Advertising agency-project-report-mba by sumeet bassi

- Document Transcript
1. A PROJECT REPORT ON A STUDY “COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF
ADVERTISING AGENCIES” SUBMITTED BY: Sumeet bassi UNIVERSITY
ROLL NO.:- 80507317054 (IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE
DEGREE) OF M.B.A SUBMITTED TO:- mrs.shivani singh A&M INSTITUTE
OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY PUNJAB TECHNICAL
UNIVERSITY, JALANDHAR APRIL, 2010 1
2. BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE Certified that this project report “COMPARATIVE
ANALYSIS OF ADVERTISING AGENCIES “is the Bonafide work of “
SUMEET BASSI “ who carried out the project work under my Supervision.
------------------- ------------------- SIGNATURE SIGNATURE MR.RISHI
DOGRA MRS.SHIVANI SINGH (HEAD OF DEPATMENT) (GUIDED BY)
(LECTURAR OF MGT.) A&M GROUP OF COLLEGE A&M GROUP OF
COLLEGE OPPOSITE TO CANADA PALACE OPPOSITE TO CANADA
PALACE JALANDHAR-DALOUSIE JALANDHAR-DALOUSIE BYE-PASS
BYE-PASS PATHANKOT PATHANKOT 2
3. PREFACE It is a matter of great honour for me to present before my humble
readers this project based on the study of “COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF
ADVERTISING AGENCIES” The foregoing presentation is an honest and
painstaking effort on my part in black and white about the colourful world of
advertising agencies. The data collected by me is secondary. I have taken
assistance from knowledgeable and apt taskmasters shouldering work of great
responsibility in some of the reputed advertising agencies. However, with due
respect to the urge of these agencies for maintaining secrecy about their
operations and financial data ,I also had to resort to secondary sources for
obtaining data like newspapers, magazines and the websites of these agencies.
Although the information obtained from secondary sources may prima facie seem
to be paralysed by window dressing, to be absolutely frank with my
understanding readers, it has been discovered that this data is as reliable as the
one I have obtained from the horse’s mouth for other agencies. Due to paucity of
time and reluctance of certain internationally acclaimed advertising agencies in
co-operating with me for this project due to some obvious reasons on their part ,I
have been able to cover in this project a study of 6 agencies. But the foregoing
pages will warrant my painstaking efforts and the extensive study undertaken by
me for each of them.So, with due respect to my patient readers for the time they
will spare for my project and with confidence flowing through my nerves that
both the time and patience of my readers will not be tried and tested and but duly
rewarded with the intensity of my efforts , I carry you gracefully into my world of
advertising agencies…………… 3
4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to sincerely thank the University for
giving me this opportunity of taking up such a challenging project which has
enhanced my knowledge about the Advertising Industry & the advertising
agencies. I am very grateful to Mrs. Shivani Project Co-ordinator, under whose
 guidance and assistance I was able to successfully complete my project. I am also
thankful to Mr. Rishi Dogra, Project Guide whose advice and thoughts helped me
gain a better understanding of this huge advertising industry and the flambouyant,
magnanimous world of advertising agencies. Last but not the least; I also thank
the below-mentioned honourable dignitaries and task-masters who have played a
major role in leading their respective agencies to the sky of glory. This is a special
thanks to them for sparing their precious time, fitting my out-of-the-way
appoin”ent into their diary and giving almost all the information required by me
in an unbelievably amicable manner. Without the priceless contribution and
coveted guidance of all the above-mentioned people, this project would have
never got a shape of reality and emerged before all of you in the manner and in
the style as it now appears. 4
5. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. OBJECTIVE: To study the various advertising
agencies; the ones having local operations as well as the ones have international
scale of operations, their modus operandi, styles and the manner of functioning,
their profiles, their upswing and their downfall and last but not the least their
position in the world of advertising on the basis of the contributions to the ad
world and society at large. 2. METHODOLOGY: In order to achieve the above-
mentioned objective and finish the study to perfection, I have made a judicious
and a balanced use of primary sources as well as secondary sources of data
collection. Well, the primary sources comprise of personal visits to the
administrative offices of some known advertising agencies and a direct
communication with the persons who were knowledgeable and in-charge of the
operations. To facilitate in my operations, I had first chalked out a detailed
questionnaire covering in length all questions that would serve the purpose in the
most efficient and productive way. The preparation and the formulation of the
questionnaire was on the basis of many considerations viz., the time that the
answeree would require to give me the required answers, the importance of that
time and the cost involved. A copy of the said questionnaire is included elsewhere
in this project as an Annexure. 5
6. Although the efforts were directed basically towards obtaining information
required for the study from primary sources to the maximum possible extent, due
to factors like lack of co-operation anticipated from stalwarts and internationally
acclaimed agencies, considerations of these agencies over secrecy of data
regarding their operations, lack of time for answering the questionnaire and
unavailability of the persons-in-charge, I also had to resort to secondary sources
like websites, magazines, newspapers etc. Bibliography of these sources forms a
part of this Project for ready reference of the reader. A sample of six agencies was
chosen on the basis of their scale of operations, reputation and quick accessibility.
3. CONCLUSIONS: During the course of this study I have observed many a facet
of the advertising agencies ----- their strengths, their weaknesses, their
opportunities and threats which deserve a mention: ⇒ Most of the advertising
agencies are basically interested in catering to just the needs of the consumer
irrespective of the nature of the product or service proposed to be advertised. ⇒
The primary objective of the agencies is basically profit generation and profit
 maximization. ⇒The agencies conduct a SWOT of the client but not of the
product at the time of accepting an assignment. 6
7. ⇒ There is not much of dynamism in this agencies as far as expansion plans are
concerned, diversification objectives are involved or specialisation motives are in
question. ⇒ Not much is done by these agencies for the social welfare and be
advertising of social values ⇒ The agencies are highly committed to their
activities but sometimes they tend to be over-professional in their attitudes, over-
reserved in the choice of strategies, over-confidential in their operations and over-
aggressive in competition. ⇒ Not many agencies are laying too much emphasis on
selection of proper human resources or managerial personnel. They appear over-
burdened by objectives of cost control. ⇒ There is not proper training imparted to
people working in the modestly positioned advertising agencies. Due to this, there
is lack of specialisation, improvisation and dynamism. 4.
RECOMMENDATIONS: The following are recommended in view of the
importance and the strategic position occupied by these agencies: ⇒ The
advertising agencies should function in a healthily competitive environment rather
than in an aggressive world of cut-throat competition. ⇒ The agencies should
definitely give importance to profit maximisation but at the same time function in
public interest as far as charges and quality of products is concerned. ⇒ The
agencies should also conduct a SWOT analysis of the products to be advertised at
the time of accepting assignments alongwith the routine SWOT analysis of the
clients. 7
8. ⇒ There should also be a provision for staff training whereby the staff is properly
motivated and educated for the roles they perform in the organisation leading
them to specialisation and perfection. ⇒ The advertising agencies should also
have a perspective of tapping new avenues, creating mew markets and pursue
global expansion for the benefit of themselves and for the country at large. Table
of Content Sr.No Topic Page No CH 1 Research Methodology 11 CH 2
Introduction 14 8
9. CH 3 Profile 3.1 Introduction to Advertising Agencies 18 3.2 Functions of
Advertising Agencies 18 3.3 Model Organization Structure 22 CH 4
ADVERTISING AGENCIES 1 XEBEC 1.1 The Whereabouts 23 1.2 Modus
Operandi 23 1.3 The Canvas on which Xebec paints its product 24 1.4 How can I
know about Xebec? 24 1.5 SWOT Analysis 25 1.6 Case Studies 27 1.7 Awards
and Achievements 30 1.8 Who’s who in Xebec 31 1.9 Divisions of Xebec 31 1.10
List of Clients 33 2 CARAT 2.1 The Whereabouts 34 2.2 Modus Operandi 34 2.3
SWOT Analysis 35 2.4 List of clients 37 3 CANCO 3.1 The Whereabouts 38 3.2
Modus Operandi 38 3.3 SWOT Analysis 38 3.4 Canvas on which Canco paints its
product 41 3.5 How can I know about Canco 41 3.6 Organization Structure 41 3.7
Facilities offered by Canco 42 3.8 Awards 42 4 MCCANN – ERICKSON 4.1
History 43 4.2 Who’s Who 43 4.3 Modus Operandi 45 4.4 SWOT Analysis 57 5
MUDRA 5.1 History 60 5.2 Pioneers in Advertising Agencies 61 5.3 Divisions 62
5.4 Founder 62 5.5 List of Awards 63 5.6 Major Clients 64 5.7 Organization
Structure 66 CH 5 SWOT Analysis of Advertising Agencies-Comparative 67 9
10. Study CH 6 Statistics 6.1 Comparison between Gross Income of Top 25 Agencies
69 6.2 Growth of Advertising Agencies 70 6.3 Top 20 Advertising Agencies 72
 6.4 Top 20 Advertising Spenders 73 6.5 Agencies Ranking 74 6.6 2001- Top Ten
Multinational Advertisers 75 6.7 2001- Top Ten Advertising Agencies 75 6.8
Comparison of Agencies on the basis of Worldwide Gross 76 Income 6.9 Graph
of Growth of Agencies 77 CH 7 Suggestions and Recommendations 78 CH 8
Conclusion 80 CH9 Annexure 82 CH10 Bibliography and Webliography 84 10
11. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Topic : STUDY OF ADVERTISING
AGENCIES 1. OBJECTIVE: The project deals with the study of advertising
agencies encompassing a multi-dimensional discussion on the whereabouts of
these agencies, their modus operandi, their manner and coverage of operations,
their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities available to them and the threats posing
obstacles in their journey to the max. This study shows the diversity underlining
their operations and at the same time the unity in aims, objectives and target. As
during the preparation of this project, some inevitable obstacles and natural
hindrances restricted the scope of this study just as these agencies are restricted by
many environmental and socio-economic factors, nonetheless, its a sincerest
attempt to do the best possible justice to the said topic. 2. AGENCIES
COVERED : (1) Xebec (2) Canco (3) McCann-Erickson (4) Carat (5) Percept (6)
Mudra 11
12. 3. FROM PLACES TO PAPER : The data required for this study as per my vision
was collected from the following type of sources : Secondary Sources Secondary
sources of data collection: On account of the cold shoulder given to me by the
media-giants and their contemporaries, I had to resort, as also advised by some of
them, to secondary sources of information like newspapers, websites and books
for supplementing the information obtained from primary sources and sometimes
for the main information. Honestly, the information obtained from the websites
was detailed and sufficient to an extent that would even surpass those of primary
sources. In the ocean of the information that the websites contained for each
agency, I had to fathom for the most precious gems which required crisp editing,
preciseness and good scissor-work. Also newspapers like The Economic Times
and its supplementary called Brand Equity did leave their imprints on the papers
of the project to follow and their contribution to this presentation cannot
undermined and unnoticed. Help was also taken from books based on advertising
and marketing to give a better appeal to this study and enrich it with more
detailing and liveliness. 4. RESULT 12
13. The cummulative result of primary sources of data collection and secondary
sources is obvious from the pages that follow. However, I have been able to
generate sufficient information and moreover, in detail from all the sources
employed in an endeavour to leave no stone unturned in justifying the selection of
this topic and advertising agencies, at large. Though marred by some obstacles, I
am convinced that my painstaking efforts and drops of sweat that have made the
papers intangibly wet and the ink of the pen go dry will convince my patrons
carrying good doses of expectation from this project. 5. DIFFICULTIES
FACED : 1. Stipulations and urge for strict adherence to the length of this project
upto a maximum of 80 pages forced me to run the merciless scissor on many
points. The pen was on but the papers were gone. 2. Lack of co-operation from
the stalwarts and the internationally acclaimed ad-giants has been the biggest
 obstacle in the way. Though, they are very much justified and I give due
consideration to their urge for maintaining confidentiality about their operations
and financials, I still believe that had this information, however explanatory it is,
been obtained from them directly, it would have definitely made neighbours' envy
and owner pride. 3. Unavailability of concrete sources of secondary data was
another hindrance. Though websites form an exception, barring them there was
hardly a source that carried some potential in meeting the requirements.
Prestigious publications like A & M have faced shut doors of printing presses and
a replacement is still hiding in some unknown corner of invisibility. 13
14. In a nutshell, all these ingredients which have gone into the making of this recipe
wait a verdict from the readers for their taste. INTRODUCTION The word that
bridges the gap between “no more” to “know more”- Advertising………. and
further between “know more” and “grow more”. Knowledge is power, they say
and today the biggest weapon of power in anyone’s hands is that of advertising.
Just as water is to a fish, advertising is to business; something without which the
basic question of survival is bound to rise. In this jungle of name and fame, where
every creature confidently defies William Shakespeare when he says,” What’s
there in a name” there is definitely everything attached to name and it’s this name
which gives you fame……And what gives an identity it’s name? Well, the only
golden word “Advertising” Definitely roses will not smell less sweet by any other
name but businesses will undoubtedly go back to the coffers if the world forgets
their names and to keep them alive in the minds of billions, you go for publicity.
