MxMIndia

Tag: Naresh Gupta

  • The agency is opening offices in Chicago and New York to start with and will expand to other cities at a later date

    Bang in the Middle launches in US

    By A Correspondent

     

    Reversing the trend of global agencies launching in India, the newly formed independent agency Bang in the Middle announced the launch of its operations in the US. The agency is opening offices in Chicago and New York to start with and will expand to other cities at a later date.

     

    “We have been clear from the start that we won’t be a single country operation. This is the next step in our evolution and we aren’t going to stop here. We are exploring some more opportunities in Asia and Europe, and we hope to expand into those markets. It’s time to demonstrate a brand new way of doing business, and what a better moment than India’s Independence Day to announce this,” said Prathap Suthan, Managing Partner, Bang in the Middle.

     

    To facilitate the US entry, Bang in the Middle has brought on board Ms Saira Mohan as the president, Bang in the Middle, US. Ms Mohan is a well-known international supermodel with extensive advertising and marketing experience, especially in the world of global fashion, luxury and design.

     

    “I am excited to partner this incredibly talented team in India and open up the opportunities in US for brands from India and open up Indian markets for brands in US,” said Ms Mohan. “I have been in the world of branding and design for over a decade and I intend to fully bring that experience on table for all our current and potential clients” she added.

     

    Bang in the Middle, US will help the growing ambitions of many mainstream brands who are not owned by MNCs, but want to expand their ambit and enter India. Bang in the Middle will also help its clients like iYogi and Veen Waters to establish their brand in US. It is currently in conversation with a few brands in US, and some leading communication and professionals to bring them on board. Through its unique suite of offering that span design, branding and digital marketing, this is Bang in the Middle’s first international foray into establishing itself as a mainstream global creative media company.

     

    “We currently have a very eclectic bunch of clients who require our services in more markets than just US. We have launched campaigns in US, Europe and Middle East already for our clients, and are about to launch some more for our brands. In today’s hyperconnected world, you need to be present in everywhere where opportunity is, and for us USA is a vast opportunity” said Naresh Gupta, Bang in the Middle.

     

    Bang in the Middle currently works with iYogi, Veen Waters, Hawktrack from Knoxx Global, Dulux Paints, Vimal, and BigFlix among others.

     

  • Bang in the Middle would be responsible for strategizing and implementing an entire suite of digital services to spruce up Dulux's online presence

    Dulux ropes in Bang in the Middle for digital

    By A Correspondent

     

    Akzo Nobel India, the maker of Dulux Paints, has signed on Bang in the Middle as its digital communication partner. Bang in the Middle would be responsible for strategizing and implementing an entire suite of digital services to spruce up Dulux’s online presence.

     

    Commenting on the association, Pushkar Jain, Marketing Manager, Dulux, Akzo Nobel India said: “We are actively engaging in the digital space so as to create interactive dialogues with our consumers and even reach out to a larger audience base. Through our association with Bang in the Middle, we hope to impact consumer behaviour through digital experiences.”

     

    Expressing delight on winning the Dulux, Naresh Gupta, Managing Partner, Bang in the Middle said: “It is an honour to be associated with Dulux. They have been early adopters of digital media and we look forward to working with them on enhancing their digital footprint.”

     

    Bang in the Middle would be responsible for planning, and executing a 360 degree digital branding of Dulux through a highly engaging social media strategy.

     

  • Last week's acquisition of BBH by Publicis has led many to question whether agencies should stay independent or scale up with a network

    Stay solo or scale up with a biggie?

     

    By Tuhina Anand with inputs from Shruti Pushkarna

     

    Creative hotshops have always co-existed with the bigger networks and every now and then one hears of a celebrated hotshop being taken over by a network. Publicis Groupe, which already had a stake in BBH, has now taken 100 per cent stake in the agency. Considering that BBH is among the most celebrated creative boutiques, the development makes one think that the lifespan of an independent has become short and for them to scale, being part of a network has become a necessity.

     

    Bharat Dabholkar, who collaborated his agency Zen Advertising with Publicis Groupe in 1999, is very clear that the only way to scale up is to merge with a network. He said: “When we started, we were servicing homegrown brands; but we realized that with global brands coming in, we had a handicap in getting them on board. By being part of the network, we immediately got access to big, international brands. I think it’s a personal choice, if you are happy servicing a handful of clients, then you can remain independent; but if you have ambitions of growing your outfit, then the way ahead is to merge with a network.”

