​Senior communications professional Girish Huria is set to join Ketchum Sampark as President. He is likely to join the PR major on Monday (Nov 13). Huria worked with eBay until yesterday heading communications. Ketchum Sampark is part of the Omnicom group.
Huria who worked with Genesis Burson-Marsteller as Managing Partner where he had an 11-year stint also worked with Avian Media as COO for four years and joined eBay in 2014.
Huria will helm operations at Sampark, partnering founders Managing Director N S Rajan and Director Bela Rajan who lead the agency.
Ujjivan Financial Services, amongst India’s leading microfinance institutions has appointed Ketchum Sampark as their strategic PR partner to champion corporate and media communications for their small finance bank transformation.
Speaking on the development, Vijay Balakrishnan, Chief Marketing Officer, Ujjivan Financial Services said: “We are delighted to announce that Ketchum Sampark, one of India’s leading Public Relations firms is on board as our strategic PR partner after a very careful consideration of their impeccable credentials, enormous experience & in-depth understanding of the Microfinance and BFSI domains.â€
“We are equally excited & confident that Ketchum Sampark will help us build impactful Public Relations & Customer Outreach Programs given, their years of inspirational PR work in the MFI & Financial Institutions spaces, as we begin our interesting & challenging journey of transforming into a best in class small finance bank,â€Â Balakrishnan added.
Ujjivan started operations in Bengaluru in 2005 and serves over 32.79 lakh active customers through 469 branches and 8,258 employees spread across 209 districts and 24 states in India. Ujjivan also undertakes robust financial literacy program and community development & disaster relief programs for customers in collaboration with Parinaam Foundation which is a non-profit organization.
Commenting on the appointment, N. S. Rajan, Managing Director, Ketchum Sampark said, “We are very excited to partner with Ujjivan Financial Services in their mission towards transforming the lives of the economically active poor segments of our society further through a Small. Finance Bank institution We thank Ujjivan for their trust reposed in us, and with our extensive experience in the BFSI sector, including being associated with microfinance companies; we look forward to making a success of Ujjivan’s transformation into a Small Finance Bank.â€
Marketing campaigns define a brand, to an extent. To create effective campaign, every agency needs to be innovative and come up with new ideas. The success of these agencies is determined through encouragement and motivation.
Taking a cue from the same, Aditya Birla Financial Services Group (ABFSG) launched Eureka Awards four years ago wherein the group honours its agencies and their hard work. This year too, ABFSG held its Eureka Awards with all of its agencies attending and celebrating the success of their hard work.
Speaking to MxM India, Ajay Kakar, Chief Marketing Officer, Aditya Birla Financial Services Group, said, “This is our way of thanking our agency partners. All year round they work very hard for us, they are thinking of us, they are slogging for us. So, this is our way of thanking them, giving them a fun time but also rewarding the agency for the award and the agency colleagues for hardwork.â€
The agencies that participated were Mindshare, DDB Mudra Max, Eikona, HansaCequity, Ketchum Sampark, TrackDDB, The Social Street, Taproot India, 9 Point Design, Pi Communications and Resultrix. There were 40 entries comprising the campaigns and work done by the above mentioned agencies.
This year the awards categories were compressed into two categories: Agency Eureka and People Eureka. The former category awards the work of an agency and the latter is to recognise individual effort. Out of the 40 entries, 23 were for Agency Eureka and 17 were for individual Eureka. But there were only 15 winners, eight in Agency and seven in People Eureka.
This unique concept of recognising hard work not only encourages the agencies and individuals, it takes the agency-client partnership to another level. “I think it is a very innovative thing which motivates people to work harder. It is a good way to recognise contribution. It is a very nice gesture on part of the company,†said N. S. Rajan, Global Partner and Managing Director of Ketchum Sampark, who was also a jury member. Added Rakhshin Patel, Managing Director of Pi Communications: “I have been in the business for 30 years, I have not seen any client appreciate the agency this much. Relish your love and affection and appreciation for what teams do.â€
Ketchum Sampark has announced the appointment of Surajeet Das Gupta as the Chief Operating Officer. Das Gupta brings a rich experience of over 30 years as a journalist, having worked with the country’s reputed media houses including India Today, Business Today and Business Standard.