Today everyone advertises – from crèches to crematorium ,from hotels to
hospitals, from clubs to pubs,from marriage bureaus to lawyers…… well name it
and you have it. Everyone needs recognition, from a 6 month baby in the cradle to
a 60 year old preparing for a graveyard, from a beggar to a billionaire……
everyone wants you to recognize in a train or in a plane , irrespective of what you
are. In the yesteryears , everything was considered fair in love & war and
advertising . It does not mind if you have to pull someone down, important is that
you should rise. 14
15. And who helps you to project yourself in the public, who brings you from the
greenlight to the limelight, who brings you from the darkness of ignorance to the
light of recognition? Obviously, the advertising gurus seated comfortably in their
mind-blowing offices These Advertising Agencies may be raking in big
“moollahs” but no one can question their contribution in enabling the business to
burn their “choolahs” .Today there are the movie moghuls and cricketing
badshahs dancing on their fingertips, models and celebrities weaving their
irresistible web of magic around people like us. Well, necessity is the mother of
invention and our necessities have opened the doors of prosperity for these
agencies. Be it a product or be it a service, they have the magic formulae for
everything and mind you, these formulae really work on our minds as is clear
from our very own experiences. And sometimes their roles really makes a layman
wonder as to what would have happen to those hundreds of unsung brands
appearing as faces in the crowd on some rack or shelves of a huge supermarket or
a not-so-popular stores if these agencies would have never risen from the sands of
time. Today, the exposure of every individual to advertisements and advertising
 has increased manifolds than what it was in the past. Kudos to these agencies ; at
least they have turned out to be major trend-setters and torch- bearers for people
like us showing us the way to the magnanimous world of sophisticated products
& services. However unethical and materialistic these 15
16. agencies may be, at times in a bid to grab the lion’s share of the buyers’ market, it
is doubtlessly certain that without these agencies we would have never come out
from the age of transistors to reach the modern age of home theatres. Well, every
cloud has a silver lining to it. Who can forget the extent and the manner in which
Reliance Infocomm marketed its Wireless in Local Loop (WLL) Technology on
the onset of the launch of its mobile service. Irrespective of the post-use
catastrophes, the impact of solid marketing & publicity on the minds of an
ordinary laymen for whom having a mobile in hand was nothing less than wearing
a gold ring in the ring finger is reflected in the way such a person is today using a
cell phone. The hype was created by the agencies like Xebec Communications
who advertised the product of one of the Fortune 500 Companies of India and the
hysteria still continues. Today, may products like chocolates and butter come to
be identified by their brand names like “CADBURYS” & “AMUL”. On the other
hand, many others are identified by their slogans, catchlines & punchlines devised
by the advertising wizards like “BLACKMAGIC MOTION PICTURES” for their
clients’ products like “Hamara Bajaj (Bajaj Auto)”, “Utterly Butterly delicious
Amul (Amul)”, “A gift for someone you love(Cadburys’)”, “Yeh Dil Maange
More (Pepsico)” , “Taste the Thunder (Thums-Up)” etc. Before we go ahead with
the discussions about the advertising agencies & the brains behind them, it’s
pertinent to bring to limelight the benefits which we, as a society, are deriving
from these agencies and the not-so acceptable traits. 16
17. PRESENTING... The pros… (1) Creating awareness : Due to the increasing role
of the advertising agencies and so-called dominion over our minds, today the
level of consumer awareness could be well adjudged from the fact that even a
toddler identifies in the spur of the moment an ad of Cadburys’ chocolates or
Amul Butter been run on the screen of the idiot-box ornamenting our spacious
drawing rooms. (2) Enabling wider choice and access to products : So many
products and so many ads for each of them…leaves the poor customer gasping for
some free space. Well, with the bombardment of so many commercials, universal
hoardings, from advertisements stuck on the walls of the building compounds to
those stuck on the walls of the railway compar”ents, the customer has multitude
options and ample of choices to really get “ better than the best”. Well, people are
after all paying handsomely for their requirements and they deserve choices and
options. But, it all owes to these agencies who have spread out before us 10
different types of toothpastes for making out teeth the whitest and the hardest,
100s of moisturizers for giving the best glow to our skin an all sorts of luxuries
which have become more necessary than the necessities. (3) Uplif”ent of standard
of living : Well, its said that “Money makes a mare go”. Today, this not be any
more emphasized as everyone knows that depending on the financial background,
people can get the best of everything. From a cycle to a car, or from a dhaba to a
restaurant, the customer knows where he is 17
18. the most comfortable and is able-bodied to plan out his budget as he knows the
price tags stuck on every product and service. And all this, is possible because of
the constant exposure to media and publicity. (4) Necessary for the growth of the
businesses : From the Ambanis to the paanwalla, from the Bachchans to the
street- actors, every soul is convinced of the power of these agencies in giving
them a larger than life size image. Every business house, big or small, though
cutting the cloth according to the size of its coat, needs the services of these
agencies to project its brand image before the laymen and convert these laymen
into prospective and from prospective to loyal customers for their products and
services. Revenue generation is the prime objective behind every business and to
rotate the wheel of success, its important for them to use the services of these
think-tanks and always remain on the topmost rank. The cons..... (1) A cold
shoulder to social responsibilities : The advertising agencies today are not
performing to the non-material welfare of the society. Their commit”ents and
obligations to the society are mani-fold. Being the torch-bearers of the world of
publicity and media, they are on a huge platform from where they can spread
messages of public interest in every nook and corner of the country. Alongwith
their professional assignments for profit maximisation, they can also design
propagandas for conveying important social messages like harmfulness of
smoking and drinking liquor, abolishing evil practices and dogmas deeply rooted
in the blood of the rural illiterate, importance of a nuclear and small family etc.
Accepting these assignments for a social cause will not create a 18
19. dent in their pockets but will surely go a long way in revolutionising thoughts,
attitudes and mindset of every Indian. (2) No SWOT of products advertised
conducted : All the advertising agencies are conducting a SWOT analysis of the
prospective clients that approach them with a product or service meant to be
advertised but no one is bothered about a scrutiny of the products to be so
advertised. It is not their business, perhaps it is anti- business; that's the feel and
the flavour. 19
20. PROFILE ADVERTISING AGENCY ADVERTISING The American Marketing
Association, defined advertising as “any paid form of non-personal presentations
of idea, goods or service by an identified sponsor.”In other words we can say that
Advertising is brand building through effective communication
INTRODUCTION TO ADVERTISING AGENCY The global market has
expanded manifold in the last few decades. More and more products are being
launched practically everyday. The companies are engaged in cutthroat
competition to highlight their products to the forefront. Herein enters the
glamorous field of advertising. Advertising is actually brand building through
effective communication and is essentially a service industry. This requires the
help of the media to reach more and more people to communicate brand
effectiveness and here advertising agencies comes picture. The role of advertising
agency has been accepted because it provides specialist services to the companies,
which have inadequate services of experts for the promotion of their goods and
services. Many institutions have 20
21. established the services of advertising agencies to make their products and
services known to the potential consumers. FUNCTIONS OF ADVERTISING
 AGENCY: The advertising agency performs all the managerial functions. Some
of these are planning, creation and execution, co-ordination, accounting, media,
research and internal control. ¬ Planning: The advertising agency plans the
advertising campaign. The management delegates the responsibility of advertising
planning and execution to the agency. The agency must have a fair knowledge of
the firm’s products, its history, the present market conditions, distribution
methods, price level and other conditions. A successful advertising programme is
built on the basis of these data. ¬ Creation and Execution: Specific
advertisements are created. The advertising copy is written; the layout is prepared;
illustrations are drawn; photographs are finalized; and a correct mechanical form
for running it in the selected media is produced. The advertising agency prepares
a suitable advertising copy for insertion in all the media. ¬ Co-Ordination: The
advertising agency co-ordinates several activities. It often works with the client’s
sales force and distribution network to ensure the long-run success of the
advertising programme. The combined efforts of sales persons, distributors and
retailers ensure maximum sales. Ideas, media, copy and decisions are co-
ordinated properly to project and implement the advertising programme. ¬
Accounting: The advertising agency maintains proper accounts in co- operation
with the client. The account executives see to it that the agency keeps to the stated
plan. The accountant is in charge of the administration of the advertising
programme on the agency side. A 21
22. misunderstanding arising between the agency and the client is eliminated by the
accountant. The amount of fees received from the client and the payment of taxes,
bills and other charges are accounted for by the accountant. ¬ Media: The
advertising agency selects the media or a set of suitable media for the client to
reach the right type of audience which is an important factor in media selection.
The rates, circulation, population, audience, income and other important
information are collected for the purpose. It has to see to that the media plan is
carried out properly which is devised to implement the campaign’s
communication objectives. The media experts know all about the media and their
coverage. They prepare the schedule of advertising, publication, data on printing
and the time available from television and radio. ¬ Research: Research is a key
function in an advertising campaign. The decisions on creativity and media
selection are taken on the findings uncovered for research. Research makes every
decision systematic and logical, based as it is on facts and figures. ¬ Internal
Control: The advertising agency manages its employees, finances and other
resources effectively and economically. It conducts the business behind the scenes
and exercises proper control over activities and funds. Public relations, sales
promotion functions and client contacts are maintained by the management for the
effective operations of the advertising agency. 22
23. EXTERNAL CLIENT BRIEF ENTERS THE AD AGENCY INTERNAL
CREATIVE BRIEF MEDIA BRIEF CREATION STAGE CREATIVE
PROCESS COPYWRITING ILLUSTRATING LAYOUTS CLIENT
APPROVAL PRODUCTION BROADCAST STAGE PRINT TYPOGRAPHY
ENGRAVING FILMING EDITING PRINT AD COMMERCIAL PRINT
MEDIA BROADCAST MEDIA AD REACHES THE TARGET AUDIENCE 23
24. TYPICAL ADVERTISING AGENCY STRUCTURE Chairman & Managing
Director (Chief Executive Officer) Finance Management Administration
Accounts Client service Media Director Creative Director Director Studio Films
Print & Media Associate Creative Production Controllers Directors Group
Account Manager Media Supervisors Creative Group Heads Account Supervisor
Media Media Planners Buyers Copywriters Art Directors Account Executives
Media Media 24
25. ADVERTISING AGENCY # 1 X E B E C THE WHEREABOUTS HEAD
OFFICE : 20, Santosh Heights, 1st Floor, 39/4, J.N. Marg, Opp. Apsara Theatre,
Pune – 411 037. BRANCH OFFICE : Jain Chambers, 1st Floor, Next to Saga
Shopping Centre, S.V. Road, Bandra (West), Mumbai – 400 050. Incorporated in
the year 1991, this rapidly-growing “FULL SERVICE” Agency located at the
above-mentioned places has today achieved for itself a decent position in the
jampacked arena of the biggies and is continuing its progressive march. It is
solely indigenous with no foreign collaboration or foreign equity participation ;
something really very praiseworthy. MODUS OPERANDI : Being a truly
professional & competitive in approach, Xebec Communications has a well-
defined and a well-organised method of operations. When the prospective client
approaches them for getting his purpose served, they conduct a SWOT analysis
prior to acceptance of any assignment. Although, this SWOT Analysis is not at all
a cumbersome and 25
26. patience-testing exercise for the client, it is designed in such a way that the
agency gets a total assurance of the output. The agency first understands the
requirements of its customer and gets a complete profile about the product or the
service to be advertised from the horse’s mouth. Further, it makes a complete
assessment of such a product or service, based on the representations and the
explanations given by its client in terms of the life of the product, its marketability
and its commercial value. Continuing on these lines, the agency also makes an
assessment of the requirements of the client, their budget, cost constraints etc.
Finally, last but not the least, the agency makes an estimate of the benefits, both
monetary as well as non-monetary which it is subsequently in the long run, going
to derive out of every such assignment. On the basis of such a study made about
the product, its target audience and the psycho-analysis of the creator as well as
its creation, the agency then selects the type of media which is the most
appropriate one in terms of the cost constraints laid down by the client and
accordingly intimate the client about the cost-benefit ratio of the entire exercise.
So, it’s a thorough professional approach wherein the client is rest assured about
the benefits he is going to reap from the seeds he is planning to sow in the field of
advertisement. Ultimately, its not a no-win no-lose situation for both of them but
is entirely a winners’ outcome. THE CANVAS ON WHICH XEBEC PAINTS
THE PRODUCT : Xebec provides its customers with a wide-range of media to
select from viz., in fine print, or on celluloid like television, radio, theatres etc.
