“Attention-commanding creative ideas are the lifeblood of brands”

There are very many that come to mind. The multiple campaigns we have done for Maruti Suzuki bear testimony to insightful, well crafted work. In a significantly depressed market, the brand has held its own. Also, the stupendous work done by Webchutney recently speaks for itself.

There is no one big thing alone. Continuous, compressed, faster disruptions herald exciting times. Let us strap ourselves in for an even more exhilarating ride ahead. Today, more than ever before, we can engage in meaningful dialogues with our consumers; we can measure and calibrate the exact impact and value we bring to the table. Technology, furiously evolving digital productivity, and data turbines, combined with our agile, ever-demanding consumers, are holding companies and brands accountable. These are the forces at play today.

Democratisation of information has decentralised ideas; today, ideas are ‘global’ and don’t necessarily come from any one ‘privileged’ location. When knowledge is everywhere, so are the thinkers. Partnering clients, as they leverage first party data, at scale, holds tremendous opportunities for agencies. We are also focused on serving a customised, curated offering to consumers, as and when they need it, to ensure an optimal outcome.

Age-old wisdom applies just as well today – during a slowdown, companies need to continue to invest in brands, because brands that invest during slow growth periods tend to extract multiplicative dividend over the long term.

India’s urban-rural consumer divide is an illusion of the past. Sometimes the difference between segments of urban consumers may well be starker than the difference between urban and rural consumers. In fact, given media and market proliferation, there is an increasing similarity in the mindset of urban and rural consumers – both seek value and make choices basis ‘brand connect’.

This is the elephant in the room that needs significant focus and attention. Change needs to come collectively from all stakeholders – clients, agencies and media owners.

Media agencies need to transform themselves and become business partners to their clients, by having more meaningful conversations with them. The lines between media and creative are blurring. Consumers’ attention is the prize and they are in complete control. Attention-commanding creative ideas are like the lifeblood of brands.

The work done by Data2Decisions (global marketing effectiveness consultancy, part of Dentsu Aegis Network) shows that creative execution is the second highest driving factor behind market size and has 10 times more influence on ROI than flighting and cost!

… foster a collaborative, multi-function culture across teams such that everyone has an equal seat at the table, and works towards a common goal. I have had the good fortune of working with such clients who effortlessly orchestrate this and inspire everyone to give their heart and soul to the common enterprise.