MxMIndia

Tag: Pratap Bose

  • Former colleague and friend Soumitra Sen pays tribute to advertising and marketing services senior Pratap Bose who passed away in Gurugram this morning

    Will miss you, Pratap!

    By Soumitra Sen

     

    Pratap Bose

    Hi Pratap, the world just lost you today. You were so well-known and I’m sure many will be feeling your loss from now on. I have been feeling a bit depressed for the past few weeks from the time I came to know about your diagnosis. Now since you have bid goodbye to us all, I will try and write a few words about how I knew you and the effect you had on a fellow professional from the industry. Here is my ode to you Pratap. I hope you will agree with the words that I write as you smoke your ubiquitous cigarette and look out of your office window telling me some adventurous things that you did. So here it goes….

     

    Pratap’s entry into DDB-Mudra Group was an epochal event. After he joined Mudra, the grapevine in the industry for sometime began to refer to O&M as Ogilvy & Mudra! And, why not? He had fallen out with the top management at Ogilvy on some financial practices that he wasn’t supportive of and walked in with some 40 professionals from Ogilvy into Mudra. Those were the days!

     

    It was quite exciting and breathtaking for us minions in Mudra for the next few months. So many new faces all around us who had come in to give a major push to make Mudra look and feel more western/contemporary (for want of a better word) in its outlook. In those days, Mudra had created a niche, known as an Indian agency for Indian brands. From the faraway perch that I sat within the Mudra ecosystem, I think he was instrumental in convincing Madhukar to make the merger of Mudra with DDB and Omnicom lock, stock and barrel. Those days, both WPP and Omnicom, were serenading Anil Ambani to join them and he was caught in two minds. This dilly-dallying had continued for quite some years with Sir Martin Sorrell from WPP making it a point of having breakfast with Anil Bhai whenever he stepped into the shores of this country. But I think Pratap had experienced everything that had to be seen and known about WPP and in his mind, he wanted Mudra to join the Omnicom bandwagon. Surprisingly, this happened soon enough just a few months after Pratap came into Mudra! Of course Madhukar was the one who had to convince Anil Ambani but the man who persuaded Madhukar to pick up the gauntlet would have been Pratap.

     

    Pratap was seeped in the Ogilvy culture and he wanted to imprint his style into a more conservative Mudra ecosystem. Pratap would have come in with his brigade (Yes, it an army brigade wanting to change things within Mudra in double quick time) without knowing fully well the cultural disparity that one could expect when one moves from a place like Ogilvy to Mudra those days. For example, when he came to know that the top echelons of Mudra who grew up in the Ambani ecosystem were used to calling Mrs Tina Ambani as bhabhi j, he and his team would have been shell-shocked. I reckon that when they would have heard that this was the norm a war room would have happened to strategise on what needed to be done on this issue. He was expected to follow this norm but he never did.

     

    Another thing that amazed us was that he was the only guy who was allowed to smoke inside Mudra offices. His room used to be filled with cigarette smoke whenever we went in for a meeting. I used to almost choke when I entered his office and therefore dreaded such occasions, but conversations with him while he stood outside with his gang where everyone smoked away as if there were no tomorrow was fun-filled and memorable.

     

    He kind of thought that I was the resident doctor as I was heading the healthcare advertising division then, and whenever he had a niggle or any health issue, he used to conspiratorially discuss with me. In fact I used to take him to Kokilaben Hospital quite regularly along with his wife for his yearly check-ups as that hospital was my client for most of my time in DDB Mudra.

     

    In fact, I remember clearly that his first meeting with the executives in Kokilaben Hospital wasn’t really good. I could sense his discomfort while sitting in a meeting with them. In fact the room had a senior person from the hospital who was a Malayali and spoke in Gujarati only in a manner a Malayali can for one whole hour. All the time a TV was on behind us which was displaying the stockmarket prices on that day. My sixth sense was alive, and I began to scheme our escape from that room as quickly as possible before Pratap let off steam!

     

    Will miss you, Pratap. Feel sorry that we lost touch when you got diagnosed with this disease known as the emperor of all maladies! Be happy wherever you are!

     

    Soumitra Sen worked for DDB Mudra Group and many other agencies like Contract, Havas, Madison etc. These days he runs Storytellers, a behaviour change consultancy in the area of development communication.

     

  • Pratap Bose steps down at Social Street. Mandeep Malhotra to take charge

    By A Correspondent [Updated]

     

    Pratap Bose
    Mandeep Malhotra

    Advertising industry veteran and former President of The Advertising Club, Pratap Bose, has stepped down from his position of Chairman and Founding Partner. Bose confirmed the development to MxMIndia. Mandeep Malhotra continues as Founding Partner and CEO.

    Bose had set up The Social Street with much fanfare in June 2015 after a not-too-pleasant exit from DDB Mudra. He steered the company in his inimitable, aggressive style and saw the agency bag top honours at the Abby Awards at Goafest 2018.

    Both Bose and Malhotra are reported to have had equal equity in the organisation, but given the Lockdown, discussions on the same haven’t been completed.

    According to the grapevine, the company has been experiencing tough times financially, as are many others in the marketing services domain.