HOW CAN I KNOW ABOUT XEBEC : 26
27. Well, being professional and competitive in approach, it is Xebec who approaches
its prospective clients and not wait for the the clients to fathom for it. So, the
client does not have to run in sun and shower for finding a proper canvas for its
 product. Xebec provides all the facilites for its client coupled with a very co-
operative in-house, interactive response and hospitality. As far as a payment term
is concerned, Xebec also takes care of the pocket-size of its customers. So on one
hand, it gives you the option to pay the entire fees in lumpsum, on the other hand
it also extends credit to its continuous and creditworthy customers.
STRENGTHS : The agency first understands the requirements of its customer and
gets a complete profile about the product or the service to be advertised from the
horse’s mouth. Further, it makes a complete assessment of such a product or
service, based on the representations and the explanations given by its client in
terms of the life of the product, its marketability and its commercial value.
Continuing on these lines, the agency also makes an assessment of the
requirements of the client, their budget, cost constraints etc. Finally, last but not
the least, the agency makes an estimate of the benefits, both monetary as well as
non-monetary which it is subsequently in the long run, going to derive out of
every such assignment. On the basis of such a study made about the product, its
target audience and the psycho-analysis of the creator as well as its creation, the
agency 27
28. then selects the type of media which is the most appropriate one in terms of the
cost constraints laid down by the client and accordingly intimate the client about
the cost-benefit ratio of the entire exercise. So, it’s a thorough professional
approach wherein the client is rest assured about the benefits he is going to reap
from the seeds he is planning to sow in the field of advertisement. Ultimately, its
not a no-win no-lose situation for both of them but is entirely a winners’ outcome.
WEAKNESSES : Xebec is facing a major problem of Time Management i.e. it is
over- dependent on its staff. Hence, the quality and the efficiency of its human
resources always causes some sort of a problem in making and implementing fast
decisions. Again, multiplicity of brains, though an asset for any organization is
also sometimes a hindrance in its development when the agency is not able to
reach to a definite conclusion about its strategies and policies in the nick of the
time due to conflicting ideas presented by its too many decision-makers. As it is
aptly quoted, “Too many cooks spoil the broth” Secondly, as far as client
servicing is concerned, Xebec does not make adequate attempts to update its
services. This is the main reason why this organization though reputed, is not able
to expand its paraphernalia. Lack of creativity is also a major backdrop in its
success story. Next, Xebec has also failed to make any renowned celebrity from
the fields of cinema, sports, politics or business as its brand ambassador as other
reputed agencies in this world are in a practice of doing. Hence, the 28
29. agency fails to create a long-lasting and huge appeal for the products of its clients
amongst the masses. As far as the profiles of the team members of Xebec are
concerned, the people in the topmost levels of organizational hierarchy who are
mainly shouldering the responsibility of devising strategies, policies, media plans,
client servicing, account planning, market recognition and strategic decision-
making are not from the fields of management or advertising. Though, they may
be well-groomed for excellence in the environment in which they are functioning,
there is always an undisputed difference between those able-bodied people who
are from the field of management and those who are not. And finally, in this field
 of cut-throat competition where agencies rise and fall like a pack of cards day in
and out, you definitely need professionals and professionalism in your approach at
the time of decision-making and implementation of ideas. OPPORTUNITIES :
There is a tremendous scope for diversifying its paraphernalia as currently Xebec
is just specializing in one particular media. Secondly, by recruiting and taking
more benefits from services of professionals in this field, Xebec can overcome its
problems of Time Management and slow decision-making. Instead of having too
many heads with different contents in them, it can always go for quality staff.
Xebec can also concentrate on making some of the eminent personalities as its
Brand Ambassador, which it has already started as is evident from 29
30. its forthcoming contract with a cricket star named Salil Ankola. If it continues to
do so on these lines it can lead to more aggressive response for its clients’
products and services. THREATS : Xebec also does not make a SWOT analysis
of its clients at the time of taking an assignment. This also exposes it to a major
threat of losing its own ground in its field as not many of its clients are too
reputed, well- organised and aware of their requirements. Another major threat to
the growth and development of Xebec is its over- dependence on Print Media.
That is to say, Xebec has not taken too many efforts of diversification and growth
into other media. It is quite understandable that in today’s world to remain
sellable in the market you have to keep on diversifying yourself into other fields
which this agency is not very much keen in today, there is a definite threat on its
future existence. Survival is first, growth afterwards and just trying to be a master
in one amidst a crowd of experts who are Jack of all trades is not at all a good
sign for any organization. 30
31. CASE STUDIES 1. KIMBERLY CLARK 1.1 Brief Associate Kimberly Clark
with personal hygiene by a campaign encouraging people to adopt health habits
and educate offices and hotels about the importance of giving their employees and
guests access to hygiene products. 1.2 Execution A Poster Campaign placed in
and around washrooms (where Kimberly Clark's products are most
used)reminding people about the importance of personal hygiene with a byline by
Kimberly Clark. 1.3 Result A direct association between Kimberly Clark and
personal hygiene and increased usage of Kimberly Clark products and supplies. 2.
KINETIC 2.1 Brief Relaunch Kinetic Honda Marvel and build on Kinetic's
reputation as an all family 2 wheeler maker. Create a new buzz around the Marvel
as an exciting bike. 2.2 Execution A series of concurrent road-shows and test
rides all over India handled by our events division with live performances by
India's most exciting and talented performer - REMO - to stir up the excitement.
2.3 Result 31
32. Excitement about Marvel and renewed interest in the scooter and Kinetic. 3.
THYSSENKRUPP 3.1 Brief To occupy mindspace as a core infrastructure
sector/industry player. 3.2 Execution A creative campaign in Indian and foreign
magazines and journals closely targeted at industrial decision makers. 3.3 Result
Increased awareness of ThyssenKrupp activities and brand recall as a hi-tech
German company. ThyssenKrupp continues to be a valued client. 4. INDIACOM
4.1 Brief Build the INDIACOM brand as a most easily accessible and widely
disseminated yellow pages directory. 4.2 Execution Strategic press spots and
 hoardings timed with the beginning and end of the bookings period designed to
drive demand for ads and insertions and increase awareness of the INDIACOM
edge. 4.3 Result More recall for the INDIACOM brand as the most easily
accessible and widely disseminated yellow pages directory resulting in more
placements in their directory. 32
33. 5. LIPI DATA SYSTEMS 5.1 Brief Position LIPI as a total data solutions
company with a wide range of high quality print solutions for small businesses
and corporates 5.2 Execution A creative campaign focusing on the flexibility of
LIPI printing solutions. 5.3 Result Increased awareness about the LIPI brand
name as a provider of superior printing solutions. 6. INTELLIGENT INVESTOR
6.1 Brief Raise Intelligent Investor's profile through high powered personal
finance exhibitions in the metros. 6.2 Execution A series of full page ads in
outlook and Intelligent Investor designed to engage the readers attention by
trumpeting the sheer volume of financial services and free advice on offer. 6.3
Result A tremendous response to the personal finance exhibitions leading to
increased awareness about Intelligent Investor and an increase in its brand equity.
7. CENTURION BANK 7.1 Brief 33
34. Establish Centurion Bank as a one stop shop for all banking needs with superior
banking services for small customers. 7.2 Execution The target audience was
identified as the small customer who was perhaps not getting the best service in
big banks. The creatives were designed to inform him about Centurion Bank's
thrust towards them. 7.3 Result More new accounts for Centurion Bank with its
brand firmly established among the smaller customers. 8. DISHNET DSL 8.1
Brief Leverage Dishnet strengths as the only DSL high speed ISP provider in the
country. Target soho and heavy net users promoting the benefits of high speed
access. 8.2 Execution A creative campaign bringing out the cost and speed
advantages of broadband. 8.3 Result Increased interest and awareness about
broadband Internet access, establishing Dishnet DSL as the pioneer in broadband
technology and generating inquiries and sales. AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS :
Best Radio Jingle [A refreshing jingle for Electronica Leasing & Finance Ltd’s
Fixed Deposit Schemes] 34
35. CEAD - Best Radio Jingle [An innovative jingle for Kinetic Spark which was set
in a folk tune] Trade Fair/Exhibition Design [First prize for Kinetic Honda stall at
Auto Expo ‘98] [First prize for “Impressive Stall & Innovative Displays” at
TECHEX-6 at World Trade Centre, Mumbai, November ‘98] WHO’S WHO IN
XEBEC ? People make all the difference, nurturing talent and allowing space for
independent thought and initiative are our hallmarks which explains the low
attrition rates. Key people behind the success of Xebec are - Kiran Bhat - Chief
Executive Anil Bhat - Executive Director Vincent Sebastian - Branch Manager
Radhika Akolkar - Account Director Samir Wagh - Manager (Media & Events)
Sandeep Ghodke - Art Director Anil Rane - Asst. Art Director Abhay Bengeri -
Branch Director Praveen Meloth - Sr. Account Executive Bhavana - Sr. Account
Executive DIVISIONS OF XEBEC M.A.R.S. 35
36. Our in house Research division - an independent profit centre - allows clients to
identify customer preferences, trends, deliver a more focused message and track
customer response. M.A.R.S. delivers professional research services within the
 Xebec umbrella. M.A.R.S. Services: Qualitative and Quantitative Research...
Dipstick Studies... Focus Groups... Pre and Post Launch Surveys / Studies...
Feasibility Reports... Customer Satisfaction Surveys... Dealer Audits... STELLAR
- P.R. In today's fast paced media driven world with shrinking attention spans, PR
is an important vehicle to increase mindspace and mindshare. Stellar is a Xebec
group company run by experienced PR professionals with strong contacts in press
and TV for national coverage. CUSTOMER CONNECT C2 is Xebec CRM arm
with specialized Direct Marketing and Customer Response skills. LIST OF
CLIENTS ADVERTISING AGENCY # 2 C A R A T THE WHEREABOUTS
HEAD OFFICE : CARAT MEDIA SERVICES INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED
Barodawala Mansion, 81, Dr. Annie Besant Road, 36
37. Worli, Mumbai 400 018 India. Email : pat@carat-india.com Website :
www.carat-india.com CEO: Sulina Menon Email : sulina@carat-india.com Carat
India - New Delhi Address : E82A, Greater Kailash Part-1, New Delhi, Pin-
110048, India Tel No : (91) 11 629 4112 Fax No : (91) 11 629 3680 Email :
carat@ndb.vsnl.net.in Website: www.carat-india.com Website: www.carat-
asiapacific.com Carat is operated by AEGIS MEDIA which operates alongwith
Carat 2 other reputed worldwide organizations viz., Vizeum & Postersope
Worldwide MODUS OPERANDI : Being a truly professional & competitive in
approach, “CARAT ” has a well-defined and a well-organised method of
operations. When the prospective client approaches them for getting his purpose
served, they conduct a SWOT analysis prior to acceptance of any assignment.
Although, this SWOT Analysis is not at all a cumbersome and patience-testing
exercise for the client, it is designed in such a way that the agency gets a total
assurance of the output. 37
38. SWOT ANALYSIS OF CARAT : ¬ STRENGTHS 1. Carat has a very educated
and well-groomed set of clientele. They know that the ability to understand and
exploit the opportunities of the evolving media market is key to their future
success. Media communication, and assessing its short, medium and long-term
effect, is becoming central to every business. 2. Carat’s aim is to deliver business
advantage for its clients through effective communication programmes that
maximize return on inves”ent. This means partnering with its clients to produce
sustainable improved sales by building brand loyalty, value and awareness. They
combine insights into brand, media and consumer behavior to spark innovative
media solutions that are unique to every brand. The Carat approach to
communication planning gets results. 3. The marketing strategy of Carat is
defined as a “360° communication”. This means exploiting the whole range of
media channels available to a brand which is fundamental to building effective
communication strategies. As messages reach consumers in new and different
ways, they can refresh and renew a relationship, create excitement and loyalty,
even advocacy for a product. The task is to build a programme which engages
consumers with the brand and reveals the inherent values in a product or service
that cause consumers to say "That's for me". In a nutshell, this type of a strategy
helps in building a brand loyalty and the customer starts relating himself with it.
38
39. 4. Carat’s clients are very much impressed with its ability to work as an
international team. The breadth of their service and their strong coherent network
give Carat the scope to truly partner international advertisers who are winning the
race for global media effectiveness. 5. Every brand, market and competitive
situation requires a unique solution. Carat has a rigorous and proven framework to
develop innovative and creative media solutions throughout its network. Its
approach extends across all media - 360° communication. It works with a suite of
sophisticated analysis tools and research, helping it to understand consumers and
to design media campaigns that deliver measurable improvements in its clients'
business. 5. Incisive management of media delivers business advantage to Carat’s
clients. Carat has invested over US$30 million on research and tools to manage
and measure media effectiveness, across traditional and online media channels. 6.
Consumers' relationships with brands and product sectors need to be linked to
their relationships with media and attitudes to advertising. Analysis using tools
such as Charisma and Ad-itudes helps Carat’s clients reach their core targets more
effectively and develop strategies to attract new customers. WEAKNESSES¬ 1.
