been for you, personally?

    Its been a satisfying year for me personally. All our agency brands and specialist units did extremely well in a challenging year. We won several new businesses, retained all our key clients who came up for a review and continued to innovate in terms of our offerings.  We launched a few interesting tools in 2013 to help our agencies manage the transition from offline to online and for sharper planning in smaller towns. GroupM agencies and specialist units continued to dominate all industry awards. We won the coveted Porter Prize for leveraging unique activities, the first for any media or ad agency. Its also been a year where we launched several initiatives on the Talent front. Including Y-co, our Youth Executive Committee. We’ve had our lowest attrition compared to earlier years. None of this could have happened without great team work – GroupM is a fantastic example of how team work can deliver great value.

     

    The digital media agency has become a full-service business. Are you also offering that at GroupM?

    GroupM has been an early mover in the digital space and we have scaled up our practice over the years. So while most of our competitors are acquiring digital agencies to build scale, we are taking our digital practice to the next level by integrating it a lot more with our core product and moving to the next level of sophistication in content, analytics and  activation, thereby providing a lot more value to our clients.

     

    You mentioned that digital is the centre of everything you do and if indeed digital will become the centre of most advertising, does it worry you that you will also have various players also doing media kind of work – including those from agencies within the WPP network?

    The ecosystem is extremely fragmented. Increasingly we get this feeling from our clients that they are looking for  integrated solutions. Clients are looking for ideas that can explode across multiple touch points with scale and  measurability . Ultimately it boils down to a deep consumer understanding and therefore the need to analyse data which is going to sit at the heart of the advertising product. I believe media agencies have an even greater role to play going forward. In fact with so much of expertise built in areas like consumer understanding, data management, analytics, experiential marketing, digital and content, I think the term ‘media agency’ is a bit outdated.

     

    But, digital continues to be a low-spending sector.

    Relative to TV and print, digital is still small, but it has been growing at 30-40% year after year. We have just crossed 200 million internet consumers in India and by end of next year could be hitting double that number. With improvement in digital infrastructure and growth of video advertising on the internet, we are bound to see digital hitting a double digit contribution of the AdEx very soon. Also, digital as we have known it (internet and mobile) is expanding into many more platforms including TV with convergence technologies.

     

    As someone who’s seen the business for a long time, do you think the reason for this is that the best creative work is not done in digital? And what fuels creative agencies is TV commercials which are more expensive to make and hence generate more commissions.

    That was a problem some years ago, but I think it’s changing. We have a whole new generation of fresh young creative minds who are born in the digital era. GroupM is attracting talent in this area and we have done good creative work for some of our clients.

     

    One of the key highlights that everyone’s made a note has been the creation of the Y-Co. How’s it doing? But, first, tell us how it happened?

    While working on our ‘New Me’ vision, one of the things that came out very clearly was in a digital era, if knowledge is equal to power, most of the power rests with the younger lot in the agency. So we felt that the ExCo (Executive Committee), which is the senior leadership team at GroupM, needed to have a closer connect with what’s happening on ground and needed to have better insights and better input when it came to areas like digital. That actually led to the creation of Y-Co: we got 15 of our brightest stars who’re all in their 20s to get together and form this body to actually complement the ExCo.Y-Co worked on several strategic initiatives through the year, in the areas of digital, talent retention, profiling, etc.

     

    Looking back, any key learnings for you from Year 1?  Any key differences that you’ve managed to bring in to the successful structure you inherited?

    Having worked in smaller outfits, including start ups, I realise the need to be constantly restless about the future, no matter how big or strong you are, in order to stay relevant for our clients. A key learning from last year was the need to bring in a lot of focus starting with a clear articulation of where the organization needs to be three years from now. And then aligning everything to this vision, the organization structure, talent, investment priorities, day-to-day processes, etc

     

    At the start of the year, GroupM senior leadership along with several of our key team members worked on creating a ‘New Me’ vision and a roadmap for the next three years, given the opportunities and challenges in the market place. We did an organization-wide cascade of ‘New Me’ that has helped bring focus and purpose into everyone’s day job. We simplified our organisation structure, embedded more specialist resources (digital, content, data experts) into agencies and built several partnerships, all tying in with our ‘New Me’ vision.