In his new role, Surajeet will be responsible for building firm’s franchise in India along with fostering key client relationships. His appointment is a part of a broader strategy to build on the agency’s best-in-class India team. Surajeet will be based out of Delhi and will offer strategic counselling to clients and further expand the firm’s creative offering, with his expertise and knowledge.
Commenting on his appointment, N S Rajan, Global Partner & Managing Director, Ketchum Sampark said, “I am excited to have an experienced professional like Surajeet join our leadership team that will build on the momentum the firm has created with strong franchise and a robust past performance. Surajeet’s extensive value-added experience and deep relationships will help us build new areas of expertise and offerings.â€
Surajeet Das Gupta, Chief Operating Officer, Ketchum Sampark added, “I am looking forward to work with the expert team of Ketchum Sampark. I am particularly excited to channel my expertise and knowledge in a way that brings innovation and new direction, contributing to the growth of the organization. “
Prior to joining Ketchum Sampark, Surajeet has been the National Corporate Editor with Business Standard, responsible for the newspapers pan India operations, covering corporate news and policy matters for more than two decades. During his stint as a journalist with varied media houses, Surajeet has extensively covered the country’s top brass corporates, specializing in key business areas including telecom, consumer durables and electronics, IT, media and entertainment, FMCG, aviation, automobiles, foreign investment policies, etc.
Ketchum Sampark announced a slew of new business wins across key sectors including hospitality, e-commerce, pharmaceuticals, private equity and corporate & finance. Besides several market leading financial & corporate businesses, some of the brands that have chosen Ketchum Sampark include Earnest Towers Pvt. Ltd., Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys Limited (IMFA), Netmeds Marketplace Limited, AM International Holding Pvt. Ltd. (SPIC), InnoVen Capital, a division of Temasek, Synopsys India Pvt Ltd., Stylori.com, and Eagle Boys Pizza.
Ketchum Sampark will provide strategic advisory, brand building, content development, reputation management and crisis & issues management.
Hina Jafri
Commenting on the new business wins, Hina Jafri – Vice President & Brand Custodian, Ketchum Sampark said, “2015 has started on a good note for us and we are excited to partner with some of the best brands in the business. We see that more and more clients in India are looking to partner with consultancy firms that offer a holistic communications approach, moving beyond the execution capabilities. This is a reflection of the growing confidence of large Indian and multi-national corporations in the firm’s ability to conceptualize and execute PR campaigns that deliver a strategic advantage in the marketplace.â€
Knowledge Studio, the specialized thought leadership and content division of Ketchum Sampark (India) also won three new prestigious assignments – CFA Institute and microsite for the AM International Holding Pvt. Ltd. (SPIC) and one of India’s leading Asset Management companies. Knowledge Studio provides cutting edge content & publishing services, online solutions and information consultancy & research to clients across the globe.
For people who have spent all of their professional lives building the reputations of organizations and professionals, this duo just doesn’t believe in their faces doing the talking. Just use the logo, we were told. Thankfully, our phone was out of bounds so we couldn’t be reached, else we would have been persuaded to drop the pictures.
Over the last few weeks, over phone calls, text messages and meetings, N S Rajan, Global Partner and Managing Director of Ketchum Sampark and Amith Prabhu, PR professional, MxMIndia columnist and founder of PR conference Praxis have been stitching together plans to set the Indian School of Communications and Reputation (SCoRe). Messrs Rajan and Prabhu were in Mumbai on Tuesday to announce the plans for the institute and meet select media to address questions.
SCORE has been set up by a limited liability firm promoted by Messrs Rajan and Prabhu. Although there’s no direct monetary investment made by either of them, the broad arrangement is that while Mr Prabhu will run the institute, Mr Rajan will play the role of a Mentor and also bring in the monies if there is a need. The business plan expects the institute to be in the black from Year 1.
