The pressure to win awards has never been greater: Ajay Chandwani: Goafest 2013

More agencies are feeling the heat of mediocre work that many large clients are putting out to meet sales objectives, rues the Director of Percept

e4m by Ajay Chandwani
Published: Apr 6, 2013 9:00 PM  | 3 min read
The pressure to win awards has never been greater: Ajay Chandwani: Goafest 2013

Winning awards has always been the passion with creative folks. Industry and peer group recognition is the oxygen every creative and agency head aspires for. For the young creatives who are on a career path, awards mean more than just motivation. They could decide on which way their career takes a spin – either to dizzy heights or the depths of mediocrity.

In recent times, the pressure to win has never been greater with more and more agencies feeling the heat of dull mediocre work that most large clients are hell bent on releasing to meet their sales objectives. Thanks to mediocrity, a parallel award culture of proactive work gets created in most agencies to keep creative people sane and motivated.

The proactive ad culture is often confused with scam ads for fictitious clients, which are downright vulgar in their desperation to win awards. What does the proactive ad culture thrive on? It encourages creative folks to push the envelope or re-write category rules of craft for brands they handle. At the appropriate time, creative directors persuade their clients to let them release these special ads purely for motivational reasons. So, a major brand will have two kinds of ads – one campaign that runs in major media, and a special ad or two that is released for motivational reasons.

Cannes and the other respected festivals like One Show and D&AD have always defined the gold standards for creativity and it is not surprising that many winners there are actually those produced by the proactive ad culture. When clients or critics of the proactive ad culture see this, they wonder why their regular mainstream advertising can’t look and feel equally good.

Goafest is no different in this aspect as some winners in the past have come from the proactive ad school unfortunately sometimes confused and clubbed as scam. Of course, many of the notable winners at Goafest and Cannes also happen to be campaigns released in major media. So, how does the jury differentiate between ads when judging? Most scam or proactive ads don’t even make the shortlist since the jury can smell them. A few really good ones that are impossible to ignore, rise dramatically to win.

Donald Gunn turned up the pressure even more on agency heads and networks with the Gunn Report. Networks started feeling the heat from clients who like their agencies to win. Cannes also became the harbinger of change for some stodgy clients who had never featured among winners earlier.

So, what is the Hobson’s choice to creative folks? Create proactive ads to push the art and craft or face the anonymity of mediocre advertising that will not win awards. Of course, there is a third more difficult choice in which you ensure every ad you create is good enough to rock the market and win the awards.This third choice is only possible when you have really outstanding talent and a creative culture to pull it off.

So what happens to those global standards in creativity that some well-endowed creative agencies of the world have set? Agencies like Crispen Porter, TBWA Paris, Leo Burnett Chicago, BBH, Mother, and DDB, to mention just a few of the trendsetters who have set benchmarks of creativity which are hard to beat. Many agencies trying to catch up on this map are faced with the Hobson’s choice and when time runs out, that is when the pressure to win consumes you!

Perhaps it’s time to examine the third choice and build a culture that creates outstanding work that rocks the market and the awards!

Ajay Chandwani is Director, Percept.

Goafest 2013 coverage on exchange4media is presented by Patrika group.

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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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