The major weakness of Carat is diversification. Carat has grown, flourished and
made a tremendous progress in the field of electronic media only. However, for a
long-term and sustained growth and development it is the need of an hour for
every agency to stretch its arms and reach out for the world through all possible
avenues. 39
40. 2. Carat does not have a broad clientele base which means that it does not enjoy a
very diversified brand loyalty. OPPORTUNITIES¬ 1. Carat has tremendous
growth and diversification opportunities in the field of advertising specially
because of its skilled labour force and dynamic vision. 2. Carat has international
tie-ups which means that there is ample of scope for it to diversify its operations
and tap the market worldwide. THREATS¬ 1. Carat is specializing only in
electronic media. This overdependence on one media only is definitely fatal for
future growth and sustained development. Today, there are many new entrants in
the market and these agencies are making progress by heaps and bounds in all
types of media. Carat needs to tap other media also to emerge as a genuine world
leader. 2. Being a multinational agency, it is extremely difficult for small
customers to approach this agency for their requirement. Carat should also
concentrate more on Indian market which has a very large base of clientele. Firms
worldwide have also established themselves firmly in the Indian Market which if
Carat cannot do or does not do will hamper its growth and development process.
CLIENTS 40
41. Adidas Diageo EMI Group Ferrero International Fiat Henkel Kellogg Kraft
Jacobs Suchard LVMH Mannesmann- Vodafone Merloni Beiersdorf Bertelsmann
BMW Cable & Wireless Carrefour Coca-Cola Club Med Danone Group Nissan
Pernod Ricard Pfizer Philips Renault Sara Lee SCA SmithKline Beecham
Telefonica Walt Disney ADVERTISING AGENCY # 3 C A N C O THE
WHEREABOUTS HEAD OFFICE : 518, Tulsiani Chambers, 41
42. Nariman Point, Mumbai – 400 021. Incorporated in the year 1985-86, this
rapidly-growing “FULL SERVICE” Agency located at the above-mentioned
place alongwith branches at Bangalore, Chennai & Delhi, has today achieved for
 itself a decent position in the jampacked arena of the biggies and is continuing its
progressive march. It is solely indigenous with no foreign collaboration or foreign
equity participation ; something really very praiseworthy. MODUS OPERANDI :
Being a truly professional & competitive in approach, “Canco Advertising Pvt.
Ltd.” has a well-defined and a well-organised method of operations. When the
prospective client approaches them for getting his purpose served, they conduct a
SWOT analysis prior to acceptance of any assignment. Although, this SWOT
Analysis is not at all a cumbersome and patience- testing exercise for the client, it
is designed in such a way that the agency gets a total assurance of the output.
SWOT ANALYSIS OF CANCO : STRENGTHSϖ1. Canco is a full-service
agency providing all types of services related to the field of advertising &
marketing to its clients. 2. It conducts a SWOT Analysis of its clientele to assess
their strengths and weaknesses. It also first understands the requirements of the
client, their knowledge about the field of advertising, the 42
43. characteristics of the products and services to be advertised by its client, the type
of target market and the cost constraints under which its client is functioning. This
overall study about the client and its products helps Canco to devise and develop a
proper marketing and advertising plan for its client which can optimize client’s
returns in the restrictive environment in which it functions. 3. As far as offering
facilities to clients are concerned, amongst others, Canco also provides its client
the facility to make payments of its fees in installments which goes a long way in
helping the client overcome its financial hurdles, if at all posed on him. This is a
major breakthrough in client servicing and definitely is a major weapon in
anyone’s hands to have a stable and a loyal base of clientele. 4. The top level of
organizational structure in Canco consists of people who are professionals having
the academic qualifications which are must in this field. Understandably, on this
account there is bound to be professionalism in the approach, attitude and
decisions made by the agency for its growth and development. 5. Canco offers its
customers a wide selection amongst the media for canvassing their product or
services. It advertises in newspapers, uses electronic media and also provides the
facility of online advertising. As the choices are more for the customers,
depending on their requirements, the characteristics of their products and their
cost constraints, it helps them in selecting the proper medium for advertising their
product or service. WEAKNESSESϖ 43
44. 1. The biggest weakness of Canco is its organizational structure. The
organizational structure is such that people who are at the top most level in the
hierarchy and who are professionals in this field are few whereas the line staff is
quite much. This may lead to centralization of decision-making and an obvious
influence of one or two people in policy decisions. Centralization of decision-
making and authority being given to only few can prove to be disastrous for the
growth of the organization. 2. It does not have a very broad base clientele. The list
includes just a few major names like HDFC. This means that the agency does not
enjoy the patronage of many of the big names and is dependent on the patronage
of privileged few. 3. CANCO has not hired any of the eminent celebrities for
endorsing the products and services of its clients. This is why the appeal created
for the products and services of its clients does not reach to a large group of
 masses. 4. In this world of cut-throat competition where it is important for every
agency to have some sort of transparency which will make popular its strategies,
achievements, client patronage, diversification in services offered, CANCO has
not made any effort to bring itself in the limelight. With no URL and no other
self-advertisement, it still lingers in some dark corner of isolation.
OPPORTUNITIESϖ 1. With professionals at the decision-making level,
CANCO has an opportunity to expand its operations and diversify itself into new
44
45. avenues if it makes a concentrated effort on improvising the strength of
professional staff. 2. Making use of the brand image of some celebrities for
endorsing the products of its clients can give it an upper hand and help in having
more reputed customers into its kitty. 3. It can project its achievements before the
public and through the medium of website can lend more transparency to its
operations. On these lines, this agency is working presently and a website is in the
development stage. THREATSϖ 1. CANCO, though making use of print and
electronic media for advertising products of its clients is a Jack of all trades,
master on none. Specialisation is required in at least one sphere for expansion and
further diversification. 2. The strength of the staff and the quality of human
resource is also a major hindrance it is growth and development. When decision-
making is centralized and that too based on few brains, there is bound to be lack
of impulsiveness, aggression, timeliness and dynamism. 3. CANCO is suffering a
big threat from other agencies operating in the same set of environmental
conditions who are constantly offering more and more services to their customers
and diversifying themselves day in, day out. THE CANVAS ON WHICH
CANCO PAINTS THE PRODUCT : 45
46. CANCO provides its customers with a wide-range of media to select from viz., in
fine print, or online through the medium of internet, external advertising like
hoardings, pamphlets etc. HOW CAN I KNOW ABOUT CANCO? Well, being
professional and competitive in approach, it is CANCO who approaches its
prospective clients and not wait for the the clients to fathom for it. So, the client
does not have to run in sun and shower for finding a proper canvas for its product.
CANCO provides all the facilities for its client coupled with a very co-operative
in-house, interactive response and hospitality. As far as payment terms is
concerned, CANCO also takes care of the pocket-size of its customers. So on one
hand, it gives you the option to pay the entire fees in lumpsum, on the other hand
it also extends credit to its continuous and creditworthy customers.
ORGANISATION STRUCTURE OF CANCO ORGANISATION STRUCTURE
Mr. Ramesh Narayan, (Managing Director) Creative Director Copywriters (1) Mr.
Dhananjay Neelam (2) Mr. Arun Total Staff Strength : 24 FACILITIES
OFFERED BY CANCO TO ITS CUSTOMERS : 46
47. CANCO fixes the budget for its client depending on the requirements of the
client, the characteristics of the product to be advertised, the target customers, the
marketing strategy, the aggressiveness or otherwise of the advertising campaign,
the type of customers to be targeted, the cost constraints of the environment in
which the client is functioning etc. Based on this study, the budget is given by the
agency to its client. AWARDS WON BY CANCO a. Given by Alert India, Non-
 Government Organization (NGO) which creates awareness for leprosy . b. Given
by Advertising Club, Mumbai ADVERTISING AGENCY # 4 47
48. McC A N N - ERICKSON HISTORY McCann-Erickson WorldGroup was
chartered in 1997 as a new model for integrated marketing communications. The
WorldGroup was created by uniting best-in-class marketing communications
firms in a range of disciplines behind a common mission and vision. In only a few
years, McCann-Erickson WorldGroup has emerged as one of the world's leading
integrated brand communications organizations--in global size, in professional
quality, and in the number of clients we serve with multiple-communications
services. Each WorldGroup agency retains the best of its distinctive heritage.
Most notably, McCann-Erickson, is currently celebrating its 100th anniversary,
representing a century of innovation and excellence in advertising and
communications The rich histories of the member agencies of World Group
provide the foundation for the WorldGroup's unparalleled expertise and their
unique shared culture. In its brief history, the WorldGroup has cultivated a
common culture across its global network, based on shared strategic tools and a
shared vision for effective marketing communications. WHO’S WHO : John J.
Dooner CHAIRMAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER McCANN- ERICKSON
WORLDGROUP 48
49. Arther D’Angello CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER McCANN-ERICKSON
WORLDGROUP Eric Einhorn EXE. VICE PRESIDENT, CHIEF STRATEGY
OFFICER MCCANN-ERICKSON WORLDGROUP President, CEO Max
Gosling Representative Director McCann-Erickson Japan REGIONAL
DIRECTOR Peter Hamilton MCCANN-ERICKSON ASIA PACIFIC
CHAIRMAN AND CEO Robin Kent UNIVERSAL MCCANN PRESIDENT
AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Bill Kolb MOMENTUM WORLDWIDE
REGIONAL DIRECTOR, McCANN-ERICKSON EUROPE, Ben Langdon
MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA Pamela Maphis CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Larrick MRM PARTNERS WORLDWIDE VICE CHAIRMAN, CHIEF
CREATIVE OFFICER Marcio M. WORLDWIDE DIRECTOR OF
MULTINATIONAL ACCOUNTS Moreira MCCANN-ERICKSON
WORLDGROUP REGIONAL DIRECTOR LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN
Jens Olesen MCCANN-ERICKSON WORLDWIDE EXECUTIVE VICE
PRESIDENT Dr. Joseph DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH & INSIGHT
DEVELOPMENT Plummer MCCANN-ERICKSON WORLDGROUP
CHAIRMAN EMERITUS Stan Rapp MRM PARTNERS WORLDWIDE Joe
Torre CHAIRMAN AND CEO TORRE LAZUR MCCANN HEALTHCARE
WORLDWIDE Chris Weil CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
49
50. MOMENTUM WORLDWIDE MODUS OPERANDI OF McCANN-
ERICKSON TOOLS McCann-Erickson WorldGroup's unique and proprietary
shared tools help unite different marketing communications disciplines. They
unite professionals in different offices around the world. They provide a common
"language" for diverse teams working together for common clients. Our tools also
set us apart. They are disciplined yet flexible. They combine our best practices
with our cutting-edge thinking. We have specialized tools in various disciplines,
 but the centerpiece is the holistic Brand Optimization Map™. Building off of the
foundation of the Road Map to Effective Communications™, The Brand
Optimization Map incorporates the thinking behind the best strategy and planning
processes of various disciplines into a unique, universal strategic service. By
offering a holistic, integrated approach to strategy development, creative
execution, and campaign evaluation, the Brand Optimization Map service can
generate brand ideas that have the potential to solve clients' fundamental business
problems and position their brands for long-term growth. CREATING THE
DEMAND-CHAIN By systemically linking supply activities from sourcing and
manufacturing to distribution and customer orders, corporations have successfully
solved what is called the supply chain. By enabling "just in time" delivery of
products or services to meet demand, this process benefits marketers through
increased efficiency, productivity and lower costs. 50
51. But in today's competitive marketing climate, with a renewed focus on building
customer and top-line growth, demand creation is, arguably, the new success
factor. To meet this important business need among all types of manufacturing
and service corporations, McCann-Erickson WorldGroup has developed a service
that links demand creation activities to make them more synergistic and powerful,
thus helping corporations to create enduring marketplace growth. This proprietary
service offered by McCann-Erickson WorldGroup is known as Creating the
Demand Chain. This service, also known as the McCann Demand Chain™,
provides marketers with all the critical steps in demand creation in a cohesive,
effective, and optimized manner. The ultimate benefit of the McCann Demand
Chain™ service in whole, or in part, is to improve demand creation for companies
and brands, increasing the sale of products and services and optimizing top-line
revenue. Creating the Demand Chain™ encompasses a linked set of services
involving six "links." Importantly, marketers can leverage the McCann Demand
Chain™ service as a whole, or in part, since many of the service components can
be adapted to the marketer's existing company activities. These six service
elements encompass Demand Vision, Brand Idea, Resource Optimization, Brand
Contact, Relationship Management and Demand Performance activities. While
this service and its component services are delivered through an array of
marketing communications operations across multiple channels, their unique
linkage makes them more than the sum of the parts. Each element leverages
proprietary, market-tested McCann-Erickson strategic, collaborative and
measurement tools; and each is supported and optimized by specialized expertise,
resources, creativity, software and infrastructure. 51
52. Brand Optimization Map The Brand Optimization Map (BOM) has been created
by McCann-Erickson WorldGroup to provide our corporate clients with a new,
more inclusive approach to strategy development, one that fully recognizes the
evolving nature of brand communications. This strategy development service
recognizes that brand marketers around the world are in a changing relationship to
their customers. The Brand Optimization Map™ thus takes a broader and deeper
strategic perspective to account for the new realities facing marketing-focused
businesses today, including their required coordinated usage of a full range of
marketing communications disciplines. In today's highly demanding business
 environment, the focus has shifted away from improving profits through operating