     

    On a very personal level, has it been a fulfilling experience?

    Yes, indeed.

     

    You were of course very familiar with the GroupM structure and the people…

    The best part about my job is that I work with a fantastic team. I have great support from our global and regional leadership. Having been a part of GroupM India during its formative years I am quite aware of the system and that really helps.

     

    From whatever one has seen of you, you’ve been exceedingly hands-on everything yourself… including receiving the media communiqués directly from you… until you had a full-time person heading that function. Do you prefer a federal structure where you have individual business heads doing their own thing or a more hands-on approach for yourself?

    I obviously got a lot more involved in some of the activities which I thought I had to personally drive last year like digital initiatives, talent, internal and external communications. At the same time, I don’t interfere in the day-to-day running of any of our agencies or specialist units.

     

    Do you miss getting your hands dirty with client acquisitions, servicing and all of that?

    I really miss being a media planner/buyer (laughs). Especially in the digital age, when there are so many fascinating opportunities you have in front of you and you’re sitting and working on a media plan… In fact, just the other day I was trying to strike a deal with one of my media planner colleagues to see if we can swap seats for a day. And I’m seriously planning to do that soon.

     

    You’re joking, aren’t you?!

    No, I am not.

     

    As you look at 2014, other than the routine things, could you tell us of a few key activities you plan to undertake this year?

    At a GroupM level, the focus on digital and the new core is going to continue in 2014. We could see a few more partnerships happening across areas of the new core, be it in digital, content and analytics. We’ll continue to focus on talent. In fact, on the talent front, we’ve started broad basing our profile and today we attract talent from different streams. For example, we are hiring a lot of people who have expertise in content, technology, data management etc

     

    More partnerships lead to more acquisitions?

    We’re not into acquiring for scale because that’s something we already have. We’re more into acquiring to be able to give our clients a more relevant and solid product.

     

    If you had to play soothsayer, is there any one new thing you think will happen this year?

    I think it’s going to be the year for digital video. We’ve seen a fair amount of traction last year especially from large FMCG players who are very heavy on television. A lot of them are moving up the learning curve and it’s only a matter of time before it gains a larger share of the media pie.

     

    And is there one thing that you wish had happened in 2013 which did not happen?

    I wish as an industry we could have better handled the regulatory and structural changes that happened last year.

     

    Any other pan-industry issues which you think should be tackled this year…

    We need to work a lot more closely across all industry bodies to be able to grow the industry. I think we’ve spent a lot of time trying to manage environmental issues and we hardly have time for constructive discussion in terms of what we should be doing as an industry, how do we ride the digital wave, how do we bring in more accountability and so on.

    I think a lot more of that needs to happen and I wish 2014 is the year when some of that starts happening.

     

  • As Chief Talent Officer, Gaurav Hirey will be responsible for driving the agenda on people, culture and values at GroupM which will include employee acquisition, training, development, retention and growth for India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka

    GroupM elevates Gaurav Hirey to Chief Talent Officer, South Asia

    By A Correspondent

     

    Gaurav Hirey

    GroupM has announced the appointment of Gaurav Hirey as Chief Talent Officer South Asia. Part of GroupM since 2008 and currently Regional HR Director, APAC, Mr Hirey will relocate to Mumbai with effect from January 1, 2014.

     

    Mr Hirey will be responsible for driving the agenda on people, culture and values at GroupM which will include employee acquisition, training, development, retention and growth for India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He will be a part of the GroupM South Asia Executive Committee and will report to CVL Srinivas, CEO, GroupM South Asia and Angela Ryan, Global CTO, GroupM.

     

    CVL Srinivas

    Speaking on the appointment, CVL Srinivas, CEO GroupM, South Asia said, “As we move to the next stage of the People Transformation journey, I am pleased to welcome Gaurav Hirey back as our Chief Talent Officer (CTO) – South Asia. Gaurav has a successful track record of making things happen and is the best person to lead our people agenda. We look forward to having him back with us.”

     

    Said Mr Hirey: ” Mumbai is home ground and so always a pleasure to be back! I am very excited about the new leadership and the new vision at GroupM South Asia and look forward to leveraging the last two years of my international exposure and the network to help and impact business results.”

