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Note to readers: Media Mavens is a Storyboard18 series featuring media investment firms and power players - the X-Women and X-Men who make the big calls on how and where to spend advertisers' money. This is a peek into their minds - how they work in a dynamic landscape, the next big trends they’re watching for, insights into what advertisers need today, the disruptors driving change and the factors driving their decisions. Watch this space for sharp and fast insights.


Delhi-based homegrown media agency Alliance Advertising had a good twelve months. The agency onboarded clients like CarDekho, Insurance Dekho, Kaff Appliances, Formula-e, Multani Pharma, Kanodia Group, Kuhl Fans, Coursera, Kei wires, Lava, among many others. According to V Narayanan, CEO of the agency, with content being platform agnostic, media outcomes are critical. “Clients are clearly looking at how media and communication strategies can help drive business outcomes,” he says. The agency is focusing on building first party data partners and client-owned CRM data. Along with deploying artificial intelligence and machine learning as per client requirements.


Narayanan agrees some of the challenges like lack of single source measurement of TV and digital, right talent, deficiencies in credibility and authenticity of digital data need industry level addressal. Yet, media agencies are far more future-ready than ever before.

Edited excerpts.


How has the media planning gambit changed in the recent past?



In a pre-digital era, one would understand the buyer through research and other syndicated studies. The panacea of media planners was to target them efficiently in terms of views. However, with digital being more ubiquitous, consumers place their imprints in the form of cookies, etc., which makes it sharply targeted.

 

Earlier, planning metrics were limited to audience views. However, currently it is a disposable world of posts, views, likes, comments, reviews, tweets, bytes, Reels, shares, add to cart, purchase, downloads, repurchase, etc.

 

There is a heightened need to move the metrics from SOV (Share of Voice to SOE (share of consumer experiences).

 

What is the single biggest change that will change the advertising business?

 

Today’s consumer is much smarter than the traditional journey is built for. The way consumers navigate the journey is also changing and constantly evolving. Digital transition is inevitable with digital ad spends capturing the lion’s share of India’s ad spends and digital eyeballs surpassing traditional media.

 

Some of the key challenges according to me are:

 
Consumers reach getting more f-r-a-g-m-e-n-ted.

Building top of mind awareness for a brand in a fiercely contested market place is a huge challenge to procure in a digital world.

Consumer trust is declining and it is getting more and more difficult to sustain loyalty.


What are the myths around the business of media planning that Alliance is trying to change?

 

There are a few. Let me break it down.

 

Myth: Media has not always been bought on CPRP (cost per rating point) and rates.

 

Truth: While rates are hygiene, we need to view media from a business outcome perspective. Hence, a paradigm shift from CPRP to cost per outcomes. 

 

Myth: Media planning is just making plans and making timely releases.

 

Truth: Media is also all about driving innovations and creating disruptions. When we receive a media planning brief, our teams get back to the client with a complete communication and business outcome plan.

 

Myth: Media planning is all about numbers provided by the industry research sources. 

 

Truth: Apart from the reach numbers, media planning is also about capitalising consumer trends and unearthing unique opportunities and trends.

 

How are you viewing the happenings like people churn, layoffs and funding winter in certain sectors like tech? 

 

Yes, I would say there is a “technocalypse” with big tech companies struggling to drive revenue growth. One would expect a higher inflation resulting in higher relative cost per acquisitions. Clients will start relying on first party data and subsequently own a stream of data like a new age D2C brand.

 

How are you trying to make Alliance a future-ready company?

 

We are agile and tech enabled. We are powered by a ROI outcome mindset. We strongly believe this formula: C (Creative) x D (data) = CE (Consumer Experience). It’s a fact that data, creativity, and measurement being the cornerstones is shaping consumer experiences. Brands need to leverage an unprecedented level of personalization and customisation within the consumer journey, informed by data, infused by the brand purpose.

 

Being an independent agency, we also work cohesively and not in siloes. Future belongs to those brands whose consumer creates, tells, and shares authentic stories about the brand rather than the brand hard selling its own story. We will continue to pivot from the bottom of the funnel performance to top of the funnel approach recalibrating emphasis on performance of media. We are also focused on building on first party data partners and client-owned CRM data. Along with deploying artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms wherever applicable.

 

Media space is rather mercurial and we need to stay true to your brand. Lead the change rather than the change lead you.

 

From a talent lens, why do you think young people are not too keen on careers in advertising? What should agencies focus on to attract them?

 

Yes, attracting the right talent is definitely an imperative for the agency and the industry as well especially at junior roles. It is this segment, where the perceived role is more profound than the monetary value offered.

 

The industry needs to look at the following to attract better talent:

1. Fostering diversity in roles and developing cross functional talent.

2. Empowering them and giving them the freedom to explore new approaches and encourage new thoughts.

3. Focus on how we build innovation as a process.

4. Leveraging technology to make mundane jobs automated.

5. Constantly celebrate and reward their success achievements.

Media Mavens: 'Media planning is about capitalising consumer trends and unearthing unique opportunities,' says Alliance’s V Narayanan

Note to readers: Media Mavens is a Storyboard18 series featuring media investment firms and power players - the X-Women and X-Men who make the big calls on how and where to spend advertisers' money. This is a peek into their minds - how they work in a dynamic landscape, the next big trends they’re watching for, insights into what advertisers need today, the disruptors driving change and the factors driving their decisions. Watch this space for sharp and fast insights.

After the merger of WPP’s media investment group GroupM agency brands Essence and MediaCom to form EssenceMediacom, the new entity is focussing on providing digital-first planning solutions to clients. In a conversation with Storyboard18, Navin Khemka, CEO at EssenceMediacom South Asia talks about priority areas, big shifts in the media landscape and what skills new age planners require to be effective.

Edited excerpts.

<blockquote>"The success of IPL will depend on whether broadcasters are able to increase the number of advertisers from 100 to 500. This could also fuel AdEx in H1 2023."</blockquote>

What are your immediate priority areas for EssenceMediacom?

With the merger done, we want every single client to have a transformative plan given the changes we are seeing in the media and consumer landscape. India will also play a bigger role in the development of the merged agency globally. This comes from the fact that the country is already the third-fastest growing market globally, only behind the US and the UK. The blend of the team of Essence and Mediacom is completely unique. We have partnered with the aim to ensure that every client team will have an array of specialists, including content planners, content analysts, and data specialists working as one, and that’s a unique combination. We’re working with something called ‘breakthrough planning. This we want to activate across the agency teams and offices with speed.

As the world prepares for a slowdown, how are you preparing as an agency as clients may become cautious when it comes to media spends in India? Do you see a slower AdEx growth for this year?

<blockquote>"Today, it is not about your scale, or your digital expertise, but your ability to holistically understand the complexity that the consumer is experiencing with so many emerging platforms. So, it’s no longer creative-first, but platform-first, and solutions must be platform-agnostic."</blockquote>

Last year was difficult for all of us, including broadcasters and digital partners, because the cost pressures were for real, and the inflationary trend meant a reduction in marketing spends to maintain short-term margins. This obviously had a trickle-down effect on the media. Also, the start-up funding has dried up, which has aggravated the situation. So, it was almost like a double whammy thereby affecting AdEx. However, we saw growth at EssenceMediacom last year. We have been the top-performing market globally. We want to keep adding more categories and India is giving us the opportunity to grow. As a result, we now have a very healthy mix of global and local clients.

This year, January was extremely slow. February-March onwards we are looking at a lot of summer categories, and things have started to look up. Start-ups are still slow right now, however, with the women’s IPL coming up and the men’s IPL starting in April, we will have an advantage. Also, for the first time in two years, the men’s IPL is coming back to the country with all the activations possible on the home ground the interest levels are higher. This is also the first time in the last five years that IPL is going to be sold by two different broadcasters. Both television and digital broadcasters are trying to reset what you could expect from a viewership point-of-view. There is a very interesting fight that is going on right now in the market. It will only help unlock the true potential of the IPL. Now everyone will try to get more advertisers on board and make it possible for local brands to advertise on IPL. The success of IPL will depend on whether broadcasters are able to increase the number of advertisers from 100 to 500. This could also fuel AdEx in H1 2023.

What are the big shifts in the media landscape today both globally and in India?

<blockquote>"The consumer journey is getting increasingly complex and for a planner to succeed they need to keep upskilling and collaborating."</blockquote>

The media landscape is changing rapidly. It represents the third era of advertising, which is neither scaled nor digitised. ‘Era one’ being the time when MediaCom, as an agency, was growing when scale and size were important; while ‘Era two’ was more digital, and this is when Essence was born. Today, it is not about your scale, or your digital expertise, but your ability to holistically understand the complexity that the consumer is experiencing with so many emerging platforms. So, it’s no longer creative-first, but platform-first, and solutions must be platform-agnostic. I would say that the ‘Third era’ of advertising is what gave birth to EssenceMediacom, and we are now equipped to write this journey for our brands.