     

  • A television commercial has been developed as a part of the campaign, and is conceptualized by The Digital Street

    DHL highlights its role as an enabler, in latest ad campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    DHL Express has unveiled its campaign ‘DHL is the Way’, for this year’s Hero Indian Super League (ISL). This campaign marks the fourth year of partnership with ISL. The commercial has been conceptualised by The Digital Street.

     

    Said Sandeep Juneja, Vice President – Commercial, DHL Express India: “At DHL, we see ourselves as enablers for our customers in global trade. Therefore, we are always finding new solutions to make Indian SMEs more competitive. When we are done solving complex supply chain problems, our customers should see it as ‘Excellence Simply Delivered’. Thus, the new campaign – ‘Where there is a will, we are the way’. With this, we want to strike an emotional chord and go beyond business conversations.”

     

    Added Pratap Bose, Founding Partner and Chairman, The Digital Street: “Through its exceptional service quality, DHL is known for bringing hope and delight to its customers. The creative thought behind this campaign highlights exactly that, blending special experiences with a continuous endeavour to deliver with care. The campaign weaves a beautiful story of a caring father-son relationship and the role played by DHL in fostering a personal connection to bring them closer. The commercial was created with an intent to stand out in the minds of consumers, and hence allow them to connect better with the brand’s values.”

     

     

  • Dr Bhaskar Das, Ajay Kakar and Pratap Bose pay tribute to RanjanKapur, the architect of modern-day advertising in India

    Ranjan Kapur: 1942-2018

     

    Ranjan Kapur, WPP India Chairman, former Ogilvy India CEO, a mentor to many young entrerpreneurs and one of the Indian advertising industry’s leading lights, passed away in Mumbai on Saturday, January 27. He died due to a heart attack. He was 75 and survived by his wife and daughter.

    Born in Lahore in pre-Partition India in 1942, Kapur had did an MA in English from St Stephen’s College, Delhi in 1964.He joined Citibank, but the lure of the creative business got him to Ogilvy in the ‘60s. He moved to head Ogilvy India in 1994, and he helped catapult the agency to the top. There have been many tributes paid to him on the social media, some of which we have compiled in this report.

     

    Bhaskar Das

    Dr Bhaskar Das: An Advertising Man who was also an officer and gentleman 

    I vividly recall that afternoon on January 14 at 1.30pm. When the door opened at 281 B Twin Towers at Prabhadevi, two sunny side up faces–Jimi and Ranjan embraced me and my wife at their annual new year brunch. At their artistically designed flat, every corner of the room was abuzz with animated conversations. Ranjan and Jimi always appeared to me as made for each other-attended to each and every guest with warmth and smile. At that moment, I couldn’t visualise that I would meet Ranjan for the last time.

    Though I never worked directly with Ranjan, I heard a lot of positive marketlore about his aggression, combativeness in the market and business per se,  for his agency and the confidence that he enjoyed of the WPP Group supremo. My first encounter with him happened way back in 1996 when he was occupying the corner office of O&M, Bombay. That one meeting revealed the Man –statesmanly demeanour, impeccably courteous, clarity of vision both for his agency business and the Industry , and the foresight about the forces that would impact advertising landscape including digital — a rare skill amongst his contemporary leaders.

    Ranjan straddled the Indian advertising and marketing like the Collosusof Rhodes for more than four decades. He motivated, mentored, coached many stalwarts of advertising world of today. Everyone agrees that his human qualities are multifaceted–aggression (when it comes to business), modesty, ability to pun, storytelling, social sector activism, a painter and sculptor (this latent talent found expression during later stage of his life).

    Ranjan has touched so many lives and left an indelible impression for ever. The invitees on January 14 could never imagine that destiny had arranged for sumptuous farewell party from him to the industry leaders. What a way to say goodbye, Sir!

    Individuals like RanjanKapurare a rare specimen of human beings. They are not made anymore. We shall miss you Sir. Rest well and peacefully.

    Dr Bhaskar Das is Executive President, DainikBhaskar Group

     

    Ajay Kakar

    Ajay Kakar: End of an era

    I believe that the fame and love that a person attracts should not be gauged by the attention he gets during his holding a high office. But thereafter. And what can be a better tribute, than the love a person attracts, when he is no more.

    Today, as I walked out of the cremation grounds where the life and journey of RanjanKapur came to an end, I marvelled at the multitude of people who came to bid him adieu. People from all walks of life, all ages and from the world of Advertising and beyond. All those whose life Ranjan touched and enriched.

    Ranjan had retired as the MD of Ogilvy, a decade and more, ago. And when a typical person’s corporate life comes to an end, Ranjan was invited and requested to continue to mentor the industry. As Country Head and then Chairman of WPP. And steward to ISMI WPP Institutes. And remained on the board of many companies. Client companies. Clients who loved, respected and valued his wisdom. So much. How many from today’s generation can boast such client respect!

    Since yesterday when the sad news of his demise spread, Facebook is flooded with love and rich adjectives that Ranjan so richly deserves.

    A boss. A mentor. A guide. A gentleman. The last of Mohicans. A rare all-rounder, unheard of in today’s days. He could speak on any brand, with knowledge and passion. His understanding of business and brands was unparalleled. His sensitivity to creative, too. No surprise then that at Ogilvy he created a “3 legged stool” with Piyush and Rane. They thought and worked like one. A key reason for the agency’s success – with brands and the agency’s flattering financials.