     

  • Kartik Sharma take charge from Ajit Varghese as Managing Director, Maxus South Asia next month when the latter moves into regional role as CEO, Maxus Asia-Pacific

    Kartik Sharma to helm Maxus South Asia wef Jan ’14

    By A Correspondent

     

    Kartik Sharma

    From its India headquarters in a part-woody and part-concrete environ of North Mumbai, media conglomerate GroupM announced a new captain to steer Maxus South Asia on Monday. Kartik Sharma, currently Managing Partner, will be Managing Director for the media network’s India region from January 2014, taking charge from Ajit Varghese who has been appointed CEO Asia Pacific. There were rumours that the replacement for Mr Varghese could be brought in from the outside, but that evidently was due to the long wait since the transition for Mr Varghese was announced in September.

     

    An alumnus of NMIMS Mumbai, Mr Sharma will report into CVL Srinivas, CEO, GroupM South Asia and Mr Varghese. In Maxus since 2007, Mr Sharma has been looking after the Western region and worked across key client relationships including Vodafone, L’oreal, Tata Sky, Shoppers Stop to name a few. He has earlier worked with HTA, Lintas, Mindshare and Madison.

     

    Commenting on the appointment, Mr Varghese said, “Kartik is an excellent choice for Maxus considering his product strengths and client focus. He has the in-depth knowledge and insight of what is needed to take Maxus to the next level.” Added CVL Srinivas, CEO, GroupM South Asia, “Kartik has done a stellar job as Managing Partner, Maxus, working closely with Ajit in shaping the Maxus brand, creating client delight, winning several new businesses and helping Maxus dominate industry awards.”

     

    Speaking on his elevation, Mr Sharma said, “The last six years at Maxus have been very exciting. Our focus on constantly improving the product and the ability to develop a unique work culture has helped us deliver winning solutions for clients. I look forward to my new journey and am confident it will be equally exciting and fulfilling.”

     

    The current role and what he will helm post January will, according to Mr Sharma, be different given the overall leadership responsibility. When asked what Mr Varghese meant by taking Maxus to the next level, Mr Sharma said: Digital is the core of what we do. Given the pace at which data is hitting us is nothing that humankind has seen so far. The important thing is to understand what’s noise and what’s good. It’s important to use data intelligently,”

     

    But doesn’t too much of technology convert a media agency into a tech firm? “Whether we call it a media or tech company is semantics,” said Mr Sharma underscoring the need to understand technology. The digital media is growing over 30 per cent year-on-year and this, the MD-designate said, requires significant attention.

     

    On awards and Mr Varghese dream of the agency winning top honours at the Emvies, Mr Sharma said: “The Emvies are a mix of creativity and effectiveness and hence important. It’s very important to keep winning awards. But when we do work, it’s for the brand and not for awards. Awards though help in bringing the best in us.”

     

  • For advertisers and agencies, The Times of India isn't just a strong medium to connect with a powerful, youthful target audience, it is a media brand that adds colour, fizz and hype to a media campaign, writes CVL Srinivas, CEO, Group M South Asia

    CVL Srinivas | What makes TOI a formidable media brand

    By CVL Srinivas

     

    The Times of India has had an amazing journey of 175 years. It occupies a very unique position in the Indian media landscape. I grew up reading The Times of India. In my later years, as a media planner and buyer I have actively dealt with the TOI group. From 2008-2010, I was an employee of the TOI group in its Private Treaties now called Brand Capital) division. Having worked in media agencies or consulted for startups for pretty much the rest of my 20-odd years in the industry, the only time I didn’t have to explain what I did for a living was when I was employed with the TOI group.

     

    I have always admired the way TOI has built its own brands which in turn helped build some of the country’s best known brands. No matter what the purists might say about its editorial style or whacky headlines, it is a media brand that has not just moved with the times, but has often defined it. If the greatest form of flattery is imitation, then TOI surely has been the leader. Most if not all of its practices have been followed by many of its competitors.