Details of the programmes offered are at www.scoredindia.org
Students will experience life of being in a workplace at SCORE
Q&A with SCORE Chief Mentor N S Rajan and Founding Dean Amith Prabhu
Congratulations on the announcement. But having heard more about it, and given that there are various media and management schools offering PR training programmes, one was wondering that since why set up another?
The industry still doesn’t have good number of trained freshers who are pinning their hopes on a career in Public Relations. That explains the overwhelming support of all members of the profession. Moreover, there is a lot that a postgraduate programme in strategic communications can offer, both students and organisations that has been untapped so far.
Don’t you think it would’ve been better if you had tied up with an existing player and offered your services to them? Some – if not all – of the institutes do boast of excellent faculty and have been producing quality PR professionals. So why reinvent the wheel?
There is no institute that has been set up by practising professionals. And there is no institute dedicated to Public Relations. If PR has to get its due, it needs an academic management that is focussed on offering various specialisations within the craft without being attached to a larger educational set-up where it remains one of many specialisations. For example, SCORE will offer specialisations in Corporate, Political and Developmental Public Relations. Sometimes a new way of doing things is the best solution. More importantly, the school will aim to be the fountain of talent in the years to come.
How is SCORE going to be different from the others?
SCORE will be the only school of its kind dedicated to Public Relations. Something we have broken down into what we do and what we say – Communications and Reputation. Five things will stand out a) The school will be affordable by offering a well thought out programme at a price point that students can pay easily as they start out a career. b) By being located in Gurgaon the school will tap into a wide talent pool of professionals who will teach c) The accessibility of large organisations and PR consulting firms will enable students to work on live projects and real-time assignments d) This will be the first independent school that has the leadership of most of the Top 10 firms supporting it with guarantees of internships that will translate into jobs. E) And lastly, the curriculum is inspired by the leading communications schools of the world offering an intense programme with extensive in-classroom training
So, why should students apply?
The programme being offered is like no other. It is carefully planned with the work-life in mind. Students will experience life of being in a workplace at SCORE. They will learn from the best in the profession. Work on live projects. Solve case studies. Make campaign plans. Track news. Consult on projects. Plan events. Meet business leaders. Be equipped to tackle reputational problems. Trained in elements of brand communications, business management and strategic communications in small batches
Rajan, when you are recruiting talent, would you prefer to hire talent that’s from a communications/PR school or someone with a general MBA. For, after all, the people at the other end of the table in the form of clients are pedigreed B-schoolers and hence it makes sense to hire people who can match up to them?
As is the case with most graduates coming from school, the industry including the PR fraternity and the firm I have been associated with has had to invest substantially in their training and in many cases retraining to make them unlearn some of the concepts. So in the past we have recruited quite many Management graduates. Hopefully, the curriculum of SCORE with its emphasis on practical training and case-study based learning along with a holistic learning approach would fill the current void and make the students ‘industry ready’.
Or is the hiring of IIM/ISB/etc Tier-1 something that PR firms can never dream of given the price tag?
There are several considerations in the minds of an IIM or an ISB graduate and salary is only one of them. For instance, my own son would prefer to join a start-up.
Yes. I do agree as an industry, we have not actively tapped talent with a general management background. The Top management schools better prepare students to work specially in areas like FMCG . We hope the SCORE curriculum and the rigour of the programme places those choosing a career in Strategic Communications on par with their peers from general management in terms of being industry ready.
Rajan, could you for the benefit of our readers and the fraternity, explain your exact association with SCORE? How did you think of mentoring SCORE? Post-Ketchum Sampark retirement planningJÂ ?
I have been part of several discussions with industry leaders over time on the need for a practical curriculum for entrants as also training to current young professionals to raise the overall standing of the Industry. This project is to me in a waygiving back to the profession in a small measure the great joy and fulfilment it has given me. SoI am not looking at this as a business venture.
Amith has done a yeoman service to all of us in PR by bringing us under one roof with PRAXIS and I felt if the School project was to be truly neutral and independent and stand for the PR industry in India, Amith is best equipped to anchor and run it. I am gratified that the Industry as a whole and many of my fellow professionals have graciously accepted to participate actively in this venture and I thank them sincerely.