    With the passing away, the world of advertising and brands sees the end of an era.

    A man with interests and hobbies beyond brands and work. He used to pen portraits in seconds. Loved sculpting and naming his creations. Enjoyed making perfumes.

    He lived life king size. Yet remember envying the blood red Merc coupe he bought and drove, as he ended his corporate life.

    His birthday wishes coming, every year. Unfailingly. From the days when there was no mobile diary or Fb to remind you.

    I was blessed to work for and with him. He held my hand and supported me set up and grow a financial practice for Ogilvy. And then also entrusted me as country head of Ogilvy PR. Had me on the executive committee of the agency.

    So having seen him up close, I could go on and on. Each of us has such fond memories and stories that any one or two will do injustice to the man and legend.

    Ajay Kakar is CMOAditya Birla Capital

     

    Pratap Bose

    Pratap Bose: Ranjan was one of the finest brains on technology

    I heard the news on the Ogilvy group… it was a very sad day. Ranjan was my finest boss ever. I owe everything to him. He was my go-to man. And in a sense a godfather. I met him just a month ago. I still remember when I left Ogilvy, he said I was stupid to join another agency and that I should turn an entrepreneur. He even drew a business plan across the table!

     

    He was an Epic Man. A risk-taker, who would think forward in everything. Even at his age, he was one of the finest brains on technology.

     

    I joined Ogilvy in 1993 and got to know him when he came to India in 1994. The interaction was very regular until he retired, but even later, he was always around me.

     

    Sir Martin Sorrell trusted him immensely, and in fact I met the WPP chief through Ranjan a few times.  His passing is a great loss for the industry, and for me personally.

     

    Pratap Bose is Chairman and MD, The Social Street

    Goodbye #RanjanKapur .. Will never forget your spirit, warmth and constant sense of wonder .. the world will miss you ..

    — Shekhar Kapur (@shekharkapur) 28 January 2018

     

    They say nothing grows under a mighty banyan tree. Ranjan was the rare exception. Many a giant oak flourished in the sunlight of his shadow. My heart breaks for Jimi and Tina. It breaks for all of us who were blessed to have him in our lives. #ranjankapur #legend #fatherfigure

    — Bobby Pawar (@FRIEDFOODBRAIN) 28 January 2018

     

    I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry. #ranjankapur

    — Bobby Pawar (@FRIEDFOODBRAIN) 28 January 2018

     

    A professional par excellence & a gentleman. You will be missed my friend. #RanjanKapur https://t.co/7vFA7oatO2

    — Raj Nayak (@rajcheerfull) 27 January 2018

     

    A very very sad day for Indian advertising. RIP Ranjan Kapur. I am lucky to have worked with him – he was one of the biggest influences on many of us at that time. They don’t make them like him anymore. The biggest chapter of Indian advertising just got concluded.

    — Partha Sinha (@parthasinha) 28 January 2018

    RIP Ranjan Kapur ( Chairman, WPP INDIA ). How many of us have humility to give prompt feedback on a packaging created by our juniors? pic.twitter.com/i8S0ACVRZM

    — Manish Bhatt (@manishscarecrow) 28 January 2018

     

    Saddened to hear about Ranjan Kapur. An architect of the Advertising industry in India. Cherish the moments spent with him and Jimi

    — Prasoon Joshi (@prasoonjoshi_) 28 January 2018

     

    a true gent who radiated wisdom shaped WPP and who made me feel welcome from the first time I visited india for work 25 years ago. Indian ad legend Ranjan Kapur passes away | ET BrandEquity https://t.co/DTYdjeJGql

    — eric salama (@ericsalama) 28 January 2018

     

    RIP Ranjan Kapur. You were such an inspiration for so many of us in our younger days and I was proud to call you my friend in the later years. You will be sorely missed @WPP @WPPStream @martinsorrell @roshanabbas @Ogilvy pic.twitter.com/jCE0oVYKm6

    — Devraj Sanyal (@DevrajSanyal) 27 January 2018

     

    Deeply deeply saddened at the passing on of RANJAN KAPUR: a great advertising professional and an even greater human being. The world is much much poorer with his death.

    — SUHEL SETH (@suhelseth) 27 January 2018

     

    Ranjan Kapur, RIP. Contributed more to building modern Indian advertising than anyone else.

    — Anant Rangaswami (@AnantRangaswami) 27 January 2018

     

     

  • Partners with Amsterdam-based brand & music consultancy authority

    The Social Street partners with Amp.Amsterdam

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Social Street has announced an exclusive partnership with Amp.Amsterdam, global leaders in sound design, identity and innovation to help brands in India leverage the science of sound in their brand communication.

     

    The partnership is set to merge the virtual with the real-and-make experiences which are interactive and hence contagiously social.  Said Pratap Bose, Chairman and Co-Founder, The Social Street: “Our partnership with Amp.Amsterdam was just the one we were looking for, as we aim for greater uniqueness in our array of brand offerings and getting deeper into the immersive experiential experience.”

