The Hindu Business Line : Changing face

Much has changed about advertising - it's become a 360-degree effort, it's increasingly fee-based, there's as much marketing as creative strategy, more specialisation and more streamlining.

IF one could deliver a sachet of Bru at a consumer's doorstep along with the morning milk and papers, it would perhaps be the most appropriate moment to do so. A steaming hot cup of coffee would definitely be top of mind at that moment and, it would therefore, be an ideal way to bring alive the brand's promise.

Advertising today is all about `great ideas' and how one is able to bring them alive at every point the consumer comes in contact with the brand. Ad gurus feel that advertising today calls for a 360-degree approach by the agencies. "It is all about making a single idea work through different media, be it print, television or outdoor, direct marketing or even public relations," says R. Krishna Mohan, Executive Director, Ogilvy and Mather.

"It is the idea which clearly matters," agrees Josy Paul, Country Head and National Creative Director, rmg david, who says the accent on creative is much stronger than what it was before.

Suguna Swamy, former Creativer Director, O & M

Suguna Swamy, former Creative Director, O&M, also feels that creative has finally got its rightful throne. "Even the old integrated marketing gurus have upgraded their product into 360-degree advertising, a far better and do-able notion than merely cobbling together a bunch of services, one that recognises that brands are built on the back of great creative ideas and execution," she says.

Though Mohan of O&M is of the firm belief that ideas play an important role in advertising today, he says a great idea needn't necessarily be generated by the creative team. "It can also be a marketing idea," he says. He cites the example of Bharat Petroleum's `Pure for Sure' initiative. "Pure for Sure was a very relevant thing to say and it helped in creating a difference. It created awareness of purity among the consumers. This was clearly a marketing idea."

Elaborating on the changing role of advertising, Vijay Subramanium, General Manager, Marketing (Laundry and Home Care), Henkel Spic India Ltd, says, "Consumers at one point of time used to gobble up mass-produced artefacts dangled in front of them. But they now prefer customised products which the advertising industry has been successfully catering to, by targeting them through various platforms."

Specialised services

Apart from `idea' becoming a core of modern advertising, the industry has also witnessed the creation of specialised divisions such as media, creative and direct marketing, which are separate profit centres.

"Specialisation is a fantastic idea," says G. Raja Ganapathy, Vice-President and General Manager, rmg david. "With divisions like media becoming specialised units we have become much more focused on our core function, which is to generate ideas," he adds.

Similarly, the clients also feel that creation of separate divisions has given them access to better and more specialised services. "Specialised divisions not only give us more professional services, but also work out to be better value for money," says Anupam Dutta, Vice-President (Marketing), CavinKare Ltd.

Greater accountability

The Indian advertising industry also looks to be moving towards an era of greater accountability. This has been triggered by the shift from the traditional 15 per cent agency commission system to a fee-based structure.

Suhel Seth, Equus Advertsing

Says Suhel Seth of Equus Advertsing, "Ten years ago, we were a business which took the commission system for granted and believed that clients would pay no matter what - a form of the Holy Grail. Today, we are a business in which almost no agency gets paid their 15 per cent commission but works for a fee. We have transited from an industry which took compensation for granted to one which is now facing the challenges of reward and punishment within the compensation domain."

"The fee-based system is a healthy trend and has made agencies much more accountable for the growth of the brand," agrees Ganapathy of rmg david.

Similarly, Mohan of O&M feels the fee-based structure has not only made the agencies much more accountable but has also enabled them to partner their clients in the brand's development. "Our role as an agency is not just restricted to creating ads; we are also expected to go out and study consumer needs, evaluate the activities done by the brand's competitors and so on."

A demanding client

Apart from the agencies becoming more accountable for the growth of the brand, the industry has also seen the emergence of an overtly demanding client. "The client is bound to get more and more demanding, as he is selling to a more demanding consumer, in a market in which the competition is getting stiffer by the day," says Ganapathy.

O&M's Mohan feels the client has become demanding in a more positive way. "They look at us as marketing partners and not just as someone who is releasing ads making more bucks," he says.

Giving an advertiser's perspective, Dutta of CavinKare, says, "An advertiser's expectations from his agency is a lot higher now. With the marketing avenues becoming more widespread, with various new media such as Internet and DTH emerging, an advertiser expects a gamut of services from his agency instead of just creatives."

Agency-client relationship

With the agency's fees depending entirely on its performance and higher expectation of returns from advertising, U. Jayraj Rau, Vice-President and Client Services Director, J. Walter Thompson (JWT), says the agency-client relationship has become impersonal, leaving little room for loyalties and emotions. "Gone are the days when a client and an agency believed in long-term relationships," he says.

U. Jayraj Rau, Vice-President & Client Services Director, JWT

Rau says that most agencies are beginning to take on short-term projects. "Both the agency and the client are becoming more objective," he says.

However, rmg's Ganapathy says the agency-client relationship can't afford to become impersonal. "Our business is all about understanding brands. Everyone looks at the ad and forms an opinion about the company. Therefore, it is imperative for the agency and the client to have a long-term relationship. All our clients have been there with us since inception, and we focus on building a long-term relationship," he says.

Outsourcing becomes order of the day

With the ad agency's revenues no longer being linked to client spends, most agencies have begun to tighten costs and cut down on manpower. This has also lead to large-scale outsourcing of activities from digital studios, film productions units, market research and so on.

"Ad agencies are becoming smaller each day, with most non-communication activities getting outsourced," says Ganapathy of rmg david. "We, for instance, buy all our infrastructure from our sister concern O&M. rmg david just has a client-servicing and creative team," he adds.

"The ad agency of the future would just be a two- or three-member team, comprising a planner-cum-management person and a creative team which would include a copywriter and an art director," says Rau.

On the other hand, rmg's Paul says big agencies are running scared of smaller agencies. "As smaller agencies have a mindset which is more refreshing and also have lesser baggage, clients are increasingly moving towards them. They are tired of standardised solutions offered by big agencies."

"A large facility is actually bad for clients as they have to pay more," adds Ganapathy.

Suresh Kumar, Director, Mindspark Consulting, feels agencies should invest more in training their frontline. "It's bad news if the branch manager has to spend all his time on operational matters when he should be providing strategic inputs for the client's communications plan," he says.

"It may be good for agencies to get out of the quarterly billing pressures mould and be more brand-driven than finance-driven. It is not pressures but motivation that has resulted in good work. I haven't seen a sick agency that has done good, relevant work! Clients must also have intangible metrics other than sales for recognising and rewarding advertising," he adds.

From production house to brand consultant

With agencies slimming down in size and becoming more accountable for the brand's overall growth, ad professionals feel they are beginning to play the role of communication consultants for a brand.

In fact, O&M's Mohan feels the agency of the future would be involved with the brand right from finding the target audience to even looking at sales. To put it in Rau's words, "The agency would be the custodian of the brand."

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