It is not about whether a site is being published in India or talks about India, it is about whether the information on the site is relevant to Indian users. Our value lies in relevancy. We feel that with the approach that we are taking and the focus that we have, we will improve the quality of results from an Indian consumer point of view. We were the first to launch city search results along with our web results, much before any of the global players (including Google) had figured that out.

exchange4media Staff Sep 20, 2008 12:00 AM

In the last 15 years, I think the senior people have failed this industry, barring two or three people. When stalwarts of Indian advertising like Alyque Padamsee or Subhash Ghoshal moved out, the new leaders began working on new pressures. Agency heads began working on protecting their businesses rather than growing them. The charismatic leaders went missing, who otherwise attract people from outside the profession.

exchange4media Staff Sep 19, 2008 12:00 AM

<br>"I find it hard to believe that a weekly magazine can have an RPC of 14 and in some cases even 50 or 60."

exchange4media Staff Sep 17, 2008 12:00 AM

<br>"As per our estimates, the total media spending by technology companies is Rs. 300 crores and technology media in various forms gets 50% of this amount i.e. 150 crores"

exchange4media Staff Sep 17, 2008 12:00 AM

<p align=justify>Post-IPO, the biggest change that happened was that we decided to embark on our international strategy and globalisation. Among the five things that we have done as we were going global, was launching Global Services and Bio Spectrum Asia. Both are global products... The main thrust was looking at the global market, which we have achieved. Going ahead, it is the same theme, which we will be carrying forward.

exchange4media Staff Sep 17, 2008 12:00 AM

I think advertising globally is changing. It's been going through this huge transition, and India is not far behind. Marketers are much smarter than what people give them credit for. Most of the clients that we meet, I think they are far more aware than most agency executives and the creative people. I think unless and until we as advertising agencies evolve fast, advertising might soon become extinct given the way we are going. So, for sure now is the time to change and agencies are realising this.

exchange4media Staff Sep 17, 2008 12:00 AM

It's a fish market out there in terms of trying to afford the right kind of people for the right kind of jobs. We are not in that game as we do not believe in 'buying' people to do our jobs. We at Saatchi & Saatchi India have witnessed the shortest turnovers in the industry, essentially because we have a very healthy environment that we create in the agency. I think our efforts are going to be driven more in that direction than trying to buy people over.

exchange4media Staff Sep 17, 2008 12:00 AM

It is the lack of understanding between the agencies and the client that leads to one agency paying off against another. Even though we all are competitors, we all are trying to do the same thing. We need to have an agreement in place… I can't understand why advertisers don't charge royalties. For instance, if I was an author and my book gains great popularity, I get royalty for that. One can make millions out of a creative idea, I can't understand why nobody is doing anything about this.

exchange4media Staff Sep 17, 2008 12:00 AM

We believe that India is a fast growing market in terms of advertising in digital and digital technology. With 39 million Internet users at the moment, which by itself is bigger than the UK, it is a formidable size. And the forecast says that it will double in the next 2-3 years. I think that traditional media, particularly TV, is losing its effectiveness with the pretty high inflation rate. Advertisers really see the need to expand the whole communication to something next and digital has to be a part of this. And Solutions | Digitas has to take advantage of this opportunity.

exchange4media Staff Sep 17, 2008 12:00 AM

We found the marketplace to be relatively conservative, businessmen are cautious with new ideas, the time it takes in transactional movement is longer than what we have experienced in other markets. But we have found that the clients' understanding of what we offer, and their ability to explain the business internally is second to none. The Indian businessman is extremely astute and comes to terms with a good financial offering faster than what we see in other parts of the world.

exchange4media Staff Sep 17, 2008 12:00 AM

We use the word digital so often, but I think its potential has not been explored fully yet. Everyone is talking about YouTube, Facebook and online friends, but brands are not able to understand what to do with these to influence customers. Making an interesting creative site is not digital. We also need to see what is dying out. Telemarketing is one of them. Direct mailing is another, which is getting affected because of the costs shooting up.

