"PR agencies need to think of the 'big story' - this will be a game-changer"

Fred Cook, CEO, GolinHarris & Joseph George, CEO, Lowe Lintas & Partners talk about the JV between the two firms, challenges it brings & their aim to change the essence of the industry

e4m by Priyanka Mehra
Published: Sep 4, 2013 8:57 AM  | 5 min read
"PR agencies need to think of the 'big story' - this will be a game-changer"

Partnerships, mergers and acquisitions are indeed the flavour of the season, and GolinHarris and LinOpinion, the PR division of Lowe Lintas & Partners India, are latest to join the club.

The two agencies have entered a 50: 50 joint venture. The new entity will now be known as LinOpinion-GolinHarris. Both the brands come under Inter Public Group (IPG).
 
Though in today’s crunched economic scenario, a partnership definitely adds to the collective strength of a group, providing a definitive punch by taking the advantage of scale to a whole new level, it does come with its own set of challenges.

Fred Cook, CEO, GolinHarris and Joseph George, CEO, Lowe Lintas & Partners talk about the JV between the two firms, the challenges it brings and their aim to change the essence of the industry through the partnership.

What kind of timeline are we looking at for the joint venture?
Fred Cook:
We want to make this happen as soon as we can; in fact, in our Mumbai office, there is already a sign in the lobby that says LinOpinion GH. We want to make it as smooth a transition as possible. We have already gone for pitches together, not to forget, we worked together in the past. The integration will now become more intense. 

How does this partnership help both the agencies?
Cook:
It provides us both with greater global reach. A lot of our clients are MNCs, who want to expand in India, which is an important market. The JV also allows LinOpinion’s clients a bigger public relations network. We already have some common clients such as Unilever and Sodexo. Moreover, our G4 model, which brings four areas of expertise – strategists, creators, connectors and catalysts, completely fits in with the Lowe Lintas model.

Joseph George: The timing is critical as we clearly wanted to scale up, but in a particular direction that is different from the way the current industry is operating. From a group perspective, we have one bucket of Lowe Lintas clients and one bucket of LinOpinion clients – GolinHarris fits with both with a huge synergy.

The quality of creative ideas will better for LinOpinion-GolinHarris with Lowe Lintas creative guys working with them.

PR agencies today don’t think about the ‘big story’, which is equivalent to the ‘big idea’ for a brand from a creative perspective. This is integral because without a ‘big story’, which then becomes your brand story, how will you manage reputation for the brand? It is basic, but most of the PR industry does not think like that. This approach needs to change. This is why we have such acute issues of remuneration, because we operate at the lower end of the value chain.

Do you think integrated solutions are the need of the hour in India?
Cook:
I think the Indian market is ready for new thinking. Other parts of the world are changing the communication landscape and we have to be ready with big ideas and insights.

George: Yes, today clients want all the solutions under one umbrella and PR is a critical part of this. The PR solution cannot be dreamt of in isolation; it needs to be seamless and in sync with the creative solution. Our brand teams will be working on the integration.

There have been numerous instances of partnerships not working out in the long-term. How do you plan to ensure success of this JV?
Cook:
As you expand as a company, you can open an office in a new place, put people here or use acquisition as your strategy, but 75 per cent of these things don’t work in the long-term. However, we have known each other, we have similar cultures, we have worked together before with the same values, same quality of work. We also have a JV in Paris, Sweden and Romania; this relationship works and there is a synergy we know.

George: At a conceptual level, both the agencies have primacy of strategy, creative and the big idea. So we are ‘made for each other’.

What are some of the challenges you foresee?
Cook:
Re-designing your business from ground-up is about finding the right people. It is the combination of training the existing staff to make them specialists and hiring the right kind of people to fill in the gaps.

What does this partnership aim to do for both the firms in the next couple of years?
Cook:
The matrix will be ‘Are we serving our clients better?’ So we will have to ask ourselves if we are using better strategy and hiring people with better skills; if we do all this, business will grow. I suspect we could double the size of LinOpinion in a couple of years. We did a lot of research with clients before entering the JV. They wanted insights, creativity, technology – these are not things that PR firms are delivering. Our quality of work going forward will be important. 

George: Scale is derived; if we do what we are intending to do, the very essence of the PR industry will change. When more and more clients become advocates of this product, we can change the industry and the remuneration model. Once all these things are in place, we will get our numbers. The ‘big story’ is what PR agencies need to start thinking about – it will be the game-changer. 

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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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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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