At 55, I’m far from retired and I’m looking to build my firm in India. While I initiated the idea it was Amith who, having worked for the fraternity at large, immediately saw the opportunity and agreed to anchor it. I will not be actively involved in the day to day operations other than mentoring the young team that will run the school.
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Amith, given Rajan’s active association with SCORE and the fact that he’s a veteran PR professional but associated with a large PR firm, did the thought that some PR consultancy professionals/agencies who are rivals of Ketchum Sampark could possibly not encourage your institute?
This institute is being created with a clear purpose. To offer a world-class education at an affordable price to the future managers and leaders of the profession. My biggest strength has been to work on challenging projects without letting biases creep in. Be it the weekly column I write or the annual event I organise, I never take sides. The school offers every PR firm CEO and corporate communications head the option to nominate an individual for the rigorous training programme on the condition that they will hire the student on successful completion of the programme As mentioned by Mr Rajan , I have the mandate to run the school independently and it will be company agnostic .The fact that a large number of leaders from across agencies and companies have agreed to participate whole heartedly is perhaps an indication of the need for such a school as also its neutrality. I look forward to their continued guidance and counsel in my new avatar as they supported PRAXIS
PR firms like having journalists on their fold? Does the setting up of SCORE imply that trained PR professionals is possibly the way to go rather than getting bored-of-their-journalism-jobs editors?
There is room for everyone. While journalists join PR firm at middle and senior levels bringing in the strength of content creation and media relations. There is always a need for good talent at the entry level as generalists and at other levels as strategists and planners. Some institutes offer PR as a specialisation but do not deep dive to train students in emerging areas where PR is in great demand like the developmental sector or the political arena. Besides, the institutes offer a programme that is expensive thus preventing good talent from embracing it because of price barrier and those that graduate want to work in jobs that have higher starting salaries compared to PR which leads to a brain drain of sorts.
Amith, at 34, you would obviously be among the youngest professionals to get into education. Does the fact that you are not been an educator or have too many years into the profession, do you think SCORE wouldn’t be taken too seriously as an educational institute?
I turned 35 this monthJ. Well, I was expecting this question from the media but this question has not come from parents of potential students I have spoken to or from fellow ‘senior’ professionals who have signed up to be on the Academic Council and to teach. Age is no barrier to the success when there is an idea whose time has come. That is why Rajan and I chose to collaborate in creating this programme. A good mix of youth and experience can always create wonders. When I floated the idea of PRAXIS in early 2012 I was 31, and many dissuaded me saying it would have no takers but when people saw the product which was of high calibre and independently done there was overwhelming support. My role is three-fold. To attract the best students and faculty. To be the custodian of something that the professional community has been yearning for. And lastly, to let the programme do the talking.Â
Jon Higgins, Senior Partner and CEO, International, Ketchum,said, “India is one of our most promising and key growth markets. We believe in continuously providing our customers solutions and offerings that significantly add value to their business. Knowledge Studio is a great example of that value-added service offering.”
Announcing the launch, Bela Rajan, Founder and Director, Ketchum Sampark, said: “We see strategic synergy in offering our clients value-added services in the thought leadership and content space along with integrated design and software solutions. I believe the Knowledge Studio team will help us deliver new ideas and enhance client value in the new-age digital reputation arena.”
Biswadeep Gupta, President, Knowledge Studio, and Partner, Ketchum Sampark, will drive the content business. Previously, he was the founder and CEO of Riteverses, a firm in a similar business as the Ketchum Sampark Knoweldge Studio. The Riteverses website now points to Mr Gupta and two others who are now part of the (Publicis) Omnicom group PR agency.
Commenting on this move, Mr Gupta said: “Going ahead, content will be a key differentiator globally for consumer and other stakeholder outreach programmes, especially in the online space. We see a genuine opportunity to partner customers in building Thought Leadership content solutions for our clients at Ketchum Sampark and also continue to build and service existing and new customers.”
