MxMIndia

Tag: Interview

  • MxM Live with Yashwant Deshmukh

    MxM Live with Yashwant Deshmukh

    Yashwant Deshmukh is a prominent figure in the field of opinion polling and political analysis, known for his expertise in deciphering public sentiment and electoral trends. As the founder, editor and managing director of CVoter, a near-30-year-old  global agency specialising in public opinion research and data analytics, Deshmukh has played a pivotal role in shaping political discourse and decision-making processes across various nations. With a keen eye for detail and a deep understanding of socio-political dynamics, he continues to be a trusted authority in providing insightful perspectives on elections and governance worldwide. Deshmukh and his company, Dataeye Asia, are now also focusing their energies on conducting the Consumer Mood of the Nation (COTN), overlaying the recently launched the Indian Socio-Economic Classification (ISEC).

    In this interview with Pradyuman Maheshwari, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, MxMIndia, Yashwant Deshmukh speaks on opinion polling, his views on ISEC and the Consumer Mood of the Nation studies that his company will produce.

    Watch. Enrich yourself. Enjoy. Like.

    For more news and updates on media and advertising, check our website http://www.mxmindia.com.

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

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

     

     

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

     

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

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

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

     

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

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

     

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

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

     

    They allow you to make mistakes?

    Yes, of course. Absolutely.

     

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

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

     

    Would you look at another acquisition in the same space?

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

     

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

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

     

    On creative output, on creativity?

    5.

     

    And where were you earlier before you came?

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

     

    Investments?

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

     

    And awards? Not too many awards so far.

    No. Not at all.

     

    So, when do you think they will happen…

    From next year we will definitely see some…

     

    Your budget on sending entries will increase?

    Yes. Absolutely.

     

    Will you sending some 500 entries?

    No, not so many.

     

    That’s the shortcut to get many awards.

    Now, you are taking me to a heavy discussion.

     

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

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

     

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

    100%.

     

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

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

     

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

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

     

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

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

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

     

    And how is activation and events agency doing?

    Very well.

     

    Even though the last two years were bad…

    Yes, Shobiz has done a phenomenal job this year.

     

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

    In terms of media spends?

     

    Yes.

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

     

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

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

     

     

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

    ‘Misconception that regulation and self-regulation compete’

     

     

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

     

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

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

     

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

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

     

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

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

     

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

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

     

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

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

     

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

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

     

  • Some Qs: Did Ogilvy clients move with him? Any acquisition plans? Moving out of Piyush Pandey’s shadow…

    Enriching five years. Abhijit Avasthi on the Sideways journey (Text & Video)

     

    The interview you read was done via email, and the one you see is via Zoom. But having interviewed with the Sideways founder twice in his previous avatar at Ogilvy and chatted with him a few dozen times, we know how he thinks and speaks. So it’s easier to plan the flow of questions. Abhijit Avasthi’s journey is interesting as Sideways is not just a creative agency. It believes in creative thinking and innovation. And hence has no tagline. Why, 40-odd people who constitute it do not hold any titles. The agency is doing well, which is very good news. Good because times are awfully tough. But also the success of the ‘experiment’ (our words) will surely spur many others to follow suit.

     

    As part of the MxMIndia Live series, we interview Avasthi (referred to as Kinu by the fraternity). Some of the questions are also in the video, but not all of the video questions are in the text. So you must consume both.

     

    Here goes the conversation Abhijit Avasthi had with Pradyuman Maheshwari. Enjoy.

     

     

    Five years already. And it looked like just yesterday, when I came to your office at Ogilvy doing what could be described as an ‘exit’ interview. So how has the journey been?

    Yes, time flies superfast indeed. Five years back, I doubt I could have predicted the journey that will unfold for Sideways. It’s been an adventure in the truest sense – unpredictable and exhilarating. The last five years have been a massive learning curve for me. And extremely satisfying. We have managed to build an awesome team with diverse talents, done a variety of great work and had tons of fun along the way. What started out as an experiment has turned into something hugely impactful for businesses of all kinds.

     

    You continued with your association with Ogilvy for a while even after leaving. Was it tough breaking the umbilical chord?

    More than the issue of breaking the umbilical chord, it’s the emotional bond with Ogilvy is which is unbreakable. That is like being stuck with Fevicol. But yes what was difficult was not succumbing to my default way of approaching a brief…what I had learnt and practised for 15 yrs in Ogilvy. It took a fair bit of effort, an open mind and discipline to evolve our own way of going about solving problems in a set-up like Sideways where writers, techies, product designers, strat folks all sit on the same table attacking the issue. How to orchestrate this diverse gathering of talents and get them to complement each other’s strengths has not been an easy task to say the least.

     

    So you did some work with Ogilvy for a while after that, right? Are you still doing?

    Yes, when I left Ogilvy, a few clients wanted a smooth transition so I helped do that for a year. Not doing so anymore.

     

    As you look back, was it the right decision to move on? Given that Rajiv Rao and Sonal Dabral have moved on.

    I don’t look at it as a right or a wrong decision. It was a time in my life when I was up for newer challenges and a different journey – an adventure in every sense of the word. Which is why I left Ogilvy without any plan for the future. The idea of Sideways developed in the ensuing months during brainstorming sessions with Sonali. I am sure Rajiv Rao and Sonal moved on for their reasons.

     

    Any regrets?

    No regrets. None whatsoever. While I was at Ogilvy, I served it and its clients selflessly with all my heart. I managed to build an amazing team of rockstars there which is carrying on the Ogilvy legacy.

     

    Was getting client easy? Did any move with you – from Ogilvy to Sideways?

    There were clients and people who were keen to move with me but I had decided that I will not be taking any Ogilvy people or clients with me. It’s basic courtesy towards an organisation which is hugely responsible for shaping me.

     

    When thinking of our Biz Dev processes we were clear that we will not take part in the full monty pitches. So that stacked things up against us – an offbeat set-up not willing to pitch. It takes a leap of faith to park your business based only on someone’s past credentials and a promise. But we were fortunate that from day one we had client partners who were willing to give us a shot. I am grateful to them for placing faith in us and giving us the interesting projects we were looking for.

     

    Today after 5 years, things are very different. We still do not pitch but now our case studies do all the talking. We have worked with over 50 clients: traditional national ones like Pidilite and Borosil. Regional players like Suhana Masala. New age tech companies like Google and Flipkart. Start-ups like Curefit, Urban Company and Great Learning. From helping build tech platforms for digital payment companies, to designing service journeys to reimagining legacy brands to building products to, of course, advertising we have done it all. So there is a solid body of work across disciplines, across categories and different size businesses.

     

    Between Rajiv and you, you were always the one who was more business-minded (in a good way) and would interact with the media, etc… so did that help in the transition?

    I have never thought about it that way. I know I have always enjoyed all aspects of a business: the creative side of it and the business side of it and all that it entails.

     

    But what has surely helped in building Sideways is my personal interest across spheres. Story-telling, Product Design, Science & Technology, Economics, History – everything interests me. A friend recently introduced me to a word from psychology – multipotentialite – someone with intellectual and creative curiosity across various areas. I think I am that – and that has helped make the transition from a traditional agency to what Sideways is. And the Sideways journey has helped me actualize that aspect of myself.

     

    What part of the business makes you say: shucks, it’s better to work for someone than do your own thing?

    Nothing really. Everything is a part of the challenge I signed up for.

     

    And what part makes you say: heck, why didn’t I think of it before?

    It’s interesting you ask that: so much of what we are doing at Sideways now is what I wanted to do in Ogilvy 11 years back when Rajiv and I became NCDs. But the agency’s priorities and focus were more mainline advertising at that time, and maybe rightly so for a place like Ogilvy then.

     

    Moving to some propah questions on Sideways. So tell us in specific terms on the business. How have you achieved what you wanted to?

    The idea of Sideways was straightforward – how to apply lateral thinking to every aspect of a business using a team of people with different skill sets. Around the world, all business partners are trying to reach that fine balance of right and left brain, as well as exploit the potential of a multidisciplinary approach. Which is why you have the McKinsey/Accenture varieties buying into creative firms. Design and tech firms are merging in the Valley. Legacy advertising agencies are bringing on folks from the consulting world in leadership positions. They are all trying to manoeuvre an existing ship for newer, trickier waters. For us, we are born and raised for that. So from day one the team structures we have built and the processes we have evolved are conducive to delivering on those needs for companies.

     

    High points? And low points?

    I won’t talk in absolutes. But every now and then, after a creds presentation, when the CEO remarks that our approach and work is so refreshing, it’s a high. When we get new biz calls and applications from talent to join based on our reputation out there, it’s a high. When we see the impact of our efforts in the social sector, that’s a huge high. When our work goes viral and we see memes, it’s a high. Showcasing our own toys at the Nuremberg Toy Fair was a high. So fortunately many joy peaks do come our way.