efficiencies to generating top-line revenue growth. Demand creation is the new
priority. Demand creation in the new marketing communications environment has
become especially challenging. The technology revolution has surrounded
customers and consumers with a plethora of information and entertainment
options, and, as a result they have become more elusive. The consumer is firmly
in control. They expect choice, information, speed of service, and ease of
acquisition. This new multi-channel environment adds a whole new dimension to
the challenge of marketing integration. And with critical mass so hard to achieve,
integration has become the new imperative. Traditionally, the focus of integration
has been the development of a common brand platform or idea to unite the
marketing message across multiple disciplines. This integration of content is still
a core priority. But today, given the confusion of marketing channels, the
increased sophistication and scope of all our marketing communications
disciplines 52
53. and the emergence of new internet-based business models, there is a demand for a
new kind of integration - the integration of resources. The Brand Optimization
Map™ is a unique service that brings together these two fundamental needs in
integration, content and resources, under a unified strategic framework to
optimize the marketing communications plan. It leverages proprietary strategic
principles, tools and software that identify marketing priorities, optimize budget
allocation and leverage the full spectrum of marketing communications
disciplines for what they do best, in the right "proportions." The Brand
Optimization Map™ also introduces a proprietary method of evaluating the ROI
of the fully integrated marketing program. From a standpoint of "the user," The
Brand Optimization Map™ is intuitive in concept, but sophisticated in its ability
to embrace the complexities of the new marketing environment. It facilitates
collaboration, idea generation, resource allocation and creative execution. It is
flexible in its ability to be used locally or regionally, for brands, sub-brands or
marketing initiatives, and for any specified marketing period. McCann-Erickson
World Group uses The Brand Optimization Map™ service to leverage the
specialized talent and creative energies of all our marketing communications
"corridor" centers of expertise while working collaboratively with our clients to
create powerful brand communications strategies. The following are the key steps
of The Brand Optimization Map™ service: BRAND OPPORTUNITY Brand
Health Check 53
54. In order to create big ideas, we must step back and look at the big picture. To this
end, BOM's Brand Health Check™ service offers a due-diligence process for
assessing the overall health of a brand. The Brand Health Check™ service factors
in evolving consumer perceptions, industry trends and competitive pressures. By
forcing answers to critical questions, it provides the clarity to recognize major
brand opportunities and solve brand problems. Using the framework of McCann's
Universal Marketing Drivers - a set of marketing objectives that are common to
all marketing communications disciplines regardless of media and message
specifics - the service captures the essence of the competitive marketing situation
and diagnoses priorities for both content and resource integration. McCann Pulse
 McCann Pulse™ serves as a leading-edge method of generating consumer insight
that informs marketing innovation and execution. McCann Pulse™ insights feed
the development of brand imagery, new products and services and channel
strategy. The McCann Pulse™ service output is based on consumer dialogue held
at McCann-Erickson offices around the world and is reported on the company
intranet. Regional decisions can be made through the collection of key market
data, and they in turn are used to create a comprehensive global picture of
evolving trends. The focus of McCann Pulse™ is as much on the here and now, as
where things are heading. Through proprietary probes, it uncovers what is
important in the lives of consumers, how they view the world changing and 54
55. what their evolving goals are. These issues direct us to new product, service, and
communications ideas. This McCann Pulse™ service provides the consumer
backdrop for the evaluation of the Brand Opportunity as well as development of
the McCann Brand Idea™, via the Brand Footprint™ and McCann Selling
Strategy™ service components. McCANN BRAND IDEA The Brand
Optimization Map™ platform for content in marketing communications is
determined by the Brand Footprint™ - a statement of the desired meanings,
values and personality of the brand - and the McCann Selling Strategy™ which
determines a powerful strategic idea for creative execution across all marketing
communications disciplines. The Brand Footprint™ uses McCann's Brand
Archeology techniques to uncover the full depth of meanings and values
associated with the brand through the eyes of its customers and consumers. The
McCann Selling Strategy™ draws on this "brand insight" to determine where the
brand needs to be in the future, thus creating a relevant and credible strategic
platform to "propel" the brand towards its destination. MARKETING MIX
McCann Fusion™ 2.0 is a proprietary marketing mix software model that
provides the optimal allocation for each marketing discipline to attack the stated
marketing challenge. It looks at the marketing picture "top down," through
software that captures relationships between our marketing communications
disciplines and the Universal Marketing Drivers in the context of each category
and country. The input to McCann Fusion™ 2.0 is 55
56. the Brand Health Check. The output is a benchmark budget allocation across
marketing disciplines for Brand Optimization. As a complement to this "top
down" evaluation, McCann's Marketing Task Cycle works "bottom up" to
determine the ideal role for each marketing communications discipline. The
Marketing Task Cycle identifies the barriers that need to be overcome, and
assigns the marketing that can best overcome them. This ensures we address
critical brand needs and leverage our marketing communications disciplines for
what they do best, and to the extent that they can make a difference. BRAND
PERFORMANCE: The McCann Brand Clout Index The Brand Clout Index™
measures a brand's competitive ability to attract and retain customers in the
marketplace - both currently and in the future. It can be used to help quantify the
Brand Health Check and to track the performance of an integrated program. Thus
it serves as the performance benchmark of The Brand Optimization Map™. The
McCann Brand Clout Index™, managed by NFO WorldGroup research, is
currently being rolled out of test market. Road Maps to Effectiveness : The Road
 Map to Effective Advertising The Road Map to Effective Communications Why
the McCann Road Map Service was Created: Consumer behavior is harder to
understand and predict. Media is proliferating. Distribution channels are
changing. And competition is increasingly fierce. In this fast-moving
environment, it is no wonder many 56
57. established brands lack a powerful strategy, often lose direction and many new
products fail to connect with customers. To navigate the ever-changing landscape,
McCann-Erickson WorldGroup has developed The Road Map to Effective
Advertising™ and, for total marketing communications programs, the Road Map
to Effective Communications™. This comprehensive service of proprietary tools
is designed to create effective advertising and communications strategies that
make an impact in today's cluttered marketplace. The McCann Road Map service
results in communications strategies that create loyal customers when audiences
are moving targets and strengthen core brand values. McCann Erickson
WorldGroup recognizes the need for consistent, tested methods and tools for
creating communications that build brand value around the world and across
marketing communications disciplines. The McCann Road Map service is used
globally to ensure the consistency and high quality of communications programs
around the world. It is also used throughout the WorldGroup's range of marketing
communications companies to make certain that integrated marketing campaigns
work in synergy. The McCann Road Map's Key Components: The Road Map to
Effective Advertising™, the prototype system on which The Road Map to
Effective Communications™ is based, is a full arsenal of services to guide the
creation of effective communications. It begins with the development of
consumer and brand insights and ends with the evaluation of the ideas that are
used to create customers and build brand values. Components of The Road Map
to Effective Advertising™ include: 57
58. McCann Pulse™ -- the on-going exploratory service for gaining an in-depth
understanding of consumer trends in order to develop relevant consumer insights.
Brand Footprint™ -- for articulating the core brand essence that allows a brand to
travel successfully across marketing landscapes. McCann Selling Strategy™ -- for
converting consumer insights and brand essence into a focused communications
strategy that is unified by a single, driving selling idea. And finally, McCann
AdWorks™ -- a qualitative consumer validation and feedback process to assess
the effectiveness of marketing communication campaigns. McCann Pulse
McCann Pulse™ is the regular monitoring of collective cultural undercurrents at
work on global consumer groups. Its goal is to better understand how these
undercurrents affect consumers and their consumption; whether observed
crosscurrents are connected or isolated; and whether they represent a momentary
fashion, a sustainable trend, or a real cultural shift within a market. McCann
Pulse™ is a proprietary service that provides complete immersion in the lives of
consumers through ongoing monitoring and personal dialogues. Following are the
three components of McCann Pulse™: The Pulse of Popular Culture In-depth
analysis of the content and symbolism of the various forms of media that both
reflect and influence consumers. The Pulse of Observers of Change Ongoing
 dialogues with leading-edge thinkers whose fields of interest relate to our target
consumer groups. 58
59. The Pulse of the Consumer Unconventional dialogues with selected consumer
constituencies that probe personal insights and what is new in their lives. Pulse
can offer clients: • Insight into new values, ideas and trends • An ability to talk
more accurately in the language of consumers • Consumer perspectives of major
marketing issues or events • Context for new creative ideas Brand Footprint The
Brand Footprint™ service uses a tool that defines a brand's essence, so that
marketers can manage and build their brands most effectively. It provides a clear
understanding of which values need to be protected and leveraged in brand
communications. And it helps charter a brand's growth into new territories, from
expanding a brand in new geographic regions, to establishing it across multiple
product or service categories, to extending it to an electronic marketspace. As
brands expand, their value and meaning are often put at risk. These risks stem
from the need to reconcile a brand's heritage with product innovation, and from
the need to re-express the brand in the context of new competitive sets, new
cultures, and new media. The Brand Footprint™ service is designed to protect the
equity of the brand by conveying the brand essence clearly and succinctly, but
with enough texture to inspire a range of marketing activities, from product
development to integrated communications. The Brand Footprint™ articulates the
three most central brand meanings and its three most prominent personality
characteristics. McCann Selling Strategy 59
60. The McCann Selling Strategy™ is a service that is single-mindedly focused on
generating brand-building ideas. Ideas that attract customers. Ideas that build
corporate and brand franchises. And ideas that create marketplace dominance for
clients. While traditional strategy has often been highly analytic, the McCann
Selling Strategy™ offers imaginative conceptualization. It is guided by the
McCann Selling Strategy™ platform, a process of analysis and idea generation
that helps move a brand from its current position in consumers' minds to a desired
perceptual space. The McCann Selling Strategy™ uncovers the motivations of
conceptual target audiences and results in a strategic concept that pinpoints a
Selling Idea. Unlike many traditional strategy briefs that are formulaic, the
McCann Selling Strategy™ is a dynamic and living process. It's a way of
thinking, working and creating as a team. It is a discipline pursued with passion -
- that ensures that we stay true to our role of creating ideas that add perceptual
value to clients' brands. McCann AdWorks As the last stage of the Road Map to
Effective Advertising™ service, McCann AdWorks™ tool ensures more effective
marketing communications by providing feedback from consumers to a proposed
campaign expression of the Selling Idea. McCann AdWorks™ service is tailored
to a specific product, a market situation, a cultural environment. Unlike most
leading ad testing firms that offer a simple go/no-go decision on creative work,
McCann AdWorks™ is designed to help us understand whether we have
communicated the Selling 60
61. Idea we set out to communicate, whether the Brand Footprint™ is understood and
if the campaign is entertaining. With McCann AdWorks™, we can take the lead
in facilitating a real-time discussion about advertising effectiveness and help
 clients make the right decisions that lead to advertising, direct marketing or other
marketing communication work that produces great marketplace results at the
earliest stages of creative development. The McCann Road Map service of
proprietary tools has proven valuable to a range of McCann-Erickson
WorldGroup clients around the world. We believe that, as competition escalates
on a global scale, our Road Map service will become even more valuable in the
future. MOMENTUM EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING PLATFORM Today,
consumers take functional features, benefits, quality, and a positive brand image
as a given. What they want are breakthrough service offerings, cutting-edge
products, and brands that they can relate to, connect with and incorporate into
their lifestyles. Increasingly, marketers understand that consumers are living
human beings with experiential needs: consumers want to be stimulated,
entertained, educated and challenged. They are looking for brands that provide
meaningful experiences and thus become part of their lives. The degree to which a
company is able to deliver a desirable consumer experience - and use brands to do
so - will largely determine its success in the global marketplace in the future.
Trained to think of marketing and branding in terms of experiences, Momentum
Experiential Marketing™ Services create unique, nearly impenetrable emotional
bonds with consumers. These bonds are based on 61
62. consumers' real experiences with the brand on every interactive level. Momentum
Experiential Marketing™ Services are designed to deliver the brand experience
during both the pre-purchase period (brand in mind) and the post-purchase period
or consumption period (brand in hand). At Momentum, we know that companies
that spend money on acquiring customers (brand in mind) but fail to deliver on
the brand promise (brand in hand) will ultimately fail, causing high dissatisfaction
and high brand switching. STRATEGIC APPROACH TO DEVELOPING THE
BRAND EXPERIENCE Our goal is to have the brand embody an experience that
is valuable, optimal, and cannot be duplicated by competitors. MOMENTUM
EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING SERVICES The ultimate goal of Momentum
Experiential Marketing™ is to create holistic brand experiences for customers.