In a dynamic world of today, what are the key strategies that can help planners/buyers to do their job better?

New era planner needs to be integrated and media agnostic. Media is getting not only complex but sophisticated. The consumer journey is getting increasingly complex and for a planner to succeed they need to keep upskilling and collaborating.

<blockquote>"EssenceMediacom's target is to grow at 30 percent higher pace as compared to India’s AdEx growth."</blockquote>

What are your targets for 2023?

EssenceMediacom target is to grow at 30 percent higher pace as compared to the India’s AdEx growth. In the last three years given the toughest covid conditions, we have managed to grow in India and are confident to achieve our targets. We are also looking to expand to new markets in India in 2023 and increase our footprint.

IPL’s success depends on broadcasters expanding the advertisers pool from 100 to 500: EssenceMediacom’s Navin Khemka

WPP’s media investment group GroupM restructured its agency brands merging Essence and MediaCom to form EssenceMediacom, a new agency that fused the digital and data-driven DNA of Essence with MediaCom’s scaled multichannel audience planning and strategic media expertise. Nick Lawson, the Global CEO of MediaCom now leads this newly formed EssenceMediacom. India was the first market he visited after the merger. Storyboard 18 caught up with Lawson to have a candid conversation about the vision for this new entity, the India business and, with 10000 people and 120 offices around the world, how EssenceMediacom is close to becoming the largest media investment agency globally.

Edited excerpts. 

The first market that you are visiting after the merger is India. What is the goal that you have set out for Navin Khemka, CEO of EssenceMediacom South Asia, in the country?

I genuinely believe that in the next 3-4 years we can probably double in size. We launched as the third biggest agency in India and think the potential for us is exponential. We can also grow in share of what we do for clients as well. The part of the proposition of putting Essence and Mediacom together is that you don’t have to now choose between the traditional media agency and a performance agency. We are giving clients the best of both. So, I didn’t want to create a slightly better version of Mediacom or a slightly better version of Essence. I wanted to create something new. It is called EssenceMediacom. It is a bit of a mouthful. I think we can shorten it to ‘EM’. 

Both brands have a global reputation and we wanted them to be associated together. And we want to really challenge the market, challenge the clients around some of the big questions that they are facing. Questions like ‘how can I get my creative and media to work more closely together’. We got a whole ecosystem which I call ‘new commerce economy’ building up and the clients are struggling to get right messaging on the platforms. With our experience especially with Google as our biggest client across the world, we can also answer some of those questions in some areas.

I also think a lot of clients are struggling with budget. How does my marketing budget really payback on my P&L, how do I justify the money that I spent to my CEOs. I am really more interested in becoming more central to a client’s ‘comms’ strategy.

It took 9 months to merge these two entities. What was the impact on the cultures? How did the cultures mesh together? Many say that the agency cultures were quite different and distinct.

Agencies are based on culture and I am great believer of ‘culture eats strategy for breakfast’. If you haven’t got the right culture, you are never going to be successful. Culture has been the main focal point for me - how to build a common culture between those two agencies. We were both ‘people first’ agencies. Essence called their people ‘Essentials’ and we kept that, whereas Mediacom always said that ‘people first better results’. So now we have joined the two, people are always at the heart of our business. 

EssenceMediacom is a place where people can grow their careers. If you look at my background, I have spent 30 years. I started off as somebody’s assistant in Mediacom in the early 90s and I worked my way up right through the company and I want everybody at EssenceMediacom, if they want that opportunity, then to have it. So the most important thing is that we are going to be ‘growth orientated’. And the I am also great believer in looking at personality types. If you look at Mediacom’s personality I would define as ‘drivers’ and very expressive in nature. We are very goal orientated, we are very competitive on new business. And then I define ‘Essence’s culture as more analytical and amiable. But we are a formidable combo. So kind of complete a fully rounded personality.

Is that working well?

That’s where magic happens, right? It has been an incredible journey. It has been humbling, getting to know the talent across. I know Mediacom inside out. But it has been humbling getting to know the Essence talent. And if you look at the global team that we recently announced, it has been really well balanced between Essence and Mediacom. 

10000 people across 120 offices around the world. That makes you the largest agency under the new GroupM restructuring exercise. What are the goals that you have outlined for global leadership teams and teams from the other markets considering the current economic concerns globally?

We are pretty close to being the largest global agency. But I am not obsessed with size, I think scale is important in media companies for capability reasons. But I think for me now it is really positioning ourselves as crucial to client’s needs. What I want be is the most recommended agency in the world.

What has been the impact on clients post the merger. How are they looking at this new entity?

First, we certainly wouldn’t have gone ahead and done this merger without speaking to some of our key clients. The great thing about Essence and Mediacom is that we are pretty complimentary businesses. We have no major global conflicts. We did have some conflicts in the UK, there we are maintaining two separate offices. There we have got EM and EMx in UK. And we have talked to both set of clients and they are appreciating the fact that we have kept separation in teams. I think we have handled that very well. And we had to defend some clients along the way. And we did a big global defense of PlayStation and it has been very successful.

On that note, what does the new business pipeline look like? Any new businesses acquisitions in India and other markets?

Since I have been here, we have won 3 clients! I don’t know whether Navin just wanted to condense them all to my arrival. Navin has got a fantastic track record over here. I expect India market to become double really in the next 3-4 years. I think we will be super competitive in this market. I also think this is the best example of WPP. We are sitting in the WPP Campus. I think this is the best example in the world of the power of WPP

Three decades for you in advertising. You have seen the agency through all its life stages and the agency has seen you through all of yours. What has been the journey like and how have you seen the agency evolve over the past 30 years?

I can connect the old world with the new world in media agencies and there are very few of us still right now who can do that. When I joined the agency there were media departments within creative agencies. And I have seen the journey of the separation of media, making media really important and pure play. We are going to graduate to being all-rounders of the communications industry. Which is where I think media agencies will end up in the future.

I didn’t join a company with 10000 people, I joined a company of 34 people which was bought by Mediacom in the late 90s. So I have worked for small companies, I have done every job in between.

It has been 20 different jobs, even though essentially I have stayed within the agency. I come back to the point that the only reason that I stayed there was because I was given the opportunity to grow in the company and we were a growing company.

What made you stay for so long?

There hasn’t been a better time to be in media. When I joined in the first place, secretly I wanted to be a copy writer, I am so glad I didn’t. I was not so good at it. Because media has been the most dynamic and exciting place to work in the last 30 years. And more so today if you think about what’s happening in the market. 

Your key advice to brands and marketers going forward?

Think differently, think about how you break through in the new communications economy because you cannot do exactly what you were doing before. Eyeballs are shifting and straight play advertising isn’t going to work in the future. So, you have to start thinking differently about how you go about getting across your messages.

EssenceMediacom global CEO Nick Lawson: We are pretty close to being the largest global media agency

Note to readers: Media agencies have seen a 360-degree change when it comes to measurement metrics, strategies and services offered to the clients. What has also changed drastically is the gender gap. Thanks to the women leaders in the space who are showing the way for more and more media experts to aim for top leadership roles at these agencies. Storyboard18’s special series brings to you an exclusive behind-the-scenes view of the media agencies led by women.

The discourse on gender needs to become irrelevant, says Sonali Malaviya, chief strategy and transformation officer, EssenceMediacom. She explains, “We need to bring it to a common playing field with individual needs. The needs of a man and a woman may be different and that’s okay. We need to normalize that." In a conversation with Storyboard18, Malaviya talks about addressing the gender gap in the industry, work-life integration, the slowdown effect on businesses and marketing budget and more.

Edited excerpts.

You took on a new role as the managing director of Essence in the midst of the pandemic. Tell us about the journey and tell us about the changes that you introduced in the system?

I joined Essence in 2018. I was leading the agency’s Google business in India and Southeast Asia as senior vice president, client services. It was mid 2021 when I took on the role of managing director at Essence. It was an extremely tough time to take on this role and that too remotely because people didn't come back to office until almost five to six months after that. This was at a time when people had gone through a lot of loss and a lot of unhappiness. We had to think about how to connect and engage with people and boost their morale.

It started from building a lot more communication at all levels. We started company meetings, talking about the good work that was happening across offices, sharing work and started to build transparency and an open collaborative culture again. Seeing a lot of people talk to each other and creating as much synergy and as much visual presence as we could in the absence of being in person was actually the next best thing that we could do. Strengthening communication at all levels helped us in giving people a sense of relief and assurance that things were starting to look up.