It may be noted that the Publicis group’s MSLGroup in India already runs a similar division under the leadership of former Hindustan Times senior associate editor Ashraf Engineer. It will be interesting to see if post the merger of the Publicis and Omnicom groups, such services in the group’s PR agencies are turned into a common resource or stay as is to be value adds to the PR function.
CFA Institute, a global association for investment professionals, has appointed Ketchum Sampark as its public relations and social media agency in India following a closely contested pitch. The PR mandate for CFA Institute will be managed by Ketchum Sampark’s Mumbai Office.
Ketchum Sampark will manage both traditional PR and Social Media communication programmesin India for the CFA institute.
Confirming the appointment, Terry Lee, Director of Marketing and Communications, Asia Pacific, of CFA Institute said, “Ketchum Sampark’s expertise in the financial services sector and its creative ideas for a holistic communication approach for CFA Institute in India were the key differentiators in awarding the mandate..”
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Ajay Sharma
Ajay Sharma, Managing Partner, Ketchum Sampark, said on the mandate: “We will provide strategic counsel and work on outreach plans for CFA Institute with various stakeholders.”
Communications firm Ketchum was incorporated in Pittsburgh, USA in 1923 with three employees. Ketchum’s nearly 3,000 colleagues around the world in 130 locations are celebrating the firm’s 90th anniversary, making it the longest-tenured public relations firm in the world. It will commemorate the milestone with a series of global philanthropic initiatives, including donating 90 creative brainstorm sessions to nonprofit organizations over a period of 90 days. Ketchum’s Mumbai office will be supporting Give Some Space, dedicated to reducing the barriers – both, physical and social; those prevent the differently abled from coming to the mainstream and eventually create a space for them in society.
“As we celebrate our 90th anniversary, we are looking ahead at how we can continually increase the value we deliver to our clients, colleagues and the communities in which we live and work. To keep our focus on the future, we will be celebrating our anniversary by improving the lives of those less fortunate,” said Rob Flaherty, senior partner and chief executive officer of Ketchum. “Ketchum has a rich history and culture that we draw upon to help guide the decisions we make for the firm every day. I am extremely proud of the enormous success Ketchum has achieved to date, and with that success comes the responsibility to propel our business and the industry forward during this time of opportunity.”
For the next 90 days, Ketchum colleagues will lead and participate in creative brainstorms to assist a local nonprofit in overcoming a challenge the organization is currently facing. Mumbai will be supporting Give Some Sapce. Additional organizations can be found at www.ketchum.com/90-brainstorms.
N S Rajan
N S Rajan, Managing Director, Ketchum Sampark, said, “Several years ago, the agency set a goal to lead in the area of corporate citizenship and established the award-winning Ketchum Social Responsibility programme as a platform for a wide range of partnerships, initiatives and pro bono projects that we are undertaking. As we mark our anniversary, we believe that one of the most meaningful ways to engage our global network and celebrate our success is by continuing this commitment to giving back to others.”
This year also marks Ketchum’s fifth anniversary with Room to Read, a global organization focused on transforming children’s lives through literacy and gender equality in education. Underscoring the importance of Room to Read’s mission, Ketchum and its employees have committed to donating the money needed to empower 90 girls who are enrolled in the nonprofit’s Girls’ Education programme to graduate from secondary school and develop the skills needed to succeed beyond the classroom. The money raised will be a combination of agency and employee contributions.
“So many girls are forced to drop out of school due to economic, social or safety factors, which leaves them at a disadvantage for the rest of their lives,” said Erin Ganju, co-founder and CEO of Room to Read. “It is our goal to provide girls around the world with equal access to a quality education, allowing them to gain literacy skills and become active members of society, lifting themselves, their families and society out of poverty. Ketchum’s commitment to support 90 young women in the Morogoro Region of Tanzania and a region in India through financial support, mentorship and life skills training will provoke a wave of empowerment that will cascade to future generations.”
