The Hindu Business Line : Heading towards intensive care?

I HAVE never met Anil Ambani. It is a matter of considerable regret to me that despite having spent six years in Mudra, I never did get to meet him. Mudra in those days was very keen to tell whoever was listening that Reliance was just a client, but a very important one at that.

Today, it is common knowledge that Reliance is the major shareholder in Mudra, DDB Needham holds a measly 10 per cent (compared at least to the other agencies in India, whose equity and thinking is predominantly MNC). And client or otherwise, the Reliance philosophy of "growth is a way of life" spurred Mudra's phenomenal rise in the late '80s and early '90s.

I did not make it to the Ad Club golden jubilee celebrations in Mumbai. I only saw the text of Anil Ambani's speech. It made me think. I saw my good friend Ramesh Narayan's column. It made me smile. I am really glad that he is such a strong defender of the advertising industry. Today more than ever advertising needs defenders and friends. Though I really wonder if I will have any friends in advertising after this piece. But then, as they say, we are like that only!

A tale of woe

Yes, the Indian advertising industry has grown. Yes, it boasts of a glorious past. Yes, the Indian arms of most global advertising agencies are their most visible and more profitable ones. And yet will this do, as Ambani asks? Today, the Indian advertising industry is at the crossroads.

The joke "Indian advertising is 15 per cent commission and 85 per cent confusion" has become a cruel reminder of our three-martini lunches. Those days are gone forever. Today it is common knowledge that agencies work for a fraction of this percentage. Everyone is busy cutting the ground under each other's feet. This trend of reduced commission started by big MNC clients is here to stay, and every client is jumping onto the bandwagon.

The industry has hardly any leadership worth the name. Anil Ambani did mention Narayana Murthy and software. He and a few others have put India (and if one may add, Bangalore) on the global map. They have gone on stage and in front of the camera promoting software. They have lobbied with Government and ignited young minds.

And while on the subject of Narayana Murthy, I must mention an important statement that he makes. He keeps repeating that the market cap of Infosys becomes zero every evening as its talented work force leaves its much-celebrated campus. Yes, talent is the key and this is my biggest worry for the advertising industry.

Where is the talent?

The advertising industry is no different from the software industry in one respect. It can only be as good as the people who work for it, or the people who want to work for it. Today, the Indian advertising industry has many talented people leading it. The names of Arun Nanda, Pranesh Mishra, Sam Balsara and Aravind Sharma readily come to mind. (As this is a column and not a compendium, I cannot include several others.) Where are these people from? IIM? Bajaj? XLRI? Now tell me one thing. Do these people go to their alma mater to recruit fresh talent? And even if they did, would top-flight talent join? The fact of the matter is that advertising today is a "low-involvement profession." And the pathetic salary levels (thanks to aggressive client negotiations on fees and commission) ensure that salaries are peanuts. And you don't have to be a creative genius to figure out whom you will get if you pay peanuts.

Where is the opportunity?

If one were to still stay with the software example, the industry looked outside because there was no local market. The Indian MNC agency cannot look at new markets globally because Martin Sorrell already has a presence there and that would be a conflict of interest. Ramesh Narayan's emerging Indian agency has a great opportunity because of these facts.

We can strategise

Produce cheaper creative

Understand global customers

And actually think, speak and create in English. If we can produce work that makes a billion people smile and buy, then conquering the rest of the world should not be impossible.

One can understand and empathise with Anil Ambani's frustration. Someone whose opportunity and challenge has always been the world will find Indian advertising wanting. And at times this sort of critical appraisal (from a client and an agency owner) is perhaps necessary, if not welcome. Dhirubahi Ambani always used to say, "Aim for the sky, you will at least reach the treetops." His illustrious son is saying, "Aim to take over Madison Avenue, you will at least conquer the Asia Pacific."

The human race is enormously resilient. And the advertising industry is a great example of this. Often they have turned around marginal brands with phenomenal strategy and path-breaking creative. The Indian ad industry is a strong product that has aged with time. It needs to be revitalised. It needs to look at new markets. It cannot live in the past. If it does then it could well mean the return of the East India Company.

(The author is CEO, brand-comm. The views expressed are his own.)

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