     

    Given the challenging times that lie ahead for print media in general and English print in particular, it will be interesting to see how TOI manages to keep its lead. The forays into language dailies and the increased thrust in digital will need to work. Given the group’s track record, there is every chance that we will see more innovation in the years to come as the transformation from a largely English dailies led media business to a more diversified media company takes place.

     

    As an employee of the Times group, I had the good fortune of working closely with some of the finest minds in the media business. Though I had a short stint of two years, it was incredible learning, especially seeing things from the media owner side as against from the advertiser/agency side.

     

    The first thing that struck me was the sheer scale of the business. And the many moving parts that all synchronized so well day after day as if some magical glue had them all bound together. Despite being a very large organization things seem to happen very smoothly. It has a culture that encourages great ideas, big ideas and the machinery and discipline to execute flawlessly.

     

    For advertisers and agencies, The Times of India isn’t just a strong medium to connect with a powerful, youthful target audience, it is a media brand that adds colour, fizz and hype to a media campaign. A front page ad (or now a days the jacket) in the TOI gets a lot of attention and ends up becoming the topic of discussion for the day. The many innovations, be it in size, shape or placement of the ad, that TOI introduced have had a big role in ensuring print advertising stays relevant and top of mind. By combining digital apps with print ads, TOI is smartly riding the digital wave instead of drowning in it.

     

    The next 10 years in our industry will be much more dramatic than the past 175. Media consumption patterns will change as will business models. I am sure TOI will not just stay relevant but shape the times.

     

    CVL Srinivas is CEO, Group M South Asia

     

    (For the benefit of some our journalist readers who may not be in the know, Group M is billings-wise the largest media management agency in the world. Advertisers use various media agencies some of which are part of Group M – like Mindshare and Maxus – to plan their adspends and place their ads in print/ electronic/ digital/ outdoor/ others. Group M agencies represent the interests of large advertisers like Hindustan Lever)

     

  • The Porter Prize is one of the most coveted awards in the field of strategy and competitiveness and is supported by the Institute for Competitiveness India

    GroupM India wins Porter Prize for ‘leveraging unique activities’

    By A Correspondent

     

    GroupM India has won the award for ‘Leveraging Unique Activities’ at the Porter Prize2013 event last week. The Porter Prize is one of the most coveted awards in the field of strategy and competitiveness and is supported by the Institute for Competitiveness India.

     

    The Institute for Competitiveness India is an independent international initiative centered in India, dedicated to enlarging and disseminating the body of research and knowledge on competition and strategy, pioneered over the last 25 years by Professor Michael Porter of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, Harvard Business School (ISC, HBS), USA.

     

    Prof Michael Porter was chairman of the Jury. There were 88 companies that took part in these awards from various industry sectors of which seven won a Porter Prize. GroupM is the first company from the media and advertising field to win this award. Elaborating the reasons why GroupM was chosen, Dr Amit Kapoor, Honorary Chairman, Institute for Competitiveness India said “GroupM reflects effective rendering of activities across the value chain, how activities reinforce and synergies are created across its range of activities through a interlocking system that becomes basis for competitive advantage and sustainability.”

     

    CVL Srinivas

    Speaking on the occasion, CVL Srinivas, CEO GroupM South Asia said: “This award is testament to GroupM India’s strategic approach to building the business that has resulted in a strong leadership position in this market. The diversified offerings of GroupM have scaled up over the years to become the new core of our agency. Our integrated product helps us provide unique value to clients to build their competitive advantage.”

     

  • Unilever has set up its first media lab in the country in Mumbai which will train its managers on digital media marketing and certify all digital initiatives of its Indian unit before they go public.

    Hindustan Unilever sets up lab to train managers on digital media marketing

    By Sagar Malviya & Amit Bapna

     

    Unilever has set up its first media lab in the country in Mumbai, which will train its managers on digital media marketing and certify all digital initiatives of its Indian unit before they go public.

     

    The development signals a sharp focus on digital marketing by the country’s largest advertiser, and may make other marketers too to take the digital world more seriously.

     

    The lab at Hindustan Unilever’s headquarter at Andheri is the fourth such centre globally for the world’s second-largest consumer goods firm.

