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Tag: Hemant Bakshi

  • Lowe Lintas doesn't allow Ogilvy fifth consecutive 'Agency of the Year' title by 35 points as Hindustan Lever gets past Cadbury by 50 points

    Lowe Lintas, HUL win big at Effie 2013

     

    By Shobhana Nair

     

    It’s a fraternity which loves surprises. And the thousand-and-a-half-odd members of India’s advertising and marketing industry witnessed just that on Friday evening. The large contingent from Ogilvy & Mather India has made a habit out of winning big at the award events it participates in.  But the crew from Lowe Lintas ensured that the adlanders in black (as Ogilvy staffers always turn up at trade events) don’t experience their fifth consecutive win at the Effie, the annual advertising effectiveness awards conducted by the Advertising Club. Lowe won the coveted Effie Agency of the Year 2013 outwitting Ogilvy & Mather by just 35 points in the final tally. “This is one night of fun and party for 2500 bucks. We can’t have a cheaper party than this,” chuckled R Balki, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer at Lowe Lintas while celebrating his team’s victory.

     

    But it’s not that Pandey’s O&M cut a sorry figure. Other than scoring 130 points as compared to Lowe’s 165, Ogilvy also secured the Grand Effie for its Lifebuoy Roti campaign for Hindustan Unilever. Said Pandey who is Executive Chairman and. Creative Director, South Asia of the agency: “We have come first so many times and it feels great that Lowe is enjoying their win. Of course, being second is not a great feeling. You need to try harder.” The Aadat Campaign for Cadbury’s Bournvita and the Ear Muffs activation and Made for You campaign for Vodafone helped Ogilvy win its three golds.

     

    The other three agencies in the Top 5 were McCann Worldgroup, JWT and Publicis Communications at 60, 40 and 35 points respectively. Nakul Chopra, CEO, South Asia at Publicis admitted his agency could have done better but he’s bullish on the year ahead. “I am not happy and I think the kind of work that we will do in 2014 is what I am excited about. I think in the years to come Publicis is going to be a brand which will be known for quality work,” he said.

     

    From the client side, Hindustan Lever bagged the ‘Effie Client of the year’ after the total points came to 95. The campaigns for its brands Kissan and Lifebuoy were clear favourites of both the jury and the crowds at the awards. “Well, I think these awards are for effectiveness and we are quite delighted and proud to have received these awards,” said Hemant Bakshi, Executive Director – Home & Personal Care of Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Chairman, Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA).

     

    Cadbury India which emerged the Client of the Year in 2011 and 2012 came second with 55 points.  “It is always a joy to win a few awards because it is recognition by the industry of the work that we have done,” said V Chandrmouli, Executive Director, Chocolates and Biscuits, Cadbury India. “Over the last few years, we have been getting recognition which pushes us to do better work,” he continue as Siddhartha Mukherjee, Director – Chocolate Category & Media added: “We have had a long-standing partnership with our agencies like Contract and Ogilvy who have produced excellent work over the years. And to get any award is a great reward to that partnership.”

     

    This year, the number of entries leapfrogged 20 per cent to 419 from 52 agencies participated while 1200 tickets were sold for the awards night.  On his impressions as the curtains came down on Effie 2013, Ajay Kakar, Chief Marketing Officer – Financial Services, Aditya Birla Group who was Chairperson of the Effie 2013 Committee said:  “Effie has grown in participation therefore in stature and respect which is gratifying. This is an awards show which is beyond question and controversy. Both agency and client happily participate at various stages.”

     

    Underscoring the role of the advertising effectiveness awards, K V Sridhar, Chief Creative Officer India subcontinent at Leo Burnett said: “Creativity will not matter without effectiveness and effectiveness doesn’t exist without creativity. The combination is what really works. This is why Effie is the most coveted award in India. Also, the fact is that there are no controversies attached to it.”

     

     

     

    Delighted: Hemant Bakshi

     

    Given the importance of advertising and promotion for its brands, it’s not surprising that Hindustan Unilever was crowned ‘Client of the Year’ at Effie 2013.  A quick Q&A with Hemant Bakshi, Executive Director – Home & Personal Care of Hindustan Unilever (HUL) on the win.

     

    How important are awards like the Effie for an organisation like Hindustan Unilever?

    Well, these awards are for effectiveness and we are quite delighted. We are proud to have received these awards.

     

    There’s this big debate about creativity versus effectiveness? What matters to you more?

    Well, it is good to know that we have created value through what we do in marketing. We acknowledge the external appreciation that we’ve got.

     

    And what are the goals you have set yourself for 2014?

