The Hindu Business Line : Facing the challenge

"Agencies are expressing their power of seamless integration more powerfully now and clients are executing holistic marketing." _ Rajeev Sharma, Leo Burnett

Tarun Rai, Senior Vice-President & General Manager, JWT

To provide integrated communication services, agencies have already begun to restructure themselves based on the needs of clients. States Parameswaran of FCB Ulka, "We as an agency group have always felt that the best communication solutions come only when all the pieces come together; or as in World Cup language, all the players play together. So for all major accounts we have a `Model Of One' way of working; teams from servicing, account planning, creative as well as teams from media [from our associates Lodestar Media] and direct/interactive [from our FCB-Ulka Interactive] come together to ensure that the client and the brand get the best-in-class services from our group."

In fact, different agencies have been experimenting with different structures to arrive at an integrated delivery. Take the case of JWT, which recently set up a new division, 3One, which is expected to specialise in new media communication. Its Tarun Rai describes it as the division which aims to occupy the `sweet spot' where new media knowledge meets consumer and brand understanding. Then there is O&M, a pioneer in the 360-degree communication concept and which recently added Ogilvy Sport (sports marketing consultancy), which is further expected to strengthen the integrated efforts of the agency.

There is also Everest Advertising, which has repositioned itself as Everest Integrated Solutions to give 360-degree branding solutions to clients. Says Aniruddha Banerjee, COO, Everest Integrated Solutions, "Everest has restructured itself to get communications integrators to the fore to work with clients to develop brand solutions. These people work across the spectrum — from understanding the client's business to articulating the key problem and thereafter developing and executing solutions. In this, they are aided by specialists who have the knowledge perspective or the lateral/creative ideation abilities. We do not have multiple divisions within the agency to specialise in every communication discipline, as we believe that is the pitfall that has led to silos being created in many agencies. We, instead, have people who have the ability to understand how integrated communications can be used to solve clients' business problems. They then use this ability to generate media-neutral solutions and get the best resources available to execute the solutions, whether within the agency or outside," says Banerjee.

In fact, it is the strategic planners within the agencies who would have the job of integrating the functions within the agency to kick-start the process of restructuring. As Madhukar Kamath of Mudra observes, "The onus has been on the strategic planners in agencies to find a way of integrating the specialists. We will have to review operating structures, customise solutions for our clients depending on their needs. From what I understand, agencies in India are looking for ways to make this happen. In Mudra, we are working on rolling out co-creation and total branding solutions."

M. G. Parameswaran, Executive Director, FCB Ulka

Agencies are on their way to making their operations seamless and expressing their ideas more powerfully to their clients. Adds Rajeev Sharma, National Brand Planning Director, Leo Burnett, "Agencies are expressing their power of seamless integration more powerfully now and clients are executing holistic marketing."

Says Pranesh Misra, "Clients in India have started feeling the absence of integration. When I meet CEOs of companies, they do lament the fact that the `good old days' where everything was briefed to one agency have become history. They do believe that mass media is gradually losing its efficiency and they would spend more and more on through-the-line media such as PR, events, direct and rural marketing. But in these areas, the quality of creative and strategic thinking is still not developed to the level of creative agencies. It would be ideal if there could be a marriage of talent of creative agencies and through-the-line agencies so that the client can get the benefit of both these faculties from one source."

The days of successful integration through a single source have yet to come but the demand for it is building up even as ad agencies continue to restructure themselves to meet clients' needs.