     

    And I won’t say a low, but it is disappointing when certain potential clients fail to see the value we bring to the table because they are still stuck in time and using existing old school ways of evaluating partners. And yes, when some really outstanding pieces of work don’t see the light of day for reasons beyond anyone’s control.

     

    Work that you are extremely proud of? In traditional advertising? And non-traditional advertising?

    There are so many. The Kia Motors Brand launch, the work on Borosil to help move it from being a primarily industrial company to a kitchenware consumer brand, solving a complex business issue for Fevicol, partnering Google Pay on the product/strat side, designing collectibles for Disney to disrupt traditional toy retailing, imagining Big Bazaar’s offering as a service brand, designing the 3D training model for Paani Foundation, the ‘Lunar Dome’ tribute to ISRO, digital activations for Imagica…there is just so much that I can go on and on.

     

    Tell us about your alliance with Reliance? What are the specifics in terms of work?

    Metaphorically speaking, at Sideways we are a bunch of kids who have come together. And so it follows that we love building toys and games. We were very keen to develop exciting new ones and take them to kids out there. Reliance Brands, because of Hamleys, has great expertise, knowledge and interest in that space too. So our JV is a meeting of strengths: our creativity, and their retail and manufacturing/ supply chain prowess. We showcased our first products at the Nuremberg Toy Fair in Germany in Jan 2020.

     

    These are tough times for A&M. How have you been doing in this period (post-Lockdown)?

    It’s been tricky of course. Though, not being reliant solely on advertising has been a kind of a boon. So many of the product design/ tech/ business strategy projects have been on. Shortly after the lockdown, we launched our Smart Recovery Lab (SRL). In a time where linear thinking will be inadequate, SRL helps businesses look at lateral solves. We are currently partnering companies in the Travel and F&B space by evolving newer ways to tackle the situation.

     

    What next for Sideways? For you?

    I am excited and enthusiastic about what the future holds for Sideways. We have now built the foundation from which we can leap big. It’s like reaching the Everest Base Camp. And now we are all set to climb to the peak.

     

    We are always on the look-out to partner clients who want to do things differently, not follow the beaten track – the brave ones who are smart enough to realise that old tricks won’t work in the new world.

     

    For me, Sideways is a journey wherein I get to learn more and grow more each day. And make some amazing friends on the way – those who join us and partner us.

     

    Thought of getting acquired?

    There are no plans to get acquired. We are thoroughly enjoying what we are doing. We have just built the foundations of a unique firm with a lot of passion, so we intend to enjoy the fruits of our labour ourselves. We will grow with our own might.

     

    Second-last question: If you have a Sanjeev Mehta (Hindustan Unilever) or some biggie advertiser in the elevator, and have an opportunity to make a pitch, what would it be… an elevator pitch, in say a hundred-odd words?

    Sideways is a one-of its-kind-company in India. It’s a curious mix of a consulting firm, an advertising firm, a tech solutions company, a product design studio and a circus maybe. We can solve problems and explode opportunities in surprisingly impactful ways. If you’re willing to let go of old legacy methods and be a tad imaginative and brave in approaching issues, then give us a call.

     

    This is a very sensitive question, and I am glad I am not doing this interview face-to-face as you would’ve thrown me out. Ha ha. But the elephant in the room should be addressed. It’s perhaps an exceedingly uncharitable remark – when some people said you were a Mama’s Boy. With obvious reference to the fact that Mr Piyush Pandey is your Mama, and that you owed your presence (and ascent) at Ogilvy to him… your uncle. Would you say that this five-year journey has in a sense now helped you develop an identity of your own? Grow out of Piyush Pandey’s shadows? Or does all of this not really matter to you?

    Ha ha ha ha…I have lived with this question for so long and have many answers for it. Firstly, I am extremely proud and fortunate to be Piyush’s nephew. I have learnt so much from him, mostly outside the office – so that learning is definitely the advantage I have had over others. And those who pass such comments are the insecure ones who would not amount to anything even if their Mama actually helped them.

     

    I was always mindful of my relationship with Piyush, which is why when I entered advertising in 1997, I chose not to apply to Ogilvy. I wanted to earn my stripes elsewhere. I joined Enterprise Nexus, did a whole of lot good work, won many international and national accolades (including India’s first ever D & AD in-book) and then was invited to join Ogilvy by Bobby Pawar and Anil Bathwal in 1999. I am thankful to them for giving me that chance to prove myself in Ogilvy. After that over the years, I would like to believe that my work spoke for itself. And I think I did manage to move out of Piyush’s shadows very soon in Ogilvy itself.

     

    The Sideways journey has enriched me and developed me in many other ways. I have learnt a lot, grown a lot, and along with a bunch of crazy talented folks who believed in our vision, managed to create something amazing from scratch. And that has helped me reinvent my identity in a way I would say.

     

  • Razorfish India CEO Charulata Ravi Kumar on how the Publicis.Sapient is a lot more than just a digital media shop

    ‘We are not a typical digital agency’

     

    Charulata Ravi Kumar took charge as CEO at Razorfish India in 2014. Her two-decades-long career includes stints with WPP, 141 London and the MullenLowe networks in India, West Asia and Europe. Kumar has also established her own successful innovation and leadership skills consultancy, Coffee Kettle. She speaks to Anuka Roy about the digital disruption that Razorfish wants to implement, the milestones in her journey, and more.

     

    It’s been a little less than two years since you took charge at Razorfish. Do talk us through the journey, milestones and all…

    Let me start with a little background. Razorfish was owned by Microsoft many years ago, and then got bought over by the Publicis group globally. It started operations in mid-2013, and got into full-scale operations in early 2014. Before I came on board, in the last quarter of 2014, the objective of the company was to consolidate. There was DigitasLBi, a Razorfish and all of that was together as one group and it kind-of separated to bring in more efficiency and more capabilities in more companies etc. The year 2015 came with a startup state of mind. Although we had had some really good clients, we were still putting together the India strategy: What approach and capabilities should we bring in India? What is the market ready for? I was given a blank canvas to chart the journey, and we focused on two or three things. We were doing a large amount of business, but nobody knew us, probably because the energies were focused on establishing Razorfish and consolidating the business. The first thing we did here was that we started talking to people about ourselves. That did well for us; people sat up and took notice. Until then, aggressive growth was not our objective till 2016. Building capabilities and getting the right set of people was important in 2015. These were the two big things we did — we plugged the gaps in talent and got people to notice us. A third thing we did was get out of things which were ‘vanilla’ kind of services in the market that millions of other shops were there to deliver. We are here to transform the client’s business, to help them find how they re-imagine the customer experiences themselves, and that is our expertise. We decided to focus on that.

     

    The digital domain has seen much action in these last two years. Your views?

    [Earlier] hardly three or four per cent was put into digital, and that was still more social media, some banners and ads on certain sites. But even today, just about 10, 15 or a maximum of 20 per cent of advertising budgets is digital. People are looking at the digital piece in the wrong light when they refer to just digital advertising. Two kinds of digital transformation is happening [today]. The first is where brands are doing more advertising on digital, creating more content and video. But the true digital transformation is happening when companies are looking at themselves from the core of their business, and transforming the entire organisation from the core business platforms they are using  — from HR practices, to product R&D to the experiences they are creating, both offline and online. Offline, a lot of customer experiences are using technology in the retail space, and we do not classify this as advertising anymore; this is truly customer experience. But if you talk to the companies investing in this, you’ll find this spend is not a part of the advertising budget; it comes under capital expenditure. All processes are moving from analog formats to digital platforms. That is where the spends really are and that is where we come in and work on, with our clients.

     

    The IPG Magnaglobal study still puts digital spends at much lower than television or even print.

    For us, advertising is a very small part of the revenue that comes in. What is important is the entire digital transformation we create for clients — setting up the e-commerce platform, the entire technology at the backend, integrating it with CRMs, data and analytics to study consumer behaviour and changes and such. We work with different technology teams, and not just advertising agencies. But marketing is still at a low level because research methodologies are still poor in terms of impact that digital ads can provide and measure. But internet penetration is low and the infrastructure is also very poor, often not allowing for downloads. You cannot expect all these to pick up or for companies to invest too much money into it, as we cannot measure it accurately yet. We do a lot of performance marketing work; create communication where we can track how many people clicked it and how many converted to buy your product and place online orders, or how many people called you up to say they are interested and such. People are spending a lot of money on videos, but what impact is it creating on the consumer? Are they seeing and remembering the ads? What are they doing after that? In India, television will be ruling for a long time because of the penetration.

     

    There are many digital media agencies. How do you differentiate Razorfish from the others?

    We are not a typical digital agency. We do social media as well, but it’s not just that. We create customer experiences both online and offline. We create e-commerce platforms for clients end-to-end and integrate it with their backend systems; we create the interface that customers will see to experience the brand ad go all the way to delivery to your doorstep. We manage the entire e-commerce process which other digital agencies do not do. There is no nomenclature for us, so for want of better name, people call us a digital agency. We are somewhere between a business consulting company and a digital agency. We have technology, media and creative, so the differentiator for us is the technology part. We have an entire team which develops, implements and runs the technology. That is something digital agencies would not usually do.