    Clearly, we have to sustain what we achieved in 2013.

     

     

    In advertising, you are supposed to be more creative to be effective: R Balki

     

    If there was joy in breaking the winning run of Ogilvy at the Effie, Lowe Lintas & Partners’ R Balki was understating it.  A quick Q&A with the agency’s celebrated Chairman and Chief Creative Officer.

     

    How important are awards like the Effie you?

    What is important is to do the kind of work that you want do for the clients. Being able to do that right through the year and being satisfied with your own. Award or no award can’t increase or decrease the value of your work. You should know the value of your work before you have won or lost.

     

    There’s this big debate about creativity versus effectiveness? What matters to you more?

    I don’t know the difference between these two. In advertising, you are supposed to be more creative to be effective. Obviously, there’s connect but both are passé words.

     

    Apart from your work, which ads have managed to impress you?

    I love Ogilvy’s work. The Roti activation campaign for Lifebuoy was good. In fact I am a fan of their work.

     

  • The Indian Society of Advertisers chairman on how the absence of a currency will adversely impact the TV trade

    We can’t be without a measurement system: Hemant Bakshi, ISA Chair & ED, HUL

     

    What appeared to be a quiet start of the year emerged as an action-packed one as the ghost of the TV measurement scare emerged yet again with the Union Cabinet approving guidelines on television audience measurement issued by the TRAI.  Hemant Bakshi, Executive Director – Home & Personal Care of Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Chairman, Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) spoke with Shobhana Nair on how no measurement system is no good for the ecosystem, and the television sector in particular. The ISA, it may be remembered, had opposed the stand of several broadcasters who had unsubscribed from TAM last year. Excerpts from an interview with Mr Bakshi

     

    The danger of no measurement system hangs on the industry again though the reason is different this time around. How have you thought of handling it as the ISA Chairman?

    Firstly, it has just been announced and we need to get clarification on exactly how it is going to be amended. We are trying to figure that out right now. Meanwhile, ISA’s position on this remains the same that we do need a robust measurement system and I think the guidelines will help us get that. In the short term, we can’t be without a measurement system because ratings are the currency with which we buy television and the absence of the currency will affect the industry. We want to avoid that scenario at any cost.

     

    Have you discussed the situation with other members of ISA and what is a possible solution that has come out?

    I think we will come to conclusions but, as I said, right now we need to understand the details of the guidelines on how things will pan out, etc. And we are working on it.

     

    What are your thoughts on the guidelines by TRAI for TV Rating Agencies? Do you think it is a good attempt to create a manipulation-free environment?

    I haven’t seen the guidelines fully, so I don’t want to comment on it.

     

    BARC has many months before it becomes operational, what is on your agenda to speed up things there?

    BARC has already been working quite well and the progress has been outstanding. We need to keep in mind that to create something of this nature takes time and can’t be done overnight. Having said that, the work on BARC is at a good pace.

     

    After everyone came to an agreement last year on the need for a television audience measurement, we still have many  sections in the industry against TAM…

    I think we should look ahead and not look back. Going forward, the three bodies (IBF, ISA & AAAI) are working together through BARC to create a ratings system which will be acceptable to everyone. I think we should put all our energies in that.

     

  • Get the mantras to navigate a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world, says the Indian Society of Advertisers chairman

    ISA Global CEO conf to help face VUCA world: Hemant Bakshi

     

    It promises to be the mother-of-all media and marketing conferences. The Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA), the apex body of advertisers in the country, is hosting a global CEO conference on October 30, 2013 at the Leela in Mumbai. The theme is ‘Navigating a VUCA World’ and a galaxy of speakers including Unilever’s global CEO Paul Polman are scheduled to speak. Mr Polman will be in conversation with Bajaj Auto chairman Rahul Bajaj.

     

    Other speakers at the event will include R Gopalakrishnan, Director, Tata Sons; Manu Anand, President – India & South Asia, Cadbury India; Marten Pieters, CEO, Vodafone India; and Ravi Kant, Vice Chairman and Former Managing Director, Tata Motors, Pawan Munjal, MD & CEO, Hero Motocorp, Shantanu Khosla, MD, Procter & Gamble India and Prabha Parameswaran, MD, Colgate-Palmolive amongst many others. One of the goals of the conference is to find out how organizational processes and practices need to be recast to deliver to this new VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world.

     

    Hemant Bakshi, Executive Director, Home & Personal Care, Hindustan Unilever and Chairman, Indian Society of Advertisers spoke on the theme of the conference and his expectations.