Our strategic approach is guided by a simple formula: Brand = Reputation (in the
marketplace) + Promise (to the marketplace) + Experience (of customers)
BRAND = REPUTATION (in the marketplace) The first step is to develop a
Brand Footprint™. The Brand Footprint™ is Momentum's unique tool for
defining a brand's essence. The Brand Footprint™ is a coherent statement of a
brand's meaning and personality. Specifically it embodies: • What the brand
"means". What the brand "means" is what a brand gets credit for in the eyes of
consumers - its reputation across a number of key 62
63. dimensions. For example, Bayer means aspirin, doctor recommended, and
prevention against heart attacks. • What the brand "is". What the brand "is" is how
we would describe the brand's dominant personality traits - generally those that
correspond to its principal meanings. For example, Bayer is experienced, safe,
and versatile. BRAND = PROMISE (to the marketplace) The Brand Footprint™
provides critical insight into how the brand is perceived in the marketplace; this
understanding allows us to build meaningful relationships with consumers. The
relationship is a promise that their experience with the brand will be personally
 relevant, consistent, meaningful and memorable - an experience that will be
sought after time and time again. A Brand Promise is essentially a reason for
being, a company's long-term ambition for their brand. It encompasses how the
company views its industry today and tomorrow and the role they want their
brand to play in it. It seeks to carve out a premium, non-duplicable point of
differentiation in the marketplace. A Brand Promise sets forth the foundation
needed for organizations to focus in on how they want the external world to view
the brand, redesign operations and strategies in order to deliver on the promise,
and then develop marketing communications to fit with the image they are trying
to portray. A Brand Promise incorporates every aspect of a brand's business
model in order to create a holistic brand experience for the consumer. At
Momentum, we know that public impressions of brands are based only in part on
communication and public images. More than anything, they are based upon 63
64. the daily explicit and implicit interactions that people have with a brand. In other
words, the Experience. BRAND = EXPERIENCE (of customers) Experiences are
personal events that occur in response to some stimulation (e.g. as provided by
marketing efforts before and after purchase). An experience involves the entire
living being and can be infused into a product, used to enhance a service, or
created as an entity into itself. Experiences provide consumers a way to engage
physically, mentally, emotionally, socially or spiritually in the consumption of the
product or service making the interaction meaningful and real. A comprehensive
set of Momentum Experiential Marketing™ Service Drivers creates the optimal
consumer brand experience for your product or company. Momentum
Experiential Marketing™ Service Drivers , Communications Advertising
Promotions Co-Branding Events Sponsorships Product Placement Visual/Verbal
Identity Name Logos and Signage Product Presence Product Design Packaging 64
65. Brand Icons Web Sites and Electronic Media Site Dynamics In summary, to
effectively develop a brand experience that is meaningful and continually sought
after, we must: • Fully understand the meaning of the brand, its personality and
what consumers are willing to give the brand credit for in the marketplace - Brand
Footprint. • Relate the brand to the consumer in unique, consistent, relevant and
meaningful ways, creating a non-duplicable point of differentiation - Brand
Promise. • Realize the promise in every interaction the consumer has with the
brand - The Experience. Developing a sound strategy will allow us to determine
the best way to actualize the promise as part of a full-scale consumer experience
platform. Momentum Experiential Marketing™ Services enable us to bring the
experience platform to life. Brand Citizenship Why the Brand Citizenship Service
was created: Due to the revolution in global communications and commerce,
McCann- Erickson WorldGroup recognize that there has been a sea change in the
perception of brands. Brands, these global icons, have become the new symbols,
the new coats of arms that represent vast global constituents. They cross borders
and national culture at will. They are neither products nor companies; they are
worldwide constituencies of millions around the globe bound by common beliefs,
values and point of view that transcend all 65
66. traditional boundaries. They have become repositories and symbols of a global
community of individuals who share core values, lifestyles and beliefs. Brand
 Citizenship™ is a service that facilitates the development of marketing and
communications strategies in this ever more global constituency led market
environment. It begins with the development of new mindset tools, and practices
before moving on to how brands and corporations should operate in a world
where brands begin to supercede states and other organizations. Brand
Citizenship™ utilizes the very latest thinking in considering the brand in its new
environment. The role of the brand steward in worldwide constituency
management is examined: in particular how he identifies his citizenship, and the
means and methods to enter a dialogue with the citizen. Analogies are drawn from
the past in order to gain fresh insight on the role and the responsibilities of the
brand steward - someone we come to consider more akin to a leader of a nation
rather than a manager of a product. Attention is also given to the role of the
employee who plays a vital part in Brand Citizenship™ by creating and
perpetuating the brand. The Brand Citizenship™ Service incorporates the use of
other McCann- Erickson proprietary tools such as The Brand Footprint™ and The
Selling Strategy™ (as detailed in The Roadmap to Effective Communications™)
in the process of managing global Brand Citizenships. This process is broken
down into three key areas - citizenship definition tools, communications corridors
and a pervasive worldwide system. The Brand Citizenship™ Service has proven
valuable to a range of McCann- Erickson WorldGroup clients around the world.
We believe that in the 66
67. increasingly competitive global village in which we operate, our Brand
Citizenship™ Service will become even more valuable in the future. SWOT
ANALYSIS:- STRENGTHS:- 1) Planning is a major strength of this agency. This
is because Mc Cann is the only agency whose president is the planner. 2) Also, as
far as overall account planning ability , Mc Cann Erickson stands 4th amongst all
advertising agencies worldwide. 3) On the creative ability front, Mc Cann
Erickson bags third position in the list of top ten advertising agencies. 4) Mc Cann
Erickson is a worldwide organization with its roots firmly penetrated into the soils
of advertising and marketing with many subsidiaries and group concerns , Mc
Cann Erickson has aggressively tapped the world market and consolidated its
ground in all spheres. 5) Mc Cann Erickson is a highly professionally managed
organization. Its executives are its major assets as is clear from their contributions
to Mc Cann and their portfolios. 6) In India, an overall basis i.e. on the grounds of
quality of client servicing, overall creative quality, account planning, overall
partnership, media, market recognition, overall organization/people, billing
procedures, management of financial dealings with clients &logistics, Mc Cann
stands 4th in the list of Top 20 agencies. 67
68. 7) Mc Cann Erickson’s biggest strength is the quality of human resources it
possesses. With people like Sorab Mistry who is the CEO South-Asia Mc Cann-
Erickson , Santosh Doshi, Prasoon Joshi and Chintamani Rao, Mc Cann not only
races ahead of agencies like Contract , Mudra and Leo Burnett but also has a huge
potential for the future. Prasoon Joshi, earlier creative director of O&M’s Mumbai
Office, now a national creative director of Mc Cann Erickson is the second
amongst India’s hottest creative directors. In a short period of time, he has
managed to upstage a number of heavyweights to sit pretty at number two on the
 list of most admired creative directors. WEAKNESSES:- 1) Client Servicing is a
major weakness for Mc Cann Erickson. On grounds of client servicing, Mc Cann
is the 5th position in the list of 15 advertising agencies; way behind agencies like
JWT, O&M, Lowe &Mudra. 2) Also, though McCann bags the third position on
grounds of creative ability, it is mainly due to the strength of its Coke campaign
and to a lesser extent the work on chlormint. 3) As far as media planning is
concerned, universal McCann is not very strong. It’s on the 9th position and just
followed by R K Swamy .In terms of market recognition also, Mc Cann is not
very commanding. McCann Erickson hasn’t bagged too many awards and it’s also
not very strong at managing its P.R 4) Universal McCann also lags behind most
of its competitors in media buying and planning. That is to say, it does not incur
much of an 68
69. expenditure on advertising i.e. buying media, research and development.
OPPORTUNITIES :- 1) McCann Erickson is a worldwide organization ; having
its branches in many parts of the world. With international tie-ups and
subsidiaries in every nook and corner of the world, McCann is in a very strong
position to fruitfully tap the resources unique to every country and also make an
optimum exploitation of the conditions and the environment prevailing in each of
these nations. 2) McCann is empowered with professionals having diversified
experience and skills in the field of advertising and marketing. This can be
utilized by the organization in overcoming its above-mentioned weaknesses to a
greater extent. 3) Empowered with a worldwide reputation, McCann is also
capable of diversifying into other sectors of advertising and marketing and also
other forms of media. Besides, being an organization of international repute, it is
also capable of recruiting some of the best people in the industry on whose
individual strengths it can continue to remain a world-leader and a trail-blazer in
this field. THREATS :- 1) If McCann does not improve its client-servicing, then it
can prove to a major threat in the growth of the organization. This is because of
the fact that most of the other organisations who are close competitors of McCann
have already improvised on their client-servicing abilities. 69
70. 2) McCann’s poularity is mainly due to some of its successful campaigns. It has
still to improve a lot on its creative abilities. Barring a few clients like Coke and
Chlormint, the other ad campaigns of McCann have lacked creativity. So in order
to remain in the top frame, McCann has to concentrate on its creativity. 3) Lack of
proper media planning is also a major threat for McCann. It has to improve a lot
on this aspect to survive the competition. ADVERTISING AGENCY # 5
MUDRA HISTORY It was a rather humble beginning ;No thunder, no lightning,
no guardian angels showering of blessings In 1980, Mudra had one client - Vimal
and a 500sq.ft. Office Its objective was very simple To create the best
contemporary advertising which Mudra did. Mudra really is not sure if it made the
advertising fraternity sit up and take notice But others definitely did which
explains how nine years hence, Mudra was the largest Indian advertising agency
And today, 23 years hence, Mudra have 125 clients nationwide And 3 agencies, 8
offices and 6 divisions in India and an equity partnership with DDB Worldwide
And a capitalised billing of Rs. 7.8 billion And a 70
71. portfolio of some of India’s best brands And Agency of the Year awards six times
And if its words are not enough, here are a few from its clients “If you’re looking
for an agency that can be part of hits own team, that cannot be called an agency,
but is a part of its family. That treats its products as their product and whose
people will work as if they’re working in its organization, there’s only one
agency. That is Mudra.” -Piruz Khambatta, CMD Rasna Enterprises Ltd. “They’re
completely involved in the brand. They take an active role and see them as a
partner.” -Amit Jatia, MD McDonald’s Hardcastle Restaurants. Spirit Every brand
has a descriptor. Every brand has a baseline. And being in the business of creating
them makes Mudra eligible for four Made in India Mudra was created by a group
of individuals whose only credentials were being Indian and knowing India
Together they took India to the Indian and went on to become the largest Indian
advertising agency Mudra (starting with the name) is made in India, for India, by
Indians Success is Mudra’s Oxygen It is constant discontent and craving that has
taken Mudra where they are It has forced them to continually raise their own
benchmarks thereby helping them stay ahead of the competition. “Success is what
keeps them going, success is what they keep going for” 71
72. PIONEERS IN ADVERTISING INDUSTRY In an industry that sets trends, to be
a trendsetter is no mean achievement. Yet, in the 23 years of its existence, Mudra
has set trend after trend. To the extent that if it is something new, Mudra is
somewhere in the picture. Here are some of the examples : • It was Mudra that
first gave India double spread colour ads • It was Mudra that first sponsored
commercial telecast of a major sporting event with the India-West Indies series of
1983 • It was Mudra that first branded a public issue, `Reliance Khazana' • It was
Mudra that made India's first telefilm, `Janam' • It was Mudra that gave
Doordarshan `Rajani", the serial that heralded a new consumer awareness in India
• It was Mudra that gave India its first academy for advertising The Mudra
Institute of Communications, MICA • It was Mudra that gave India its first
transnational agency, Mudra International • It is Mudra that gave India her first
advertising archives, the MAGIndia DIVISIONS OF MUDRA DIVISION
PROFILE Public Relations: Horizons Horizons is Mudra’s PR division.
Currently, it has three full service offices in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore with
access to human resources and infrastructure in Ahmedabad, Calcutta, Chennai,
Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur and Pune 72
73. Horizons is an affiliate of Porter Novelli International the world's third largest PR
network spread across 40 countries worldwide. Over the past ten years, Horizons
has been instrumental in helping clients from various industries enter the Indian
market. And having worked with a range of clients gives Horizons the experience
to handle projects of any kind and magnitude. Horizons handle the Public
Relations activity not only for some of Mudra's clients but for a large number of
other corporates as well. Activities include communications strategy, Media
relations, corporate communications, brand communications, event management,
sponsorships, Employee communication and Crisis management. Founder A.G.
