I think there are no mantras for what to do or how to do best. But… introspection is a good starting point. If your system is over-heated, it is time to cool it down. When you are on a steep growth curve, you turn a blind eye to a lot that is happening in the organisation. A downturn is a good time for a reality check. That reality check covers people, processes, relationships, visioning, investments… When you pull back, and if you are honest, there are enough areas for re-evaluation and re-assessment.

exchange4media Staff Dec 12, 2008 12:00 AM

I want to do television that would expand the frontiers, that has an impact and is archival. People are interested in doing things that make a quick headline and I don’t want that now… I’m just a dilettante; I know a little about a lot to say and not a lot about anything in particular… Politics, that’s really my interest; all the others are just sidelines.

exchange4media Staff Dec 5, 2008 12:00 AM

We don’t belong to the Top 20 global multinational agencies, nor are we a small shop set-up with a single agency. We are somewhere in-between and I think we are very strategically poised in terms of our size, infrastructure and network… Clients who are developing or businesses that are developing and have been working with smaller agencies can move up to us. In times of recession, big clients looking for greater value from the advertising agencies can certainly consider us. Even in times of recession, this can be looked as an opportunity for mid-sized agencies.

exchange4media Staff Nov 29, 2008 12:00 AM

On the Net you get only short stories, for example, about a car launch or so on, but you don’t get feature write-ups or stories around it. That is what a magazine is about. I agree that an Internet presence is very important today, but a magazine is acceptable and will always be acceptable in the long run. Magazine is the only solution – one can take it everywhere and anywhere, and read at leisure. The print medium is very strong and it won’t be replaced any soon. However, one can never predict about the next generation.

exchange4media Staff Nov 28, 2008 12:00 AM

The medium is very effective because it is an immersive and ‘lean forward’ media, unlike TV or radio. Studies have shown that games are a more trusted and less intrusive to users and, therefore, much more efficient in communicating brand USP and core values. Recall is much higher and ad avoidance is almost non-existent. In established markets, CPM rates for in-game ads are typically priced at four times the price of web ads because of this efficiency.

exchange4media Staff Nov 24, 2008 12:00 AM

My primary objective in coming to India is to review existing titles in India on an annual basis. So, I sit with the team, go through every budget, look at editorial products, and plan for the coming years. I come to India four times a year and my current visit is to access the business that we have in India, draw out an expansion plan, and make contacts with the industry people, among others.

exchange4media Staff Nov 21, 2008 12:00 AM

We have great creativity in India and people are full of ideas, however, I would come back to the same issue that we are still not up there in terms of crafting our work. So yes, this is a problem. However, of late, we have been seeing good work, for instance, the work done by Ram Madhvani, Prakash Verma or Prasoon Pandey.<br>

exchange4media Staff Nov 14, 2008 12:00 AM

The biggest weapons that agencies have in their armory are strategic clarity and creativity. The idea is to make the doubting consumer feel safe with his purchases or investments. It is not just the business honchos who are affected with slowdown issues, it is something that seeps into the consumer psyche as well. Brand messages can highlight assurance and value aspects in an engaging and interesting manner. Innovative usage of media opportunities will be important.

exchange4media Staff Nov 7, 2008 12:00 AM

We would publish ‘Femina’ in Hindi and in English. ‘Filmfare’ is the most powerful media brand associated with Bollywood. Both have live events that they are associated with. Both are strong brands that are really powerful, and we would like to take them international… If ‘Femina’ in Hindi takes off, which I am sure it would, then we would look at bringing out the title in Tamil as well. We are thinking of events even for our titles like ‘Grazia’ and ‘Hello’. Filmfare.com has been launched; there are plans to take the awards international. And you would see much of this action in the next six months.

exchange4media Staff Oct 31, 2008 12:00 AM

I believe differentiation exists and the listener is able to understand and recognise which station he is listening to. Very soon, you will find radio players differentiating and going into profitable niches and it would be an ongoing process. The top three players will make 77 per cent of the money, while the other players would be forced to find other niches where they can be profitable. But these are still early days.

