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Colvyn Harris' advice to Rana Barua: "Stay Impatient"
In the light of Rana Barua's appointment as the new COO of Contract Advertising, afaqs! speaks to him and Colvyn Harris, South Asia CEO of JWT, which also owns Contract.
Rana Barua, Contract's recently appointed COO, promises to press down hard on the accelerator and inject some speed into the operations at the agency. Though Barua, unlike Contract's previous head Umesh Shrikhande, will report to Colvyn Harris, chief executive officer, JWT South Asia, the two agencies will continue to operate independently, assures the latter. In a quick chat at the agency, afaqs! spoke to the duo about this and more.
Excerpts:
Q: What made Rana the right choice as Umesh Shrikhande's replacement?
Also, while agency people understand consumers, Rana brings the dimension of knowing different consumer markets well. We wanted new skills, new capabilities, deep understanding of different markets and a new drive. He was fit for that role.
Q: Contract, the most successful second agency, has historically dissociated itself from JWT to develop its own identity; competing with JWT at the pitch level gave it teeth. With Rana now reporting to you, will the proverbial chasm between the two agencies shrink?
Harris: Everyone at Contract is his own independent master and decision maker. And, JWT and Contract will continue to compete. The independence between the two will be maintained completely; that will never change.
And it's really about the client -- the client is looking to buy the best solution in the market and the JWT standpoint is different from the Contract standpoint. It's not about us. It's not that we can just transfer knowledge; it doesn't work like that. The destiny of Contract is in the hands of its people.
Since Contract and JWT are both part of the WPP Group, there are certain similar ways of approaching businesses and certain ways of behaving - this basic conduct and these guidelines have been imbibed by all of us -- but for the rest of the part, you're on your own and if you can make it bigger than some other agency, then perfect.
Q: Rana's move from Law and Kenneth after just six months of joining is deemed premature by many...
Q: You spent half a dozen years in radio, first with Radio City and then with Red FM. How will that help in your new role?
Barua: The biggest similarity between the agency business and radio is that both are about understanding people. Any media brand, is always about talking to people and understanding them. When you're with a media brand, you visit many markets and work with the local people. That's one learning I bring in.
Also, in media, you are the medium and apart from that particular medium you don't look at other media. It's about day-on-day engagement with your listener (for radio) or your viewer (for TV). This will come in handy now. When clients juxtapose a lot of solutions, I'll be able to streamline their thinking and explain how each medium works differently. Since I've worked outside the industry for several years, I'll be able to bring in some insight into how clients approach the business.
Q: What changes will you bring to the agency?
Barua: While its DNA will remain the same, Contract will have more speed, agility and drive. I promise you speed because that's the world I come from. In radio, you never wait for the next morning; you can go on air in the next five minutes. Everything happens overnight. Over the last six years, for me it's been about "Why are we waiting?" So that's probably one thing I'll have to become patient about.
Harris to Barua: Stay impatient.