     

    As digital gets more mainstreamed with even regular ad agencies doing great digital work, where do you see specialised entities like Razorfish fitting in?

    We would not fit in anywhere, that is why I joined the company. The DNA of Razorfish is that it was created for disruption and to create new customer experiences by reimagining how brands are living right now. We have an in-house system that actually focuses on re-imaging the customer experience for our clients. Our process and planning is very different, and our R&D labs focus on different things.

     

    Razorfish is a key component of Publicis.Sapient (earlier Sapient Nitro). And then there are entities like Resultrix/Peformics, Indigo etc.

    Publicis.Sapient has been created to leverage the strengths of all the digital companies under the Publicis Group and create one entity at the top. But the brands remain very distinct, whether it is a DigitasLBi, Razorfish or Sapient. This helps us to develop and focus on the technology part of the business very distinctly, as opposed to the advertising part. All the advertising companies come under Publicis.Communications.

     

    Please take us through some of the important work done by Razorfish India…

    Globally, Razorfish is very significant and out work for Audi — creating a customer experience and changing the model for them – has been much-talked-about. All car manufacturers find it difficult to set up a showroom [in the heart of a city]. For Audi, we created a showroom in the heart of London, as well as in Berlin and Shanghai, where this showroom is a complete interactive customer experience zone. There is not a single car on display but you can configure your own car from a combination of 40,000 options. You can take an engine from the many engines that are there, take the body and paint it however you want. Then you can experiment to see what it is going to look like. It’s like a gaming zone. You can place the order and test drive it, and also take it back in a chip and take a look at it. This was a complete breakthrough in the auto industry. We have done some exceptional work for Maruti as well. And changed the model of business for Eureka Forbes.

     

    Tourism New Zealand has been one of our biggest successes. Indians want to go to Australia but not New Zealand. We did a sustained, two-year campaign on performance marketing; and a lot of analytics to understand what people like. We started geo-targeting all the communications and this year, Tourism New Zealand has won the most highly-visited adventure destination for India. We do a lot of work for Madura, based out of Bangalore, managing their social mandate, social listing and engagements, and converting it into commerce.

     

    India doesn’t do too well in digital at international awards. Why?

    A lot of our good entries go in the ATL (Above The Line) space. I think it is a mind-shift the creative people in India need to make. Many creative people believe, myopically, that the television campaign is where the future lies. We do well in ATL television because a lot of agencies are just nominating that. Social media agencies are small, and they do small interactions and peg it more for Indian awards. Organisations like ours go deeper in setting up the entire digital and technology capabilities for a company, and there is nothing to recognise how well you do that. Global and Indian awards events need to re-visit how awards are structured. They are also living in the past. They have created awards to glorify each other. I think where we need more awards platforms, relates to the impact we have made in transforming a client’s business. But there is no such thing as a Client Effectiveness award.

     

    This interview first appeared in dna of brands on July 4.

     

  • Upclose with the Omnicom Media Group CEO India & SE Asia on how her agencies are doing, the business & role of technology in media

    Tech is fine, but relationships will always be there: Jasmin Sohrabji

     

    Omnicom Media Group CEO India and South East Asia Jasmin Sohrabji says the agency goes public only when there is a need, like the establishing of its second agency, PHD. But who needs a constant spotlight when you’ve got a full trophy case and several ‘firsts’ in the industry to your name, particularly in the digital and mobile space, she tells Pradyuman Maheshwari. Hmmm. Read on…

     

    There is a perception that both you and OMD are extremely low profile. That you are doing great work, but you never talk about it!

    I set up a brand which didn’t exist in India, so there was some conscious effort to establish the brand. In the first four or five years, everything we did — every win, every office opened — we made it into a PR story. Once the brand was established, the focus was on internal consolidation of the second brand and the group. That’s why I think you won’t see the sort of media coverage we sought earlier. We did it again when we launched our second brand, PHD, year before last. We did the big Cannes wins that we had last year. And while we’ve been inundated with awards we’ve won, particularly for PHD, we didn’t PR the whole thing. By that time, we believed our fraternity and our potential clients, already knew us.

     

    Others who are well-established, are also high profile. Is this [reticence about PR], then, OMD’s personality?

    No, it’s not a personality and it’s not even my personality. We go in cycles of doing PR when we need to. We went through a cycle of establishing OMD, then establishing our second brand. Now the focus is on the overall group, and we will make a big group hiring. When we hired Shavon Barua as Managing Partner for PHD, we did some PR around that. But I think maybe you are right, to an extent we have not [gone public much].

     

    How is OMD doing? And PHD? What is your self-assessment?

    We’ve done very well in the last few years we’ve been there. Our growth has never been under 25 to 27 per cent. We’ve done very well both in terms of organic growth as well as new business. Not all of it is announced, or can be, sometimes. It’s not just the growth per cent, but we’ve established ourselves quite well across markets. When OMD launched, it was first a Mumbai entity, and later went to the south and Delhi. With PHD, it’s the other way around. We won the HP and SC Johnson [accounts]. The geographical balance is something I’ve always valued, because if you’re going to establish yourself as a group and grow, you can’t be seen as a one-city, one-market business. If you look around, many of the agencies – not just the top ones – have struggled to establish themselves in the south, west and north zones. I think we’ve been fortunate with our brands. Though OMD is stronger, PHD is relatively new since it’s been around for only two years. And so it still needs to be established and that’s why you’ll see more buzz around that.

     

    Other agencies have branched out into various areas like outdoor, digital, even activations. What about you?

    So have we, and on that we’ve done a little more conscious thinking. We’ve been one of the key agencies in the digital space, and it’s helped because of the kind of clients we’ve had. I think the biggest strength we had in digital is not just client and leadership, but the fact that because we were relatively new and launched in the heart of the digital era. In our case, digital didn’t come as a little add-on to offline; we’ve evolved it as a product as we’ve grown.

     

    You were among the first one to bring in mobile too.

    We’ve done a lot of firsts in digital. That’s been our key strength. We’ve focused on creative and content, in terms of both alignments as well as internal hiring, in digital. We’ve not done that much in the offline space. We focused on mobile too, very early on. I think the out-of-home space is an area we haven’t built, in-house.

     

    There are rumors that Mudra Max might merge with OMD

    When there is something to share, we’ll do it. Right now, there isn’t. Mudra is one of our partners. We’ve never gone the route of just one alignment because a lot of the clients are looking for a whole mix. So the pitches happen separately. The agency selection process is also quite different, and doesn’t always come as a part of the mix. So if you win the business, it doesn’t mean that you [automatically also] win digital and outdoor.

     

    Technology is virtually ruling the way business is done today. Is that a worry

    God, no! I think it’s great. It’s a huge positive for various reasons. New media has driven technology into the future. Old media has not seen the change as much yet, but it will. The change we’ve seen, however, are just in the efficiency of tools. We’ve not seen a smarter technology, just tool efficiency which means I can get my teams to finish their runs faster and spend time on the more interesting parts of brand communication. Although we haven’t seen a big technology change in the offline space, I believe it’s just a matter of time before they merge. It’s my belief that the more we go into technology, the smarter the machine becomes and the more important it is for us to then keep ahead and be smarter than the machine. The day we let the machine decide, I think we’ll have lost a large part of the value we bring to the client. We operate a lot on gut, so I think, we need to be smarter and always one step ahead of technology.

     

    And relationships do matter, don’t they?

    See relationships will always be there.. They will go up and down in terms of relevance, but will never go away. But if people let technology decide or guide their plans and think therefore they’ll sit back and see a run being done I think somewhere that, that individual or that agency will not be ready and prepared for the future. My expectation is, the more we advance in technology, the more quality people we’ll attract, the better our industry will be. Think of the kind of work that’s happening in our space today.. What was the conversation all you media people came and asked us about 10 years back? Every conversation is that do we have enough talent available. Why are people going and joining channels? Why are people going away to Asia? Remember all those conversations? Today who has that conversation? Today, we can attract very good talent because of technology. Because today our industry seems so much more in the front rung of decision-making.

     

    Are you able to attract talent from top B-schools and such?

    Top B-schools are not easy right now because of cost reasons. Top B-school graduates expect to get paid more than someone who has five or seven years of experience in our industry. We can’t give entry-level people those kind of salaries. So I may not be able to get that kind of talent yet, but in future I think we will. There is only plus and plus coming for us. The kind of work that we are seeing, that our network is doing globally in combining both offline and online data to better our strategies and such. When I see that, I wish I was still a planner at that time.

     

    You’ve been on the Cannes jury and you know that not too many Indian agencies make it [there]. So how do you rate our work versus the rest of the world?