Then there was a lot more enablement and accountability which allowed for decentralization and easing of roadblocks to let people run at their own pace and be the best versions of themselves. The next thing we did was clearing up structures and that's one of the big things that really helped us move forward with a greater pace. Nobody was fending for themselves because they could actually tap into the experience of the larger organization and yet, do what they did best and then bring the two together seamlessly. 

<blockquote>I am a believer in work life integration. We are what we are but one person and there will be times that life is demanding and demands from one dimension will seep into the other.</blockquote>

The third thing in the same series was continuous skill building and the last thing that I would focus on was the renewed commitment to our culture which has been what has set us apart and been our cornerstone. We brought back our focus on what is really precious to us, which is diversity, equity and inclusion and mentorship. So all of these things together renewed our sense of purpose and helped us build the successes that we've had in the last 18 to 20 months.

As a leader how do you strike that work life balance for yourself and also for the team?

I am a believer in work life integration. We are what we are but one person and there will be times that life is demanding and demands from one dimension will seep into the other. There are times that you will have to over index on work and there are times that your home needs your attention. In my head, it has to be seamless, it has to be integrated. This applies to both men and women. Our line of work has late nights, early mornings and working weekends sometimes. If that is okay, then why is it not okay if it’s the other way round.

I have always tried to say that there will be times that your family needs you. We're not in the business of saving lives that we have to be present at every moment and therefore I believe in that synergy and that integration. That is where the culture of accountability comes in, where you know what you have to do so do it at your own pace.

What are your leadership mantras?

For me leadership is about setting the tone and culture of the organization. It is about embodying what you want others to do. It's about walking the talk. This attitude has really paid really, really dividends for us. My style of leadership is extremely adaptive. I believe in situational leadership, adapt to the situation, to people, to teams and to the need of the hour. It could be anywhere from delegation, to being participative and sometimes even telling people what to do. What's key to me is to be flexible, and adjust to the requirements of the team in the moment that we are. It's impossible in a dynamic world like ours today to actually be a kind of rigid leader. It doesn't work for people. It doesn't work for our clients and it doesn't work for the organization at large.

As someone who has been in the ad business for so long, how do you think that the industry can fix the gender gap especially at senior leadership levels?

At this moment, I think gender gaps are probably less of a problem than then the tone and voice around how genders show up. The most important thing we need to do is to manage unconscious biases. That to me is the most important challenge that we need to fix if we want women and men and actually everyone to play to their strengths and be the best versions of themselves.

<blockquote>As brand marketing starts to take center stage again, shifting the lens firmly towards consumers will ensure much more sustainable and effective outcomes.</blockquote>

The discourse on gender needs to become irrelevant. We need to bring it to a common playing field with individual needs. The needs of a man and a woman may be different and that’s okay. We need to normalize that.

We need flexibility. If it’s normal for a man to come late to work and leave late in the evening because that’s what he needs, it’s also okay for women wanting to leave on time because she has family responsibilities. Like I said that discourse doesn't have to be about the hours, it should be about accountability and what you have to do.

The second thing I think we need to do is to change the narrative. If a man is being assertive or aggressive, it's seen as okay, it is seen as a positive. If the woman is doing the same, she's viewed negatively. And there is a lot when your eyebrows are raised. We have a lot of gender stereotypes in our heads and we need to get rid of them.

The discourse should be more about what the work situation needs and gender shouldn’t have a role to play in that. The other thing that is important for me is flexibility. I think individuals play multiple roles. We are caregivers, we are professionals and we do so many other things. There shouldn’t be any stereotyping in that. If we haven't learned this during the two years of COVID we never will.

Compared to creative agencies, media agencies have more women leaders. Why do you think that's the case?

Firstly, I am glad that the gender equation in creative agencies is changing. With Devika Bulchandani’s appointment as the global chief executive officer of Ogilvy, WPP has made a definitive statement of meritocracy being the way forward. To me, this is so powerful. Even in India, not just media agencies but creative agencies are being run by very capable and competent women leaders, which in my mind is starting to make the question on gender representation more important. Closer home media agencies for the longest time have been about meritocracy and been led by stalwarts who happen to be women. They've raised the aspirations of the next generation to follow their path. I am the product of that inspiration. So regardless of it all, I will re-emphasize that media agencies having women leaders is completely based on merit and capability. The fact that they're women is just happenstance.

<blockquote>At this moment, I think gender gaps are probably less of a problem than the tone and voice around how genders show up. The most important thing we need to do is to manage unconscious biases.</blockquote>

How have the skills required to do the job well changed over the years? What are the key skills required now - at entry and mid-levels?

The role of media agencies in the client ecosystem is evolving very rapidly. I think increasingly the expectation is for agencies to play the role of partners and trusted advisors. This is starting to reflect on the kinds of skills required to do the job. The goal post today is very firmly about driving business outcomes. If you're partnering with clients, then you have to be equally accountable for their business requirements and be catalysts in their success. Now on one hand there is super specialization in areas of functional expertise and on the other hand is what I like to call the conductor of the symphony-someone who strings the proposition together in the service of driving business KPIs, so it is about width, and it is about driving depth.

So what we look for is specialists in their domains and also people with a business mindset. People who are wired to solve for the business. So you have the best of both worlds specialists who are true to the craft and marketers who are true to solving for the business. That is what is guiding how we look for people. Having said that, the composition of today's world is as much of soft skills as it is of hard skills. For us capability without the potential for a cultural fit is a no go. So we look for team players, we look for collaborators, we look for people who have an attitude of succeeding together when we look for our next generation of leaders. Finally, what underpins all of this is the mindset, an innate sense of curiosity, an innate need to make an impact and being excited about the work. So in a nutshell skills are important, but they're not the be all and end all for us.

The cultural fit is as important as is the mindset where the person actually loves what they do. I use this hashtag extensively, which is love where you work, love what you do and love who you work with. So some of these things capture my philosophy towards the next generation of our leaders and the kind of organization we want to build.

Talking of changing business needs, how much are the clients ready to push boundaries both in terms of budget and in terms of innovations?

Now that’s where being experts at our craft really plays up. I'll take a slightly contrarian stance here and look at it from an audience lens rather than a platform lens. Today's reality is driven by consumers and the choices they make. It's no longer enough to just be on any platform and hope that we will succeed. So consumers when they are converted to audiences in media parlance, don't make their choices depending on a platform or a medium, they make it on the basis of the content they want to consume. So ultimately, brands and depending on what their objectives are, need to follow them and communicate meaningfully with them. 

As brand marketing starts to take center stage again, shifting the lens firmly towards consumers will ensure much more sustainable and effective outcomes. When we talk to clients we do not talk about the language of one platform versus the other. It is about the outcomes and if we're going to be equal partners in their success, then making sure that we do justice is not just a responsibility, but it's something they've entrusted us with. So in my head, it's a little bit more about us playing the role of experts that we are and explaining how we need to be a lot more audience centric, and therefore go after whatever touch points or activities that we need to do to get to the ultimate outcome. Our accountability is driving that.

<blockquote>Now more than ever there is the need for the media and business world to come together to completely transform itself to drive business outcomes. A lot more accountability is expected from business partners, a lot more tightening of what we do and what makes an impact is the need of the hour.</blockquote>

A lot of leaders across industries have been sharing their experiences of acquiring new skills in the two years of lockdown. Have you had similar experiences?

Change has only ever been the true constant for me. It's the only thing that keeps me interested, excited. I've been lucky that I've had opportunities to constantly reinvent myself every couple of years. I started off as a traditional planner then a communication strategist followed by being a researcher, marketer, business leader and a catalyst for transformation and across the journey I’ve constantly picked up new skills every day. right. It is really important to be able to move forward with the times and be able to constantly reinvent yourself. It's a journey I embarked on very early in my career, and it's something that keeps me excited, I guess my firm belief towards life in general and work in particular, is reflected in this beautiful quote by HG Wells that says, “Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature's inexorable imperative”.

Given the current global economic climate, how do you think brands’ media and marketing budget for 2023 will be affected or?

Now more than ever there is the need for the media and business world to come together to completely transform itself to drive business outcomes. A lot more accountability is expected from business partners, a lot more tightening of what we do and what makes an impact is the need of the hour. What we see today is a cascade effect and it was something that was predicted from the middle of last year and the drumroll has become even louder as we got to the end of last year. At GroupM and WPP we’ve been really tightening ourselves to actually become more and more accountable every single day. Driving synergies across functional expertise towards a larger goal is what we believe is the need of the hour. 

Deploying audience data towards maximizing outreach effectiveness and building seamless technology stacks to enable efficiency, supercharged by advanced analytics continually optimizing our efforts is what the media ecosystem can effectively support and enable for clients. We work with a lot of D2C clients, technology clients, startups and FMCG majors and today the resounding cry is to get as effective and as efficient in everything we do. Accountability has never been a greater task as it is today.