     

    Also read:

    Anil Thakraney: BBH must remain the black sheep

    “I have also felt that when a client is small in size or have just started with their marketing activities, they will come to a small agency but after having tasted success with grown ambitions, they ditch the small agency and would want a bigger agency on board. They still might continue to work with small agency, but that usually is on few projects,” he added.

     

    Giving an understanding of the situation, a well-known financial advisor to media groups said: “First of all, it depends on how well the creative hotshop is doing. My view is that if it’s doing well and wants to scale up, the only way to do that is to align with some network. And the network will align only if you are doing well. If you are just a creative whiz who’s not doing well, nobody will go after you. They will go after you only if you can bring something to the table. I think one has to also look at the age profile of the creative guys. If you are young, then you can afford to be in the saddle of a creative hotshop for a long time without considering the possible money that you can make because you can afford to wait. If you are in the mid 40s, then it’s time to sell it whenever you are at your peak. So that’s an important consideration, what stage are you in.”

     

    The scale a network offers is one way that helps the creative hotshops. The second is the access to full-time retainers with most of the bigger clients. The advisor echoes what Mr Dabholkar said: “Whatever you see or hear of bigger clients working with smaller agencies, it’s not a permanent relationship and it goes from campaign to campaign. So when you have that scale, you might end up being the only agency on the roster. So that’s an advantage. Also you need to look at networks which don’t have a great reputation in India, they would like to go after these agencies. For instance, Ogilvy would not like to go after anybody because they have a good reputation here. Whereas for a Omnicom, which is internationally well-known for its creative body of work, there’s nobody here in India. So the networks also look at it from that perspective, because it will be an image booster for that group in India.”

     

    But then what about losing one’s independence? After all in most cases the reason the creative people to start their own outfit is the independence that comes with it as opposed to being with bigger agencies. Mr Dabholkar clarified: “As for losing our independent streak being a part of network, my experience was different. Publicis was a delightful network to work with, as it was understood that we had an entrepreneurial streak so they didn’t interfere in our day to day functioning. However, the big help came in terms of sharing knowledge and supporting us with key inputs on businesses.”

     

    Sajan Raj Kurup

    Mr Dabholkar set up a small agency in Tanzania which has seen positive growth. He is not averse to collaborating this agency to a Network; however he feels that latter would not be interested at this point of time as they wouldn’t see much value in that part of the world in terms of advertising. However, he says that such collaboration helps the people who have worked, as it widens their horizon and opens new windows of opportunity.

     

    So it is clear that to scale up sooner or later, either selling of stake or some kind of collaboration is required. However, Raj Kurup who started CreativeLand Asia is very clear that he wouldn’t want to sell because he clearly believes in the India growth story, though he is open to partnering on his own terms. He is looking at expanding footprint and opening office in London. CLA already has a regional office in Singapore.

     

    Even Scarecrow Communications that was set up two years back is clear that they have enough going on their own and wouldn’t want to sell stake but are open to collaborating with partners that will help them in maximizing their potential.

     

    Naresh Gupta

    Naresh Gupta, Managing Partner, Bang in the Middle, who along with partners has got on this entrepreneurial venture recently, said: “There is a future for independents, and a big one at that. Yes BBH got acquired, and some more may get over a period of time, but that for me is the process of evolution. BBH did path breaking work, made a name for itself, and as brand will still stand for the same black sheep thinking even if it’s a part of a network. I see the same thing to happen here.

     

    Independents will be the new force. They are nimble, they don’t have previous baggage, they will take greater risk, be more lateral in terms of business model, and be a challenge to the large networks.

     

    The larger networks at some stage will always be interested in the independents precisely for the values of thinking different and taking risks. Till the large networks protect those values, it may not even be a bad thing.”

     

    Prasanth Mohanachandran

    Clearly there are both merits and demerits of aligning with bigger players. Prasanth Mohanachandran, Founder Director, AgencyDigi, said: “A network always has one advantage – of scale. The other advantage they have is, when it comes to multinational brands, most of the brand decisions are not taken in India but in other parts of the globe. When independents come into play, learning is going to be tough because it’s actually two companies talking. The good part about independents is that it is easier for them to think beyond conventional framework. Network agencies think through a set framework, there is a standard process for creative ideation. Also, in independents, egos are smaller.”

