IAA Congress Commentary: IAA delegates vote for specialization, yet industry needs integration. Badly!

The third and final Dubai dispatch by <b>Amit Agnihotri</b>, Group Editor and Co-founder of exchange4media, talks about the debate between integration and specialization models, and other highlights of the final day of the Congress. Agnihotri spoke to P&G Global CMO Jim Stengel and Samsung CMO Gregory Lee to learn their approaches to branding and communication.

e4m by Amit Agnihotri
Published: Mar 24, 2006 7:03 AM  | 4 min read
IAA Congress Commentary: IAA delegates vote for specialization, yet industry needs integration. Badly!

It was a strange feeling on Thursday afternoon. In a session, when asked to show hands if the current specialization (and disintegration) of the communication industry was a good thing to have happened, a devastating majority of delegates (over 80 per cent in my estimate) voted in favour. This call for vote came after a near consensus in favour of specialization amongst three high power panelists representing the big media spenders Group M, Omnicom Media and Carat. The overall sentiment was very much against integration.

Why do I call this strange? Perhaps ironic or paradoxical is the right word. It’s a paradoxical situation because on the one hand for the last three days we had the biggest gurus in the business argue in favor of integration, but surprisingly the general mood at this Congress (and shall I say, amongst most industry executives) seems to be against it. Over the last three days of this conference, and in many other important conferences I have attended recently, thought leaders have given stress on words like collaboration, co-creation, integration and many other synonyms. So, why this divide?

When one thinks hard over this great divide, it appears that industry executives are blissful and comfortable in the power and perks they enjoy as specialists, and could not care less about this debate. But it’s the clients, and some ad industry thought leaders, who know that without integration the future of the ad business is in a crisis. Celebrated marketer Jim Stengel, P&G’s Chief Marketing Officer, and respected ad man Bob Greenberg, Chairman of R/GA, clearly made this point on Thursday.

Let’s first see what Stengel, who is recognized as one of the best marketing minds in the world today, had to say earlier this morning. “Ideas come first. Ideas have to be at the centre of the table, and everything else flows from there,” he said, talking about P&G’s own approach to the integration debate. At P&G headquarters, all types of agencies sit at the same time and the same place and discuss brand ideas. Once some ideas have been shortlisted jointly, with active participation of P&G, the idea is handed over in most cases to classic ad agencies to develop.

Commenting sharply on the delegate poll that I mentioned earlier, Greenberg was direct: “I strongly believe that media and creative have to integrated back.” Greenberg, always a big draw at such conferences, went on to explain his new model that went something like this: Collaboration x Strategy x Idea x Media x time-efficient Production = Accountable results. www.rga.com may have more details.

Moving on to other key messages of the final day of the Congress, two speakers -- P&G’s Stengel and Gregory Lee, Chief Marketing Officer of Samsung -- had similar points of view. Much sought after, and feared, Stengel’s focus was on how P&G marketing made a comeback since year 2000 when Ad Age provocatively wrote “Does P&G matter any more?” to current status of “Marketer of the Year, 2005”. Stengel led this transformation with a deceptively simple mantra – “Customer is the Boss.” We haven’t heard that for the first time, but it was perhaps that P&G walked the talk.

Lee, on the other hand, took us through on the remarkable journey of making a “cheap, lowly brand” that Samsung was in early 90s to a cutting edge global brand today. He said that Samsung was very focused on making it a “premium” brand in future. It’s inspiring to see how in a decade a company from a tiny nation can build a powerful global brand.

Going back to Stengel, as promised, I spoke to him on what he felt about grades for the advertising business today. You would remember from yesterday’s piece that Stengel had a couple of years back given the ad industry a C minus. “Mr Stengel, how do you rate the ad industry today?” He smiled and said, “Things have improved but it’s not quite A grade yet!”

That’s good news and bad. Hopefully the ad business and its players will continue to drive the change in the new consumer controlled digital world. Because the only thing constant is change!

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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

e4m by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 27, 2023 6:15 PM  | 1 min read
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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'

e4m by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 27, 2023 6:07 PM  | 1 min read
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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 by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 26, 2023 11:48 AM  | 1 min read
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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

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 26, 2023 10:54 AM  | 1 min read
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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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e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 25, 2023 4:39 PM  | 1 min read

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e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 25, 2023 4:38 PM  | 1 min read

KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias

Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 24, 2023 3:35 PM  | 1 min read
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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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