Media Mavens: More accountability is expected from business partners today, Sonali Malaviya, chief strategy and transformation officer, EssenceMediacom

Note to readers: Media agencies have seen a 360-degree change when it comes to measurement metrics, strategies and services offered to the clients. What has also changed drastically is the gender gap. Thanks to the women leaders in the space who are showing the way for more and more media experts to aim for top leadership roles at these agencies. Storyboard18’s special series brings to you an exclusive behind-the-scenes view of the media agencies led by women.

Sheryl Sandberg inspires her. “I keep telling myself what Sandberg said. What would I do if I weren't afraid?” Says Priti Murthy, president of GroupM Nexus. A certified coach, coaching mostly women leaders, Murthy feels being one’s most authentic self is of utmost importance. “If one can be authentic and win over fear they can achieve whatever they want to and no one can stop them from doing so,” she says. In a chat with Storyboard18, Murthy talks about her experiences over the years, her leadership mantra, importance of having the mindset to unlearn and learn and more.

Edited excerpts

It’s been over a year that you’ve joined the leadership team at GroupM. Tell us about the journey and the changes that you have introduced in the system?

My journey has been a journey of progress. Before joining OMD, I was with Group M in a different avatar so I wasn’t new to the system but there were changes that had happened in the five years. My role, for instance, didn’t exist before. We set up Nexus and my role here as the President entails bringing the center of excellence, delivery, data and performance together. That’s what Nexus is all about. So that itself was a new ecosystem that I was building. It's more than a year now and we can proudly say that the measurable successes have been in terms of data and tech intervention and automation and robotics and how the whole planning journey has been simplified. On the other hand, there has also been an immense unmeasurable impact on the clients and the agency ecosystem and how we service clients overall. While there are TRRs and all the wins, there are also innumerable impacts and value adds that you can't put a number to.

What are your leadership mantras?

Authenticity is of prime importance to me. I come from a place of a complete people-first approach and that allows me to be authentic. I'm also a certified coach where I coach business leaders. Women leaders to be specific. One of the big reasons I do this is because it helps me bring out my authenticity and help people with that even outside my organization. I want to make sure that I take my learnings and use them to enhance the journey of other women who aspire to be leaders.



<blockquote>The agenda here is simple. I want to pass on the opportunities that I have got during my career to the next generation of leaders.</blockquote>



From an organization perspective, the best way to pave the way for future leaders is by allowing them to grow and not stall them at any point. Quite a number of leaders under me have seen great growth in their career in the past fourteen months that I have been with Group M. The agenda here is simple. I want to pass on the opportunities that I have got during my career to the next generation of leaders.

As someone who has been in the ad business for a long time, how do you think the industry can fix the gender gap?

Advertising has always had women. The industry has seen some great women leaders like Roda Mehta and till date that trend continues to be strong.

Not just advertising, every other business is taking a conscious effort to bring in the right leader without any gender bias. If we talk of GroupM, our leadership executive committee of fifteen comprises six women. So we almost have a 60:40 ratio. The challenge is more at the middle level and the lower level.



<blockquote>Ten years ago it was digital-first. Now it’s data-first thinking. Before digital-first it was TV-first. Before that it was print. However, it has always actually been consumer first.</blockquote>



We have a program called M wizard where we take extra effort to bridge the gender gap and bring in more women at entry and mid-levels.

Moreover, standing where we are today I think the conversation in the boardroom is not about men versus women. I think it's about overall diversity and inclusivity.

Coming to the evolving role of agencies at the moment. How have the skills required to do the job well changed over the years? 

The reinvention of skills for me personally has happened every three to five years. From starting off as a TV -print planner to where I am today, is all because of this conscious decision of upgrading and reinventing my skills.

However, what has helped me most is the fact that the fundamentals of what I learned at the beginning of my career were so strong that it helped me throughout the entire transitioning of marketing communications from traditional to digital to content to technology.

Ten years ago we were talking digital first. But now it’s data-first thinking. Before digital-first it was TV-first. Before that it was print. It keeps changing. However, it has always actually been consumer first.



<blockquote>Some brands are seeing challenges coming from ‘born in the digital commerce ecosystem’ brands. Those brands are also parallelly shifting to brick and mortar spaces. There is a blending taking place.</blockquote>



Today to understand the consumer, you need first party data. 25 years back, it was probably the NRS survey. We have to evolve with every transition keeping in mind the basics of understanding the consumer.

There is a whole bandwidth of transition where I’ve put my hand up to try new things and take up experimentation. It is important to understand that everything will not always be successful but that doesn’t mean you stop trying new processes. The idea is to put the consumer first and then evolve and experiment around it.

How are clients' needs evolving? 

Digital transformation has happened for businesses across industries a long time back. What has changed is that they're now starting to invest more. Some brands are seeing challenges coming from ‘born in the digital commerce ecosystem’ brands. Those brands interestingly are also parallelly shifting to brick and mortar spaces. So there is a blending taking place.

We look at digital from such a narrow lens, but it's actually part of the commerce ecosystem. The consumer today doesn’t pre decide whether to shop offline or online. They walk into a showroom and like something but end up buying the same online and vice versa. So brands are investing more to capture this wide bandwidth of commerce.

Clients no longer come to you for a TV campaign alone or a print or digital campaign only. The demands are end-to-end and mostly what they ask for is integrated solutions. Every business is led by ROI discussions so that is an integral part of the deliverables but what is equally important is to have an end-to-end solution especially designed for the brand and the ecosystem that it exists in.

What are the key skills that you look for in the new generation of media buyers and planners?

As far as skill is concerned you can always put an employee on a training programme but what is more important for me is that I always look for some form of basic communication understanding and the will and the mindset to learn how we approach our clients and consumer marketing. What I look for in my hires is whether they have the mindset to experiment and transform themselves, whether they are open to learning and looking at a challenge from a very different lens rather than working with an attitude of ‘I have done this in the past and will continue to do so’.

Lastly, tell us about the big trends to look out for in 2023?

Today the trends are more towards connected content so connected TV will grow immensely during the year. 

The past five years have been about performance marketing which is all lower funnel but without branding and performance marketing working together, the ROI will not be as impactful. Hence, I see that as one brand and performance discussions pieces together. Lastly, COVID had stalled all the ground lead initiatives, those initiatives will be back with full force.

Media Mavens: GroupM's Priti Murthy says boardrooms are no longer about men vs women, it is about diversity and inclusivity

Note to readers: Media agencies have seen a 360-degree change when it comes to measurement metrics, strategies and services offered to the clients. What has also changed drastically is the gender gap. Thanks to the women leaders in the space who are showing the way for more and more media experts to aim for top leadership roles at these agencies. Storyboard18’s special series brings to you an exclusive behind-the-scenes view of the media agencies led by women.

Deeply influenced by the book '4 Disciplines of Execution', Anita Kotwani, CEO, Carat India believes that strategy without execution is hallucination. In an exclusive conversation with Storyboard18, Kotwani talks about the mega trends that will shape the industry in 2023, work life balance and the skill sets that are going to be in demand at agencies across the board. In fact, Kotwani shares that the best skill to have in the present times is to be an integrated client leader who can talk full-funnel marketing. Speaking about the potential of the India market, she says, “India will be the fastest-growing market in APAC, we will continue to see a double-digit growth of 14.7% and will reach US $12.6 billion. Digital will continue to be the key driver of the Indian ad market with 32% growth and 40% share of spend in 2023 when it is forecasted to take over TV spends for the first time.”

Edited excerpts

What are some of your personal milestones since you took charge of the network?

When it comes to milestones, my prime focus was on the stability that I needed to drive the existing set of clients. As their partners, it is imperative for us to ensure that their brand and business outcomes are being delivered. Secondly, I always make sure that our TRR (the referral rating) scores move in the right direction and further get our existing clients to expand their scope of service with us. 

Apart from offline mandates, we now also look after digital mandates like SEO, SEM, performance marketing and e-commerce. We were quick to build expertise and ensure that we are able to add momentum to the client’s business. 

With influencer marketing and the rise in OTT viewership, we enhanced our content practice. Content as currency became a new area to build our expertise on and we had successes with clients like Havells, Phillips DA, Intel, H&M and many others.

The biggest game plan was of course aiming for growth to drive towards our new business developments. We gained inspiration from the book '4 Disciplines of Execution' and crafted our strategy to drive the audacious goal of reaching 5X our numbers by bringing in new logos into our fold. We were able to win brands like Tata Neu, Tata Croma, Hero Vida, Times Pro and many others in 2022.

What past experiences help you handle challenging situations in your current role?