exchange4media Staff Oct 25, 2008 12:00 AM

The first big crisis for journalism came after 9/11 and the media industry failed that test. The essential crisis was: ‘what is the role of journalism in the face of a national crisis?’ The media industry globally failed that test. They became polarised very quickly and began to reflect largely their governments’ views. This was particularly true of the British and the American media. Though the media industry has recovered from this, I am not sure whether it would be able to act substantially differently in the face of the next national crisis, which is very sad.

exchange4media Staff Oct 21, 2008 12:00 AM

The business models that have defined our industry for the last 30-40 years are constantly changing now. The changes can be attributed to technology advancements. It has definitely changed people’s lives and even more so, the lives of people related to the media industry. The way people relate to each other and how they seek information has also undergone a sea change. This has made a profound change on the business models of the manufacturers and advertisers.

exchange4media Staff Oct 17, 2008 12:00 AM

The 21st century Indian woman is one who is radically different from the generation that preceded her. She stands for innate confidence, style and taste, and is extremely aware of all beauty products available to her today. She stops at nothing to look and feel good. Today, the ever discerning consumer has very specific product requirements. We aim to offer products that satisfy all these needs.

exchange4media Staff Oct 14, 2008 12:00 AM

Don’t forget television also hikes its rates. In our industry, every time there is an increase in production cost, the entire burden shifts to the advertiser. We don’t pass on any burden to the reader. It is unfair to push the entire burden on the advertiser, who is waking up to the fact and asking ‘why should we be the whole subsidiser to your cost?’ and that’s a bit of a problem.

exchange4media Staff Oct 10, 2008 12:00 AM

Forget about it (measurement tool)! Don’t waste your time arguing over it. Either come up with an independent research tool or stop talking about it. Or go by whatever you have. I am not a big fan of research to begin with; I have never done research when I launched my magazines. When magazines don’t work in the market, people tend to blame the research and point fingers at its accuracy.

exchange4media Staff Oct 3, 2008 12:00 AM

India is a very big and a very vibrant market. My understanding is that about 85 per cent of the homes watch the NGC channel. It’s is a huge audience we are talking about in India. However, the factual audience is very small in proportion to the several million in India. That’s one huge opportunity.

exchange4media Staff Sep 29, 2008 12:00 AM

In India, the relationship between the client and the agency is somewhat casual because at times the agencies here neither get the required time nor the right budget that is needed to create and execute the idea. For example, some clients in India would buy a Rs 1 crore idea, but would want that idea to be executed in just Rs 30 lakh. But in America, the agency would ask the client to reconsider and come back with a new idea that fit the budget.

exchange4media Staff Sep 26, 2008 12:00 AM

To be a brand, one has to focus on a clearly defined target consumer and be loyal to her. The merchandise offer and the brand experience are then tailored to suite the specific aspirational needs of this TG. This makes it unique and relevant to the TG in focus and relevant for the ones outside. It is true that the while many foreign brands are entering Indian, their merchandise and concept is not tailored to the needs of the Indian market, be it from the product or pricing point of view.

exchange4media Staff Sep 24, 2008 12:00 AM

Will we move from broadcasting to narrowcasting? Will mainstream media morph into consumer-generated media? Will we really be able to measure the impact of PR on company bottomlines? Will CEOs be rechristened as Chief Reputation Officers, thus giving PR professionals much to cheer about? The crystal ball is not working here! As long as free enterprise drives the economies of progressive nations, professional PR will continue to thrive and flourish.

exchange4media Staff Sep 20, 2008 12:00 AM

We have a three-fold vision – to create awareness among Indians all over the world about their rich heritage and inspire them to become guardians of the same; to share with people the world over, knowledge about this ancient land; and to keep alive this priceless legacy for future generations.

exchange4media Staff Sep 20, 2008 12:00 AM