     

    Mr Mohanachandran feels that while scale is important, when it comes to talking to different markets, it might be difficult to take an idea across to different international markets. “If you play cleverly there are ways around it. If you have like-minded partners, it is easy to work with independents. They have the power to take an idea across the globe, someday it will happen, but it’s still few years away.  In a network of course, there is a larger pool of experience behind running an organization. There are more people, in a network you don’t have to worry about too many things so that’s always a benefit,” he added.

     

    So ultimately, it’s a personal choice. You can remain small and thrive or you can have ambitions to scale up where merging with a network seems a better option. Naved Akhtar and Freddy Birdy have been among the most celebrated duo in advertising who quit and started their own agency in 2003, are very clear that they want to remain independent.

     

    Naved Akhtar

    Naved Akhtar, who quit after spending close to 25 years in mainline advertising, said: “For us it was a question of what we want to do with our life. You can grow and keep running endlessly but we wanted to do our own thing, remain independent and enjoy a quality life. We deliberately don’t want to expand but remain small. We have some big clients like ITC and we are comfortable working with them and never felt that our size was an impediment in delivering.”

     

    Clearly, there is no clear answer to advertising agencies aligning with large networks. To each it’s own, we guess.

     

  • Too harsh a question? India's dismal showing in Cyber & Mobile at Cannes Lions 2012 pushed us to discuss it with industry leaders

    Are we Duhs in Digital Media?

     

    By Tuhina Anand and Shruti Pushkarna

     

    India has once again drawn a blank in the Cyber Lions category at Cannes 2012. From the 27 entries from India in this category, none made it to the shortlist. Considering that digital is the talk at all industry forum and the future, or is it actually the present, of advertising, its dismal performance at Cannes makes one realize that India is still miles behind on this medium.

     

    Nagesh Alai

    Nagesh Alai, Executive Director – India Operations at DraftFCB Group, pointed out: “It is not surprising not seeing a shortlist in the Cyber Lions from our shores. Most in our industry continue to see and use Digital as a ‘medium of messaging’ instead of seeing and using Digital as a ‘medium to engage with and start a conversation about the brand’. It is a classic case of getting stuck in hoary mindsets of a 30-second TV commercial. The day our digital specialists get out of this mindset, I reckon one will see a sea change in the digital executions and becoming award worthy. I am sure we will see that happen in the not too distant a future.”

     

    Talking about the digital in India, Carlton D’Silva, Chief Creative Officer, Hungama Digital Services Pvt. Ltd, said: “As I have mentioned in the past, the standard of good digital work in India to compete at the Cannes can only be made possible if the playing fields are even.”

     

    He listed the factors that go against good digital creative work, which remain remains the same – the inability to acquire the requisite budget for a digital campaign, the lack of time and the lack of risk taking (both from the client as well as agency side) the digital medium is still used more for its effectiveness than creativity.

     

    A senior mobility and digital media executive with a leading media agency felt that India’s performance in Cannes Digital categories should at least have some positive side-effects. “Why this happened? If I have to sum up in short, it is because of lack of respect for the Digital medium, which comes from ignorance about the medium and its possibilities; lack of budgets, which comes from lack of respect for the medium; lack of creative talent, which stems from lack of budgets,” she added.

     

    The executive explained that there is a need for a reality check on how evolved the consumers, marketers and agencies are, as compared to Cannes shortlisted entries or winners. “Look at the short-listed entries for Cyber Lions, they come from countries which have more than 75% internet penetration, while we are celebrating our 10% mark. Of course, one can argue that the population of these countries is lesser than some of our states but one also needs to understand that their consumers are also much more evolved. Again, take a look at the Mobile Lions winners, what do you see? Smart phones and Tablets! In our country Voice is the most penetrated medium on Mobile and we have 21 million smartphones in a mobile subscriber base of 900 million plus. If rich media creatives are the tickets to Lions, I would rather design mobile campaigns that work in Indian eco-system and bring value to advertisers in terms of media effectiveness,” she said.