As far as past experiences are concerned, they have always helped me tremendously in handling situations in my current role. To begin with, I had to unlearn how I operated in an established organization and re-learn and learn to be nimble and agile as a challenger brand in this market. The core principle that I had to work with was that challenger brands have to work hard and we did. We ensured that our clients saw that the best talent pool is servicing their business. We were proficient in taking constructive feedback from our clients and as a team were/are always in a beta mode. Constantly improving.

<blockquote>As a team were/are always in a beta mode. Constantly improving.</blockquote>

What are your leadership mantras?

My core belief is that strategy without execution is hallucination. Additionally, I garner inspiration from the book ‘4 Disciplines of Execution’.

I also believe that between stimulus and response there is a space. That space gives us the power to choose our response and in our response lies our growth and our freedom. I keep re-iterating this to myself so that I do not react but respond and that has helped me grow as an empathetic leader. 

Inspect what you expect - is one piece of advice I always share with the teams when they groom talent. You need to ensure that you do not drop the ball when you are training teams, you need to oversee them till they succeed and then empower and motivate them to grow. 

In a hyper-active business like advertising, how do you find work-life balance?

The concept of work-life balance is passé and what one does today is work-life integration. One needs to find a level of equilibrium. This concept is centered on the belief that there is no distinction between work and life and both must coexist in harmony. Rather than viewing them as separate entities, I do try to find areas of compromise. The largest advantage of work-life integration for me is flexibility. 

As someone who has been in the ad business for a long time, how do you think the industry can fix the gender gap, especially at senior leadership levels?

Let it start with you. I think it's very imperative as a leader that you imbibe the change that you want to see. Be upfront and commit to the number and then put an action plan to deliver that goal. 

Compared to creative agencies, media agencies in India have a lot of women leaders. What are your observations on this?

Yes, I do see a lot of my female peers leading other operating companies, and I personally feel very proud that the media industry has been able to drive this change. It’s the belief of the leaders at those operating companies where they have rewarded meritocracy and have chosen leaders that are able to drive the organization’s goal. 

I think there is enough proof that whenever they have taken those decisions they have only prospered and delivered better as a group. Moreover, when you see such success you continue to be open minded and open up more opportunities for women leaders to excel. 

<blockquote>Strategy without execution is hallucination.</blockquote>

Coming to the evolving role of agencies at the moment. How have the skills required to do the job well changed over the years? What are the key skills required now - at entry and mid-levels?

The media ecosystem evolution is going to remain constant. As agencies, we need to keep abreast of this changing ecosystem and then ensure we have practices, processes, tools and tech and talent that will be there within our fold to make a mark with our existing and new clients. 

Skill sets that are going to be in demand are integrated client leaders who can talk full-funnel marketing. Integrated strategists who can pull together business, media, communication, content, social, digital, gaming, and eCommerce strategies. They have a lot on their plate to get upskilled to deliver to these new-age roles. 

Domain specialists will be in demand across data, digital, content, tech, performance marketing and commerce. 

Brands are taking to digital platforms like never before. How has that impacted spending?

The delta shifts in digital has been very visible over the last year and we will also witness this increase in 2023. This medium will overtake television and for the first time become the channel with the largest advertising spends. We expect to see two things happening - either brands would be making a case for additional digital budgets and if they get approved it's great. If not, then they’d change their mix to drive efficiency. Given the cautious outlook for 2022, I see the latter taking prominence across brands. 

Talking of budgets and new trends, what are clients looking for mostly when they come to the agencies, is it just reach or ROI? How are you responding to their changing needs?

The mantra for clients is driving business outcomes and I foresee a shift towards performance marketing more than branding. As an agency, we realize the importance of ROI and have in place our practice areas like effectiveness and insights, and performance marketing to drive the client’s business goals. We have ensured that we are seen as front runners across the newer trends around content, ecommerce, and gaming, with our specialist practices that have seen huge traction in 2022 and will continue to drive momentum for the coming year as well. 

Lots of leaders across industries have been sharing their experiences on the new skills they’ve acquired in the past few years. Have you had similar experiences

I think as leaders if you do not walk the talk then you cannot inspire your larger teammates to take the plunge and upskill themselves to drive our client’s business. I personally do spend time over weekends listening to podcasts, and doing courses on dentsu university, LinkedIn learning, Hubspot academy and have ensured that I stay relevant as a leader. 

Within the agency, we take training seriously and have created a few initiatives around upskilling for our teams. Yes, we of course have our own virtual training university that has courses across soft/hard skills. We also have in place TAP (Talent Acceleration Plan) where a few of our talent pools are fast-tracked on certain specific certifications with top partners. 

Our OTP (Opportunities with Tech partners) program ensures that the team is abreast of all the new players in the market that come up with innovative solutions that we love experimenting with for our clients. We also have recently conceptualized a program called ‘Mentor/ Mentee Open Hour’ which is a conversation with our domain specialists across all media channels.

<blockquote>Content, commerce and community are three megatrends that will shape the industry in 2023. </blockquote>

What do you look for in the new generation of media planners and buyers?

We have always looked for the right attitude with youngsters. If I see the passion, hunger and drive to learn, I take them on. They need to be curious about the ever changing ecosystem.

Lastly, what are the big media trends to watch out for and what is your business and media outlook for 2023?

We see 3 megatrends that will shape the industry. They are content, commerce and community.

2023 will bring changes in the content people consume, the ways they consume it, and how brands can increase the attention their own content attracts. Ad-funded video platforms are set to overtake subscription channels with time, as major streaming platforms are adding ad-funded tiers.

Other than that, gaming is becoming mainstream and thus games are becoming increasingly prominent on content sites to drive repeat users.

Interest in attention is growing as brands look beyond metrics of reach and viewership to assess consumer engagement and make more effective decisions.

Digital commerce is evolving, including the growing importance of commerce sites in the advertising ecosystem, and the ways that brands can minimize the disruption caused by the deprecation of third-party cookies. Consumers can shop anywhere and anytime. As a result, retail sites are evolving into content sites and commerce sites are changing into media sites.

Retail platforms and sites are turning themselves into advertising platforms and becoming attractive propositions for brands due to retailers’ huge wealth of first-party data. Apps are evolving and continue to build ecosystems offering a wide range of services, to anticipate and cater for users’ needs.

As brands continue to navigate a cookie less future and advertisers will explore and test the solutions working best for their brands 

Media can build a community like never before, but the way this works is changing. Brands need to be aware of these changes to optimize their own performance. Brands and platforms are increasingly using the ‘go live’ functions to build a community to create interest through live events. Not only to bring consumers together, but also to encourage live, active, engagement. Communities are emerging through a common emphasis on brand responsibility. Platforms are opportunities to share relevant content and increasingly measure the impacts of campaigns. It is not about who you follow as much as what social media platforms want you to see.

Media Mavens: Work-life balance is passé, what one does today is work-life integration, says Carat India's Anita Kotwani

Note to readers: Media agencies have seen a 360-degree change when it comes to measurement metrics, strategies and services offered to the clients. What has also changed drastically is the gender gap. Thanks to the women leaders in the space who are showing the way for more and more media experts to aim for top leadership roles at these agencies. Storyboard18’s special series brings to you an exclusive behind-the-scenes view of the media agencies led by women.


With deeper appreciation for the ideas that millennials and GenZs bring to the table, Monaz Todywalla, chief executive officer of PHD India is defining leadership in the business of media agencies.


She is also passionate about fixing the men-women employment ratio in agencies. “Any organization that has less than 50 percent women in leadership roles today needs to take a long hard look at its path to being a more inclusive, progressive organization,” she says.


Todywalla is a big believer in changing with the times in terms of services offered to clients. According to her, media agencies are moving into the realm of trusted advisors for most clients where they are donning the hat of a consultant, helping make data-based decisions, and revisualizing measurement to be more agile, whilst delivering on the core scope of work.


In a chat with Storyboard18, Todywalla talks about leadership, personal achievements, changing skill sets and more


Edited excerpts


What are personal milestones since you took charge of the network? 


The first thing would be the shift in my leadership mindset, which is now supportive and coach-oriented. Leadership is an influencing process and this clarity has helped me build and nurture my team to be great leaders themselves.

Secondly, I now have a deeper appreciation of the mindset that the current crop of millennials and GenZs bring to the table. It is a far cry from the work ethics that most seasoned advertising professionals have seen over the years and have secretly craved for. It’s refreshing to see it evolve, and in many ways, it is imperative to growth.

Thirdly, we’ve seen a lot more women leaders emerging and speaking up in the right forums and power corridors and this is such a vital aspect of inclusive leadership. Any organization that has less than 50 percent women in leadership roles today needs to take a long hard look at its path to being a more inclusive, progressive organization. Personally, for me, it is empowering to see women leaders coming into their own, now more than ever, and I’m all here for it!

