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Why GCPL chose EssenceMediacom over Madison after a decade-long partnership: Harshdeep Chhabra explains global rationale
"We were seeking a lot more of a global view sitting out of India. Organizations like EssenceMediacom are able to build that as compared to independents," Harshdeep Chhabra, Global Media Head of Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL) told Storyboard18.
"...that’s probably one of the reasons and probably one of the key reasons that an independent (ad agency) would lose out as compared to a larger organization,” Chhabra noted.
Godrej Consumer Products Ltd’s (GCPL) recent media account shift from long-time partner Madison to WPP-owned EssenceMediacom wasn’t a decision taken lightly.
Speaking to Storyboard18 during a media roundtable, GCPL’s Global Media Head, Harshdeep Chhabra said the move came after a rigorous four-month pitch process, run by A.T. Kearney, with multiple agencies in the fray.
GCPL invited pitches for its integrated media account in November last year which is estimated to be around Rs 700 crore. “It has always been a good practice for us to seek continual improvements that can drive cost efficiencies in our media strategy and spends," Chhabra had then told Storyboard18.
“First of all, we must acknowledge that Madison has been a great partner to GCPL over the longest period of time. All of our brands, Madison has been there to make sure that we grow. They've genuinely partnered us. And the kind of involvement that we had from their senior management is second to none,” Chhabra shared on August 12.
The shift, he explained, was driven by GCPL’s global ambitions.
“What we are seeking is a lot more of a global view sitting out of India. And for us, organizations like EssenceMediacom are able to build that as compared to independents.
That’s probably one of the reasons and probably one of the key reasons that an independent would lose out as compared to a larger organization,” Chhabra noted.
With GCPL’s international footprint expanding and a global media team based out of India, aligning media strategy with worldwide investments became a priority.
“Since we have become so much bigger globally… we wanted to make sure that we are able to do justice to our investments globally,” he added.
Despite the transition, Chhabra stressed that the relationship with Madison remains strong.
“Many of our group companies still continue to work with them, and we respect them significantly for the stalwarts that they are and the value that they've added to us,” he said.
On TRP Reforms: “What We Want is a Robust Currency”
Chhabra's conversation with Storyboard18 also touched on the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting’s recent move to open the television rating points (TRP) market to multiple agencies, including OTT platforms, distribution platform operators (DPOs), and big tech firms.
This policy change ends BARC India’s exclusive hold on TV ratings and is expected to bring more competition and innovation to audience measurement.
“As marketers, what we want is a robust currency. That's what we care about. And genuinely, we want to work with the likes of BARC to make sure that they are as decent and as robust as possible,” Chhabra said.
He pointed out that if BARC can meet this standard, “it actually is the right way of going forward because you have all stakeholders involved… which used to be there ten, fifteen years back, that when it's a private company, there are private interests that play, which is why BARC was formed.”
Read more: Ministry of I&B extends TRP Guidelines feedback deadline to September 1 amid policy revamp push
GCPL has experimented with other measurement agencies in the past.
“We've worked with the likes of TAM, we've worked with some of the other agencies. We keep looking at our options to see if there are certain cohorts where we're not able to get reads, or we want to build some competitive advantage, we do that.
But honestly, if BARC is as robust as can be, it makes life a lot better for us,” he concluded.
The marketing executive also noted that, as a member of The Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA), the company is working with industry bodies to obtain the latest data on the pay-TV subscriber base, given the lingering doubts over BARC’s figures.
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