The Indian advertising scene is very cosmopolitan: Naked's Collin

UK based Naked Communications set up shop in India earlier this month and appointed Gitanjali Sriram to head the Indian operations. afaqs! got in touch with Will Collin, partner, Naked Communications to learn more of the agency's plans in the country.

Excerpts from the interview:

afaqs!: What are the immediate plans for Naked India?

afaqs!: What kind of difference do you see Naked bringing to Indian advertising? How do you compare Indian advertising to the international scene?

We believe that the Indian advertising scene is very cosmopolitan. What we hope to do is enhance what already exists, while learning from this market and reapplying these learnings to other parts of the world. We are very excited to enter such a unique and progressive market.

afaqs!: What prospects do you see in the country?

Collin: There is a tremendous understanding of branding and marketing amongst clients in India but we believe we can enhance this still further by drilling down even deeper. We aim to find solutions to client problems that do not always culminate in the inevitable television commercial, but rather in a rigorously grounded communication plan based on an idea that resonates strongly with consumers through touch points that are engaging and inclusive.

afaqs!: Could you tell us about the kind of clients that Naked India will begin with?

Collin: We have a number of our global clients that we have contacted and shall be meeting their local India counterparts in the coming weeks. We have also been approached by some iconic Indian multinationals and shall begin conversations with them shortly. Finally, we have a list of clients we would like to work with and have contacted them to go and introduce ourselves. So in summary, it's a good mix of global and local businesses that we have shortlisted to meet in our first few months. All we can say is that our founding clients will be strong marketers who embrace change and are thought leaders within the industry.

afaqs!: Where are the different branches being set up?

Collin: As of now, we will only have an office in Mumbai until such time as our client commitments demand us to expand geographically.

afaqs!: Have you put your senior management team in place? Whom have you identified besides Gitanjali Sriram?

Collin: At this point we are in the process of hiring the initial team, which will be small, smart and agile. We will hire people from a variety of industries and will not limit ourselves to the advertising fraternity only. It's our eclectic mix of talent that keeps our ideas and strategies fresh and relevant and India will be no different.