Lastly, taking charge of my health in a stronger way and the importance I attach to it has changed for the better.


What are the three achievements you are most proud about?


I’m proud of the fact that we’ve stabilized the business and managed to create deeper conversations around our offerings. There’s now a heightened appreciation for our strategic product in the market and wider acceptance for thought leadership that is unique to PHD – which hinges on bringing together exclusive research and opinions, helping marketers rethink marketing for tomorrow, today.

Second would be the people-focused initiatives we’ve rolled out this year – including leadership and coaching workshops that enable our leaders and managers to empower themselves and their teams to make the leap into the future with courage and empathy. The Bootcamps we’ve hosted this year have done an impressive job of addressing the entry-level talent crunch that the industry is currently facing.

Last but not the least, is the fantastic talent arsenal we’ve built this past year and are now reaping the benefits of.


What are your leadership mantras?


The three leadership mantras I firmly believe in are giving people autonomy so that they are empowered to engage with their work in the best possible way, holding people accountable because it ultimately leads to employees owning outcomes for the good and giving feedback at regular intervals to help our people learn and evolve as professionals.




<blockquote>Organizations need to pivot their culture and make coaching and mentoring the linchpin – helping leaders and decision-makers across all levels understand the value that women leaders bring to the table and not hold them back.</blockquote>




As someone who has been in the ad business for a long time now, how do you think the industry can fix the gender gap, especially at senior leadership levels?


The industry needs to start addressing the pay gap concerns, starting right at the junior leadership levels. If we’re expecting change, it needs to have an impact across all levels to ultimately address the issue democratically for all, not just at the senior leadership levels.


For the longest time, our industry has also been guilty of passing over women when it came to promotions, owing to reasons like returning from maternity breaks, making them feel guilty for a 9-month leave or even holding back from giving women larger roles due to established gender stereotypes. 




<blockquote>While it is great to have a Renaissance person on the team, not everyone can do everything. This is where specialists and individuals with T-shaped skills come into play across various organizational levels.</blockquote>




To tackle this head-on, organizations need to pivot their culture and make coaching and mentoring the linchpin – helping leaders and decision-makers across all levels understand the value that women leaders bring to the table and not hold them back. Furthermore, empathy in the workplace is critical to understanding that women have other roles that they need to play in their lives as nurturers and if companies are not willing to stand in support, they stand to lose an important part of their workforce that is vital in driving success in today’s VUCA world.


Compared to creative agencies, media agencies in India have a lot of women leaders. Why do you think that’s the case? 

Media agencies have been adept at offering women opportunities based on their meritocracy and intelligence. As an ecosystem, it levels the playing field for individuals regardless of their gender. Prioritizing individuality and hiring people for their strengths is something the media side of the business in India has been doing fairly well and it's the reason why we've gone on to see it produce some exceptional women leaders over the years. That said, when it comes to leading agencies from the helm, creative agencies are now seeing a change for the better as well.


The true manifestation of growth in today's ever-evolving environment requires leadership that is inclusive, agile and ambitious. And for this to take deeper roots, as individuals and as a culture at large, we need to shift our awareness to recognizing people for their abilities and go beyond the gender norm.


How have the skills required to do the job well changed over the years? What are the key skills required now - at entry and mid-levels?


The role of agencies has evolved dramatically over the years.


Agencies are revisualizing structures faster than they did in the past. We’re taking a lot of close calls on what an agency has to offer and how integral it is to the businesses at large. It is now assuming the role of a Polymath – donning the hat of a consultant, helping make data-based decisions, and revisualizing measurement to be more agile, whilst delivering on the core scope of work. We are moving into the realm of trusted advisors very swiftly for most clients.


At PHD, we’re now looking at people who are bold, not afraid to ask 'why', can see the larger picture and help brands on their journey of transformation. The range and depth of skills now desired are changing at a talent level. But we realize that while it is great to have a Renaissance person on the team, not everyone can do everything. This is where specialists and individuals with T-shaped skills come into play across various organizational levels.


Brands are taking to digital platforms like never before. How has that impacted spending? Are brands accommodating digital in their earmarked media budget or are they ready to push their budget for digital marketing?


There’s no discounting the fact that digital today is an integral part of a consumer’s journey. With more touch points, spending increases on digital platforms. Digital marketing has been critical these past few years helping marketers sail through the pandemic and difficult business conditions - digitizing products and services, connecting with consumers across new avenues and driving revenue. Brands are now looking to deepen their gains in this space by mastering data-driven and forward-leaning opportunities as they look to the future. It will be interesting to see where we go from here.



<blockquote>Agencies are now assuming the role of a Polymath – donning the hat of a consultant, helping make data-based decisions, and revisualizing measurement to be more agile... We are moving into the realm of trusted advisors very swiftly for most clients.</blockquote>




Talking of budgets and new trends, what are clients looking for mostly when they come to the agencies, is it just reach or ROI? How are you responding to their changing needs?


Clients are now more focused on ROI-driven outcomes. While reach remains critical for most marketers, market penetration continues to be an uphill task.


We are also seeing a dramatic change in metrics now to better accommodate the evolving needs of brands and their consumers. Listening to the winds of change allows us to look at this as a unique opportunity and we are now witnessing art and science in its truest form, coming together to bring forth a data-driven strategy that truly delivers.


Lots of leaders across industries have been sharing their experiences on the new skills they’ve acquired in the past few years. Have you had similar experiences during the pandemic?


My digital learning curve has leapfrogged these past 18 months – especially around MarTech, Analytics and Digital. Following the pandemic, developments in the digital space have greatly accelerated. Brands need to stay one step ahead to keep up with the ever-evolving consumer needs, and if the last few years have taught us anything, it is that digital is a vital part of long-term plans to connect with the desired audiences. Leaders can no longer sit on the sidelines in the race for transformation and digital dexterity is a critical cornerstone of this.


What is your business and media outlook for 2023?


For us at PHD India, 2023 is about staying committed to our vision of empowering our people to make the complex simple, being bold with making recommendations to our clients and working with them to make the leap into the future and driving disproportionate growth.

Media Mavens: The industry needs to start addressing the pay gap, says Monaz Todywalla of PHD India

Note to readers: Media agencies have seen a 360-degree change when it comes to measurement metrics, strategies and services offered to the clients. What has also changed drastically is the gender gap. Thanks to the women leaders in the space who are showing the way for more and more media experts to aim for top leadership roles at these agenciesStoryboard18’s special series brings to you an exclusive behind-the-scenes view of the media agencies led by women.

Anisha Iyer, CEO of OMD India says there is soon going to be a resurgence of the era of the brand. Brand marketing that had taken a back seat during the pandemic will be back and media agencies are preparing themselves for it.

In an exclusive chat with Storyboard18 she also says that advertisers are going to need to radically rethink their strategy for a privacy-first web world and find solutions keeping ethics in mind, given cookies might soon become obsolete.

“Experimenting with one’s approach will be vital to a sustainable and future-ready data strategy and building a strong, trust-based relationship with customers,” she says.

Iyer talks about challenges, changing role of media agencies, the new crop of employees at the agencies and more.

Edited excerpts

What according to you are personal milestones since you have taken charge of the network? What past experiences helped you to handle situations in your current role?

A year ago, we were looking at a radical overhaul in talent management and transformation at OMD India, which required us to completely reassemble and redesign the organization in a way that's better suited to our evolving needs. Since then, we've made some big strides in the first year and are inching closer to making our vision a reality. I consider this transformation a big win as it ultimately is the product of my passion, and there's nothing more heartening than seeing one's fruits of labour coming into their own.

What's been a driving force in achieving this rather ambitious goal is having a deep-rooted sense of empathy towards both our people and the organization and giving value to accountability. Learning to hold myself and others accountable and leading with compassion has helped put things in perspective and of course, has made what seemed like a daunting process an effortless transition.

What are your leadership mantras? In a hyper-active business-like advertising, how do you find work-life balance?

The three mantras I swear by are ‘live and let live’, ‘respect individuality’ and let people be themselves, and ‘individual accountability’, which empowers people across all levels to bring their A-game to the table. Ultimately, it all comes down to the end goal that we are all working towards, no matter what the means or the journey looks like for each person committed to achieving it.

The power of the collective truly transforms through harnessing individuality, and it is essential to let people shine through their integrity and distinctiveness.

As someone who has been in the ad business for a long time now, how do you think the industry can fix the gender gap, especially at senior leadership levels?

A grave concern, in my opinion, that we ought to address as an industry at large today is the sheen that the advertising business at large seems to have lost over time.
There was an era when a career in advertising was synonymous with words like exciting or glamorous. Over the years, it has been relegated to the league of ‘just another job’ rather than an industry that holds the key to bringing about change with the power of ideas and creativity. There is a need of the hour to focus on quality 
over quantity.