Krishnamurthy :- We are not really sure whether the local astrologer saw what the
boy born on the 28th of April, 1942 at Vinukonda in Andhra Pradesh would go on
to achieve nor whether Shri A. G Krishnamurthy’s teachers saw that their student
 would go on To make advertising history In ‘68, he joined Calico Mills in
Ahmedabad and in ‘72, moved to their advertising agency, Shilpi Advertising In
‘76 he moved to Reliance Industries as their advertising manager Four years later,
on 25th March, 1980, he founded Mudra Communications. This is where the story
begins: 73
74. Once he said that as a result of all the years he spent in Ahmedabad, a little bit of
the Gujarati’s entrepreneurial spirit has rubbed off on him May be such things do
happen Shri Krishnamurthy started with 1 brand, Vimal The chain he set up today
has a 125 links, a 125 clients In ‘91, he created the Mudra Institute of
Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA), the only advertising school of its kind in
Asia A couple of years later came Mudra International, again the first time an
Indian agency had opened shop abroad In ‘95 Shri Krishnamurthy was nominated
Advertising Person of the Year by A&M, India’s leading marketing journal In
‘97, he was inducted into the Calcutta Ad Club’s Hall of Fame In ‘98, the British
magazine ‘Media International’ nominated Shri Krishnamurthy as one of the 25
key figures in the international advertising industry In ‘99 he was awarded the
AAAI-Premnarayen Award in recognition of ‘his pioneering spirit and
entrepreneurial vision’ After an eventful stint spanning 23 years as Chairman and
Managing Director of Mudra, Shri A G Krishnamurthy retired on 31st March
2003 LIST OF AWARDS Mudra has collected many accolades over the years
including the "Agency of the Year" award for 6 years besides the induction of
Shri A.G.Krishnamurthy (CMD) into the Calcutta Ad Club Hall of Fame; his
being chosen as the Ad Person of the Year by A&M; his nomination as "one of
the 25 key figures of the international Ad Industry" in 1998 by British 74
75. Magazine - Media International; and the AAAI-Premnarayen Award in
recognition of his pioneering spirit and entrepreneurial vision 1993 | Total awards
55 Agency of the Year - A&M 1994 | Total awards 52 Agency of the Year -
Bangalore Ad Club 1995 | Total awards 84 1) Agency of the Year - A&M 2)
Advertising Person of the Year (A.G.Krishnamurthy) - A&M 1996 | Total awards
90 Agency of the Year - Calcutta Ad Club 1997 | Total awards 67 Agency of the
Year - The Pioneer Hall of Fame (A.G.Krishnamurthy) - Calcutta Ad Club 1998 |
Total awards 87 The British magazine "Media International" nominated
A.G.Krishnamurthy as one of the 25 key figures of the international advertising
industry 1999 | Total awards 60 Agency of the Year - Delhi Ad Club AAAI -
Premnarayen Award A.G. Krishnamurthy in recognition of his pioneering spirit
and entrepreneurial vision 2000 | Total awards 72 (36 Awards of MAG) 2001 |
Total awards 50 (16 Awards of MAG) Creativity 31, USA (7 Gold Awards) 2002
| Total awards 27 (2 Awards of MAG) 75
76. MAJOR CLIENTS Product/Service Brand Name Client Name Category
Adhesives Jubilant Vam Organics Air Coolers Symphony Symphony Ltd. Airline
Air India Air India Anti-Infective – Prickly ItchGuard DermiCool Paras
Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Heat Antiseptic Creams - Heel Krack SR Paras
Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Care Antiseptic Lotion BoroSoft Paras Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Automobile Dealers Popular Popular Vehicles & Services Ltd. DIVISIONS
D.D.B PROFILE: In 1988, Mudra decided to collaborate with an international
agency an agency with the vision, experience and determination to set standards
 for the profession .That agency was DDB Worldwide, part of the Omnicom
Group. This affiliation gives them access to the best creative product, latest
information technology, media modelling, direct marketing and other
international advertising and marketing inputs 76
77. But the theme that binds them together is their definition of advertising. The
concept of the Third Dimension as they put it, and Return on Inves”ent (ROI) as
their colleagues at DDB see it. Over the years, the interactions have led to a better
creative product and a better understanding of product categories It is this spirit of
trying to be the best at everything one does that today binds Mudra and DDB
together INTERACT VISION: Interact Vision Advertising and Marketing (P)
Ltd. was the combination in 1992 of two Mudra Group companies, Interact and
Vision. If there is anyone today who can claim to be as close to India and Indian
values as Mudra is, it is Interact Vision This tradition has helped shape its
characterThe agency does not just take on an account It adopts the business
sharing the burdens, responsibilities, rewards and disappoin”ents. Today, the
Interact Vision portfolio includes several multinationals as well. At Interact-
Vision, the stress has always been on effectiveness .This they did by never losing
sight of the three factors that have contributed to our effectiveness - relevance,
impact and focus. In 1980, Mudra started with a modest turnover of Rs.30 lakh in
the first year of operation The first few years indicated a placid growth rate of
25% From 1985 onwards, turnover accelerated at a furious pace 77
78. Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer Mr. Madhukar Kamath Executive
Director & Chief Creative Officer Mr. Alan D’Souza Executive Director & Head
Leadership, Learning & New Initiative Total Branding (South) Change Mr. R.
Lakshminarayanan Mr. Dilip Upadhyaya Mr. Prabir Purkayashta Branches
Bangalore & Hyderabad / Kolkata Ahmeda- Chennai Kochi Mumbai Bad Vice
President – Vice CFO – Hemant Exe. Vice S. President – Mishra President –
President Radhakrishnan Mr. Bal Jude Mr. Branch Director Deshpande Director –
Fernandes Chandan – Manager – Amritendu Roy Nath Ashok Mr. G. Vidyasagar
Serenity SWOT ANALYSIS OF ADVERTISING AGENCIES - A
COMPARATIVE STUDY 78
79. S. Basis No. Name of the agency National Agencies International Agencies
Xebec Mudra Canco Carat McCann Ercikson 1 Does the agency conduct a SWOT
Analysis of its clients i.e. whether it assesses the strengths, weaknesses of its
clients and whether Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes it makes an assessment of the level of
knowledge possessed by its client pertaining to the field of advertising 2 Does the
agency This is an This is an have any international international international tie-
ups agency with No No No agency with subsidiaries subsidiaries all all over the
over the world world 3 Does the agency enjoy patronage Mostly the Mostly the
from any Yes Yes No clients are clients are multinational clients multinational
multinational ? 4 Scope of Medium Large Medium Large Large operations 5
Does the agency specialise in any Yes Yes No Yes No one type of media ? 6
Media in which the Print Print There is no Electronic There is no such agencies
specialise such one one media in media in which which this this agency agency
specialises specialises 7 Quality of human The top level As far as the As far as the
As far as the As far as the top resource of top level of top level of top level of
 level of management management management is management management is
does not is concerned, concerned, the is concerned, concerned, it comprise of it
consists of office-bearers it consists of consists of people who professional are
professional professional are from the people as is professional people as is
people as is field of reflected in people having reflected in reflected in the
adveritising the approach an academic the approach approach and or who are and
the background in and the the decision- having some decision- the field of
decision- making activities sort of an making management making of the agency.
experience. activities of or marketing activities of The founders of Though they
the agency and having an the agency this agency were 79
80. may be well- experience in themselves men groomed in this field. of dignified
their However, the stature, decision- number of personified making people in the
background and abilities and top level who dynamic framing of have the
entrepreneurs. It policies, they decision- is basically don't have making because of
the that proper authority are foot-work of academic too few and the these
founders background line staff is on which the relatively much successors have
tread and led the agency to great heights of name and fame. 8 Decision-making
Largely Decentralised Largely Decentralised Decentralised centralised centralised
9 Area of operation Local as well Local as well Local Mostly Mostly as as
international international international international 10 Clientele base Broad
based Broad based Not broad Broad based Broad based ; based throughout the
world 11 Transparency of The agency The agency Although the Though, the
Though, the operations believes in believes in agency has not agency has agency
has making its making its created any given plenty given plenty of operations
operations website of information information transparent transparent (which is
about its about its as is quite as is quite presently operations on operations on
evident form evident form under websites etc. websites etc. it is the fact that the
fact that a development) it is practically a lot of lot of being a local practically
difficult for a information information and a small- difficult for a small can be can
be sized agency it small prospective obtained by obtained by is possible for
prospective customer to any one from any one from local and customer to hunch
out for various various medium-sized hunch out for them sources like sources like
prospective them websites, websites, customers to personal personal avail of its
visits etc. visits etc. services. 12 Types of customers Mostly Mostly Every type of
Mostly Mostly catered to corporates corporates customer from corporates
corporates individuals to corporates. 13 Whether the agency has engaged the No
services of any No information Yes Yes No information celebrities for available
available endorsement of its clients' products and services ? COMPARISON
BETWEEN GROSS INCOME OF TOP 25 AGENCIES 80
81. S.No. AGENCY GROSS INCOME (Rs. In lakhs) (2001) 1 JWT 20743 2 O&M
12587.4 3 Mudra 10696 4 FCB-Ulka 8648.4 5 Rediffusion DY & R 7520.4 6
McCann-Erickson India Ltd. 6183.6 7 R K Swamy / BBDO Advertising 4415.9 8
Grey Worldwide (I) Pvt. Ltd. 4250 9 Leo Burnett India Pvt. Ltd. 3759.1 10
Contract 3209.8 11 Euro - RSCG 3060 12 Pressman Advertising 2928.4 13 MAA
2676 14 IB&W Communications 2665.7 15 Triton Communications Pvt. Ltd.
2186.2 16 Ambience D'Arcy 2180 17 Bates India 2107.2 18 Percept Advertising
 Ltd. 2076.6 19 Saatchi & Saatchi 1599.8 20 TBWA Anthem 1438.9 21 Everest
1329.6 22 Madison Communications P.Ltd. 1148 23 SSC & B Lintas 1120 24
Publicis 1108.1 25 Quadrant 985.8 81
82. 21000 COMPARITIVE STUDY 20000 19000 18000 17000 16000 15000 14000
13000 12000 11000 10000 9000 8000 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0
Saatchi & Saatchi Grey Worldwide (I) Pvt. Ltd. Triton Communications Pvt. Ltd.
Quadrant IB&W Communications Contract AGENCY Euro - RSCG Madison
Communications P.Ltd. R K Swamy / BBDO Advertising Rediffusion DY & R
JWT Ambience D'Arcy Mudra McCann-Erickson India Ltd. TBWA Anthem Leo
Burnett India Pvt. Ltd. O&M SSC & B Lintas Pressman Advertising MAA Bates
India Publicis FCB-Ulka Percept Advertising Ltd. Everest ADVERTISING
AGENCIES Growth of Advertising Agencies : The XIIth Agency Report of
A&M magazine makes the remarkable disclosure that the ad industry remained
steady in 2000-01, with a growth figure of 23.51 per cent, only slightly less than
the XIth Agency Report's figure of 24.83 per cent for 1999-00. No surprise there,
given that the ad industry growth rate is typically four times the economic growth,
in any country (though India had a higher ration during the mid-1990's boom). 82
83. The magazine has made a shift in the reporting emphasis following change in
accounting policies of many agencies, from capitalised billings earlier to gross
income. "This makes no difference to the agency ranking, since it was always
done by gross income - which is the audit-certified figure that agencies submit to
A&M. But it does influence the way we speak of the industry's size," the survey
said. • In rupee terms, the Gross Income of the Top 100 agencies stands at Rs
12,753.60 million for 2000-01, as compared to their total of Rs 10,325.81 million
in 1999-2000. • In terms of Capitalised Billings (Gross Income multiplied by
6.67), the industry figure for 2000-01 stands at Rs 85,066.51 million. • Together,
the Top 5 participating agencies this year, HTA, O&M, Mudra, FCB-Ulka and
Rediffusion DY&R (Lowe Lintas opted not to participate), account for 47.2 per
cent of the Top 100's total Gross Income. • WPP Group has penetrated India so
well (with HTA, O&M, Contract, Fortune, Equus and Rediffusion DY&R) that it
has a 34.7 per cent share of the Indian ad pie in 2000-01 with five participating
agencies in this year's report. • More than half the Top 100 agencies (62) have
grown between 0 and 40 per cent. Eight agencies have growth rates above 100 per
cent - Bates, Capital, Rashtriya, MX, Brand.comm, Quiksel, Triple ESS and
RMG. • Of the Top 100, 13 agencies have reported negative growth - Impulse,
Interact Vision, National, Crescent, Thumbprint, Elegant, Shells, Avishkar, TV
ADS, Siddhartha, Batha, Wide Reach and TAS Vision. 83
84. • The big surprise comes from Moulis Euro RSCG, which jumps from No 44 to
No 17. The Havas umbrella seems to have worked some wonders. In the
globalisation era, big agencies have found it impossible to survive without any
foreign partnership. That's the power of globally- networked advertising agencies
- still the biggest force of change in Indian advertising, a decade after the market
was thrown open to foreign inves”ent. Though Indian agencies have no real cause
to rejoice as growth may not be anything compared to the advertising exuberance
of the mid-1990s when growth peaked at 49.5 per cent in 1994-95, but it is good
by global standards, the magazine noted while releasing the survey report 84
85. Top 20 Advertising Agencies RANK AGENCY 1999-00 2000-01 1 1 Hindustan
Thompson Associates Ltd 2 2 Ogilvy & Mather Pvt Ltd 3 3 Mudra
Communications 4 4 FCB-Ulka Advertising Ltd 5 5 Rediffusion-DY&R 6 6
McCann Erickson (India) Ltd 7 7 R K Swamy/BBDO Advertising Pvt Ltd 8 8
Grey Worldwide (I) Pvt Ltd 9 9 Leo Burnett India Pvt Ltd 11 10 Contract
Advertising (India) Ltd 15 11 Euro RSCG Advertising Pvt Ltd* 10 12 Pressman
Advertising & Marketing Ltd 12 13 MAA 13 14 iB&W Communications Pvt Ltd
16 15 Triton Communications Pvt Ltd 18 16 Ambience D'Arcy Advertising Pvt
Ltd 44 17 Moulis Euro RSCG Advertising Service Pvt Ltd -- 18 Bates India 17 19
Percept Advertising Ltd 19 20 Saatchi & Saatchi Ltd Top 20 Advertising
Spenders CHANGE OVER RANK COMPANY YR. ENDING AD SPEND
PRVS YEAR (%) 1999-00 2000-01 1 1 Hindustan Lever Dec 2000 696.58 -5.60
2 2 Colgate-Palmolive India Mar 2001 213.96 10.30 3 3 ITC Mar 2001 183.32
-0.96 4 4 Dabur India Mar 2001 146.08 21.71 -- 5 LG Electronics India Dec 2000
131.4 70.16 85
86. 5 6 Nestle India Dec 2000 128.46 13.59 6 7 McDowell & Co Mar 2000 118.94
26.60 7 8 Bajaj Auto Mar 2001 102.53 13.62 -- 9 Maruti Udyog Mar 2000 88.20
34.39 -- 10 Herbertsons Mar 2000 85.93 13.16 9 11 Britannia Industries Mar 2001
85.29 10.75 8 12 Godfrey Phillips India Mar 2000 85.15 30.94 12 13 Marico
Industries Mar 2001 79.82 36.03 -- 14 Godrej Industries Mar 2001 77.54 106.55
14 15 Telco Mar 2001 71.89 47.56 25 16 SKB Consumer Healthcare Dec 2000
69.36 61.98 10 17 Tata Tea Mar 2001 64.63 -5.22 -- 18 Hyundai Motor India Mar
2000 63.73 222.52 17 19 Hero Honda Motors Mar 2001 61.12 30.57 -- 20 Reckitt
Benckiser India Dec 2000 61.01 8.48 Source : www.mind-
advertising.com/us/om_us.h” CHANGE OVER RANK COMPANY YR.
