The Hindu Business Line : The left brain thinker

His casual exterior and amiable manner shields the obviously tough interior that has taken him from a top marketing job to the high-stakes world of a media independent agency, and then on a sharp vertical trajectory that sees him as the head of the largest, and some say most respected, media agency in India.

Twenty years ago a typical media person worked in a cluttered bean-counting department of a full-service agency. He was your regular backroom boy handling not just estimates, billing and traffic but also doubling as a Mr Fixit giving out press releases and ensuring they appeared in newspapers and magazines.

Time and technology changed all that irreversibly.

In today’s world of complex media choices, rapidly changing customer profiles, increasing media spends and bewildering fragmentation, the media person has emerged as a critical all-rounder. Unbundling has given the media agency stature and clout. Today’s media person has to understand the needs of the client, have a thorough knowledge of the various media options and judiciously spend the client’s money. And that is over-simplifying his role.

Vikram Sakhuja epitomises today’s media person. He is young, articulate and has what it takes to lead Group M from the front.

With a host of new applications and the opening up of the digital media space, Vikram says media agencies have their hands full. In the competitive environment that exists today, 20 per cent growth was a real challenge, but it has been achieved by his company.

The days of reach and frequency are a thing of the past, believes Vikram. These days, the left brain needs to be active. More so in an era where content is emerging as king. “Why does Picasso earn more money than his accountant?” he asks rhetorically. “Creativity,” he answers himself. He explains that it is infinitely more difficult to put a price on planning than on creativity. However, he sees a shift taking place from media planning to communications solutions. He personally looks carefully for the communications challenge in any assignment. Still essentially a marketing-oriented person, Vikram seeks to decode what needs to be done purely from a marketing perspective. This considerably changes the lens through which he peers at problems. The same background and perspective helped him lead Fulcrum (where he was earlier) and infuse a sense of marketing into the media scene.

Now it’s all about Local Area Marketing, says Vikram. Whether it is creating content as in the case of the Wheel Smart Srimati, or creating and leveraging properties like the Hutch Marathon and Axe Land or simple geographical expansion as in the case of Lakme Fashion Week, the accent is all on creatively interpreting a client’s brief. It is also important to make sure the communication is no longer an interruption but is viewed by the consumer as entertainment in itself.

Vikram is very clear about the roles that creative and media agencies play. “The creative agency deals with brand stewardship and classical advertising. They determine the tone of the conversation. Media agencies manage marketing funds. They plan and buy space in everything from television to the back of your shirt.”

At a macro level Vikram feels that though 85 per cent of the media spends are now in print and electronic media, the future lies in interactive media and in content providing. The activities that will continue to attract big-ticket spends are cricket and reality shows, though mega bucks can be made in movie marketing as soon as the industry gets more professional, and in destination marketing.

If there is anything Vikram loses sleep over, it is the big talent crunch that exists today. He feels the advertising industry might be offering 30 per cent less by way of salaries but is still a fun place to work in. What he really misses these days is the passion that is so necessary in an industry like advertising.

With all the action in his professional life, Vikram rarely has time for much else. I look at the large exercise ball occupying precious real estate in his office and wonder aloud if he is a fitness freak. He laughingly comments that that the ball is there because of the wishful thinking in his wife’s mind.

So what would a successful person like Vikram do if he ever retired? Well, it needed some goading, but he eventually comes clean. He would like to get back to his first love _ theatre. Yes, Vikram is a veteran of 35 plays though now the only role he plays is that of media industry leader.

But what role would he like to play on stage, I ask. “A good play is better than a good role” is the diplomatic reply. I persist, and he admits that he would love to do Krapp’s Last Tape.

For those amongst us who do not realise it, this is an epic monologue.

Quite a revealing insight into the mind of someone who spends his entire professional life ensuring an ongoing dialogue.

(Ramesh Narayan is a communications consultant.)