     

     

    The ISA CEO-fest

     

    Over 300 delegates are expected to attend the conference, informed Paulomi Dhawan, Chairperson, Events Committee and Treasurer, ISA. For Ms Dhawan, the conference is a culmination of two months of hectic activity. And very little else.

     

    Asking global CEOs to come in and speak comes with its share of requirements. Explain to each of them (and possibly their office) what the entire is thing all about and the topic chosen for them, etc etc. But now that the curating is done, and the key sponsor is in the form of Star India, the emphasis for Ms Dhawan is to ensure it all goes off smoothly.

     

    The day will begin with a talk on ‘Leadership and Managing Human Capital in Turbulent Times’. The next session is themed ‘Reigniting Growth in an Economic Slowdown’ followed by a panel discussion On ‘Cut Costs, Not Corners: Smart Marketing for Turbulent Times’moderated By Sunil Kataria, COO, Sales, Marketing and SAARC, Godrej Consumer Products Limited. The panelists include Himanshu Kapania, COO, Idea Cellular; Sanjay Behl, CEO, Raymond; Kirthiga Reddy, Director, Online Operations002C and Head, Facebook India; KBS Anand, MD & CEO, Asian Paints; Shantanu Khosla, MD, Procter & Gamble India and Prabha Parameswaran – MD, Colgate-Palmolive.

     

    Post-lunch, sessions on ‘Why Businesses Must Factor in Economic Cycles’ by Ravi Kant, Vice Chairman, Tata Motors with Siddharth Mukherjee, Director - Chocolate Category and Media, Cadbury India Limited.

     

    There on, a session on ‘Not every Consumer has Sealed her Wallet: Finding New Pockets of Growth’ will be conducted by Marten Pieters, Managing Director and CEO, Vodafone India. The session will be chaired b Narendra Ambwani, Director, Agro Tech Foods Limited.

     

    Later, Pawan Munjal, MD & CEO, Hero Motocorp will speak on ‘Taking Risks in a Volatile World’. The last session of the day will be on’How Responsible Business Models Can Help in VUCA Times’ by keynote speaker Paul Polman, Global CEO, Unilever. This will be followed by a conversation that Rahul Bajaj, Chairman, Bajaj Auto will have with Mr Polman.

     

    The inaugural Global CEO conference has an impressive line-up of speakers. What does the ISA hope to achieve from the conference and the theme chosen?

    The ISA has been around for a long time to ensure that the interest of advertisers – large and small – has been taken care of. For us, the mandate of this conference is two-fold. As businesses and the economy face a slowdown, we want to ensure that advertisers can benefit from advice to make sure that our business is stable and strong. In difficult times, you question every line and component in your business and marketing investments make a large component of this whole. How to get the best return on these investments is the second area we will be focusing on. Therefore we thought that we need to get the best of global CEOs in one place to share their experience and wisdom.

     

    VUCA was a term coined in the 1990s by the United States military. Given that we live in volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous times, does the current market scenario require a different kind of leadership?

    Yes, the term has trickled into the world of business and it tells you that in a world which is VUCA your long-term visions and business goals need to be clear but don’t lock yourself into a rigid plan to achieve that destination. If you have a broad understanding of your past and you know where you’re headed then you will be able to be much more agile, consumer-centric and evolve your strategy as you go along. Flexibility and nimbleness are crucial because the strategies that may have worked in the past when change was certain and slow, may not work in the future.

     

    VUCA also talks about the need for awareness and responsible leadership. Apart from addressing marketing needs and optimizing ROI, how will the theme be made applicable for the advertiser ecosystem?

    In difficult times like these, we can no longer be in an ivory tower and focus on building brand equity and creating great advertising while our consumers are suffering and the business is struggling. It is important that as marketers, we play a role that goes beyond just marketing. Next, it is also important that in such an environment, marketing is done responsibly. The resources that our planet has are getting scarce and if we keep doing things like we have in the past, sustainability will become a serious issue for consumers. We are going through a business cycle of slowdown right now, but what we need to do in this difficult time is to prepare for the future and it’s important to get a much more holistic view of marketing.

     

    Media vehicles worry that the fallout of a VUCA world is a cutback on spends and pushing down prices. Is offering discounts and giving more value for money a key fallout of such a market scenario?

    That would be a myopic and conventional view of looking at the current scenario. We have observed that brands that build equity during such times reap benefits once the economy starts growing again. If we all start cutting price and promotions, it may benefit in the short run but not in the long term. At the conference, you will see a lot of our leaders talk about how you can cut costs, take risks and reignite growth as well as get consumers to get better value of what’s going on. The conference hopes to highlight alternative strategies that can be used in this period.