     

    Added Dagmar Heijmans, Strategy Director & Co-Founder, Amp.Amsterdam: “The DNA and the people at The Social Street are a perfect match with the team, vision and philosophy at Amp.Amsterdam. We are very proud to partner up with India’s most innovative ad agency and open up new ways together to amplify brands in India.”

     

  • A quick chat with Pratap Bose, Chairman, The Social Street which won the second-largest number of metals in the Creative Abby and a few in the Media Abby too!

    Winning across 3 days gave us a lot of pleasure: Pratap Bose


    We’re going to do well at Goafest this year, Pratap Bose, Chairman and Co-Founder of The Social Street had told us before we left for Goa last week. The shortlists were good indicators that Social Street would do well, but being #2 in the metals tally? Well, he proved the naysayers wrong and also confirmed the point that you don’t have to be 10-20-40-70-year-old agency to be winning big at the Abby. In conversation with Pradyuman Maheshwari, Pratap Bose talks about the wins, scam work, the focus on print and the way forward for his agency. Read on…

     

    Just your second year in business and already right up there!

    We’re actually only 20 months old. It’s an amazing feeling. We’ve worked very hard to get where we are, at Goafest particularly. It’s been like a David versus Goliath story. The underdogs if you can call it that. All kudos to the team who’ve made it possible.

     

    You’re not actually an underdog. You’ve been there, done that. You know the…

    People wouldn’t have expected us to do that well at Goafest. But you’re right, we’re not an underdog. We are industry veterans. But yes, for a small agency to do so well at Goafest is a great sense of pride and achievement.

     

    You’ve done it in the past at Mudra when you were helming it. You obviously know how it works. So when did you decide to play the Goafest game?

    Honestly, it’s not just about playing the game well. It’s also about doing great work. If you look at our wins, we’ve won in pretty much all of the major 14-17 categories. So, it’s always good work at that pace. To win you have to start very early in the year. You can’t just leave it to December and then scramble at the end. Producing good stuff all throughout the year. That gives you the humongous tally of metals at the end of the day. That’s something I keep advocating to the people who want to do well at the awards. You have to be at it. You have to have a dogged goal to do great work. I don’t think we do great work to win awards. You have to do consistent work month-on-month and produce two-three great pieces of work every month and if you measure yourself with that benchmark, you’ll certainly do well.

     

    In terms of the work you’ve done… you’ve said in the past you’re not just an outdoor agency, you’ve done a fair bit of work for print and print-craft.

    Yes, we’ve done a lot for print and print-craft outdoor, even won a lot of metals for digital, branded content, PR, our strong units are out of home, promo and activation is where we score very high… so, yes, the results in terms of where we’ve won the metals is indicative of how wide our network is in terms of our integrated offerings across all verticals. That has paid dividends for sure.

     

    But is print one of your core strengths?

    It’s not, but we had a lot of fun doing print advertisements for clients and we won on big clients. We’ve won big for brands like Aegon Religare, IDBI.

     

    I must tell you that there’s a charge that a lot of work you’ve done is scam work.

    Scam is a dirty work. Sometime proactive. If any agency tells you they haven’t done proactive work, they’re lying through their teeth. There’s always a bit of it. If your main body of work… and this is not just the awards, because every day when you go to office for clients you don’t always do award work. But, yes, sometimes the work is proactive and you’ve made a lot of efforts with the client to say, let’s enter this field in this direction. It ticks all the boxes in terms of the parameters in which you have to enter. It has to be published, approved, released. I don’t like this scam word though I said it. Sometimes you do work that motivates the team and sometimes you have clients that allow you to do that.

     

    You’ve won some 40 metals in creative. And you’ve some metals at the Media Abby as well. How many of these are for genuine work?

    Most of them are. What gives me a lot of pleasure is winning across three days. While a lot of hoo-haa is done about a lot of creative agencies and media separately. We don’t have a very large media offering. We have a small media offering but it’s a great offering. But, to be honest, no agency has won across Goafest for three days. Maybe, one or two. So, that gives us a lot of pride. So, to answer your question, most of it is on large brands.

     

    Your strategy until now has been to fashion yourself more than just an outdoor and activation agency. But if you have to look at your play in the last three months, how have you fared by your own assessment?

    So we are just under two years now and if you read the book by Tom Peters, ‘Thriving on Chaos’, I think that’s what we went through. Because we’ve grown very rapidly. We have 180 people now. That’s a lot of people in these two years. But ultimately the true value that Social Street will derive in terms of where it’s going to be positioned and seen in the area of a highly creative company, backed by data, analytics, content, we’re looking at production services and we’re also looking at partnering and opening a few JVs outside of the country. I think that’s really how I see it.

     

    And how are the financials looking?

    I think we’re doing very well. As I said, we’re just under two years and this is a very important year, financially. By all indications it looks good. So, hoping for a great year ahead.

     

    When you were at Mudra, the great wins helped it get acquired by Omnicom. While you’re ou’re already funded. Are you going to use it to any advantage in terms of more investments

    Not really. Metals at Goafest don’t get you any VC funding. I can tell you that. It rewards you for the work you’ve done. It’s a recognition that we are now a force to reckon with in the awards scenario. Not just the creative awards, we’re also doing well at the Effies, Emvies and internationally at Cannes as well. But there’s no extra funding for winning metals at award functions.