     

    Atit Mehta, media services head at Hindustan Unilever, said so far the company has been focusing on doing the similar things much better than others on digital media.

     

    “Now, we will be miles ahead from everybody else,” he said. The lab will ensure that all digital media campaigns of the consumer goods giant are compatible – from a basic mobile device to smartphone to tablet.

     

    The company will also increasingly opt for digital hoardings instead of static old banners. Digital media spends in India, although still very small compared traditional media, is growing at a faster rate than television and print as a rapidly rising number of Indians access internet on phone.

     

    CVL Srinivas

    Experts say HUL’s latest initiative would make other advertisers too to focus more on digital media. “Presently digital in general is under-leveraged. HUL has definitely been ahead of the curve. It’s only a matter of time before more advertisers start making serious investments in the medium,” said CVL Srinivas, chief executive officer (South Asia) at media buying agency GroupM.

     

    Vivek Bhargava, CEO of digital agency iProspect-Communicate2, says companies have no option but to take digital seriously as more and more consumers are trying to avoid conventional advertising. He says that if companies don’t allocate serious resources on digital marketing, then it could affect their survival.

     

    Vivek Bhargava

    Globally, Unilever increased its digital ad spends by about 40% in 2012-13. While Unilever has global partnerships with Samsung, Sony’s Arcade Creative Group and EA Sports, its Indian unit isn’t far behind. In the last few months, several HUL managers have been to global headquarters of Facebook and Google among others for training and digital certification.

     

    HUL launched a India-specific initiative, BE Digital, last year to draw up a complete digital roadmap for premium brands such as Tresemme, Sunsilk, Lakme, Close-up and Surf, where the target audience online is high.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2013, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Four-part package: Interview with CVL Srinivas, Group M CEO South Asia + ISA & AAAI View + Agency/Client View + MxM Comment

    Dumping TAM is not the solution!

     

    Dumping a system does not solve the problem: CVL Srinivas
     

    While both AAAI and ISA have expressed their views on the controversy, we asked GroupM CEO South Asia CVL Srinivas, CEO South Asia, GroupM as head of the country’s largest media agency conglomerate for his views on the issue.

     

    As the country’s largest media agency conglomerate, what is Group M’s view on the current imbroglio – given that three broadcasters have stopped their subscriptions making charges?

    In our view it is an extremely ill-advised, ill-timed and regressive move. TAM is the rating system followed by the industry. Rating systems world over have evolved and keep evolving. To simply junk them altogether is not a solution. Issues if any need to be addressed jointly by all stakeholders as were done in the past. Both AAAI and ISA have already made their stand clear on this. As a responsible member of the industry we will work with our colleagues across industry bodies to help address the issue.

     

    You represent some of the biggest adspenders in India: are you happy with the data dished out by TAM week after week?

    In a dynamic market like ours which is seeing a lot of structural change (like digitization, increasing penetration of TV in smaller towns, more access to satellite channels etc) there is bound to be fluctuation every time the sample is refreshed or any other change is made. In addition, there are behavioural changes from a viewer perspective that keep happening. Nobody can deny the fact that consumption of content on digital platforms is growing at a rapid pace. TV ratings keep shifting and mirroring real life in a manner they best possibly can given the limitations of a sample survey.

    And your clients? Have they (especially big ones like Hindustan Unilever) raised issues about TAM’s and the data’s bonafides?

    Our clients continue to back TAM. They do not think that dumping a system solves the problem. Whatever questions keep coming up are always discussed openly with TAM and addressed.

     

    TV as a medium has shown robust growth despite a general slowdown. To a large extent this is because of the existing rating system. Given the magnitude of spends on TV, a rating system is a must. With no ratings a spot on one channel is the same as a spot on another channel. The lead channels in every genre will stand to lose the premium they command on rates.

     

    Does the fact that TAM is part-owned by your parent WPP put you under greater pressure from advertisers – since you obviously can’t be vociferously condemning TAM, if there was need for it?

    TAM is recognised as an industry system and has been in existence for many years. All clients, agencies and media owners have been using this data.

     

    Would you think that broadcasters have too much of ownership of the measurement exercise when actually it should be advertisers and media agencies since you’ll are the primary users of the data?