Mr Flaherty further said, “Looking forward, we aim to be the most valued communications consultancy in the world. We will do this by ensuring our teams are working seamlessly across any geography where our clients need us, increasingly integrating paid, earned, shared and owned media, and providing detailed marketing analytics that allow companies to evaluate effectiveness and optimize their budgets.”
PR agency Ketchum Sampark has appointed Vipul Bondal as Partner, Corporate Practice and Prasanna Ratanjankar as Senior Manager, Social Media. These appointments reinforce Ketchum Sampark’s operational strategy to further strengthen its presence in India’s integrated communication space.
Mr Bondal will serve as a member of the leadership team at Ketchum Sampark, and will operate out of the agency’s Mumbai Office. Through his expertise he will be responsible for driving new business growth and delivering enhanced value to existing clients. He will also play an integral role in streamlining and enhancing the agency’s operational practices in line with Ketchum’s global standards.
Prior to joining Ketchum Sampark, Mr Bondal served as Vice President and Member of the leadership team at MSL India. He had played a pivotal role in strengthening the agency’s Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) practice in his three-year stint.
With almost two decades of experience in the communications space, Vipul brings to the table vast PR experience, having worked on both sides of the spectrum.
Prasanna Ratanjankar will play a pivotal role in heading and strengthening the agency’s digital media arm, and will also be responsible catering to digital and social media requirements of existing clients, in a bid to offer an integrated approach.
Ms Ratanjankar has seven years of experience in digital and social media, having worked with several prominent PR and Digital Media agencies including Social Wavelength, Ignitee, Genesis Burson Marsteller and Perfect Relations. She is recognized in the industry for her competencies in delivering innovative and effective digital media campaigns for clients across diverse industries.
Ajay Sharma, Managing Partner, Ketchum Sampark, commenting on these developments, said, “With Vipul on board, we look at strengthening our corporate practice and bring in business transformation by building sub-practices such as healthcare and pharma. We are confident that his strong expertise and business acumen will take the agency’s capabilities to a new level. Digital and Social media is emerging as an important communication tool with several Indian brands integrating it in their overall marketing strategies. As we continue to scale-up our PR business, we will simultaneously ramping up our digital media arm. We are confident that Prasanna’s experience and capabilities in the digital media space, will help us achieve some of these objectives.”
Ambuja Cements has entrusted Ketchum Sampark with its PR mandate following a closely contested multi-agency pitch. Ketchum Sampark will be responsible for implementing Ambuja Cement’s integrated public relations campaign which includes brand communication, sustainability communication and corporate social image build-up, whilst supporting company’s marketing promotional activities in key metros and tier 2/3 towns in India.
Ajay Sharma, Managing Partner, Ketchum Sampark, said, “Ambuja Cements is a classic example of a successful commodity branding. We are truly excited at the opportunity to create breakthrough communication for Ambuja Cement. With the added advantage of our team’s expertise in the cement industry, we are confident to support their business objectives with our insight-driven strategies.”
Bibek Chattopadhyay, Head, Corporate Communications at Ambuja Cement, remarked, “We are pleased to have Ketchum Sampark as our public relations partner.”
Continuing with the feature we carried on July 2 (Link: http://www.mxmindia.com/2012/07/the-half-year-that-was/), we bring in more views from the industry on the six months gone by. This half-yearly report card is again a mixed bag – while some have had an excellent run, others had few hitches on the way. Here’s bringing views from some leading players of the industry.
Broadcasting:
Rohit Gupta
Rohit Gupta, President, Sony Entertainment Television
So far, it’s been an excellent year for Sony network. And I’m sure it’s been same for the industry, at large. The industry is still growing and there have been no cuts in spends. People are still putting their money in the medium. I’m sure there is no gloom surrounding this industry. Even the 2008 slowdown didn’t affect us. So, there is nothing to worry about too.
Sunil Lulla
Sunil Lulla, MD and CEO, Times Television Network
I would say, it has been testing six months for the broadcast industry. The biggest set-back has been the extension of the digitization implementation. The IBF ran a very good campaign for it but since MSOs couldn’t fulfill the requirements, unfortunately it has to be postponed. My advice to the ministry now would be to take strict actions and make sure the new deadline is met. It is important for the industry since it will shape the industry and help us understand it better too.