     

    Vikas Tandon

    Giving his take on India’s performance in this category, Vikas Tandon, Founder and Managing Director, Indigo Consulting said: “To start with, I think we should recognise that Cannes is as big as it gets, the competition is really tough with hundreds of entries from all over the world, so there is no shame in not winning. We must keep learning from the experiences and pegging away at it. Let’s not write off the Indian team because we lost one tournament. But, definitely it must serve as a reminder that we need to commit ourselves a lot more to Digital than we are now. Among Indian marketers, it is still not as important/critical a piece in the marketing game plan as it is in many other countries and hence, while it seems to get some attention, it just does not get the time or budgets. One of the most frustrating challenges that digital agency invariably have to encounter in India is lack of execution time. Once you have an idea/construct, and even detailing it takes time. Execution is, of course, equally critical for success, and the time constraints often do not allow an idea to reach its full potential.

     

    So one thing has clearly come out from this, is that for Indian marketers, digital is an after-thought and not still a critical medium.

     

    Naresh Gupta

    Naresh Gupta, Managing Partner, Bang in the Middle when asked on what ails Indian digital advertising said that he would rather look from the perspective of why the Indian digital advertising is not growing up. Giving his take, he pointed out four aspects: “The digital advertising in India is stuck in a time wrap. The traditional method of advertising is about creating awareness, to generate Interest that creates desires that leads to action. More often than not, digital campaigns are built around the same parameter. Digital behaviour is really about search and share, and that is a paradigm that marketers haven’t been able to factor in. This is part of the reason why campaigns neither aid search, nor motivate share.”

     

    Mr Gupta also mentioned that Digital engagement has been reduced to a Facebook page and a Twitter handle: “I am not saying they are not important, they are, but they are just the tools. For a lot of brands getting the followers or number of likes becomes the strategy. Now that’s not really smart. The brands have to have a strategy for social media.”

     

    His third points is that the TV-led thinking for brands where an idea is crafted for TV and then adapted to digital is actually the biggest problem. Consider this, all marketing theories were written before the advent of Internet. The need to position, the need to leverage a singular attribute and build on one are all fine with TV-centric thinking, but not so for ‘word of mouse’-centric thinking. The digital medium has its own dynamics and needs a different take. The strategic thinking that leads to ATL idea needs to be interpreted keeping digital dynamics in mind.

     

    And lastly: “Most importantly, the brand owners need to recognize the importance of digital and craft the entire strategy accordingly. The brand owners too fret to get their TV brief right, but rarely debate to get their digital idea right.”

     

  • The buck truly stops at you. There are no approvals to be sought; there are no conflicting egos to be settled, says Naresh Gupta

    The Anchor: Naresh Gupta lists 10 reasons why one should go independent

    Naresh GuptaBy Naresh Gupta

     

    One of the biggest misconceptions people have is that if you work for yourself, you will get richer quicker. If money is all that drives you, then going independent can be a bad idea. Here are ten reasons for which you should go independent

     

    1.  Build something

    Everyone must build something that is your own. This is a true reflection of your ability, skill enterprise and ideas. There is no better way to self-actualization then to say, I built this. Bragging rights don’t come easy in life.

     

    2. Nurture your baby

    Every new idea needs careful nurturance. The idea is yours, so one else knows the idea better than you. This is like being a father, only you know what your child wants.

     

    3. Dream big

    Ambition knows no limits in your own set up. This is truly where your dream and your vision alone control the destiny of your enterprise. There are no approvals to be sought, no forms to fill, just you and your enterprise.

     

    4. Improve quality

    The buck truly stops at you. There are no approvals to be sought; there are no conflicting egos to be settled. You can deliver truly great work to your client, sharper and quicker. It’s amazing how layers of bureaucracy can dull the edge of even the sharpest sword.

     

    5. Connect better

    Your connections with your clients are stronger than usual. They are your clients because they like you; you are their partner because you like them. There can be no better way than this.

     

    6. Challenge yourself

    Doing a job tends to make days monotonous. You follow a routine and if follow it well you would be fairly successful. But when you run an enterprise yourself, every new day brings a new challenge to face. If you never want to do same thing twice, go independent.

     

    7. Follow your passion

    You remember those days in school when you woke up early to go to cricket coaching classes or something like that? You did it because you loved it; it even made school more fun. You wanted to get up early, even on the coldest morning. That’s something true of an independent venture. You do what you love, and you love what you do

     

    8.  Greater risk to reward ratio

    This is simple, the risk is yours, and the rewards are yours too. This does not mean that going independent is a get rich quickly scheme. It may be years before you see major financial benefits coming your way.