    While advertisers and agencies use the rating data to help plan and buy media, for broadcasters it is the currency that helps them sell their inventory. They are able to command a premium wherever ratings are high. They use ratings to market their programmes and channels.

     
    AGENCY+CLIENT VIEW
     

    Srinivasan K Swamy, CMD, RK Swamy BBDO and President, International Association of Advertisers (India Chapter)

     

    TV ratings have shown a downward trend after digitization of distribution. The decline is quite steep – as much of 20-25% in several instances. Such decline affects the revenue stream of broadcasters and hence it is natural for them to reject it. But it is like giving a dog (TAM) a bad name to hang it.

     

    Advertisers and agencies need ratings for advertising planning. It would be a retrograde step if the ratings had to be given a go-by, even for a short run. I am confident a solution will be found to continue the ratings even with Channels withdrawing their subscriptions.

     

    Lloyd Mathias, Lloyd Mathias, Director, Green Bean Ventures formerly with Tata Teleservices, Motorola and Pepsi and former Chairman, MRUC

    Basically media doesn’t like being measured by a third party. It happened in print with people raising objections to the NRS and later the IRS. In fact the Media Research Users Council (MRUC) which was set up by stakeholders faced a constant threat of boycott.

     

    The same lack of discomfort of being measured by a third party afflicts television too.

     

    However, in all fairness even advertisers have said that the number of Peoplemeters isn’t enough. I think the methodology has to be transparent, the Peoplemeter base has to increase and the system must factor in cross-consumption of media.
    ISA view: Advertiser cannot advertise without television ratings
     

    Statements issued by the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) and the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI)

     

    The Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) has read with concern recent reports that some broadcasters have decided to stop subscription to television measurement service. This is a matter of immense importance as the measurement system is integral to the health of the industry. The rating system needs to continue for the smooth functioning of the industry as it’s the very foundation of the commercial process, media planning and pricing. The ISA believes that any measurement system should appropriately reflect the viewership pattern and should not be judged on a short term basis.

     

    The best course of action is to engage in a constructive dialogue and pursue continuous improvement. While some broadcasters have stopped using the current rating system for measurement, as advertisers we support it and will continue using it till another credible measurement system is made available. Any action taken which is detrimental to the measurement system would be detrimental to the industry at large. “An industry-accepted rating system is the need of the hour and ISA is working with rest of the industry to ensure this is in place and any action to the contrary will have an adverse impact” – Hemant Bakshi, Chairman, Managing Committee, The ISA and Executive Director, Home and Personal Care – Hindustan Unilever Limited.

     

    AAAI view: TV could lose popularity with advertisers

    Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) has expressed shock at the decision of some channels, supported by the Broadcasters’ Association, IBF to decide not to subscribe to the only TV Ratings service in the country – TAM. TV ratings provide the currency based on which thousands of crores worth of advertising time is bought by advertisers with confidence. Ratings also provide the basis on which media agencies do sophisticated analysis and arrive at sharply targeted plans for a brand’s target audience to minimize wasteful advertising and improve advertising effectiveness.

     

    An established rating system augurs well for the Advertising and Marketing Industry, because it enables advertisers to invest large sums of money in advertising with the confidence that they are reaching the right number of desirable audiences. It has been seen from experience in India and other markets that an established media research study on an ongoing basis leads to rapid increase in advertising spends in that medium. Those media which do not have such a system have not grown in India. Also, the current TV ratings system has thrown up real leaders in each of the genres based on the audiences they deliver and enables such leaders to command a premium price based on such ratings, rather than advertisers and agencies having to rely on perception. And very often perception is different from reality.

     

    AAAI will hold broadcasters responsible for deliveries as per signed agreements based on the TV Ratings System. Says Arvind Sharma, President AAAI, “The move by broadcasters to discontinue with ratings is ill-advised and not in the interest of advertisers, advertising agencies or broadcasters. It will lead to overpaying and underpaying of advertising time, both of which will lead to a collapse of TV as an advertising medium. The ratings from Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) are yet some time away and until they are released it is critical to continue with the current system. Most broadcasters all over the world have some issue with media measurement systems but that does not mean that the system must be abandoned. Instead it must be improved and identified gaps must be plugged”.