By and large, important events in the broadcast industry like IPL, Indian Idol did well and a new show like Satyamev Jayate was launched. However, there is still a gap between how a show performs and what the viewers really want. Hence, I think TAM needs to be more clear and needs to increase its sample size too.
But what really shocked the industry was the new adult timings and ‘A’ restrictions on television. What happened with Dirty Picture’s telecast was regrettable. Nevertheless, after the self regulation imposed by various channels – news and GECs – the quality of content has improved.
As from the business point of view, from January till April, it was good; but May onwards the marketers have had a watchful attitude. It might not impact the industry at large, but a certain sections might get affected. Also, given the current economic climate, one will have to keep a very watchful eye for the near future.
The last six months have been eventful for the broadcast industry. First it was the whole discussion regarding digitization – from notifications to it finally getting delayed. Hopefully, the new deadline will be met as it is positive for the broadcast industry. Also, the new advertising guidelines set by TRAI will make sure that the market doesn’t get diluted.  Such moves will only benefit the industry and help it grow.
However, there has been a slowdown in ad sales and revenue generation. Everyone knows what happened during an event like IPL. It is a slow phase right now, but the costs of purchasing rights are still high. So, it won’t be wrong to say that testing times are ahead.
K Sriram
K Sriram, GM, Vijay TV
The last 6 months in the Tamil GEC space has seen a dramatic change in programming. KBC travelled into Tamil Nadu and with actor Suriya donning the role of anchor. The barrier between the big screen and television was truly breached for the first time. KBC Tamil ensured that prime time television in TN was redefined, as it not only cut across audiences, but also surged ahead of the power cuts and the IPL fever and eroded into SUN TV’s prime time shares. Vijay TV saw a growth of 41 per cent in the year in a market which was otherwise declining. Content came to the fore.
Tamil television also saw the movie acquisition game being taken to another level with Nanban, the hit Tamil adaptation of 3 idiots, being screened within 100 Days on Vijay TV. Another path breaker given that A+ titles before were insulated for a year. Loud and clear in the Tamil GE space – the game just got bigger and in the last 6 months there was only one player playing the game. Competition is sure playing catch up.
Marketers:
Harkirat Singh
Harkirat Singh, MD, Woodland
The overall market in the branded retail segment has been seeing growth. The biggest change that one sees in this segment is that now the growth comes from smaller towns. In the earlier phase, the growth came from metros; and if one ventured into smaller towns in branded retail say a decade back, most likely, things would not fall in place. Now the risk factor in venturing into the smaller towns is much less and there are many players in branded retail who are turning towards these cities knowing that growth opportunity lies there.
For Woodland, last six months have seen steady growth and we intend to open 60 stores this year, though the rider is to expand but be selective. The market, I would say, has been slow. But that is the trend I would say during a particular time of the year where each year business is slow and picks up only later. As for retail, I think the market is vibrant and the sector has been seeing activity and is slated to see increased activity with FDI in retail being relaxed.
Vikas Jain
Vikas Jain, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Micromax
For the mobile phone industry there has been no concern about consumption, as the demand for new sets continues to be on rise. The change being that now the customers are well-educated on the mobile sets they want to buy and with change in technology there have been change in the preference on the type of mobile sets. The key, therefore, is to recognize and anticipate the product in demand and meet the needs of consumers. The players need to create a roadmap of the products to be launched rather than get carried away by technological changes. Keep an eye on the changing trends and tweak the launches accordingly.
On the flip side, the devaluation of rupee has put pressure on the margins and Micromax being a player that vouches for being cost effective will not yield to increasing prices of the phone sets. As for following any trend on cost cutting on the marketing and communications front, we have not done any. We continue to be associated with Bollywood and Cricket and would associate if any good opportunity came to us.
