The key communication plank for Idea is service delivery and innovation. As a matter of fact, the mantra at Idea now is ‘Customer First’. The writing on the wall is that all operators will have near 100 per cent coverage, tariffs are no longer a USP, products and tariffs are matched and launched overnight, so the only differentiating factor between us and our competitors will be customer service.

exchange4media Staff Nov 20, 2006 12:00 AM

Ogilvy’s trademark is insight, ideas and influence. What we mean is that you develop an insight which is difficult to arrive at. It’s kind of an ‘Eureka!’ sort of moment… Second is to develop new ways of story telling, which has moved dramatically away from traditional formats, yet a great story is a great story. Because of lack of attention span and fragmentation in media, it is imperative to understand the tools of modern story telling. It means education, both internally and externally, in terms of new media, which we do.

exchange4media Staff Nov 20, 2006 12:00 AM

If you look at the clients, they have been asking for things that don't exist. They have been asking for channel-agnosticism, discipline neutrality, market business solutions that don't necessarily approach it from a single disciplined point of view. What our business has not done well is to discuss such things as channel-agnostics. As discipline experts, we have people that are proficient in branding, public relations, retail, direct response, direct mail. But, none of them cut across. We haven't done a great job as an industry to cross-pollinate, what I would call renaissance market communication leaders.

exchange4media Staff Nov 17, 2006 12:00 AM

Technology will definitely be a key differentiator. Online travel is an early adopter of technology in that sense, but one really needs to innovate and make technology easier for a user to conduct an online transaction. And all these big boys like Travelocity, who are the leading players in this space, are continuous innovators in technology to make doing business online easier and easier.

exchange4media Staff Nov 10, 2006 12:00 AM

<p align=justify>With more and more global OOH majors coming into India, the outlook of the clients, the specialist agencies and also the media owners will undergo a sea change. Technology, innovation and accountability with service delivered to the “T” will be the benchmarks that clients will use to judge us, and we all have to stand the test. OOH will evolve beyond its ‘static media’ heritage. Consolidation will also play a key role in taking OOH to the next level.

exchange4media Staff Nov 8, 2006 12:00 AM

The NRS and the IRS are the two syndicated studies that India follows. Publishers also carry out their own research, which is custom-made to their requirements. What we also intend to do now as a collective body such as AIM (Association of Indian Magazines), is to power our own research from a syndicated angle only to address the magazine space. We will have stuff like consumer insights that cut across all magazines, specific advertising categories that suit magazines more than other media forms and the like.

exchange4media Staff Nov 3, 2006 12:00 AM

<p align=justify>Yahoo! sees a lot of opportunities in mail, instant messenger, search, in communication products, in community services and in content across various languages. I think e-commerce will do very well in India, too, though we don't have much to offer in this field right now. And then Internet itself is a really fantastic opportunity that we see in India.

exchange4media Staff Oct 30, 2006 12:00 AM

While it is true that search advertising helps in getting a new consumer, it would be wrong to say that an old consumer will not search for better solutions. When it comes to buying financial products or travel solutions, consumers want the best deal and they will compare and search for the best bargain. Thus, search attracts both kinds of consumers.

exchange4media Staff Oct 27, 2006 12:00 AM

"The biggest challenge for the vernacular press is from the vernacular press itself and not from anywhere else. If you take a closer look, television is not faring that well… People have become bored of TV. Nowadays, people can’t watch any one channel for more than a few minutes… there is the same news in every channel being presented in the same way, why would people view the same news over and over again?"

exchange4media Staff Oct 24, 2006 12:00 AM

<p align=justify>It is easy to say that bringing companies together will give you size, class and other values. The critical thing, however, is that the two companies should be culturally the same. Both Universal McCann and Lodestar have culturally strong connections. Universal McCann has a phenomenal global client list, while Lodestar has a phenomenal local client list. Lodestar brings in the infrastructure, while Universal McCann brings its global experience to India.