And of course, not digressing from the question at hand, undoubtedly, there are measures agencies and businesses can take to address pertinent issues regarding the gender gap – right from removing implicit biases to moving away from discriminatory stereotyping while hiring. What the leaders of today bring to the table here will speak volumes for the frontrunners of tomorrow.

Compared to creative agencies, media agencies in India have a lot of women leaders. What are your observations on this?

Media agencies have predominantly held a niche status in the advertising world and have always placed a greater emphasis on the true value of meritocracy in hiring and honing individuals who bring their spark of brilliance to the table. Over time, playing to these strengths has seen some of the best minds emerge in the ecosystem.

The business of media requires gravitas, passion and a multitasking ‘can-do’ attitude that women inherently bring to the table. It is hence no surprise that we have more women leaders across the industry.

Our own agencies, right from OMD to Omnicom Media Group, are a testament to this – with an incredible force of women leaders across every level of the organization, winning, succeeding and building on momentum every single day.

Coming to the evolving role of agencies at the moment- How have the skills required to do the job well changed over the years? What are the key skills required now - at entry and mid-levels?

As more and more digital natives join the workforce, the skills that one looks for in entry-level and mid-level talent have certainly changed over the years. The new breed of advertising and media professionals are fundamentally born into the digital space, and therefore, having a keen understanding of new-age platforms and ecosystems is of the essence.

With transformations and new frontiers of tech being the order of the day, skills pertinent to bringing about innovation through creativity are another priority one looks for today. A creative mind with a data-driven disposition is something one cannot overlook today, especially in the media business.

Brands are taking to digital platforms like never before. How has that impacted spending? Are brands accommodating digital in their earmarked media budget or are they ready to push their budget for digital marketing?

Digital is a critical tool in a marketer’s arsenal today, especially in the post-pandemic world where a massive shift has forced businesses to rethink their strategy. With the rise of multiple touchpoints, fragmented consumer journeys and people embracing new frontiers of consumer experience, brands are adopting new metrics and making digital the linchpin to gain leverage in an increasingly competitive world. Needless to say, digital marketing is here to stay, and the future looks bold and audacious for those placing digital at the heart of strategy.

Talking of budgets and new trends, what are clients looking for mostly when they come to the agencies, is it just reach or ROI? How are you responding to their changing needs?

With a shifting focus for businesses, at Omnicom Media Group, we are advancing strategic conversations upstream for all our clients. As partners on the journey of driving brand value and transformation, we begin and end conversations with a focus on the big picture and a macro view of the business - something no future-leaning agencies or brands can afford to overlook today.

Media is simply the vehicle that carries forth the desired communication in varied formats, be it reach, ROI or any other metric. The pivot clients are looking for today is on a much larger scale and this is the space that agencies are stepping into and owning the narrative side-by-side with clients.

Lots of leaders across industries have been sharing their experiences on the new skills they’ve acquired in the past few years. Have you had similar experiences? Be it on a personal or professional level.

Learning the intricacies of e-commerce was a challenge I took on. It was no doubt a steep learning curve but ultimately a rather rewarding one.

Understanding how to deliver proper end-to-end consumer journey solutions required hours of rigorous learning, including but not limited to understanding terminology, ways of working and understanding key players in the ecosystem.

There is a certain sense of misconception that likens being a digital expert to being an e-commerce expert, but the truth is that the two are worlds apart. While it may seem similar on the surface but as a business, it is radically different from the nuances of advertising.

In a world where digital, tech and media are shaping the future of e-commerce, having sound knowledge of its ins and outs is table stakes and one that cannot be ignored. It's given me more than a sense of accomplishment by empowering me to navigate the ecosystem more effectively.

What do you look for in the new generation of media planners and buyers?

The two things I believe that matter most are a sense of accountability and a muted sense of entitlement. 
Having a humble attitude and being able to see the larger picture are essential qualities and it makes collective action a real possibility, which at the end of the day, is essential to building a thriving community of media professionals.

Lastly, what are the big media trends to watch out for and what is your business and media outlook for 2023?

Embracing advertising in a privacy-first world will become rather critical. With cookies set to soon become obsolete, advertisers are going to need to radically rethink their strategy for a privacy-first web world and find solutions keeping ethics in mind. Experimenting with one’s approach will be vital to a sustainable and future-ready data strategy and building a strong, trust-based relationship with customers.

The second would be the resurgence of the era of the brand. Following the onset of the pandemic, the age-old battle of brand-led versus performance-driven marketing was once again brought to the fore - as businesses became conscious about their marketing spends, with a higher focus on ROI and the impact of spends on the bottom line. Brand marketing, in the interim, took a backseat. However, as we return to normalcy, there is a shift back to the larger brand story and brand marketing will take precedence over performance.

I also foresee businesses being more bullish with their approach in the coming year and taking more chances again. While lately, businesses have been on an upward trajectory when it comes to investments and growth, the pace at which we expect this to scale will accelerate considerably.

Lastly, our outlook for 2023 is to deepen our focus in the domains of digital, data, and tech, and subsequently win new businesses across e-commerce, content, data partnerships, and consulting. There's an enhanced focus on innovation for us at OMD and it is poised to play an even more vital role in the work we do with our clients in 2023 and be the linchpin that inspires and excites with emotive brand experiences and deeper consumer connections.

Media Mavens: ​Embracing advertising in a privacy-first world will become critical, says OMD India's Anisha Iyer

Note to readers: Media Mavens is a new Storyboard18 series featuring media investment firms and power players - the X-Women and X-Men who make the big calls on how and where to spend advertisers' money. This is a peek into their minds - how they work in a dynamic landscape, the next big trends they’re watching for, insights into what advertisers need today, the disruptions driving change and the factors driving their decisions. Watch this space for all that and more.

Media planning has a pre-pandemic and post-pandemic phase. The rules of planning and buying that were a hit two years back are redundant now. Brands are no longer following a yearbook with scheduled spends for particular seasons and planners are motivating them to be proactive and ready all year long.  

“Marketers have realized that there is no particular season for advertising,” says Jai Lala, chief executive officer, Zenith. According to Lala a lot has changed after the pandemic when it comes to advertising. And it's not just ad rates.

Read on

Festive season is round the corner and we can already see fresh campaigns from a lot of brands. What are your observations in terms of spending patterns?

It is safe to say that things are all getting back to normal in terms of the pandemic but there are certain other concerns that impact the overall business ecosystem globally. The Ukraine-Russia war and the existing condition of the global markets, which I wouldn’t call a recession, but the impact of the market movement is having repercussions in India.

While people say things like how the next decade belongs to India, there are certain pullbacks that are happening. The pull backs are happening on two points. There are certain inflationary trends which are happening with commodity prices going up and that is impacting the FMCG players who are seeing a ripple effect of that. This is holding them from spending the kind of money we expected they’d spend around the season. 

Secondly, a lot of VC funding has been restricted. Unlike the beginning of the year or the last year where we saw a lot of new companies putting in a lot of money on advertising and celebrities, we are seeing a little pullback. 

So, coming back to the festive season, there will definitely be growth in spending if we compare it to the previous months but my personal prediction is that we won't see a boom like last year. It will be a little restricted.

However, there is no denying that brands especially in some categories like automobiles who have launches lined up during the season will be spending on impact.



<blockquote>In pre-pandemic times, we were going as per a January to December plan where we’d advertise in the first quarter, go slow in the second and make a comeback and so on and so forth. This pattern in planning went for a complete toss.</blockquote>



There is a lot of cricket coinciding with the festive season. Is it a favorable situation to have the festive period and cricket which is, in a way, a festival in itself, overlapping?

It is definitely a plus. There are more brands that are ready to spend and our observation in the last seven to nine years is that this is a period where there is some sort of cricket going on. Be it a bilateral series or the World Cup or any other series. Mentally we'll have to be prepared that there will be cricket around the festive period and also the fact that there is an opportunity in that and it can be cashed on. So, brands have also started thinking on that line.

The last two years have changed a lot of rules in the marketing and advertising playbook. What are the changes that you think the industry will stick to?

From a marketing standpoint what has happened during the pandemic was that there was a period where everything was shut down followed by a time when things opened up suddenly. So marketers also went from sitting quietly in the lockdown to getting ready to advertise when things started opening. 
What we were doing in the pre-pandemic time was that we were going as per a January to December plan where we’d advertise in the first quarter then go slow in the second and then make a comeback and so on and so forth. 

This pattern in planning went for a complete toss. 

Last year, when the pandemic went low during June-July, a lot of categories came back because they saw an open window which was an opportunity for them. They thought they should be reaching out to their consumers in that period. The June-July period is otherwise a slow period especially for categories like auto. So what the pandemic has done is that it has all of us on our toes. 

