Ad majors upbeat on India's economic revival

Signs of economic revival in India is making advertising majors spruce up their acts to woo advertisers, say experts in the industry. Ad major Rediffusion YR is chalking out a three-pronged strategy for growth, Ogilvy and Mather India (OandM) is working on sustaining its leadership in the Rs 19,500 crore Indian ad industry. Other major players, RK Swamy BBDO is strengthening key operations and Madison World is sharpening its creative services to take on rivals.

Speaking to FE, Piyush Pandey, executive chairman and national creative director, Ogilvy and Mather (South Asia) said, "We are looking at both organic and inorganic growth strategy. We are cutting costs to ensure we can make sound investments when good times roll by. Now, our key task is to boost the morale of our employees."

According to Pandey, OandM has been revamping its operations to counter the slowdown in the last few months. "Now, we have all our offerings in place. What we need to do is put the best people in these slots. We are energizing our teams to handle work when the economic revival happens," he added.

Srinivasan K Swamy, chairman and managing director of RK Swamy BBDO said the agency is beefing up operations in key areas by investing in 'people, systems and other resources'. "We are not experimenting with anything new. Our core focus is on strengthening our key operations. We are looking at inorganic growth strategy only if there are good opportunities," he said.

According to Rohit Misra, president of Rediffusion YR, the agency is creating an environment at the workplace that facilitates collaboration.

"We are developing a communication tool kit that enables both the conceptual and process planning of an integrated communications strategy. Currently, we are identifying talent for new skill sets who we need to bring on board," explained Misra.

As part of its growth strategy, Madison World has already spread its wings to global markets by setting up Madison Media in Sri Lanka. On the agency's game plan, Lara Balsara, business development and diversification manager, Madison World said, "Our focus will always be on existing clients and how to grow their business. However, many of our clients are in neighbouring geographies where we are not present and we want to take a serious look at those geographies."

Recently, Madison Media in Sri Lanka has won a string of media accounts which include Airtel (BHARTIARTL.BO : 283.65 +2.65), Britannia (BRITANNIA.NS : 1623.3 -26.5) and Allianz . "I also feel there is tremendous opportunity in growing our creative area and we will look to do this either on our own or through collaboration," she added.

Increasingly, brand communication in India is shifting from traditional communications to 'conversations' that are taking place in variety of areas amongst the brands and consumers. "The vital question to ask is how can we ensure that brand messages reach consumers. To target a wider audience, ad agencies are now opting for digital media which include mobile, internet and social media," explains Misra.