The Hindu Business Line : The spirit of David

THE Juhu Ram Leela ground in Mumbai this year had some unusual hoardings with messages such as David aa raha hai, David kab ayega, David aa gaya maidan mein and Bhaago David aya. This was not a teaser campaign announcing the launch of a new brand, but advertising agency rmg david's launch of its new identity — David.

Josy Paul, Chairman and National Creative Director, David (in the picture), and his team announced the launch by burning an effigy of Ravana, symbolising the victory of good over evil. "That is what the philosophy of David stands for. The David philosophy is about the spirit of challenge and never giving up. Agencies may die but David will remain, as it is the spirit of challenge. We are mere torchbearers of this spirit, but we profit from David emotionally and financially," he says.

The company has been registered as Brand David Communications, and rmg, which stood for Relationship Marketing Group, has now been dispensed with.

The agency, which originated in India, has now gone global with the merger of three existing WPP brands — rmg david (in India), rmg (in Singapore) and Results (in Taiwan and Bangkok). "This merger indicates the coming together of like-minded people. The new stories that we get from them will help us to grow with them."

Paul says the David spirit (named so after O&M's legendary founder, David Ogilvy) is about doing things which are untested, uncharted and questioning what has worked earlier. "The brands we work with challenge competition."

He cites the example of the AIS Strong Glass advertising campaign in which the agency has tried to reposition the brand's core proposition on the platform of strength, while the brand leader (Saint Gobain) talks about `clear glass.' "We have tried to challenge the leader on the platform of strength."

Paul says the spirit of David lies in every human being, and this meant the agency had to be re-launched among people and not in the comfort of a five-star hotel. The agency revealed its new brand identity to the media on an open double-decker BEST bus.

Doing things the unusual way

The David style of working would be to solve problems the unconventional way. And this, says Paul, will include simplifying its existing systems and processes. "We would try to simplify strategic processes so that we get to the point faster. We will try to do away with long Powerpoint presentations and instead present a powerful point of view through a one-page presentation."

Apart from this, the agency also plans to launch some innovative learning programmes for its own employees.

"We are going to go to senior people in the industry and get them to talk about the first five years of their career, as that is the period when one has the spirit of a challenger in them. We are going to share these experiences every Saturday with our employees and discuss them."

"When you deal with a spirit such as David, you have to imbibe a spirit and not train a spirit. And the only way to do so is through storytelling. Our learning programmes is going to be like chicken soup for advertising souls," he adds.

The agency is also planning to recruit talent to carry forward the David spirit. And, the focus would be on recruiting talent at the junior or senior levels. In fact, Paul wants to eventually do away with the middle management, as he feels people at that level always want to ape the leader and don't want to do new things. "While the juniors are always willing to experiment and the seniors are looking for a rebirth, it is the middle guy who is always a problem. If we are creating a counter culture we need to have people who are willing to let go of their past."

The agency has also launched a concept of recruiting fresh talent called Ek Din Ka David _ the applicants would be invited to spend a day at a David office and would be involved in various activities such as attending agency-client meetings, script-writing and so on. "The candidates would be judged based on their performance and we will gradually do away with formal interviews."

Paul calls David a virus, an agency. "And we want our employees and clients to buy into the virus of David."

Industry opinion

What does the industry have to say about the David virus? While Prathap Suthan, National Creative Director, Grey Worldwide, feels the idea behind the spirit of David is great, he also notes that these ideas are meant to break the clutter — sustaining the philosophy would definitely be a challenge. "Anyone can do anything to attract attention. These are things that are done to break the clutter. For an instant it will work, but if one has to sustain the interest day in and day out, in the scale of its opening salvo, it is tough work. The burning of Ravana was an incident, an event in the public domain of 3D life. When that level of impact has to be translated to print and TV and radio, it is a different ball game."

On the other hand, U. Jayraj Rau, Client Services Director, JWT, finds the challenger spirit of David nothing but a tall claim. "It's the usual tall claims and, for a while now, has been a kind of threat from many start-ups. I am yet to see any `fresh' approach from any of these `new-age agencies.' What else can they project when they are not handling big brands in mature product and service categories? Like any new start-up they have to project the `challenger' image."

Rau is also critical about the agency new tagline, Bhaago David Aya. "I wonder who they are trying to scare! I hope it is not their clients. They would be better off getting down to some hard work and creating a niche for themselves in the industry. Agencies such as David have a wonderful opportunity of talking less and doing more. And an opportunity to brand themselves from a consumer/client point of view."

Suthan wraps up the argument by saying it is the work the agency produces that can be the single measure of its calibre and talent. "You can have a party that will be talked about once. To do that everyday is not very possible. All said and done, it was a great idea and as always, may good win over evil."

However, Paul feels that David is into something powerful and insightful, which needs to be given shape. And five years down, he dreams of an agency that would have an entirely fresh approach to communication with eclectic and unusual talent. "Some crazy artist in Jaipur should have a place here, just as a talented MBA has a place."

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