exchange4media Staff Oct 20, 2006 12:00 AM

<p align=justify>In addition to clutter breaking creatives, media is the key to driving marketing efficiencies. With escalating media cost, growing fragmentation and increasing noise levels in the media, the communication challenge is to break the media clutter to reach the consumer effectively. We constantly focus on maximising ROI through cost efficient touch points.

exchange4media Staff Oct 18, 2006 12:00 AM

<p align=justify>We are like a newborn baby which can only devour energy and grow. In the process, we are using technology, generating state-of-the-art knowledge, data bank and policies. We will be building and consolidating our network to tackle legislative issues across the country, and all this without sacrificing any cash flow.

exchange4media Staff Oct 18, 2006 12:00 AM

<p align=justify>In a big agency there is enough bad work floating, so you just squeeze a good work and manage the cost. Chances are that you will win an award for the fake one and it will help one move up in career. But the difficult part is to create something that might not merit an award but benefit the client and the consumer. You can do some bizarre packaging with some dew drop and the brand name thrown in some corner and win an award because it will look unusual from a jury's point of view, but not from client's point of view.

exchange4media Staff Oct 14, 2006 12:00 AM

<p align=justify>One of the key things about the Internet today, after the upgrade from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0, is that there are niche websites. User generated content has become very popular and very big. However, I don't think either will take over the other. Both will co-exist. User generated content in India is very recent, but worldwide they began 4-5 years ago. Still MSN, Google and Yahoo! are growing like crazy.

exchange4media Staff Oct 7, 2006 12:00 AM

<p align=justify> <b>Bunty Peerbhoy:</b> "What is unique about the model is that we talk of Above the Line, Below the Line, and so on. This is the only medium that allows the desire to get fulfilled instantly. This is the only medium that truly delivers Through the Line." <br><br> <b>Dan Ginsburg:</b> "We are starting with India, and early next year we'll move into different markets. We're looking at two South East Asian markets, and two European markets. By the end of 2007, we hope to be in five markets."

exchange4media Staff Sep 29, 2006 12:00 AM

At Comma we believe that branding is about credibility and not visibility. We practice communications management to ensure that whatever brand you build, its values are communicated to both external and internal audiences. At IPAN, I trained young professionals and groomed them into good PR executives, but now agencies are not able to attract such people and nobody is willing to invest the time. But, in the near future, there will be leaders who will stress on quality rather than quantity.

exchange4media Staff Sep 26, 2006 12:00 AM

<p align=justify>If you recognise the value of creative then you should also understand that there are some conditions that are conducive to making a truly outstanding creative, and part of the condition is the encouragement and the fact that clients whom you tell a great idea instantly respond to it. They should be able to say yes or no from their heart. More and more clients are beginning to do that. But then it requires time - sometimes resources and sometimes just an open mind.

exchange4media Staff Sep 22, 2006 12:00 AM

<p align=justify>India is a key market for Yamaha. From a manufacturing and production perspective, the cost efficiencies available in India is extremely competitive when compared with other markets. Keeping this in mind, we will be launching at least one new model every year for young urban customers and provide them with a true Yamaha riding experience. The products will be at least three years ahead of competition in terms of styling, performance and features. We aim to triple our market share by 2010

exchange4media Staff Sep 15, 2006 12:00 AM

<p align=justify>"A media agency can't tell a creative agency what to do! When you work with good creative people, you realise that they bring something to the table that a media agency can never provide... Stable clients are seeing the importance of efficient media work and they are paying. Some of the large clients are on the fee-based structure, where commissions and rates don't arise at all, and that is a much better way to go... People are avoiding advertising more and more and this would increase. It is getting therefore a bit dangerous for advertising to just be conventional."

exchange4media Staff Sep 15, 2006 12:00 AM

<p align=justify>If you recognise the value of creative then you should also understand that there are some conditions that are conducive to making a truly outstanding creative, and part of the condition is the encouragement and the fact that clients whom you tell a great idea instantly respond to it. They should be able to say yes or no from their heart. More and more clients are beginning to do that. But then it requires time – sometimes resources and sometimes just an open mind.

exchange4media Staff Sep 15, 2006 12:00 AM