     

    9. No retirement planning

    Retirement plans can be put on ice. Your enterprise needs you to do the best for it as long as you can. Every day you will gain experience that will make coming days more promising. There is no point of even thinking of hanging your boots

     

    10.  Give back to society

    This is where as an independent entrepreneur you can make a small contribution. Work with the society, work with yourAlmamatter, and give back in time and effort. This one singular reason can make going independent worthwhile.

     

    Naresh Gupta is the Managing Partner at Bang in the Middle

     

  • Prathap Suthan announced on Monday that he is branching out from iYogi to float 'Bang in the Middle' as an independent agency

    Out with a Bang! Prathap Suthan, Naresh Gupta etc launch new agency

    By A Correspondent

     

    Prathap Suthan
    Naresh Gupta
    Viral Pandya
    Manoj Deb
    Sabu Paul

    It was one of the biggest news to have hit adland in March 2011 when Cheil Worldwide’s NCD Prathap Suthan quit his agency to join lesser-known direct-to-consumer remote tech support company iYogi as its Chief Creative Officer. It was seen as an unexpected move by the creative maverick who was responsible for creating some startling work for Cheil Worldwide in India. But after lying low-profile with its activities and having stayed away from the advertising glitz and glam for most part, Suthan (or Pat, as he is affectionately called) made an interesting announcement on Monday when he announced branching out from iYogi to float ‘Bang in the Middle’ as an independent agency.

     

    Started in early 2011, the division headed by Prathap Suthan was set up as the in-house branding, advertising and communication team at iYogi. The unit managed campaigns for the company, primarily leveraging digital media across North America, the United Kingdom, Middle East and Australia. After 12 months, and over 20 campaigns later, iYogi’s in-house agency is ready to step out and offer its services to a wider set of brands. The agency will now offer expertise in brand advisory, communication design and advertising to Indian and global corporations.

     

    To be based out of Gurgaon, the team line-up includes some of the best names in the business including Prathap Suthan, Naresh Gupta, Viral Pandya, Manoj Deb, and Sabu Paul. Speaking about the team, Naresh Gupta, Managing Partner, Bang in the Middle, said: “All the existing employees who worked in the branding department of iYogi are the founding members of BITM. Prathap is a creative leader of outstanding pedigree. I, myself, have worked for a spectrum of clients. Viral Pandya is a celebrated designer who has won every possible international accolade and Manoj Deb is a celebrated art director. Between the four of us we have over 100 years of experience across geographies. The team we have right now is the best that is in the business.”

     

    When asked on the funding pattern being adopted by the company, Gupta said: “There is an external investor who is helping us make the unit operate independently. Our approach is to marry the strengths of new media with the traditional roles of mass media. We have an industry tested model of working and we have real life experience of making it work for the brands.”

     

    In a statement to MxM India, Prathap Suthan, Managing Partner, Bang in the Middle, said: “Despite an overcrowded communication services market, India needs a new kind of communication agency. India is booming with opportunity. Increasingly Indian brands are spreading their wings to global opportunities and new age businesses are coming up all over the country bustling with enterprise, ambition and opportunity. There is an increasingly younger nation out there with global ambitions and enterprises are demanding better communication solutions.”

     

    On his decision to branch out from iYogi, he said: “Organized advertising is getting weaker and getting scattered across many areas, giving rise to independent agencies. We believe that Bang in the Middle comes with the right experience to exploit that opportunity.”

     

    The agency’s services span across brand advisory and campaign design and advertising across platforms and customer touch-points. Bang in the Middle will assist brands in establishing a deeper engagement with customers by creating an ecosystem from visual language to design guidelines and interaction across mediums. It will also assist brands create holistic communications approaches that will reduce dependency on traditional media and leverage digital to gain market share.

     

    As of now, the company just has a single client to boast of but are said to be in advanced talks with a few clients already. But that really may not be an issue for BITM, who have some experienced team that have bagged big clients in the past. What will now matter for the agency is to be seen as a new and small creative force to be reckoned with. Asserts Gupta: “We believe the age of independents is here. The biggest thing going for them is flat structure, focused delivery and hands-on experience of senior people.”

     

    That seems to be an assurance high on confidence and competency too. Given the run that small independents are having at the awards, a new addition will only make life for other agencies, especially the biggies, a tad more challenging. Only time will tell if BITM has it in them to challenge leadership norm and emerge a superior agency in the future.