For us an idea is brilliant if the right audience responds to it: T Gangadhar MEC
T Gangadhar, Managing Director, MEC South Asia talks about how he plans to sustain MEC India’s 40% plus growth record for two years in a row, this year as well, importance of diversification of talent not being a media agency and more …..

Self-confessedly media shy, and one who prefers to stay out of the media limelight, T Gangadhar, Managing Director, MEC South Asia, also fondly known as Gangs, has led the agency to over 40 per cent growth, for not one, but over the last two years in a row now.
“We are not a media agency, we are a modern age communications outfit, media is something we also do,” says Gangadhar in his nuanced style.
Some of the agency’s key clients include Flipkart, Colgate Palmolive, Britannia, Honda Motorcycles and Scooters, Zee Network and Mercedes Benz. “In 2015, we were among the top 5 agencies in India and that is a big thing for us. We have grown on the back of a fantastic client portfolio, a very strong organic growth and a very strong new business growth. So, it is all coming together,” adds Gangadhar.
The agency is clearly on a growth trajectory and Gangadhar plans to sustain this growth with a strong core focus on new business development and growing existing business. But would he manage to sustain this growth rate in 2016?
“We would love to maintain the momentum; it becomes harder as you grow bigger. But having said that, we definitely see growth which would be at least 2x of the industry,” he offers.
The Game Plan
What is more important for him is that growth is not coming from just media billings, it is coming from additional services; the agency is doing a lot of work in digital and ecommerce. Content is MEC’s big strategic play for the year, this in turn adds to the growth of the business, number of services offered by the agency leading to revenue growth in the most natural way. Another ‘massive’ focus area for the agency in India is its latest offering--Wavemaker, launched last month.
“For us, an idea is brilliant, if and only if, the right audience responds to it and behaves in ways that lead to the right outcome for our clients. Wavemaker is not an agency, but a specialist content solution provider. I don’t think there has ever been anything of this nature; what gives us intellectual satisfaction is that we are really doing some interesting things for the client. Wavemaker further enables us to serve content to the right person at the right time and deliver outcomes,” explains Gangadhar.
Content is going to play an integral role in influencing purchase decisions going forward. The agency also has ‘Momentum’, its proprietary approach to understanding and quantifying how consumers make purchase decisions. ‘Momentum’ is one of the largest global studies ever undertaken into the shopper journey and psychology of choice.
Understanding the consumer psyche and building equity with the consumer even in a passive stage plays a significant role in building brand affinity and goes a long way in influencing purchase decisions when it matters believes Gangs.
In fact there is growing importance of the passive stage of the consumer journey. ‘Momentum’ indicates that people with a strong passive stage bias consider fewer brands, spend less time in the active stage, are less concerned with price when making their choice and are happier with their decision after purchase.
Diversification of the Talent Pool
MEC India has made some key hires last year including, Mukti Kumaran as West Head, Rajesh Kumar as Chief Strategy Officer and Debarghya Mitra as head of its Bengaluru office.
Gangadhar believes that the right talent is a key driver in the agency’s success. He says, “It is a complex and chaotic world and we need diversified talent to be able to navigate this. In fact, in two years the talent requirements will be drastically dissimilar to what they are now. There is a huge influx of talent coming from outside our industry like advertising, broadcast, digital , technology, behavioural sciences, data sciences and journalism.”
The days of typically hiring planners is long gone, feels Gangs, and diversification of talent is the only way forward. He believes this diversification of talent is going to further accelerate than we have ever seen before.
( Read Complete MEC Global story in this weeks’ issue of IMPACT )
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E4M Our strategy is to target younger audiences through Sports: Rajiv Dubey, Dabur
The Head of Media at Dabur India spoke exclusively to exchange4media on the World Cup, associating with Indian Idol, the company’s digital spending and much more
With quirky campaigns, memes and moment marketing, timed with the ongoing World Cup and particularly the India-Pakistan matches, Dabur India has got considerable consumer attention for its popular brands – Red Paste, Cool King Hair Oil, Chyawanprash, Dabur Vita and the recently launched Bae Fresh Gel toothpaste.
The 140-year-old company is going big on key sporting events, World Television Premiere (WTP) movies and reality shows. It is now gearing up to become the title sponsor of popular talent show ‘Indian Idol’ on Sony TV for the first time, shared Rajiv Dubey, who leads the media strategy at Dabur.