     

    You mentioned about the David v/s Goliath analogy. How have the Goliaths been with you so far?

    We’ve received a lot of love and affection, to be honest. When you get on your own, people wish the independent agencies well, by and large. When you’re a part of a large network, you have a lot of competition and crab crawling. But we don’t have that at all. The industry is also happy for us and wishes us well.

     

  • A freewheeling chat with Pratap Bose, CMD, The Social Street, on a year in existence, winning awards and his relationship with DDB Mudra

    Smooth ride on this Street

     

    Around this time last year, Pratap Bose, former chief operating officer at DDB Mudra, launched with much fanfare a full-service advertising agency, The Social Street. With some seasoned names in the business by way of partners, like outdoor and experiential specialist Mandeep Malhotra, entrepreneur Arjun Reddy who also runs a diversified portfolio of businesses, and Pradeep Uppalapati, a former senior director and India lead for global corporate development team at Accenture, Bose’s venture has been on a roll. In a freewheeling interview with Pradyuman Maheshwari, Pratap Bose, Chairman and Managing Director, The Social Street, speaks about completing a year in existence, winning awards and his relationship with DDB Mudra.  Excerpts:

     

    One year of The Social Street, since June 22, 2015. How has the journey been so far?

    If you asked me last June where I would be, [I’d say] I would not have expected such progress in one year. When we set out, we had big ambitions but I didn’t think we would do so well. I think we have put an impressive list of clients together and done some really good work.

     

    The Pratap Bose interview first appeared in dna of brands on July 11.

     

    Mandeep Malhotra, Founding Partner and CEO

    On Year 1: I have loved the year.  A couple of months in the beginning were a bit of an emotional turmoil journey but then I got back to the 16 hours of working a day. I love staying busy and I had a great year.

    On the road ahead: I think if there is passion and hunger, India as a market has so much more to achieve and do. I am fairly excited for the teams who have got a lot of hunger and passion in them. So, it is an upward journey but it is a very gratifying, satisfied journey ahead. Looking forward to it.

     

    Pradeep Uppalapati, Founding Partner and CFO

    On Year 1: There are two ways I would answer that. Personally for me, it has been a very fun experience, a lot of learning and I am glad that I am part of this. From a company standpoint, in the one year that we have been in existence, we have achieved quite a few things, so we as The Social Street I think are very proud of it. We would like to keep the momentum going and achieve better things.

    On the financial front: Financially, I think we have met all our goals, no surprises. And we are on track.

     

    Interviews by Anuka Roy

     

    How do you define ‘so well’?

    The fact that we have already hired 150 people and  opened our Bengaluru and Delhi offices.

     

    Three very fancy offices

    The Delhi office is nice and much bigger than the Mumbai one. About 135 clients have been signed on. We have not made too much noise in the media about which clients we have won, but that was intentional. We are happy keeping it quiet.

     

    But you are not known to be a quiet person…

    It was part of the strategy and PR plan laid out during the first year. As a new set-up when you announce a win, your competitor agencies [also wake up to it]. But that is not the reason. Besides clients and setting up three main offices, we also have quite a few satellite offices. It has been a fair progress.

     

    You started off with a full-service agency, but some areas were not covered until you hired a creative head…

    Contrary to popular belief, a Chief Creative Officer (CCO) is not confined to the creative department. We brought in a team from various agencies to fill the gap. We thought if we were going to be a creative powerhouse in the area of communication, barring the traditional stuff, we need a CCO to run that. It is a team that understands the whole new world of content and creating content for activation – which is really what Deepak does. I’m not saying that we don’t want to get into print or television advertising, but that is not the focus right now.

     

    Does that bracket you as a BTL agency?

    I don’t care about that because at the end of the day, I am going to run a successful and profitable business. I think the media is also to blame for this. Everyone thinks that the creative agency is the be-all and end-all [of advertising]. But the new world is all about technology, social media, content, sharing and creating meaningful pieces of work in the social and marketing space.

     

    Are you saying that in advertising, you no longer make money on the traditional, creative stuff?

    Obviously the margins for the non-traditional side of the business are always higher. But barring the top four or five agencies…

     

    In this one-year journey, you have established an alliance with Rediffusion Y&R.

    I think the Rediffusion deal was good for both for us, where we run everything in the communication space and leave them to do their creative job. That is a partnership which is working well. It is a mutually-beneficial relationship that expands both their business and ours.

     

    But Wunderman is in the same space as you, isn’t there a clash?

    Today’s age is really about collaboration. It does not mean that if two agencies are in the same space, they need to compete. While Wunderman is largely in B2C, consumer, direct marketing and all that, it is a skill-set that complements what we do. Direct marketing, data — that is not our core competency right now.

     

    Do you see this relationship with Rediffusion cementing further?

    As long as we do good work together, and a lot of trust is there, and we want to further the relationship, we would probably make it a stronger.

     

    By further, do mean equity? You are known to be close to Martin Sorrell…

    I am. But that is not on the agenda right now. We just started out. Unfortunately or fortunately, there has been a lot of positive vibes from the industry, as well as in the communication business. But I don’t think you ever set out to create a business with the intent of selling out. If you did that, you would probably be a failure.