    Firstly, I did media and we only get to see about 20 per cent of the work that’s out there. I didn’t see too of the India work, but I do know there was work like the Touch The Pickle Campaign this year, which generated a lot of talk. So while I think we have huge potential, we’re not up there on storytelling, when compared to work done globally. I don’t think the work is such a big issue with us as much as the way we tell our stories. If you’ve to wait for the idea after almost a minute into the video, that’s not good.

     

    OMD is not too active on the awards circuit in India, especially the Emvies

    OMD has not been as high profile as PHD. Yes, we aren’t at the Emvies. We don’t dominate that. Only PHD has been doing it, we’ve not been doing it.

     

    Any reason why?

    There is no reason; it’s just not happened. But this year we have. I’m going to send you a list of this year’s wins of OMD because I think you’ll be a little surprised.

     

    Do awards matter?

    It’s client specific. I feel the quality of your work, your team, your efficiency and savings takes precedence over winning awards, but it’s good PR. However, I don’t think that’s the reason we could be winning. Our product has so many elements to it; a big part is on savings, rates and negotiations. I don’t think [awards are] winning us pitches. So it’s important, but not the most important for a new business, for sure.

     

    Where do you see yourselves in 2020? How do see the business shaping up

    Earlier, I was a seeing a lot of data analytics and insight-informing strategy work. It was being done a lot more efficiently with technology in the digital space. Now all the conversations are looking at data across, because while digital makes sense in the evolved markets, data leading to insight-leading to solution-leading to optimisation may not work in India where there are a large number of activities happening offline. Four years later, I hope we will not be having these conversations and will have better integrated [online and offline] media. So there will be people who understand data well, and there’ll be people who can ideate and optimise from that data. Technology will help drive it, and I think people will eventually become online, rather than offline, specialists.

     

    Do you think going forward, media buying will get integrated as against just print or television or digital…

    I think it should. I really think it should because today you can afford the isolation but or the separation but I think as we go forward if there is a conversation… a buyer should know a conversation about buying a video versus buying a channel. And why am I paying this versus that? How can there be two separate conversations? It should be a video conversation. It shouldn’t be this channel and that Youtube kind of conversation.

     

    In terms of the kind of media you do, how do your digital spends compare with the rest?

    Our digital is way higher than the industry average. I think our digital spend is more than a component; the skew is more than 20 per cent of our overall.

     

    Over media investments?

    As a percentage of our overall media investment. We are very high on digital which is why our focus has been so much on the kinds of platforms we are launching, the technology we are investing in, the people we are hiring. When you think of long-term investment in other media, there’s an industry average. Everyone’s spends have similar amounts of outdoor and activation in their mix. But they are not growing at the same rate. Today, we are all at one level. Two years later, I might still be spending only 10 per cent on these mediums. But when you look at digital, it may have moved from one to five to 10 or even 20 per cent.

     

    Going forward, what new things can we expect from you?

    Now that our second brand is also established, I think the focus will be on consolidating individual brands and consolidating as a group. The work that we are doing in digital, research and technology, will be of benefit to all the brands. Earlier, we were carrying out initiatives for individual brands. We’ve hired a senior investment lead because it was time for us to compete at a group and brand level. Earlier we did have brand-level investment and trading leads. But now we feel the need to do a lot more of our initiatives, not just at the brand but also the group level. We recently launched a study called Touch Point Analysis, an OMD initiative. There’ll be more things which will benefit both groups.

     

    Is it the knowledge you provide or is it finally the kind of discount you offer?

    There is no one person or client in a pitch. There are multiple kinds of clients. For some, your rates have to be the best. For others, it could be the quality of your future thinking. How much are we able to read the future in our industry, and the quality of our people, is driving the pitches. That’s why clients want to meet more of the people going to be involved in the business.

     

    In your business, you can’t be isolated from the environment around you. Do you look at how others are playing? And where do you want to be, say, two years from now?

    Of course we do. When we started out eight years ago, we were very clear in our minds that we had to quickly catch up [with others] in terms of scale. Clients want to give their business to someone who is well established. The focus at that time was to ramp up very quickly, which we did really well and balance the geographies. We’ve seen agencies who’ve just focused on one market or another, and not been able to maintain their momentum over the long term because they’re seen as a Delhi or Mumbai agency, not a national one. Today, while we look at other agencies, we don’t look at what someone is doing right or doing wrong. I don’t think any agency styles itself on another agency. People just compare to see where are we on digital versus someone else on digital, or talent, or buying capabilities.

     

    And where would you say you are?

    We are always No 1 on everything. We’ve built a strong business for ourselves.

     

    This interview first appeared in dna of brands on August 24, 2015

     

  • And the image above is how he did in the classified columns of The Times of India

    How Ashok Mahadevan innovated in his protest against the Emergency

     

    Forty years back, veteran journalist and former Editor of the Indian edition of Reader’s Digest was incensed with the Emergency and what it meant for free India. Then Deputy Editor of the Digest, Mahadevan was inspired by an ad in a Sri Lankan newspaper and inserted in The Times of India, which has now become one of the most enduring examples of how the country fought back the draconian government led by an ill-advised Prime Minister. On the eve of the forty years of that Dark Day, Dyanne Coelho interacted with Ashok Mahadevan who responded to her questions and also asked her to pick up some accounts from an article he wrote in the Reader’s Digest in 2010.

     

    The Q&A:

    What was the situation like especially for journalists during the days of the Emergency?

    For more than a year, the Prime Minister had been besieged by a nationwide movement against her led by her father’s old friend, the venerable Gandhian Jayaprakash Narayan (JP). Now, as she had done so often, Mrs Gandhi hit back ruthlessly. On June 25, she declared a state of “Emergency.” The press was muzzled, civil rights were abolished and tens of thousands of political activists, including JP, were arrested. In effect, India became a dictatorship. These momentous events—40 years ago this month—also enabled me to prank my way into becoming a small footnote in the history books. When I learnt the news on the morning of the 26th, I was incensed. India no longer a free country? As acitizen, even more as a journalist, it was intolerable. I had to do something. But what? Fear was spreading like an infection. When I asked a friend, who’d just flown in from the US, how it felt coming to a dictatorship, he told me to shush. People were too scared to jump queues at bus stops! I wasn’t exempt either; some of my politically active friends had been incarcerated and although I visited them in prison, I had no desire to join them there

     

    Was the idea of the obituary you published your idea? Tell us something about it.

    I remembered an item available for publication in Reader’s Digest—I was then this magazine’s deputy editor, based in Mumbai— about the “death” of democracy. It had originally appeared in a Sri Lankan paper when an emergency had been declared in that country. The ingenious item dealt with the demise of “D.E.M. O’Cracy,” who left behind several relatives, including a son named L.I. Bertie. Why not put this item in the obituary column of the Times of India? I copied it down and made my way to the office of the Times nearby. The clerk in the classified advertisements department there told me he couldn’t accept it because it was too long. I began arguing with him; then, fearful that he might suddenly realise what I was up to, I shortened it. “Are you Bertie?” the clerk asked me. It took few moments to understand what he’d meant. “Oh, yes,” I bluffed. The obituary advertisement was accepted. I paid the small fee and left. Would the item appear? I spent an anxious night, and made sure I was the first in the family to grab the Times the next morning. And there it was! O’Cracy, D.E.M., beloved husband of T. Ruth, loving father of L.I. Bertie, brother of Faith, Hope and Justicia, died on June 26. I was overjoyed. But for it to have any impact, a lot of people—and not just those who read the obituary columns regularly—had to see the item. So I called up a friend in the Times and, disguising my voice, asked him if he’d read the day’s obituary column. “Who’s this?” he asked suspiciously. “Never mind,” I said. “Take a look at it.” He began grumbling, but obeyed, and I heard his voice rising in excitement as he read the ad aloud. “Make sure you tell everyone about it,” I said, hanging up. Word about my ad spread fast. Those who were against the Emergency loved it. Many people sent clips of it to everyone they knew. Among them, I later learnt, was the advertising director of the Times of India! (After the Emergency, he told me so himself.) The ad was even reproduced in foreign newspapers.

     

    Were you scared of a backlash from the government following its publication? Is that why you withheld your identity and changed your physical appearance?

    The police were called in to find out who had placed the ad. But they got nowhere. This may have been partly because I took some precautions. Shortly after the ad appeared, my wife Jessica and I were scheduled to appear in a Doordarshan programme featuring couples. Since there was a chance that the Times clerk would watch the show— Doordarshan was the only TV channel in those days—I shaved off my beard to look less like “Bertie.” (Several people grew beards to protest the Emergency; I was the only one to have removed his!) Naturally, there were all kinds of rumours about who’d placed the ad. In fact, one Digest reader who dropped into our office even told me a lurid story about how the perpetrator had been caught and tortured by the police! Of course, for all the publicity the ad received, it did not have the slightest effect on the Emergency. That was lifted only 19 months later when Mrs Gandhi, for reasons scholars still speculate about, announced that Parliament was to be dissolved and elections held. To everyone’s astonishment, her party was routed—she even lost her own seat—and the Janata Party formed India’s first non-Congress central government in mid-1977.