exchange4media Staff Sep 17, 2008 12:00 AM

On a macro level, the forces are still in place in terms of the demographics of the market, the consumption habits and penetration of the platforms on which the fortune of all these players rest. However, nothing moves in a straight line forever. Things have twists and turns, but clearly there has been through our experiences, sustainable growth at high rates, faster than anywhere else in the region, and that has provided us the capability to continue to invest and continue to stay on course for the long run.

exchange4media Staff Sep 17, 2008 12:00 AM

The business newspaper space is cluttered. We do not have any plans now to enter this segment… General purpose magazines and sports magazines have lost their appeal. We do not have any plans now to revive these (Sunday and Sportsworld).

exchange4media Staff Sep 17, 2008 12:00 AM

The media, especially when it comes to advertising, is of the belief that Mumbai is the only place. What they haven't realised is that not a single innovation has come from Mumbai, but from the agencies outside. Any media that deals with advertising must read trends rather than deal with the geography. Firstly, the industry is not growing in Mumbai, if you remove 4-5 advertisers in Mumbai, you will find that the place has negative growth. In Mumbai, you are a survivor, we would never have been innovators had we been in Mumbai.

exchange4media Staff Sep 17, 2008 12:00 AM

Change is an ongoing process in The Hindu. One need not look at bringing about changes just because The Times of India has launched. The very fact that Times has taken so long to enter the market makes it clear that in their mind Chennai is one of the most difficult markets to crack. However, we welcome healthy competition as it would help bring all-round improvement in quality and value additions.

exchange4media Staff Sep 17, 2008 12:00 AM

In India, there is a lot of competition, and the domestic news channels tend to have a very sensationalist approach towards news. You will see the breaking news tag almost continuously. That's not the way we treat our stories, we wouldn't want to copy any news channel. Breaking news is always going to be an on-the-spot judgment by the person who is in control of the newsroom at that particular point in time.

exchange4media Staff Sep 17, 2008 12:00 AM

Our iris Delhi office has a distinctly Indian flavour to it. So, for us it is not about exporting the iris culture out of UK, it is about making the agency culture relevant and ownable by our team in India. The iris Delhi culture can be summed up in the great phrase 'Chak de phattey!', which I think really captures the winning spirit we have here amongst our team. I believe great agencies are built from strong and distinctive cultures, and that's what we are focused on building here in Delhi and in all our offices in the Asia Pacific.

exchange4media Staff Sep 17, 2008 12:00 AM

The most important thing for me is that are we are doing good work for the consumer. Winning at Cannes or anywhere else in the world is a secondary thing. It's a by-product. The time has come that we understand that we don't create advertising for Cannes. Whether we perform well there or don't is inconsequential. At the same time we should be able to learn what other people are doing. I am sure there will be some surprises this year at Cannes. But we shouldn't be disappointed if our performance at Cannes is going down. It's only a by-product of our work and it's not our focus anyway.

exchange4media Staff Sep 17, 2008 12:00 AM

Agencies need to have a case-to-case approach. One should not recommend something that does not suit the clients' needs. Agencies should work like doctors and suggest the most effective solution for the clients to meet their goals, rather than giving what they want. The marketplace is very complex. You have got the proliferation of media channels, and interestingly, there are new media coming up. But today, how many of us understand all the media?

exchange4media Staff Sep 17, 2008 12:00 AM

People keep saying TV advertising is dead, but that is rubbish. The reality is that TV advertising is an incredibly effective tool, and in some markets in Asia it is still very dominant. The reality is that there are many opportunities and that makes the industry so interesting. There a lot of changes, but there are many constants. A brand's best definition is a set of values and associations that exists in the minds of the consumer. The opportunity today to engage with your consumer is much greater.

exchange4media Staff Sep 17, 2008 12:00 AM