     

    Would you ever look at selling out or part with some equity?

    Not averse to that but there is a point in time where you think about that. But right now we are not thinking about this at all, five or six years later if things work out then. You do not set out to start a new business with the intent of selling out.

     

    You mentioned that having an international agency connection helps you with big, international clients.

    Not really. Dhunji Wadia and I are good friends, and had been working together even before we started The Social Street. As we started looking into some businesses, it turned out to be extremely fruitful for both of us.

     

    In terms of talent, how are you doing?

    We always knew we would succeed in the business. It is how to handle the large clients and the large assignments with limited resources. Our challenge right now is to be able to deliver on the promise we made to our clients, especially the large ones. That is a pressure, because if you keep adding bigger clients, you obviously would need to increase your workforce.

     

    What about your promise to investors?

    Thankfully, the investors have a lot of faith in us. They are looking at us long term. It is clearly a five-year projection we are working towards. As long as the basics have been ticked off the checklist, I think we are doing well.

     

    All the cheques coming on time?

    (Laughs) Actually, we are collecting very well.

     

    Where do you see yourself a year from now?

    That is the beauty of being on your own. We have set an agenda for what we want to be, and the areas we are getting into, and it is quite a large list. Having said that, if an opportunity presents itself, let us say in B2C, I would grab it with everything I have got. At the end of the day, we are entrepreneurs at heart.

     

    This opportunity can be in the form of acquisition or in the form of business?

    It could be in the form of business, it could be acquisition which any way is a part of our strategy. We would get in to more joint ventures, collaborations with other agencies, internationally as well as in India. That is all part of the plan.

     

    Any particular direction you are looking at in terms of international?

    We are looking at a couple of international firms in the area of brand activation, promotions, digital etc. We are already collaborating with a few. We got our first assignment in Indonesia last month. So it will gradually move that way, is my sense. Entertainment, digital and content is the space I see myself getting into, in the next couple of years.

     

    You have a CCO in Deepak Singh now. Are there any other heads you are targeting and appointing in the next year or so?

    We are looking at a senior position in the digital space, as well as seniors in the area of account planning and activation. Deepak’s team will also grow and branch out into similar kind of talent in Delhi and Bengaluru.

     

    And traditional media?

    We already have [people] in traditional media. We run a media planning and buying business for a few clients. Given that we have all the tools and databases, media is the glue that binds all the entities. It has to make money on its own for sure, but the intent is not to make a large media company.

     

    What about creative?

    I think creative will grow as we grow. The demands that we have in today’s briefs — these are socially-relevant big ideas; and for that, you need a juxtaposition of activation planners and highly-skilled creative people in that area to make things happen.

     

    Does your deal with Rediffusion prevent you from getting in to a space which it is into?

    No, not at all. It is not an exclusive relationship in any case.

     

    When you started out, a large number of people moved in from DDB Mudra. What is your relationship with DDB Mundra now?

    All of them were great friends. I probably had one of the best times in my life with DDB, which was Agency of the Year at Cannes in 2010 and 2011, from literally zero. We even toppled Ogilvy at Goafest. But I think I got out at the right time. It was a decision which I thought was the right decision at that time. My relationship with DDB Mudra is [still] fabulous.

     

    There are rumours that Madhukar Kamath may be moving on next year. So wouldn’t it have been nicer if you were still there?

    No, not now. Is there an option to merge The Social Street and take over Mudra? Why not? (laughs)

     

    You mentioned awards. Like it or not, the success of an agency is determined by the number of awards it wins. How do you rate your performance, vis-à-vis awards?

    Awards are really wait-and-watch. I think we will do spectacularly well next year.

     

    You know the game well.

    I know the game. If my job is only to win Agency of the Year and do nothing else, I would win it hands down. But you have to run a successful business. But I can promise you next year, at Cannes or at Goafest, we will do spectacularly well. I am saying that because of all the ideas we are currently working on. While everyone was at Cannes, and even before we put our heads together, there were some stunning ideas.

     

    So, south of France next year?

    Absolutely!

     

     

     

  • Only Indian from the Advertising & Marketing industry to feature in the list

    Samyak Chakrabarty makes it to Forbes Asia’s Top 30 Under 30

    By A Correspondent

     

    Samyak Chakrabarty

    The Social Street’s Samyak Chakrabarty has made it to the list of Forbes Asia ‘Top 30-under-30’, which was announced few days ago. Samyak Chakrabarty- Managing Partner, The Social Street is the only Indian from the advertising and marketing industry.

     

     

    Pratap Bose

    Commenting on this achievement, Pratap Bose, Chairman The Social Street says, “I am very thrilled by the news that my colleague Samyak has been featured in the Forbes 30 under 30 list! Samyak is a thinker, a go getter and is a rare breed; on a mission to innovate and create a difference in the society. I am indeed very proud of him. Here’s to many more accolades awaiting this young achiever!”

     

    Samyak Chakrabarty, Managing Partner, The Social Street had this to say, “It’s thrilling to be part of a list which recognizes disruptions and ideas of the future. For me this is just the beginning of a long journey.”