     

    The gutsy obituary drew attention to the situation in India even in the foreign media. What was the reaction when you finally revealed yourself as the person who published it?

    Apart from my friends who congratulated me for publishing the ad–I outed myself in the magazine Debonair, then edited by the late Vinod Mehta–the Times of India clerk who’d accepted the ad called me to say that he’d been punished by the Times for accepting it. Since I knew Mr Thirumalai, the then ad director of the TOI, I complained to him about penalising the clerk. Thirumalai angrily denied that any action had been taken against the clerk and revealed that that he’d been personally delighted by the ad (see article) etc. He then called the clerk and gave him a firing in my presence for lying to me!

     

    Do you think journalism today has evolved to an extent that we can be protected from such happenings in the future?

    I wish I could foretell the future and reassure you that journalism today has evolved enough to ensure that another Emergency is not possible. However, I think that, thanks to TV, and most importantly, the social media, I think there will be much more opposition to any attempt to impose dictatorship in India.

     

    In your opinion is the government today strong enough to prevent history from repeating itself?

    Power tends to corrupt, so the stronger a government, the more likely it is to rule dictatorially. All citizens, and especially journalists, should always be on guard against strong governments and fight dictatorial rule (non-violently) if it is imposed.

     

    Ashok Mahadevan photograph courtesy Reader’s Digest

     

  • Happy about Mindshare bagging the 'Media Agency of the Year' honour at Spikes Asia, Ravi Rao, Leader, South Asia, wants to raise the bar even further

    No resting easy on laurels: Ravi Rao

     

    By Johnson Napier

     

    There’s some magic mantra that seems to be driving the team at Mindshare India to be at their performing best. How else would one explain the endless series of notches in their awards belt? After emerging No 1 agency at the Emvies this year, Mindshare India has gone on to win another big accolade – Media Agency of the Year at Spikes Asia 2012.

     

    MxMIndia spoke to the man behind the agency churning out the dream run, Ravi Rao, Leader, South Asia for Mindshare. While he admits to the agency throwing up some spectacular work it would in no way mean resting easy on the laurels. There’s a bigger challenge that lies ahead for the agency, he affirms. Excerpts:

     

    Mindshare Mumbai is on a roll again on the awards front. You’ve just bagged the all-important Media Agency of the Year accolade at Spikes Asia. What was it that brought the tide in your favour?

    We are extremely delighted to have won the accolade; and to win it for a client like HUL is a double delight. If you analyse, we had 5 shortlists and they were spread across three of our brands. More importantly, all three brands went on to win some award at Spikes, which is terrific for us. I would credit the showing to the all-round performance of the team.

     

    The big takeaways that emerge from our performance at Spikes this year are: firstly, all of the brands are local by stature – other than Rin – so that’s a big booster for us. Very simply, the power of an idea to push it through and get us an award is something that is very unique and has also helped the brand awareness as well as volume share in the process. Most importantly, it is the combination of every single media playing a role and each one delivering and creating synergies to bring the best out of the results. In a way, if I again look at the tally and say that we won against several competitors across the region also gives us a sense of bearing in terms of where we are today.

     

    What it also means is that we need to continue to deliver similar if not better work for our clients. It is a challenge that we want to continuously keep pushing ourselves against. No doubt the competition is getting tougher but we will have to adjust ourselves and up the single point of call that we have in Mindshare.

     

    By winning this accolade, have you pipped other notable contenders (from Mindshare) across Asia to the tag of being the best in the space?

    I think it is a matter of structuring how to get out real ideas. It is an idea that has to be behind an insight that works very well for the brand and land it properly. I think that is the key element in getting an award. We managed to do that well. The interesting part is yes, it has been a windfall for us this year but we do not want to rest easy on our laurels and want to keep pushing our boundaries even further.

     

    Are you disappointed with some entries not managing to make the cut in terms of a win?

    What we realised is that there are certain other entries that we thought were worthy of an award but somehow didn’t make the call. For example, if we look at the Emvies in terms of the wins that we’ve had and at the others too…I guess the parameters change and it’s important that you really look at how best you can reach the audience in a different way. As a country, we still have some way to go in terms of one, the content and secondly, in terms of the format of presentation which is also very critical. But all said and done, we are in the learning phase and will only get better and better as we move ahead.

     

    What significance does a creative award like Spikes Asia hold for a media agency like Mindshare India?

    Winning at Spikes is a big accolade for us but we do not want to take it easy because yes, there were a great set of campaigns that collectively made it work for us this time but what it requires is that we need to excel in a similar way across every single campaign and client that we cater to. It means that we want to keep doing better all the time and it’s only going to be a bigger challenge for us in the future. So while we would definitely relish the wins we want to fold our sleeves and get back to doing some great work in the future.

     

    Do you see HUL emerging a hot contender for the Client of the Year title in the future?

    As I see it, it is a systematic way of shoring up everything in the process. In my mind, it is an intense but healthy competition and all it does is bring the best out of every single team – whether from the agency or client’s side. We will surely give everyone a run as we go along as much as the competition is going to do and it is only going to get more intense as we move ahead.

     

    What would be the next big focus area for Mindshare India as you move forward?

    One area that we really want to look at is Cannes. It is the single biggest aim that we have going forward. The other thing for us is to make great campaigns that have a high ROI. By doing this, we even want to look at other areas like winning awards with IPA. Those are the targets that we have. We are working towards that goal and time will tell.

     

  • Outlook Editor-in-Chief Vinod Mehta talks exclusively to MxMIndia about his recently launched memoirs and more (Text & Video Interview)

    Vinod Mehta: I just want to fade away quietly (Text + Video interview)

     

     

    This interview with Vinod Mehta was conducted in November 2011 soon after the launch of ‘Lucknow Boy’. As we look at the late Editor’s life and times, we replay this interview – in text and video – which so effectively captures what made him such a great journalist. Read on…

     

     

    By Shruti Pushkarna

     

    Soon after he launched his memoirs ‘Lucknow Boy’ in the capital, MxM India caught up with Mr Vinod Mehta, Editor-in-Chief of Outlook magazine, for an exclusive interaction in his Delhi office. He spoke at length about his memoirs, his editorial journey and of course, his dog, Editor.

    Prior to his memoirs, Mr Mehta has also authored biographies of Sanjay Gandhi and Meena Kumari. In 2001, he also published a collection of his articles under the title, ‘Mr Editor, How Close Are You to the PM?’

    Popularly referred to as ‘one of the most independent editors’ of our times, Mr Mehta has founded and edited numerous publications, including The Indian Post, The Independent, the Delhi edition of The Pioneer and also India’s first Sunday paper, the Sunday Observer. At present he is the Editor-in-Chief of the Outlook Group, which brings out ten magazines including the weekly newsmagazine Outlook.

    Q: Tell us a little about your memoirs.

    It’s not just my life that I am presenting; it’s a snapshot of India from 1974 when I started, to 2011 which is now. And I am giving you a kind of history of India from that period, a personal history as I have seen it. So it’s more than my life, it’s a history of India – and whether they agree with my version of history or not, that’s another point but I have tried to present people, places, incidents that I saw and I interacted with since 1974. In that sense, this is not just about a journalist writing about his life, it’s about a very important period of India’s history which should be remembered, and I hope that I got some of it right.

    Q: Why Lucknow Boy? You’ve always prided yourself as a Bombay Boy…

    No, I was born in Lucknow, and studied in Lucknow and I reached Bombay much later. So I called it ‘Lucknow Boy’ because I am, my education etc. was all in Lukcnow.

    Q: Was it tough writing a free-and-fearless memoir? Especially the admission about your daughter?

    Well, these things are never easy but if you’re writing a memoir then you have to tell the story of your life and you must tell it in its entirety, the good and the bad. So you can’t hold anything back, otherwise it’s half the story.

    Q: Anything that you’ve not mentioned in your memoirs? In hindsight, would you have liked to include anything?

    No, no; I made sure that everything that I wanted to put in my memoirs, I did put in my memoirs. There were so many other things which were not important, the more important things I’ve put in my memoirs.

    Q: Given that you had moved jobs rapidly before Outlook, what’s the secret of your lasting so long with the Rajan Raheja group?

    Well, I’ve been here for 17 years and I think the mean reason is the fact that I got the kind of editorial freedom which I didn’t get elsewhere, so I lasted so long – because I was allowed to do my work, and I was allowed to produce a magazine according to what I thought was right, and what my colleagues on the staff thought was right, and there was very little or almost no interference from the proprietors.

    Q: We missed you at the World Magazine Congress. Why were you not there?

    Well, I am told the magazine congress was mostly about the management side of things and not editorial, but I wasn’t invited.

    Q: If given the opportunity, would you like to edit a daily newspaper again?

    No, I’m too old now. I’ve done three daily newspapers and now I don’t want to do anything new. I’ve reached the end of my career so I just want to fade away quietly.