We have to be ready all the time. Marketers have realized that there is no particular season for advertising and you can plan your campaigns at any given point of time. The ecosystem has now built itself up in a way that you can plan campaigns in a shorter span of time. Being ready and being proactive is something that has happened for marketers and the trend will stay on.

From a consumer standpoint a lot of viewership has shifted to digital viewership and that continues to remain because it's created a habit. So, there has been a shift from TV. There has been co-viewing which has gone up a lot and connected TV has become very popular. Next is the growth of e-commerce. The pandemic has amplified the expected growth. So all these three changes are here to stay and our planning is now based on these three facets.   



<blockquote>We have to be ready all the time. Marketers have realized that there is no particular season for advertising and you can plan your campaigns at any given point of time. The ecosystem has now built itself up in a way that you can plan campaigns in a shorter span of time.</blockquote>



Digital is growing at a fast pace and everything in the marketing ecosystem is changing around it. How have traditional marketers coped? And how has the role of the planner changed with the addition of digital on every brand’s marketing mandate over the years?

The attitude towards digital has changed dramatically. I would confidently say that there isn’t any advertiser who's looking at digital marketing spends as a complimentary spend. TV has its reach and is not dying but the investment on digital is on an upswing across all categories. A lot of TV heavy brands have now made digital as a key component of their plan.

Coming to the role of a planner, Indian is a complex market with so many different regions, languages, cultures. Planning in India is like planning for Europe. There is no 'one plan that fits all' kinds of shortcuts here. So we are constantly learning and we are trying because the knowledge that was relevant three years back might be completely redundant now. It is an ever evolving job that requires a lot of training. If you are living in a cocoon that you are a TV planner or a digital planner, you must come out of it. Everything is integrated. The planners who are on top of it are the best planners. 

Speaking about the News genre, it’s been six months since BARC ratings have returned. Do you see a change in investments in the genre with the return of ratings?

Investments in news never stopped. There are two schools of thought when it comes to clients. The first set are the ones who believe in GRPs and TRPs. It's a complete scientific way of planning. These channels go completely by the BARC data. So basically it is data-driven planning. The other school of thought believes in something we call perception planning where they also believe in the live data they collect on ground, from trade partners and others and that influences their decision and not just ratings. So we have a very frank discussion with our clients and we plan accordingly. Either way the good part is investments in news never went off the charts and it continues to be an important genre.

When the ratings returned we saw a lot of shuffling in rankings. How did that impact ad rates?

Just because ratings were not there doesn’t mean consumers were not watching. It’s just that there was no measurement. As for shuffling of rankings, obviously there have been changes in ad rates too. Channels that fell from the top ratings had a hard time holding on to the rates they sold inventory for before the blackout period and channels that climbed the chart obviously had new rates.

What would you say are the big trends to watch out for?

We keep pushing clients to spend money on connected TV because it’s definitely going to grow. There is so much good content on digital, people would want to watch it on a large screen. So that is one big change.

The other change is moving away from a planned calendar. Digital is the space to watch out for. The last two years have been very difficult for the industry and now is the time of stabilization. Overall as a medium digital is on a growth trajectory but we will not see any drastic changes in the next two years where digital will become 70 percent of an ad plan. It will hover around the existing 35-40 percent for the next couple of years till we see the next bout of growth.

Media Mavens: ‘No season for advertising, have to be ready all-year,’ says Zenith’s Jai Lala

Note to readers: Media Mavens is a new Storyboard18 series featuring media investment firms and power players - the X-Women and X-Men who make the big calls on how and where to spend advertisers' money. This is a peek into their minds - how they work in a dynamic landscape, the next big trends they’re watching for, insights into what advertisers need today, the disruptions driving change and the factors driving their decisions. Watch this space for all that and more.

It’s been two quarters since ratings are back, which has spelt good news for media planners and buyers especially as we get into the great Indian festive season or the Golden Quarter, as it is known in the marketing world. Overall there is a lot of media buying happening in the television ecosystem where planners are looking at a long list of factors such as reach, affinity, engagements and integrations before spending any ad money. But that’s not all. The media landscape is fast-changing and through our new series - Media Mavens, we decode the shifts that matter. 

Amol Dighe is CEO, Investments and Business Development at one homegrown media investments company Madison Media. In an interaction with Storyboard18, Dighe talks about how planning and buying is quickly becoming media neutral and tells us how the return of ratings has helped in decision-making. 

Read on

Are you happy with the return of BARC ratings?

This has been a big relief. It always helps to have the measurement mechanism for decision making. Ratings form the basis on which decisions on channel selection and spends are made. However, factors like affinity and reach cannot be ignored. 

BARC ratings are back but there has been a change in measurement methodology. Do you think that has impacted ratings?

When the ratings were back, we saw a change in the pecking order of News channels. Some channels dropped in ratings while some channels saw an increase in their ratings. We are still seeing a fluctuation where the final pecking order does not seem to be settled as of now. We will have to continuously monitor the trends and performance of the category. So yes, managing the flux will be challenging.

We understand ratings are important but what are the other factors that help you choose one channel over the other? 

As I said, performance of the channel in terms of ratings forms the basis on which decisions on channel selection and spends are made. Then there is reach and affinity which is also critical. Other factors like what is the kind of value the channel offers to the brands in terms of special deals, integrations, activation etc, which also determine the share of investment the channel gets. For example, if the brand associates with the channel for an Impact property with content integration etc, then naturally the share of spend on that particular channel will be higher. So, spending on a channel will depend on what role the channel plays for the Brand, in addition to the ratings it garners.

Secondly, trade feedback also becomes important for channel selection. Feedback from various market or consumer surveys in a particular geography are also considered while selecting a channel.

After the ratings returned there was a lot of shuffling in terms of rankings. What about rates? 

When the ratings were back, we saw a change in the pecking order of news channels. Some channels dropped in ratings while some channels saw an increase in their ratings. We are still seeing a fluctuation. As buyers, this needs to be keenly watched and deals will be dynamic till this settles down.

Everyone is always talking about reach but are ad rates and reach directly proportional?

As we have seen, News Channels are not major reach builders. They add some reach in some brand TG’s but the role is largely for building frequency. Combination of factors like frequency, trade pull, affinity, network strength etc., determine the final rates for the news category.

With the festive season round the corner what are the factors you are considering while doing business with a broadcaster? Any genre that is leading the charts?

News Channels should focus more on reach and increasing share of ‘organic content’ and reduce the share of sensational content. They should make the environment more conducive to get more brands on board. They should also try to make News genre attractive for the female by marketing news as an all adult category

News channels could well focus on reach by increasing share of organic content and focusing on monetizing their marquee anchor shows and non FCT elements especially during festivals.

Demand and supply estimation especially during the festive season is critical. Many of the channels have impact properties to leverage the festive demand and the demand for regular inventory is also high. As smart buyers, we have to navigate these challenges to ensure visibility for brands. 

What are the big trends in GEC, especially with the festive season just around the corner? Between GEC and Sports, who has an upper hand during the festive season and why?

There is a lot of action happening in the festive season especially in the GEC and the sports genre. Marquee shows like KBC, Jhalak have already started with Big Boss etc, slated to launch shortly. These shows are big opportunities for brands to build saliency, awareness and launch new communication etc., during the festive season. Also, there are big blockbusters planned during the festivals which help. Brands can ride on the heavy promotion and leverage these properties by product integration, etc.

Ditto with Sports. A packed cricket calendar during the festive season is good news for brands which are heavy on sports. The Asia Cup, Bilateral Series followed by the World Cup is ample enough opportunity for brands.

Are there any big pandemic trends that have continued? With the stay-at-home crowd now out of home, what are the differences in spending patterns that you’ve seen?

Largely, things have settled down. Things are back to pre-pandemic levels in terms of planning. However, dip ratings across genres is a worrisome trend as that’s impacting deliveries.

With digital and an ever-evolving ecosystem how has the role of the media planner and buyer evolved over the years? 

We have seen how digital has evolved so quickly and has become a strong medium for advertisers according to all the media reports. It’s no longer a support medium and has become one of the leading mediums. It’s challenging and at the same time exciting for planners and buyers to build plans now. A lot of creativity and out of box thinking is put in when plans are made now. Bundled deals, integrated deals are in the offering and Networks also have realized that integrated deals are the need of the hour now. Planning and buying is becoming media neutral, which is the right direction.

What are the big trends to watch out for?

With more and more cricket being telecast, it will be critical to monitor the impact on viewership on other genres. Also, it will be interesting to see how the digital medium leverages sport in tandem with TV.

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IPL’s success depends on broadcasters expanding the advertisers pool from 100 to 500: EssenceMediacom’s Navin Khemka

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