     

    Forbes Asia announced it’s inaugural Asia Top 30 Under 30 list that identifies the region’s future leaders across Business, Media, Finance, Social Impact & Entrepreneurship. The Asian list is a continuation of the global expansion of the Forbes 30 Under 30 franchise. It’s a franchise that has had amazing alumni such as Palmer Luckey from Occulus, Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy from Snapchat, LeBron James and Star Wars’s John Boyega to name just a few.

     

    Samyak founded India’s first Youth Marketing and research firm at the age of 18, which was recently acquired by the DDB Mudra Group. He is now at the helm of The Social Street, a new age communications company which develops technology driven solutions for brands to engage with India’s diverse & complex population set. He is currently also developing a research model to understand youth mindsets more effectively and has published 2 books in this domain.

     

  • The integrated offering will include Digital, Media, Experiential, Out of Home, Retail, Entertainment, Cause Marketing and also extends to Semi-Urban and Rural Activations and Outreach

    Rediffusion-Y&R group & Social Street shake hands

    By A Correspondent

     

    Rediffusion – Y & R Group and The Social Street have entered into a strategic alliance to provide value added marketing services to clients of Rediffusion – Y & R, Everest Brand Solutions and Rediffusion Wunderman. This alliance will come into effect from March 1, 2016.

     

    According to a communiqué, Rediff-Y&R and Social Street will leverage their individual strengths to partner and provide greater value to clients and collaborate to tap opportunities for growth in the market. The alliance will enable Rediffusion-Y&R Group’s clients to benefit from The Social Street’s extensive network, capabilities, and expertise in bringing together a more effective and optimized solutions to clients. 
This integrated offering will include Digital, Media, Experiential, Out of Home, Retail, Entertainment, Cause Marketing and also extends to Semi-Urban and Rural Activations and Outreach.

     

    Dhunji S. Wadia

    Says Dhunji S Wadia, President, Rediffusion-Y&R Group “This is one of the deepest integrations to date, marking yet another milestone in the Group’s plan for a consolidated media investment management operation.  Our services are designed to offer an integrated yet seamless solution across the communications continuum. The focus is to bring competitive advantage to our clients and our companies.”

     

    Pratap Bose

    Added Pratap Bose, Founding Partner & Chairman, The Social Street: “This is going to be a very exciting journey for both Rediffusion and us.  It will be a great growth story to tell the world.  Our shared vision and collective capabilities should help us serve nothing but the best to all the clients as part of this alliance.  We are all focused on one single client centric objective through this alliance and that is unlocking value for clients.  With the wealth of expertise in both Rediffusion and TSS, I have no doubt in saying that we will make it the strongest and successful alliance ever.”

     

    Mandeep Malhotra

    Sad Mandeep Malhotra, Founding Partner & CEO, the Social Street,  “I am personally very excited about this alliance and looking forward to creating many stories together in this journey with Rediffusion. My career in the agency world started with Rediffusion and it feels now that the circle is getting closer. There is nothing more exciting for me then working with energetic, talented, committed and a fun team. Organizations that partner or compliment each other in this manner are going to be more nimble footed in the future, in creating customer-oriented value.”

     

  • Featured speakers from different spectrum engaging with young thinkers of today's generation

    The Social Street curates the 6th Annual UN Young Changemakers Conclave

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Social Street curated the 6th Annual United Nations Young Changemakers Conclave (UNYCC) on 9th January at The Naval Lawns, Mumbai. This year, the theme of the conference was “Make in India: Sustainable Development,” urging the youth to take initiative and inspire them to make a real change in the society, by exploring the latest innovations and discussing current affairs.

     

    The Conclave was attended by over 750 young individuals in the 18 to 35 age group who were selected from diverse backgrounds to attend this near-day-long event to discuss, deliberate and debate around the core theme of the event, while engaging with the current leaders. The event started off with an opening address by Kiran Mehra Kerpelman, Director, United Nations Information Centre for India & Bhutan.

     

    The 6th Annual United Nations Young Changemakers Conclave witnessed participation of distinguished personalities and visionaries such as Suresh Prabhu, Union Railway Minister of India; Supriya Sule, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha; Sanjay Jha, National Spokesperson of the Indian National Congress; Lakshmi Pratury, Founder, INK Talks; Piyush Pandey, Chairman, Ogilvy & Mather; Shivnath Thukral, Group President, Essar Group; Karishma Mehta, Founder, Humans of Bombay; Poulomi Basu, Photographer, VII Photo; Radha Kapoor, Founder & Executive Director, ISDI; Renowned Author Amish Tripathi; Ananya Birla, Founder, Svantantra Microfinance; Trishya Screwvala, Founder, Lighthouse Project; Fashion Designer Anita Dongre,Trisha Shetty, Founder She Says and Suril Desai, Founder, Bitcoin Information Technologies. The event also had an enthralling performance by musician Abhijit Jejurikar’s Dharavi Rocks.

     

    Commenting on this unique event, Pratap Bose, Founder and Chairman of The Social Street said, “Over the last two years, India has emerged as the third largest start-up ecosystem after the US and the UK. With so many budding entrepreneurs waiting in the wings, we at The Social Street are proud to have curated the 6thAnnual United Nations Young Changemakers Conclave.”