    Q: Wouldn’t it have been good to have an Outlook current affairs programme for television, if not a full-blown channel?

    No, we thought about this many times in Outlook and nobody in Outlook, including the proprietor, was very interested in television, simply because there were so many other… there are already about 300 news channels. So we felt that we couldn’t provide anything new or different and we were quite happy with print. And since I’m mostly interested in print, I didn’t show any great interest, neither did the owners, to get into television.

    Q: Your word of advice to a wannabe media baron?

    Well, my advice to a new media baron would be – don’t get into this business if you are just interested in making money. This is a business where, of course, profits are important but this goes beyond profits. So if you have any kind of commitment to the country and if you can withstand occasionally some kind of losses even to your investment, then get into the business. But if you are getting into the business because you think there are profits, or you think that you will have great political clout in the government etc, then those are all the wrong reasons for getting into publishing.

    Q: And your advice to someone working with a wannabe media baron?

    Be good at your job, that’s very important. Whatever you do, you must be very good at your job, outstanding at your job; therefore if you are outstanding at whatever you do, if you are sub-editor, or a correspondent or a photographer, if you are outstanding in your job, somebody somewhere will always hire you.

    Q: Debonair is dead. Would you like to revive it?

    No, that was just the beginning of my career and I wouldn’t like to go back there. But the seven-eight years that I spent there were very interesting, and I learnt a lot in that period.

    Q: Back to the book: worried about it upsetting anyone? Vijaypat Singhania?

    I don’t think so, because I’ve been fair to everybody. In his case, he was also under a lot of political pressure so I had full sympathy for his situation, where between Indian Post and his own business interests, he couldn’t sacrifice his entire business interest because at that time you had this license permit raj and the government would be active in economic affairs.

    Q: Did you read those barons wrong… Singhania and Thapar especially? And Ambani and the Jains?

    No, I didn’t read them wrong because they also I suppose, did not realize how difficult it is to be a media baron at that time, I am talking of 1980s and 90s, when businessmen who had say 5 percent interest in publishing and 95 percent interest in other things. If they attacked the government, then their other business interests would suffer, and I don’t think they fully appreciated this.

    Q: Any career regrets?

    Oh, I think there are always some regrets, some things that you should have done and you didn’t do. But by and large, I think I have played it by the book, as I say. I have no regrets. I think life has been very fair with me.

    Q: Do you think the news TV folk sensationalize more than inform?

    Yes, I think there is some need for self-regulation, there is some need for accountability. You can’t have a free-for-all as far as the channels are concerned. And I think most channels now are realizing that they are losing public support; the most important thing is their viewers’ support and therefore they need some professional guidelines. There is that appreciation now and I think that in the next few months, you will see something, some self-regulation.

    Q: We know you don’t agree with this, but still: do you think news only constitutes current affairs and matters of national importance?  For instance, would current affairs only mean political news or also whom Ranbir Kapoor is dating?

    No, I think current affairs is current affairs, anything which is current, for example, film stars, Aamir Khan made a film called Peepli Live , that was very much part of news. Entertainment is part of news, entertainment and news are not separate, but I think that there is a place for everything. Entertainment has a place, national politics has a place, everything has a place. So you must find the right balance I think; that’s the job of an editor.

    Q: Is there a need for a Press Council-like body, or should the print media too have a NBSA- like self-regulator?

    Well, we do have a Press Council but I think even the print media now realizes that the Press Council doesn’t have any teeth, doesn’t have any punitive powers. So, there is some need even in the print media for a new set of guidelines.

    Q: Your dog is called Editor. If you had another dog, what would you call it?

    Editor Junior. Well I have already got Editor Senior so I got Editor Junior now. But I can’t keep another… We tried to keep another dog, my wife was very keen that we should have two dogs. But Editor wouldn’t just allow another dog to come in. So we tried once or twice, actually brought a dog into the house but he made life hell for that dog, so we finally had to give him away to somebody because he is very possessive and he likes 24/7 attention.

  • Chander Mohan Sethi of Reckitt Benckiser (India) in a one-on-one interview with MXMIndia

    Copy us? Go ahead, says Reckitt honcho

     

    By Shruti Pushkarna

    Reckitt Benckiser needs no introduction and neither does the man who has ensured an outstanding record for the company in India.

     

    MxM India caught up with Mr Chander Mohan Sethi, Regional Director – South Asia, Chairman and Managing Director, Reckitt Benckiser (India) in a one-on-one interview, at the release of the latest international Dettol Habit Study by the Global Hygiene Council in association with Reckitt Benckiser, in New Delhi. The study which was carried out in 12 countries including India, found that people who have good manners have better personal hygiene.

    Mr Chander Mohan Sethi has envisioned and assisted Reckitt Benckiser in its entry into various sectors, as well as helped the company establish a strong foothold in the household products and personal care sector.

    Mr Sethi began his career at Reckitt Benckiser India as Branch Manager- Eastern Region in 1984. He was promoted to the position of National Sales Manager in 1987 and in three years, recognizing his huge contribution to the company, he was promoted as Head of Marketing and Sales. He also headed Reckitt Benckiser, Nigeria and West Africa in 1994. Mr Sethi began his career as a management trainee with Glaxo SmithKline Consumer Products Ltd.

    Reckitt Benckiser, a global consumer goods company, headquartered in UK, is a world leader in household, health and personal care. Some of its leading brands include, Dettol, Harpic, Strepsils, Vanish, Veet and Mortein.

    In this candid interaction, Mr Sethi reinforces Dettol’s growing market share and the need for competing brands to think of newer ideas to take on an iconic brand like Dettol.

     


    Q: What are the key insights of the latest Dettol Habit Study, specific to India?

    First and foremost, the study has been done in 12 countries; more than 14,000 consumers have been contacted. In India, the study has also been done, both in metros, mini metros and in smaller towns. I think two key insights have come. One is that, male and female hygiene habits are the same. And secondly, which is a bit concerning, is that the younger generation unfortunately is not following as good hygiene practices as they should. I think that certainly is a surprise for us.

     

    Q: As the latest report states, good manners and behaviour are equally important factors as much as the availability of good infrastructure to practice good hygiene. How do you react to that?

    I think it’s a great insight, it’s a great fact of life, that you could have the best infrastructure but if you don’t have the right hygiene habits, it would lead to, you know, infection. So you can have a very clean room, you have a very large home but if you don’t have the right habits, there is going to be a problem of hygiene.

     

    Q: Is Reckitt Benckiser taking any specific initiatives for hygiene awareness in rural India?

    There is a very fine definition between rural-rural and what I call semi-urban. In very small, 40,000-50,000 population towns, we focus in different regions in terms of going to these towns and doing mother contact programmes, also in school programmes and hospitals. I would like my team to go into areas where they can effectively to do it.

     

    Q: How does the Global Hygiene Council function?

    The Global Hygiene Council is basically an independent body made up of very eminent doctors and scholars. They do studies on hygiene practices, on what should and what should not be done, after getting insights into consumers’ lives and consumers’ homes, in places of work. These are independent specialists, who get funded by their universities or hospitals where they are attached. But when they come to the Council, which is where we put an education endowment to run this entire body for more than ten countries, they meet a couple of times, and we use their material to be able to propagate good hygiene.

     

    Q: Dettol ranked as No1 in the Most Trusted Brand survey by Brand Equity in 2002. It slipped down to No2 in 2003. Even though the brand has consistently ranked in the Top 10 Most Trusted Brands, it never regained the No1 mark. How do you react to that?

    The first point is that Dettol is one of the most trusted brands in this country and over decades together. The second point is that there are a lot of new brands that have come, whether it is in the technology sector, cars, information or services etc. So it’s a question of what is the priority in that consumer’s mind at that point of time on his list of things. For us, it’s very important that we read the consumer’s reaction and feedback. But just to give you an idea, Dettol Liquid, in an independent survey by Nielsen, is 85 percent of the market. If you take Dettol Liquid hand wash, again Nielsen says, 53 percent of the market, so I could go on. Now if Dettol were not in one of the most trusted brands then we wouldn’t have 85 percent of the market in liquids, wouldn’t have 53 percent in hand wash. And just to say, Dettol soap for example, the body soap, it used to be No 8 in the soap market, and it is today No 3 in the entire soap market. Certainly in the germicidals, we are today at the top.

     

    Q: Dettol has positioned itself as the germ fighter brand; how have other players in the market affected this position? In fact, as a study indicates, in 2007 Dettol made an effort to reposition itself to take on Lifebuoy. What do you say to that?

    Lifebuoy tried to position itself like Dettol, I mean they must be running out of ideas that they have to… but you know, I can’t blame them. If you have an iconic brand like Dettol, everybody would want to be like Dettol. So good luck to those guys who want to copy us but the consumer says there is only one Dettol, there is only one brand which they trust in terms of hygiene.

  • Anil Thakraney interviews Ogilvy India supremo Piyush Pandey. Great questions, super responses.