     

  • Top Indian captains to speak at global CEO conference organized by the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA)

    ISA to host Global CEO conf with Unilever big boss Paul Polman

    By A Conference

     

    There are conferences and conferences, but this one could well be the mother of them all. The Indian Society of Advertisers, the apex body of advertisers, is hosting the first ever global CEO conference on ‘Navigating a VUCA World’ on October 30, 2013 at The Leela in Mumbai. The goal of the conference, as per a communiqué, is to sharply dissect the tough times we are facing in the current economic situation, and to find out how organizational processes and practices need to be recast to deliver to this new VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world.

     

    Paul Polman

    Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer of Unilever, will be the keynote speaker at this conference. Other key speakers at the event will include R Gopalakrishnan, Director, Tata Sons; Manu Anand, President – India & South Asia, Cadbury India; Marten Pieters, CEO, Vodafone India; and Ravi Kant, Vice Chairman and Former Managing Director, Tata Motors.

     

    Said Hemant Bakshi, Chairman, ISA, and Executive Director, Home & Personal Care, Hindustan Unilever, on the intent of the conference: “We truly live in the VUCA world, where things have become more volatile and uncertain. That’s one issue ISA needs to deal with and help companies understand the principles they need to follow in a changing uncertain world.”

     

    The ISA is organizing the conference in in partnership with exchange4media.

     

  • Hemant Bakshi, Executive Director, Home and Personal Care, Hindustan Unilever Limited, was elected Chairman of the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA). He takes over from Kurush N Grant

    HUL’s Hemant Bakshi elected ISA Chairman

    By A Correspondent

     

    Hemant Bakshi, Executive Director, Home and Personal Care, Hindustan Unilever Limited, was elected Chairman of the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA). He takes over from Kurush N Grant. The newly elected Executive Council of the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) met on September 11.

     

    An MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, Mr Bakshi has been recognized for his thought leadership in customer development and marketing in the industry. He is also the chairman of The Indian Soaps & Toiletries Manufacturers Association, a board member of Advertising Standards Council of India and is on the board of BARC, a nodal body for the advertisers, advertising agencies and broadcasters in the country. Apart from being a marketer, he is also a sportsman. He runs marathons and is a passionate golfer.

     

    On his election as Chairman of ISA, Mr Bakshi said: “We are going through a challenging period and it is crucial that ISA along with other associate members, works towards sustainable growth of the industry”.

     

    Other members of the Executive Council are:

    Atul Agrawal, Vice President – Corporate Affairs, Group Corporate Affairs and Media, Tata Services Ltd., Mumbai.

     

    Abraham Alapatt, Head – Marketing,Thomas Cook (India) Ltd., Mumbai.

     

    Narendra Ambwani, Director, Agro Tech Foods Ltd., Secunderabad.

     

    Jimmy R Anklesaria, Director – Business Development, Bajaj Corp Ltd., Mumbai.

     

    Mohit Beotra, Chief Brand Officer – India, BhartiAirtel Ltd., Gurgaon.

     

    J C Chopra, Director, Infogain India Private Limited, Noida, U.P.

     

    Paulomi Dhawan, Director, Landmarc Leisure Corporation Limited, Mumbai.

     

    Sonali Dhawan, Marketing Director, Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care Ltd., Mumbai.

     

    Rajiv Dube, Director, Group Corporate Service, Aditya Birla Management Corporation Ltd., Mumbai.

     

    Kurush N. Grant, Executive Director, ITC Limited, Kolkata.

     

    Sunil Kataria, Chief Operating Officer – Sales, Marketing & SAARC, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd., Mumbai.

     

    Anisha Motwani, Director & Chief Marketing Officer, Max Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Gurgaon.

     

    Siddhartha Mukherjee, Director – Chocolate Category and Media, Cadbury India Limited, Mumbai.

     

    Mayank Pareek, Chief Operating Officer (Marketing & Sales), Maruti Suzuki India Limited, New Delhi.

     

    Bharat V. Patel, Board Member, Birla Sun Life Asset Management Co.Ltd., Mumbai.

     

    Chandrasekar Radhakrishnan, Vice President – Communications, Nestle India Ltd, Gurgaon.

     

    R. Ramakrishnan, Group CEO, Polycab Wires Pvt.Ltd.,Mumbai.

     

    Shipra Tripathi, Vice President, Corporate Global Marketing, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd., Pune

     

    and

     

    Brahm Vasudeva, Chairman, Hawkins Cookers Ltd., Mumbai.

     

    Former chairman Kurush N Grant continues to be on the Executive Council.