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Swapan Seth's new book 'COOL' is out
The book is a reflection of the author's 'eclectic taste across categories'
Advertising professional and art collector Swapan Seth has announced the launch of his new book COOL. The book is described as "a ready reckoner to the hip and the happening, of the known and the very unknown."
The book is a reflection of the author's "eclectic taste across categories: from boltholes to exotic hideaways."
COOL has been published by Simon & Schuster India and is available on Amazon.
Seth is an ad veteran with a long and illustrious career in the industry. He became the youngest-ever Creative Director at Clarion at age 24. He was VP at 26 at Trikaya Grey. Two years later, he started his agency Equus.
He writes for publications such as The Economic Times, Hindustan Times and India Today. This is his second book and he has previously published THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY.
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Disney Star signs 9 sponsors for Asia Cup PAK
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up come on board
e4m Staff Disney Star has signed nine broadcast and digital streaming sponsors for the upcoming Asia Cup.
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up have come on board for the upcoming tournament.
As reported earlier by exchange4media, Disney Star has sought Rs 26 crore for the co-presenting sponsorship on TV and Rs 30 crore for Disney+ Hotstar.
According to industry sources, the associate sponsorship on Star Sports has been priced at Rs 19.66 crore, whereas for the ‘powered by’ sponsorship on Disney+ Hotstar, the broadcaster is seeking Rs 18 crore.
As per the information available with exchange4media, Disney+ Hotstar has three sponsorship tiers-- co-presenting (Rs 30 crore), powered by (Rs 18 crore) and associate sponsorship (Rs 12 crore). The broadcaster is offering an estimated reach of 120-140 million for co-presenting sponsors, 90-100 million for powered by and 60-70 million for associate sponsorship.
A spot buy for 10 seconds has been priced at Rs 25 lakh for the India vs Pakistan matches, while for the non-India matches, the ad rate for 10 second is Rs 2.3 lakh. The India matches plus the final for ODIs has been priced at Rs 17 lakh per 10 seconds.
Asia Cup is scheduled to be held from 30 August, 2023, to September 17, 2023.
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Sorted 360 wins creative & social media mandate of Reliance Mall
The agency will manage offline and online campaigns for Reliance Mall
Sorted 360, an integrated creative and social media agency, has won the mandate to providing brand solutions for Reliance Malls across India.
“Sorted 360 is set to enhance Reliance Malls' market presence with their unparalleled creative prowess and strategic thinking,” read a press release.
“Sorted 360's commitment to pushing the boundaries of creative communication aligns perfectly with Reliance Malls' ethos. With a pan-India presence spanning across 19 cities and growing, Reliance Malls has consistently captivated customers by offering an array of Reliance brands and third-party fashion & lifestyle brands. The mall has established an unparalleled connection with its patrons through superior quality, a remarkable value proposition, and an unmatched shopping experience,” it read further.
"We are thrilled to welcome Sorted 360 as our trusted partner in advancing our brand presence across the nation," said the Head of Marketing at Relaice Malls. "Their proven expertise in retail, shopping center management, and innovative creative strategies make them the perfect fit for our vision."
"Partnering with Reliance Malls is a testament to our commitment to shaping extraordinary brand experiences," remarked Prerana Anatharam, Co-founder of Sorted 360. "We are excited to leverage our strategic and creative acumen to further elevate Reliance Malls as the epitome of convenience, choice, and excellence."
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KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias
Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments
KlugKlug has appointed Hemang Mehta as its Country Manager for India.
Mehta will play a pivotal role in driving KlugKlug's growth and expansion within the Indian market and be responsible for Sales & GTM Strategy
Prior to that, he has also represented organisations like Exponential (now VDX.tv), India Today Digital and Rediff.com. His expertise spans various domains including digital media sales, mobile marketing, media planning, and buying, social media marketing, and more.
Hemang Mehta expressed his enthusiasm about joining KlugKlug, saying, "I am thrilled to be a part of KlugKlug, a forward-thinking platform that is reshaping the influencer marketing landscape. As much as I look forward to collaborating with the exuberant team at KlugKlug, I am super excited to interact with the brands to deliver powerful data-backed Influencer solutions that will guarantee business outcomes."
Commenting on the appointment, Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of KlugKlug, stated, "We are excited to welcome Hemang Mehta to our team as the Country Manager for India. His extensive experience in digital media sales and marketing will be instrumental in driving our efforts to provide influencer marketing solutions to our clients. We believe Hemang's leadership will be key in scaling our operations and expanding our reach within the Indian market."
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