    No place for Sonal Dabral and Prasoon Joshi at O&M

     

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    It has been a fantastic advertising career, to put it mildly, for the 56-year-young Piyush Pandey. Enough has been said about Ogilvy & Mather’s top dog and the Indian ad industry’s most celebrated player. So let’s just sneak in some yorkers and see if the bat still packs in the punch. It’s always a joy to meet the man because of his joie-de-vivre and the on-the-tap humour. Tonight it’s even more fun as we lounge by his sea-facing apartment off Shivaji Park, with Piyush downing vodka shots.

     

    Q: Don’t see you much in the media these days. Finally got fed up of the over-exposure?

    I have never approached any journalist ever in my life. And I have never said no to any journalist either. Actually, I have been travelling quite a bit these days. But I have never felt I am missing out on anything. And sometimes journalists call to ask about things one doesn’t know. Anything that happens, I get a call! (Laughs.) Also, in the earlier days, I used to attend parties but now I seldom go. I even avoid judging (ad competitions) these days because it takes away five days of my time.

     

    Q: You’ve spent a lifetime in the ad world. Still get the same buzz? Aren’t you bored?

    The day I stop getting excited about this business I will go. You don’t know what a kick I get out of this profession. Gratification comes to people from various things. Some get it by playing golf. Others by spending a day at the club. I get my kicks out of meeting people in my office, and out of the ideas. I have never thought of my job as a burden, I am having a ball.

     

    Q: Oh ok. After you built yourself that palace in Goa, I thought Piyush would disappear to the beaches.

    It’s a three-bedroom house, not a palace! And when I am in Goa, I look at my watch and say, “Oh! It’s only nine o’clock!”

     

    Q: O&M’s big boss, Shelley Lazarus, famously said you are the brightest mind in the network. And we all thought Piyush would take global charge of the agency.  

    It doesn’t make sense to the company and it doesn’t make sense to me. I do sit on the worldwide board, I have a view on the worldwide policies. But I will never re-locate myself. Also, I don’t believe in controlling the world, I enjoy being in India. I think we are still on a graph which is unfolding. And I love having Indians around me. So I can give all that I have learnt to the world, wherever relevant, but I don’t think that burden is mine. (Laughs.)

     

    Q: I suspect the key reason for your huge success is understanding the Indian culture and ethos. By extension, that means you will struggle in other nations.

    Markets don’t scare me, I do help if there’s a need somewhere. I go there and discuss the idea and then leave it to the locals to express it. What I once hated happening in the good old days, how can I do that to the others now that I am a worldwide board member? I will never do all those things which I disliked. Even when I discuss ideas with Pakistan, I tell them I don’t think I am capable of understanding their local nuances.

     

    Q: Ah, I get it. You don’t want to do what Neil French did to you. Which is to try and interfere in your work. I remember you told him this: “Neil, come help me, don’t f*** with me.”

    I did tell him that. Because he tried to (interfere). But he couldn’t do it. My first conversation with him was, “I will show you some work we have done for Cadbury’s and I don’t want your comment on it”. (Laughs.) I must share another incident with you. Many years later at a creative meet near Jodhpur, Neil saw the Hutch boy-and-dog film and tried to make fun of the song. And in the evening my boys went and got the Rajasthani musicians to sing the same song for him! (Laughs loudly.)

     

    Q: Your rival agency heads are pursuing other passions and enjoying a lot of success in those. Making movies, writing songs. You don’t feel the need to experiment?

    Those things come to you when you are bored of what you are doing. And I don’t think three hours is a greater achievement than one minute. I did it once, I wrote the script for the film ‘Dus’ for Mukul Anand but it never got completed because he passed away. But it (movies) never excited me. The kind of people who wanted me and Prasoon (Pandey) to write… from Yash Chopra to Subhash Ghai to Dev Anand… and I told all of them this is stuff I would do on a weekend or at night. That my first job is advertising. I can only handle one thing at a time.

     

    Q: New media is upon you in a big way. Ready for it? Honestly.

    One, we are investing heavily in the new media. There is no technology that we haven’t provided to our youngsters. And two, in my working life, things aren’t going to change. I see maximum activity in the mass media at least for the next five years. So the idea is to invest for the future. Which we are doing.

     

    Q: And you aren’t on Twitter or Facebook.

    I am not even on the internet. I don’t even know how to start a computer.

     

    Q: You are joking.

    I am not joking. I did not study all these years to become a typist. Every computer user is a fantastic typist. (Guffaws.)

     

    Q: So if a client wants to know how he can promote his brand on the digital media, you are in trouble.

    I will sit with him (the client) to assess the solution. And tell him that I have people on my side who will help him. To give you an analogy, I know what a good ball is, but I can’t bowl it. So I will get Kapil Dev to bowl it.

     

    Q: I think you are a test match player who now has to deal with the T20 format. And you don’t understand that game.

    I am saying to the client, I will put together a team that can satisfy his needs. I will not play the T20 match. But I will come and watch every match. I will hire the best T20 players. And I will cheerlead them.

     

    Q: There’s a flip side too. Does it worry you the excess use of tech may make the youngsters get disconnected from the real world? Which is where big ideas come from.

    I didn’t write the MP Tourism ad, the kids wrote it. Also the Asian Paints work featuring the two brothers. They wrote it. So I think the next generation is very savvy. They know that even in the digital space it is the idea that will win. The idea is to know the medium, but express the same kind of engagement that we have done all these years. But yes, about being buried in technology, there is a worry, and for the world at large, not just for Ogilvy. I say to the youngsters: go to Facebook, but don’t become faceless. That, interface is the greatest way to connect with people.

     

    Q: The one big challenge facing the ad world?

    We need better remuneration from clients to be able to hire interesting people in the industry. I don’t have the answer to this challenge right now. But before I leave this company, I will make every attempt to make sure this is solved. If we don’t pay people well, how will we get the best people into the industry? Every agency is under so much pressure, we are not negotiating properly with clients. Maybe clients are better negotiators than us. If other industries are taking our people away, then we have a problem.

     

    Q: Does it hurt when you nurture young guys, train them, and then they go and head rival agencies?

    Sometimes, yes. But not with guys who are leaving to do the same job that I am doing. That is a natural progression of life. I regret losing those people who had misconceptions about themselves and their abilities, and left to do it on their own. And then disappeared. And all that talent Ogilvy alone hasn’t lost, the industry has lost it. Because in the next job, if the guy is a failure, he simply disappears.

     

    Q: If Sonal Dabral and Prasoon Joshi wanted to return to O&M, and you had place only for one, who would you pick?

    None of them. Because our people have grown. And in the last five years, they’ve done work that’s the best in the industry. So why would I put anyone on top of them? Sometimes when you vacate a position, others grow into that position so fast, it becomes difficult for them to be brought back. If you missed three matches, and Vinod Kambli came and scored three double hundreds, how do you get Kambli out of there? It’s important for all of us to be at the right place at the right time. Suppose I decide, before my retirement, that I want to be in Goa and am going to write my book. Then somebody will obviously occupy my position here. Now if I want this position back two years later, and if that guy has done so well in the meanwhile, they’ll say ‘Sorry!’.

     

    Q: Are you planning to write a book?

    I will write one. But it will not be a prescriptive book. I will write something that people read between the lines. It will apply to life and not just advertising.

     

    Q: Any red hot-tips for youngsters?

    One, celebrate life. Don’t crib. Because if you crib four hours a day, you don’t approach anything with a positive mind. Two, if you are passionate about something, go ahead and do it. Don’t worry about society. You might actually become the role model for that. And three, in the world of communications, respect your environment. If you don’t think of the receiver, you will never make a good giver. For example, on your way to Jaisalmer, did you notice, in that 48 degrees heat, those guys who are tarring the roads, they are singing songs to distract themselves from the adversity? That is what will give you insights.

     

    Q: Your retirement is due in exactly two years. Will you actually leave?

    Maine aaj tak life plan nahin ki. Did you, in your younger years, ever hear from me that one day I want to be the Chairman of this company? You didn’t. I don’t make long-term plans, I only make plans for tomorrow. That I will wake up at five in the morning and go for my walk. And even that may not happen! (Laughs.)

  • Be realistic about economic climate, global OOH consultant John Ellery tells Indian outdoor

    Innovation and OOH are synonymous: John Ellery

    Having studied to become a Chartered Surveyor, working in property management and sales, Mr John Ellery joined the outdoor contractor London and Provincial in 1968 and trained in all aspects of the outdoor medium from billposting to backlight development. L+P was at the forefront of the outdoor advertising industry at that time and led many industry initiatives.

    Specifically Mr Ellery was involved in the birth of the street furniture medium, developing acceptable designs and working with local authorities to integrate outdoor within modern town centre developments, and the street scene.

    From there on it was an upward progression as Mr Ellery went on to become Marketing Director of Smiths and Masons, Board Director of L+P Group and Adshel, Managing Director, Dennis Sullivan at Portland, and formed the International Division of Poster Publicity. He opened their offices worldwide, providing a global network with 18 offices outside the UK, producing over half of the groups annual billings of US$400 million. PP opened their 19th office, in Sydney, early in 2005.

