Experts speak: What lies ahead for the marketing industry
2011 seemed the best time to get the heads of our Top 3 advertising agencies and Top 3 media agencies to reflect on the decade that was and point to what lies ahead for the marketing communications industry. On a balmy Sunday afternoon though, our fellowship was missing a representative from JWT. Colvyn Harris was vacationing and none of his deputies were able to make it to Mumbai on time. However the rest of our panel comprising Piyush Pandey , chairman, Ogilvy; R Balakrishnan , chairman, Lowe Lintas; R Gowthaman , MD, MindShare; Sam Balsara , CMD, Madison World and Lynn de Souza , chairman and CEO, Lintas Media Group were all in a fine mood to debate, argue and throw down the gauntlet. It isnt too much to say that if these fine gentlemen and lady walk the talk on what they discussed, the industry is going to be a very different place in the next 10 years.
Who owns the idea creative or media?
Pandey : No idea is ever owned by a single person. Our first gold at Cannes for Kodak was an idea from a media person. Theres no man of the match; the team must win.
Balsara: In the first few years of cutting of the cord between media and creative, there may be some antagonistic feeling. But this will pass. From a media agency perspective, the core creative idea is the responsibility of the creative agency. Piyush is being generous.
Pandey : Im not! Vodafones zoozoos happened since the media agency said theres huge clutter, so can we have an ad for every day? The creatives latched on to the opportunity.
de Souza : Two important groups you must add to this discussion are client and media owne! r. To ac tually speak of an idea, execution and amplification requires all parties to get together. In the next decade, we should all own ideas together. Fights at award functions over who created what must be left behind.
Balki : The client is in the middle, becoming the arbitrator of the idea. Interacting with the media agency is really important but we are doing less of that. You need to have a combined view on the work. But the combination is client and creative or client and media and not creative and media. Thats whats leading to a lack of evolution.
Which side pays better creative or media?
Gowthaman : We are properly integrated there since none of us is being paid better!
de Souza : In media, star value is less important. Talent is 60% to 70% of our cost and thats the area we pay least attention to. Often, large advertisers with badge value really pay very little.
Pandey: If clients want the best talent from us they will have to pay. My resolution of the year is to try my damndest to say if you are doing so well, can you be my partner in setting the trend? Ive requested my colleagues to identify 10 clients in that position to set the ball rolling.
Remuneration: the problem
Gowthaman : Weve lost talent to broadcasters at three times the salary. They may be making losses today but they all have a 3 or 5 year business plan. Thats our problem weve never gone back to the client saying Im going to give you a three year service plan. We are living for a P&L of one full year. The telecom industry may be fighting in the market but they have an unwritten code below which they wont go. We dont do that.
Balki : Someone f! rom Leve rs asked me this. We got MBAs and we are not going to be impressed if you have five more of them. You are in the business of ideas. How do you have a system to groom talent or spot people who get ideas? We are a business that does not know where its next generation is coming from.
Balsara : A client once told me he had jacked up his entry level salaries by 40% to make it Rs 14 lakhs. I asked him can you go back and see the increase given to your media agency thats worked with you for so long? He said Im with you but what do I do? My commercial guys will do a survey and say this is the market rate. I said, when you talk to me, do you want market levels of service? You say Im with Madison for so many years because you are great. But when it comes to this, you leave me to the commercial guy and say remuneration must be at market level. How can this work? So he said you take the initiative: if you send a note to my commercial guys and say the market is playing 7.5% we will be the first to give you 7.75%.
Who owns the idea creative or media?
Pandey : No idea is ever owned by a single person. Our first gold at Cannes for Kodak was an idea from a media person. Theres no man of the match; the team must win.
Balsara: In the first few years of cutting of the cord between media and creative, there may be some antagonistic feeling. But this will pass. From a media agency perspective, the core creative idea is the responsibility of the creative agency. Piyush is being generous.
Pandey : Im not! Vodafones zoozoos happened since the media agency said theres huge clutter, so can we have an ad for every day? The creatives latched on to the opportunity.
de Souza : Two important groups you must add to this discussion are client and media owne! r. To ac tually speak of an idea, execution and amplification requires all parties to get together. In the next decade, we should all own ideas together. Fights at award functions over who created what must be left behind.
Balki : The client is in the middle, becoming the arbitrator of the idea. Interacting with the media agency is really important but we are doing less of that. You need to have a combined view on the work. But the combination is client and creative or client and media and not creative and media. Thats whats leading to a lack of evolution.
Which side pays better creative or media?
Gowthaman : We are properly integrated there since none of us is being paid better!
de Souza : In media, star value is less important. Talent is 60% to 70% of our cost and thats the area we pay least attention to. Often, large advertisers with badge value really pay very little.
Pandey: If clients want the best talent from us they will have to pay. My resolution of the year is to try my damndest to say if you are doing so well, can you be my partner in setting the trend? Ive requested my colleagues to identify 10 clients in that position to set the ball rolling.
Remuneration: the problem
Gowthaman : Weve lost talent to broadcasters at three times the salary. They may be making losses today but they all have a 3 or 5 year business plan. Thats our problem weve never gone back to the client saying Im going to give you a three year service plan. We are living for a P&L of one full year. The telecom industry may be fighting in the market but they have an unwritten code below which they wont go. We dont do that.
Balki : Someone f! rom Leve rs asked me this. We got MBAs and we are not going to be impressed if you have five more of them. You are in the business of ideas. How do you have a system to groom talent or spot people who get ideas? We are a business that does not know where its next generation is coming from.
Balsara : A client once told me he had jacked up his entry level salaries by 40% to make it Rs 14 lakhs. I asked him can you go back and see the increase given to your media agency thats worked with you for so long? He said Im with you but what do I do? My commercial guys will do a survey and say this is the market rate. I said, when you talk to me, do you want market levels of service? You say Im with Madison for so many years because you are great. But when it comes to this, you leave me to the commercial guy and say remuneration must be at market level. How can this work? So he said you take the initiative: if you send a note to my commercial guys and say the market is playing 7.5% we will be the first to give you 7.75%.
Comments