Media Agencies:
PM Balakrishna
PM Balakrishna, COO – Allied Media
I think the months of April-May were on par but June was not so great. The feeling is that of a slowdown for sure. But an advertising perspective there is cause for worry. It’s a reflection of the economy not looking good in the past few months with petrol prices seeing a hike, inflation seeing a rise and other such factors. These factors play a part in the way media spends pan out.
Where television is concerned there were some properties that did well like the Euro Cup recently and also the IPL before that, but then there are signs of slowdown with advertisers not being too keen to be associated with properties and also with the rates coming down. With Print, which sees ads from sectors like Real Estate and so on, there was a sudden upsurge that was seen in June with most property dealers advertising a lot in dailies and magazines. But that may be a sheer sign of desperation because transactions are not really happening or consumers are not really picking up stocks. There has not been a surge from other sectors as well and they are treading cautiously. So if one were to do a quarter to quarter analysis, one would see that there has been a decline in April-June this year compared to the same quarter last year.
As for the revival, what I have observed recently is that clients have been drawing up plans which they might want to unveil soon, probably around the festival season. But I think overall, the growth will meander along in the next quarter also. Probably the last four months of this year may turn out to be good but whether it is enough to offset the slow-burn over the first six months – I am not too sure.
Anamika Mehta
Anamika Mehta, COO – Lodestar Universal
Although we are six months into the year, I do not think the industry will record the original projections that were forecasted. We are just into the first quarter and therefore we cannot conclude much but overall some categories are seeing a slowdown. Sectors like real estate and finance have seen a slowdown in the spends but FMCG companies are yet to go slow. They are playing a cautious game though.
Also, much of the growth is also the result of the current economic conditions which do not look good at the moment. But it will not be all gloom and doom as is being witnessed in Europe but it will also not be a great story as was being propounded forIndia. Also, one cannot predict the exact figure beyond a point but the approach is going to be that of caution.
Sundeep Nagpal
Sundeep Nagpal, MD, Stratagem Media
I would say the media industry in India is already feeling the effects of the economic gloom that has been in the works for some time now. From what I have been given to understand the first quarter of this fiscal has been reasonably difficult. In fact nothing can be said about the trend that will emerge in the next six months as there is some amount of scepticism in the industry. Unfortunately, in our industry fluctuations are happening faster than what we have witnessed before – whether up or down. It takes a lot of deeper understanding and attention to details if one has to figure out what the current media scenario correlates to. Frankly, even I do not have an answer to that. It’s very easy to say that it is dependent on the overall global or Indian outlook but that is too macro a view to attribute to. If I was a media planner, I would be looking at ways to look out for the early signals and accordingly find out the relevant methods to adopt. Overall, the industry may just about see a decline in its growth numbers for 2012 than what was originally anticipated.
Advertising:
Arvind Sharma
Arvind Sharma, Chairman, Indian Subcontinent, Leo Burnett
As the GDP numbers have been showing a slowdown, one can see that it is getting reflected in the advertising spends too. While at peak the advertising industry was showing a growth of 25 per cent, it would be somewhere around 7 per cent in the first half of 2012. At individual agency level, while we have seen a growth on 40 per cent in 2010 and 25 per cent in 2011, in the first half of 2012 we would see a growth of around 15 per cent. But I think at an individual agency level we still can manage fairly good growth as India has close to Rs35,000 crore advertising expenditure hence the need of the hour is to get aggressive and lay claim to the bigger pie from that budget. This will happen from organic growth from current clients to acquiring new businesses. This growth will also come from making our offering robust.
If one were to look at growth, then in our case, I would say that we have seen growth from our existing clients but growth from new clients or from new major initiatives have been significantly less. However, I would say that the mood currently is to be cautious.
PR:
NS Rajan
NS Rajan, Managing Director, Ketchum Sampark
While we have grown by about 20 per cent in the first half, we are witnessing headwinds gathering across various sectors which can in turn affect growth in these segments and consequently the PR business in the second half.
Also margins could be under pressure in the coming months as the increased cost of servicing may not be compensated by incremental revenues unless the economic environment changes significantly which can lift up sentiment.
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