    PP and WPP formed a joint company, with Portland, called Kinetic Worldwide, to continue to develop the outdoor specialist function globally. Since 2006 Mr Ellery ceased his connection with the company and is now an international OOH consultant.

    In an exclusive interview with Nibha, John Ellery shares his views on tackling the economic slowdown, global consolidation, work ethics, global OOH guidelines and much more.

     

    Q: Do you think that the current economic slowdown will give out-of-home advertising an edge over other media, across the globe?

    This will vary market by market. In the main I believe that OOH has many advantages over other media, but as several advertisers believe that OOH so often only accounts for a small percentage of total media spend, in difficult times, it is sometimes the first part of a media schedule to be cancelled. However with the right marketing and enthusiastic, well connected sales force, many outdoor owners can provide advertisers with some more reasonably priced advertising alternatives to their regular media choice. There is still an education job to be carried out on many advertisers. All sectors of media are suffering at this time, but from what I am seeing, a medium that can offer a specific and well targeted audience is enjoying a better sales ratio, than a medium that is broader in its audience appeal.

     

    Q: The current economic slowdown is affecting the OOH media owners’ businesses across the world; as a result a number of major advertisers are cutting back on their advertising spends. What according to you is the key to win back advertisers to the OOH arena?

    It must be a continuing effort to provide a well positioned OOH medium with top quality servicing and display performance. Of course this costs money, but we have such a public medium which is only as good as the last site that was seen. In the UK and US the number of outdoor sites displaying paper and glue displays is reducing quite dramatically. In the US it is proposed to have no further paper and glue sites by the end of this year. I know traditional panels in India are now almost all vinyl, but with “dry posting” recyclable materials are being used. Good qualitative research is playing a growing role in outdoor, and is important to be able to demonstrate “eyes on results”’ rather than simple opportunities to see.

     

    Q: What advice would you give to the Indian Outdoor fraternity, both in terms of marketing and pricing of their media’s so that they don’t face the heat of the global economic slowdown?

    Be realistic about the economic climate. It will help if the OOH business was to work in concert as a proper industry. I know that it is easy to say, and it is a difficult dream to realise, but OOH is one of the more minor media choices, and we should work together to demonstrate its strengths and advantages. Each individual company will want to maximise its share of any budget. That often leads to reducing price. Of course an advertiser wants to achieve good value for money, but OOH must hold its head up! We cannot be turned off, or ignored like TV and press. Both TV and press have seen dramatic reductions in their advertising income over recent years, due to a reducing audience. The Outdoor audience is generally increasing, and that should carry an equivalent increase in value. The growth in the online sector is generally to the detriment of TV and press, not OOH.

     

    Q: Is the OOH industry doing enough to foster new formats and has the global consolidation of media owners helped this?

    There have been a number of new formats over the recent years, and OOH is all about the position of the site and audience. I have seen several new formats fail because they have not reached the awareness of the client. All very traditional and simple. But we are seeing successful new formats – LED, plasma screens, mobile phones.  The current financial conditions are not really supportive of these sorts of formats, but we need to encourage advertisers to really appreciate the positives that these new formats provide.

     

    Q: Out of Home is in the spotlight more than ever for its variety and breadth of offering. What new OOH media types have impressed you and why?

    LED enables so many clients to present their advertisement in the key locations where the opportunities exist. However, the success of LED is very dependent upon the programming and creative expertise utilized. Similarly, the same applies to plasma screens. The escalator plasma panels on the London Underground have been well used by several advertisers. The angle of the escalators provide a truly great creative programming opportunity, which a number of advertisers have taken full advantage of, to provide a very memorable advertising campaign.  To see products jump from screen to screen in time with the movement of the escalator is very eye-catching and absorbing.

     

    Q: What role do you think innovation plays in OOH media? And in the recent past can you name any campaign which you could call really innovative?

    Innovation and OOH are synonymous, whether the innovation applies to the creativity of the artwork/programming, the location in relation to the audience, the timing of the event, or the combination of media used. However it must be said that many and indeed most OOH campaigns simply work because they advertise a product or brand in a simple and clear way on a campaign of well placed outdoor sites. It would be inappropriate, I think, to name one or two “really innovative” campaigns as there are, and have been, so many.

     

    Q: How does one justify the cost of innovations in terms of both the recall value and the rise in the market share especially when we in India, don’t have any posting technology at place, wherein one can justify the effectiveness of the OOH campaign?

    This is a difficult question to answer. The simple answer is that since its origins, many hundreds of years ago, OOH has been proven to work in many, many markets. Justification of “innovation” can be measured by research, and by sales and ROI. The research work that has been going on in our industry world-wide has been immense. The India market can benefit from it, and I do hope that it is at this moment. In Europe and the US we have been working on global guidelines for OOH research which I have encouraged the market to consider and accept, and I believe this is happening. Where you don’t have a particular technology in place I think you need to look at other markets and share their experiences to your advantage.

     

    Q: How do you rate the change in the Indian OOH industry, especially in the past 3-4 years? And according to you, what is it that will make OOH media more than just a “reminder” medium?

    One of the obvious changes, probably in more than the past 3-4 years, is the reduction of hand-painted, and the growth in “PVC” or “vinyl” on large scale panels. This has really improved the presentation and appearance of the medium in India. Also the growth in the Street Furniture sector, and the huge improvement in the Airport Advertising offerings, is helping the medium to become a force to be reckoned with. The “negative” that I have heard from a number of people on the buying side of the business is the clutter that appears in a number of locations in most of the cities in India. OOH is seen in conjunction with the environment, and this is a matter for improvement by all the players that are in the business.

     

    Q: According to you is accountability the factor that is keeping clients at a distance from OOH, when it comes to the Media Plan? And do you think that the clients are ready to experiment with realtime innovations and not just cutouts and neons?

    Accountability is extremely important in the OOH business. Lack of accountability has held the medium back in many markets around the world, over the years. It’s a difficult factor to achieve when there are many players in the business, and all very keen to maximise income. But without it, as you say, it will keep clients at bay. In a market with many landlords controlling site locations, who are only interested in their financial returns it is difficult to establish a trusting, level OOH business which is accountable. But overall it is the contractors that can bring accountability. They need to work together for the benefit of the OOH Industry, by establishing a code of conduct, that all will adhere to. The research programme that is currently ongoing will go a long way towards helping out. I am sure that clients are ready to experiment with real time innovations which will become more apparent as time moves on.

     

    Q: How important is building up relationships with Agencies, Advertisers and Associations? And what sort of difficulties have you faced in the recent times across the globe?

    Very important! I am not the first person to state that the most important relationship is with the client, and the agency. It’s more straightforward to tell clients and agencies about a TV commercial – time of transmission, and potential audience etc, than it is to explain the locations and potential audience of a group of outdoor sites. We are back to accountability and trust again. Explaining the way in which the message can be delivered directly to the target audience is all important. In some markets there have been questions asked when it appears that not all sites booked appear. Double bookings have also caused questions to be asked. If we do not play our business in a straight and honest way, then the future will not look good.

     

    Q: Your site mentions the steering board of a new group, responsible for providing global guidelines for OOH research. What is the current progress on this?

    FEPE – the “Federation of European Publicite Exteriure” was formed in 1959 by the legendary Jacques Dauphin. This year we celebrate FEPE’s 50th Birthday at the World congress in Sardinia 3-6 June (www.fepe.com). FEPE represents the European OOH industry, along with many other OOH countries who are members.  Back in November 2007 FEPE met with ESOMAR – the global media research body and agreed that global guidelines for OOH research should be produced. This would help agencies and clients to compare the OOH medium globally, to compare apples with apples. A number of bodies were invited to join, and in addition to FEPE, and ESOMAR. These are:

    EACA – The European Association of Communication Agencies

    Chairman of the Technical Committee – Neil Eddleston JCDecaux

    WFA – The world Federation of Advertisers

    OAAA – The Outdoor Advertising Association of America

    AAAA – The American Association of Advertising Agencies

    MRC – The Media Ratings Council

    CANA – The China Association of National Advertisers

     

    Q: What sort of challenges and opportunities do you see, when you look at a market like India?

    There is a notable improvement in the way OOH is handled and marketed in India. New developments into the street Furniture domain, the modern treatment of airport advertising concessions show how more aware operators have become.  Improved accountability always helps generate a greater trust in the medium. A closer and more trusting relationship between the site operators can also improve the way OOH is perceived.

    Clients do not wish to be associated with clutter, so a continued drive to improve the environmental landscape will be to the advantage of the OOH Industry.

    Support the research guidelines and generate “eyes-on” figures will create more credibility for the medium. So, continue the move towards standardisation of panel sizes and the investment in backlights, MUPIs etc. Move towards using recyclable print substrates, and improve awareness of green issues.