Charulata Ravi Kumar to head Bates, Delhi; Atulit Saxena has quit

As Bates maintains an official stance of status-quo in response to the speculated merger of Bates and Enterprise Nexus, a change of guard has taken place at the Delhi branch of Bates India.

Atulit Saxena, senior vice-president and general manager, Bates, Delhi, has put in his papers, thus putting an end to a near four-year stint at Bates. Saxena had joined the agency as vice-president and Delhi head, when his predecessor Shovon Chowdhury quit to set up Street Life.

Stepping into Saxena's shoes is Charulata Ravi Kumar, country head of 141 Worldwide, the marketing services company of Bates. Kumar will continue to head 141 Worldwide, which she had helped set up in Kolkata, besides executing the national roll-out. Before Kumar established 141 worldwide in India, she was in charge of setting up the division in the Middle East.

Talking about her mandate, Kumar says, "The Delhi office is doing very well. My job is to make sure that it continues to do so. To keep the agency on the growth path, one has to focus on existing business. We are getting aggressive on business acquisition as well." Saxena adds, "This year the revenue of the Delhi branch has gone up by 30 per cent over the last calendar year. Not only that, we have been doing some great work on Indian Airlines, Nokia, Dabur and Indiatimes."

Kumar points that 'great' work implies 'effective' advertising and that's what the agency is set to deliver. "Our motto has always been to produce advertising that is effective," Kumar says. "On the creative front, we have been doing well too. Most importantly, our clients are happy. And, that speaks volumes about our work."

Given the increasing fragmentation of media, Kumar feels it is a judicious mix of below-the-line and above-the-line that will help brands connect with the target audience. "We have a dedicated BTL and an ATL team that works on Nokia, for example," says Kumar. "The purpose of providing this kind of specialisation is to ensure that the brand gets a well-rounded marketing strategy."

Ujjal Gupta, COO, Bates, shared his vision for the Bates group. "We want to take Bates among the Top 5 in 12 months' time." Sounds ambitious, since Bates does not figure even among the Top 10 agencies in India at the moment. Gupta admits that it is ambitious, but stresses that the agency has big plans. Among them is expanding the services of 141 Worldwide. Without going into details, Gupta said the agency would get more resources soon.

Describing itself as a 'through-the-line marketing division', 141 Worldwide offers direct and interactive communication services. It was set up as a separate division to stress the importance of point of contact with consumers. The interactive division, within a short while, has managed to pick up seven businesses besides expanding in Delhi and Mumbai. Among the major brands that 141 handles is ITC, Rupa innerwear, Berger Paints and Nokia.

Kumar, who has 17 years of experience, launched her career with Saatchi & Saatchi (then known as Sista's). After Saatchi & Saatchi, she worked with JWT, Clarion (now Bates) and Lowe while she was in India. She moved to the Middle East with an offer from Grey. Thereon, she moved to Bates (Middle East) to launch 141 Worldwide. "The Middle East is a melting pot of different cultures and it was there I learnt about life beyond above-the-line," Kumar adds.

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