The Hindu Business Line : AdAsia 2007

By the time you read this the Indian delegation will be packing its bags to head out to the Jeju Island in Korea. We are told that more than 70 delegates will be making the trip to attend the AdAsia 2007. The highlight of the trip will be India’s bid to host the AdAsia 2011. If things go the way they should, you could be seeing one more victorious Indian team returning home.

Incidentally, while every effort is being made to position the Indian delegation as one that is very representative of the industry, we are told that it could well be labelled the ‘Indian Media Delegation’. The combined number of agency people and marketers in the delegation will not hit double figures. Well, at least it means the media is doing very well in India.

Colvyn Harris speaker

Colvyn Harris

So what if our desi ad agency types are not a part of the delegation to AdAsia? Three of them are on stage. Colvyn Harris, CEO, JWT, is the latest Indian to be billed as a speaker at the AdAsia. With Prasoon Joshi and Sam Balsara speaking as well, the Indian flag will be fluttering in all its glory at Korea. And with so many media types in the audience, we will definitely get you a behind-the-scenes peek into the great fat Asian congress.

IBF-AAAI meeting

The Indian Broadcasters Foundation (IBF) is a body of TV channel owners. It seems they were in a rather belligerent mood at a recent meeting with the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI). The reason is not difficult to understand. Evidently, the agencies have run up huge outstandings to the channels and despite all the posturing and promises, the amounts do not seem to be diminishing. Add to this the tight negotiations the media buyers subject the sellers of air time to, and you will begin to see why the channels are seeing red, in more ways than one.

Apart from pushing through a proposal to raise rates across the board by 25 per cent, the channels evidently held out a more potent threat — to do away with the 15 per cent agency commission and charge net rates. Actually, industry old-timers feel that this apparently draconian measure is nothing new. The venerable INS has been talking about it, albeit under its breath, for a few years now. The point is that with ad agency heads shooting their mouths off that a major part of the business is in the domain of fees, the media is beginning to wonder why they are giving a 15 per cent discount to the advertiser. Well, as you sow, so you reap. And the medium and small agencies are the ones who would really be affected by such a measure, if it happens at all.

Effies Alert

The annual awards for effectiveness in advertising, the Effies, would have been presented by the time this column appears. The Effies are slowly but surely emerging as one of the premium offerings from the Ad Club Bombay. It’s not very difficult to see why. The Abby awards for creative excellence tend to become one huge self-admiration society, “of the creatives, by the creatives, for the creatives”.

Clients somehow feel a little left out, and at the end of the day, it’s their money that is being played around with. Except in the case of scam ads where it is the media’s revenue that is wasted. At the Effies, everyone gets involved, and when the client feels his advertising is actually working, and the success can be measured, hey, that’s good for the entire industry!

NDTV Imagine

Sameer Nair

The media has been buzzing with the news that NDTV Media which handles the ad sales of all the channels in the NDTV stable is not handling the sales of the new entertainment channel NDTV Imagine. Despite all the official versions that have been doing the rounds, our resident little bird tells us it is all to do with just two individuals, Sameer Nair and Raj Nayak. Insiders speculate that Raj Nayak had parted ways with Star TV after Sameer took over as CEO. He set up NDTV Media and has been running it happily for some time now. However, Sameer has followed him to NDTV and is in charge of NDTV Imagine. With sparks of all the wrong kind expected, it is not hard to imagine (with apologies to Samsung) why NDTV Media has a hands-off policy as far as NDTV Imagine is concerned.

Vic’s Pick

A car-jacker seems to be overpowering the driver of a BMW. The driver is not too concerned with the mean-looking car-jacker. He guns the engine of the BMW and sends it roaring down the road. Sundry flattering angles of the BMW are shown as the ultimate driving machine is put though its paces, throws the petrified car-jacker off balance completely and the driver swaggers off smiling. Well, we thought, not a bad commercial for the newly introduced BMW. Except, it turned out to be one for Power from HP. Hope they got the BMW free at least. Two thumbs down!! _ Victoria

Comments on this column can be sent to brandline@thehindu.co.in.

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