     

    Bose further added, “The conference was primarily aimed at engaging young thinkers and well known stalwarts to share their perspective and show us the way in making a difference in our society in our own distinctive way.”

     

    In the past, the UNYCC has hosted inspiring talks by change-makers like the current RBI governor Dr Raghuram Rajan and renowned Author & Politician Dr. Shashi Tharoor, among others.

     

  • The angry baby photos attract your attention and lead you to an important message

    The Social Street makes angry babies dot the country skyline

    By A Correspondent

     

    IDBI Federal Life Insurance has launched its outdoor campaign with The Social Street to promote its insurance solutions for children’s future

     

    Hoardings across prominent locations in the country are plastered with grumpy baby faces after private life insurer, IDBI Federal Life Insurance launched its funny, yet hard-hitting, outdoor campaign to promote its child plans category – Childsurance.

     

    The angry baby photos attract your attention and lead you to an important message – the child will not look this cute when he /she is angry at the age of 18 years! With inflation in education costs ballooning year after year, it is important that young parents systematically plan for the future needs of their little ones. The outdoor campaign, like the other campaigns from the company, adds a bit of humour to communicate an important message. The campaign spans 105 towns in the country.

     

    Explaining the objective of this campaign, Aneesh Khanna, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, IDBI Federal Life Insurance, said, “According to a survey, about 60% of Indian parents are worried about the rising education costs. According to the National Crime Records Bureau statistics, an Indian dies in an accident every 90 seconds. With such uncertainty and rising costs, the biggest worry in the minds of today’s young parents is, whether their goals for their children will be fulfilled, especially in their absence. Our children’s insurance solutions address these concerns effectively. The plans not only help customers build a sizeable corpus, but also offer life cover. The waiver of premium benefit ensures that the plan continues even in the absence of the parent and children’s future needs are secured no matter what.”

     

    He adds, “The message of angry babies is so strong and striking at the same time that we thought an outdoor campaign would effectively communicate the campaign thought. The best part about this campaign is that while it gives a gentle nudge to young parents to plan for their children’s future needs, it takes does so by taking a complete departure from regular advertising featuring babies. While you would see happy baby faces in most advertising, ours features angry babies and this has caught the attention of the audience.”

     

    Say’s Pratap Bose Founding Partner and Chairman of The Social Street … ’’The Childsurance campaign from IDBI Federal is indeed an intriguing one, as the cute angry babies immediately draw your attention. Large scale formats in the OOH space, enables the imagery of the visual to be disproportionately large, so as to draw attention and drive home the point that your child’s insurance is certainly not something that you can take for granted’’

     

    Nitin Rastogi Associate Vice President The Social Street adds “We executed The Childsurance campaign in 105 cities, with more than 900 billboards  pan India in Phase 1, we planned & shortlisted each and every media considering the creative, even the way the baby looked towards the traffic as per the positioning of each site. The beauty of the outdoor is that you can use the creative suitable to each and every medium, which no other medium offers, and we’ve tried to explore this effectively in this campaign, in phase one we integrated the campaign with radio, and in phase two we’re planning to take it a step further with on-ground activation & digital”

     

  • In a short span, bags A-list clients and goes bullish on hiring to service brands in India and International markets

    Pamita Seth to head Branded Content & entertainment division for Social Street

    By A Correspondent

     

    Pamita Seth

    The Social Street, has launched their Branded Content and Entertainment division with the appointment of Pamita Seth who has been roped in to head the practice. She will be overseeing a team of around 10 people who are already in place.

     

    Pamita brings with her around 13 years of experience having worked in organizations like Radio Mirchi & ABSIL (The Times of India Group).  Her earlier stint was with Mates (Madison). Pamita’s  expertise is in Branded Content, Campaign Creation, Media, Marketing, Brand Solutions, Partner Engagement, Intellectual properties. She has been instrumental in developing campaigns like Mirchi Queen Bee, Mirchi Music Awards, Femina Miss India, Spell Bee and has won awards for her Branded Content work on films like Yeh Jawanni Hai Dewani, Race2, PK & Shamitabh and many more.

     

    Pratap Bose

    Commenting on the launch of the new division, Pratap Bose, Chairman and Founding Partner The Social Street says, “We are looking to offer a plethora of services to cater to the varied needs of clients, which would include among other things In-Film Advertising, Movie Promotions, Intellectual Properties, Telecast and Talent Solutions. The extremely talented team that we have put together have the muscle to service the needs of International and Indian Clients. We are looking to be a truly global one stop shop in the space of Branded Content and Entertainment.”

     

    The Division already has signed up with  a number upcoming film projects. It will be a part of The Festival of Globe – Silicon Valley & San Francisco Global Movie Fest hosted by the Federation of Indian Association. The San Francisco Global Movie Fest is an annual film festival that spans across 10 days and showcases nearly 50 films and includes among other things, workshops, award night  and the legendary India Day Parade of The Bay Area. The Division is also collaborating with renowned film-maker Guneet Monga to showcase her film ‘Monsoon Shootout’ as the Grand Closing Ceremony film at the festival.