     
    Wtf! Why can’t all stakeholders sit together and clear the mess?
     

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    The media industry is captained by grown-ups, wise and mature men and women. We propound theories on ways the world should be run on our news channels and send social messages via our soaps and shows. But, wtf, why can’t broadcasters, advertisers, advertising agencies and measurement/ research firms sit together and clear the mess?

     

    With BARC having invited proposals by issuing a global RFP, a new system can be expected to be in place this time next year. However, since there is a year to go and much business to be sought, can we do the following:

    1. Get a third-party to study the problems and come up with a white paper superquick? A consulting firm like Ernst & Young could be asked to do it. Or KPMG. Or PwC. Or whoever can do it without getting influenced by any of the stakeholders. We could ask the folks at BARC to do it. Let the three stakeholders plus the government-owned Doordarshan commission this soon.

     

    2. Let each stakeholder appoint a representative to have a Measurement Steering Committee which will work in the interim. These could be from amongst people running BARC currently.

     

    3. Alter the method of funding research. Although no one was willing to come on record on this, there is a sentiment that the broadcasters have a dominating influence on BARC (and now TAM). This has got to change (the perception and if it is indeed a fact). Currently, since it’s advertising which drives the broadcast business, the ad agency and the advertisers are the primary users of the data.

     

    Hence, the stoppage of subscription revenues going to TAM (and later BARC) can derail the entire system. And have a significant impact on the TV trade. Perhaps the South African model of a small percentage of all advertising revenue going to fund research may work.

     

    These are three immediate measures that may work. There are various other minds at work… one hopes we will eventually see reason.

     

    Whatever be the way out of the mess, it’s clear that the industry can ill-afford a system without a measurement system. TAM, in this case. And it’s also important TAM understands the problems of broadcasters and corrects all the problem areas.

     

    That’s the only way to go.

     
  • CVL Srinivas fondly remembers his stint with Madison, and the 'huge bonus' of working with Sam Balsara

    Vision, values and never-say-die spirit work for Madison@25: CVL Srinivas, CEO, GroupM

    CVL Srinivas, now CEO, Group M, South Asia spent five years (1998-2003) at Madison Media. His second job post his PGDBM – the first being a four year stint with Fulcrum (JWT) as Media Head, Foods & Personal Products, Unilver AC.

     

    Srinivas (Srini as he is known properly as) has, covered many a mile and crossed many milestones post his Madison stint, and is today the most powerful man at the helm of the largest media entity in the country.

     

    In this short conversation with Ritu  Midha of MxM India, he fondly remembers his stint with Madison, his learnings from there, and adds that working with Sam was a huge bonus.

     

    What do you think has been the key factor behind Madison’s stupendous success?

    Madison has been successful due to Sam’s leadership and vision. Additionally, the never-say-die spirit, the vision and values have held it on good stead for all these years.

     

    You were a part of Madison in its early days. How was the experience working in a ‘David’ agency with mammoth dreams?

    For me, Madison was terrific learning. I was young, restless and wanting to explore unchartered territory. Madison provided me a perfect platform to hone my skills. Working with Sam was a huge bonus.

     

    Any interesting incidents/fond memories you can share with us?

    I have many fond memories. I (finally) got married around the time I joined Madison, so in that sense it proved lucky!!! We had a small, well-knit team and I enjoyed working with people like Ajit Varghese, Sudipto Roy and so many others. Madison also made me shift base to Delhi, a city I wasn’t very sure of, but grew to like and ended up living in for 14 years.

     

    What is your take on Madison as competition?

    Madison is a highly respected brand in the media space. We treat all competition with the same seriousness. To Madison’s credit they have remained consistent.

     

    Do you believe Madison success story can be repeated by another standalone media agency?

    Nothing is impossible, although it is very difficult to build an empire like Sam has, being a standalone agency.

     

    What are your views on Sam, the person, the boss and the competitor? Any key learnings from him that have guided you?

    I have the highest regard for Sam as a person, boss and competitor. Despite the legendary status he has achieved he remains a very humble person. His attention to detail, passion for his client’s business and ability to engage with people at all levels make him very special.