ENDING AD SPEND PRVS YEAR (%) 2003-04 2004-05 1 1 Coca cola ltd Dec
2005 3900 25.81 2 2 Pepsi ltd Mar 2005 3800 31.03 3 3 Colgate pomolive Mar
2005 795 35.89 4 4 ITC Mar 2005 710 26.78 -- 5 Reliance ind ltd Dec 2005 690
20.72 5 6 Videocon ind ltd Dec 2005 680 41.67 6 7 Dabur India ltd Mar 2005 400
60.00 7 8 Hinhustan ltd Mar 2005 350 55.55 -- 9 Nestle India ltd Mar 2005 325
47.05 -- 10 Bajaj auto ltd Mar 2005 190 85.88 9 11 Britannia Industries Mar 2005
85.29 10.75 8 12 Godfrey Phillips India Mar 2000 85.15 30.94 12 13 Marico
Industries Mar 2001 79.82 36.03 -- 14 Godrej Industries Mar 2001 77.54 106.55
14 15 Telco Mar 2001 71.89 47.56 25 16 SKB Consumer Healthcare Dec 2000
69.36 61.98 86
87. 10 17 Tata Tea Mar 2001 64.63 -5.22 -- 18 Hyundai Motor India Mar 2000 63.73
222.52 17 19 Hero Honda Motors Mar 2001 61.12 30.57 -- 20 Reckitt Benckiser
India Dec 2000 61.01 8.48 Agencies Ranking ( on the basis of services offered)
Agency Ranks (On the basis of) Creativity Client Account Ability Servicing
Planning Ability O&M 1 2 2 Lowe 2 3 3 McCann-Erickson 3 5 4 Contract 4 6 6
JWT 5 1 1 Mudra 6 4 7 Leo Burnett 7 9 8 Publicis Ambience 8 15 15 Enterprise
Nexus 9 14 11 Rediffusion DY & R 10 8 10 FCB-Ulka 11 7 5 Grey Worldwide
12 10 13 R K Swamy BBDO 13 11 12 Bates 14 12 9 Euro RSCG 15 13 14 87
88. On the basis of topography West North East O&M 1 1 1 Lowe 2 3 3 JWT / HTA
3 2 2 Contract 4 6 5 McCann 5 4 9 Leo Burnett 6 8 NA* FCB - Ulka 7 7 NA*
Mudra 8 5 6 Publicis Ambience 9 NA* NA* Grey Worldwide 10 10 NA*
 Rediffusion DY & R NA* 9 7 Bates India NA* NA* 4 Saatchi & Saatchi NA*
NA* 10 * NA = Not Available 2001 Top 10 Multinational Advertisers (Ad Age
International Nov 11, 2002) 1. Procter & Gamble Co. Worldwide advertising
expenditure US$3,820.1 million 2. General Motors Corp. Worldwide advertising
expenditure US$ 3,028.9 million 3. Unilever. Worldwide advertising expenditure
US$3,005.5 million 4. Ford Motor Co. Worldwide advertising expenditure
US$2,309 million 5. Toyota Motor Corp. Worldwide advertising expenditure
US$2,213 million 6. AOL Time Warner. Worldwide advertising expenditure
US$2099.8 million 7. Philip Morris. Worldwide advertising expenditure
US$1,934.6 million 88
89. 8. Daimler Chrysler Worldwide advertising expenditure US$1,835.3 million 9.
Nestle SA. Worldwide advertising expenditure US$1,798.5 million 10.
Volkswagen Worldwide advertising expenditure US$1794.1 million Major
Advertisers by Region 2001 Top 10 Multinational Advertising Agencies (Ad Age
Intnl., April 2002) 1. Dentsu. Worldwide gross income: US$2,078.1 million 2.
McCann-Erickson. Worldwide gross income: US$1,857.9 million 3. BBDO
Worldwide. Worldwide gross income: US$1611.7 million 4. J. Walter Thompson.
Worldwide gross income: US$1,536.1 million 5. Euro RSCG: Worldwide gross
income: US$1,441.2 million 6. Grey. Worldwide gross income: US$1,321 million
7. DDB Needham. Worldwide gross income: US$1,214.6 million 8. Ogilvy &
Mather. Worldwide gross income: US$1,135.4 million 9. Leo Burnett. Worldwide
gross income: US$1,072.3 million 10. Publicis Worldwide. Worldwide gross
income: US$1,066 million 89
90. COMPARISON OF AGENCIES ON THE BASIS OF WORLDWIDE GROSS
INCOME S.No. Name of the Agency Worldwide Gross Income (Rs. In millions)
1 Dentsu 2078.1 2 McCann-Erickson 1857.9 3 BBDO 1611.7 4 J. Walter
Thompson 1536.1 5 Euro RSCG 1441.2 6 Grey 1321 7 DDB Needham 1214.6 8
Ogilvy & Mather 1135.4 9 Leo Burnett 1072.3 10 Publicis 1066 Worldwide
Gross Income 2100 2000 1900 1800 1700 1600 1500 Gross Income 1400 1300
1200 1100 1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Thompson Grey
Needham Ogilvy & RSCG Publicis Dentsu McCann- Burnett Erickson J. Walter
Euro BBDO Mather Leo DDB 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Name of the Agency
GROWTH OF ADVERTISING AGENCIES Year No.of Agencies Year No.of
Agencies 1939-40 14 1992-93 591 1949-50 61 1993-94 620 90
91. 1959-60 74 1994-95 651 1969-70 108 1995-96 702 1979-80 168 1996-97 718
1983-84 310 1997-98 741 1987-88 460 1998-99 750 1990-91 568 1999-2000 757
1991-92 588 Growth of Advertising Agencies 800 700 600 500 No. of Agencies
400 300 200 100 0 1939- 1949- 1959- 1969- 1979- 1983- 1987- 1990- 1991-
1992- 1993- 1994- 1995- 1996- 1997- 1998- 1999- 40 50 60 70 80 84 88 91 92 93
94 95 96 97 98 99 2000 Years SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The world of advertising and advertising agencies has experienced a revolution.
It’s a jungle out here, the one who slays survives. In an attempt to be fiercer and
outsmart the competitor’s, today the agencies don’t spare a second thought in
going to any heights. Quality is compromised, games are 91
92. played and the poor customer is made the scapegoat. Code of conduct is restricted
to paper, the reality is different and darker than it appears. We may find agencies
 doing some honest business but the names are few and heard once in a blue moon.
In a bid to conquer the world, we have seen many a agency becoming Alexander.
In view of the current scenario and with a vision of the future, the following
recommendations can be cited:- 1) Agencies should accept more social
responsibilities and endeavor towards their maximum fulfillment. They can win
the game by winning the customers. Feelings should not be encashed and
emotions should not be auctioned. There have been recent cases of agencies
making misuse of situations of immense tension and riots in propoganding their
product in a bid to rake in a big fortune. 2) Agencies must be made to contribute a
fixed percentage of their gross incomes for advocating social cause. This will also
help agency earn a very good patronage and maximize customer loyalty. 3) There
should be certain standardization of fees and benchmarks should be laid down for
the advertisements that are put on display on our minds, in aspects of quality,
vieworship. 4) They should improve their accessibility and transparency. Though
big agencies cater to the needs of the elite, they should also be available to the
less deprived ones too. Education and knowledge should be spread through these
agencies in the form of advertisements. 5) Products and services should be made
to pass through several tests before they are put to display. Also a SWOT analysis
of the product or the service to be advertised should be done pre-hand. 92
93. 6) After sales-services should be improved and customers should be
spontaneously attended at the times of dissatisfaction and appeal. 7) Services
provided should be diversified and new avenues should be tapped for own growth
and for providing better service to everyone. 8) Outsmarting competitors in a bid
to capture the market at the cost of quality and customer well-being should be
replaced by healthy competition and a humane touch. 9) Co-operation should be
provided at all levels and accessibility even to the master minds should be
improved for better management and better relationships. CONCLUSION From
the study presented hereinabove, we come to know many faces of the multi-
faceted world of advertising agencies, some dark horses and some aggressive
lions. Each and every agency is a world in its own ----- with uniqueness in its
modus operandi, variance in their aggressiveness and 93
94. intensities and relativity in their positions. From agencies catering to the needs of
localised with a modest level of infrastructure and human resources, we have seen
king-size ones who make it to the Cannes every year. The aim is the same, the
game is different. The goal is the same, the ball is different. The mission is the
same, the vision is different and the objective is the same, the perspective is
different. They are all preparing the same dish to satisfy guests like us but their
recipe is unique. Their manouverability, vulnerability to threats, opportunities,
strengths and their intrinsic weaknesses posing obstacles in their journey to the
sky all vary drastically and understandably. though the blood running in their
veins is the same, their brains are unique thinktanks. Whatever may be the unity
in diversity, the world of advertising is very much flambouyant, enthusiastic,
glamourous and appealing and so is the fantasyland created on our minds by the
advertising agencies. It's only because of these advertising agencies that we are
subject to mind-boggling bombardment of commercials and advertisements. This
bombardment has not only increased the level of awareness amongst us but also
 the stupendous technological, industrial and commercial development but has also
given a new makeover to our static lifestyles. If knowledge is power, then we are
so empowered due to the powerful impact of the Medias on our minds, bodies and
souls. Although for these professional-to-the-core agencies, its nothing but a mint,
for us its a revolution. Revolution resulting into evolution --- of products, services
and people. Just like food without salt is indelible, a day in one's life without an
exposure to some new advertisement is unbelievable. Just as every coin has two
sides and every person has two faces, a fair and a dark one, so do these agencies.
All that glitters is not gold and all that is unrequired is also sold. 94
95. These advertising agencies have doubtlessly opened many new paraphernalias
and made the wind of revolution blow on our continent. They have enlightened
the entire country, made the life of an ordinary laymen extraordinary, raised the
standard of living, helped in the economic and commercial development, unfolded
a red carpet for new ideas, imagination, innovations and qualitative sophistication
but then they sometimes appear in front of our eyes as skeletons dressed in bridal
vein. Why is it so? Some call it over-professionalism, others call it over-
materialism but then we all know that today everything is fair in love, war and
advertising. Every agency wants to pull down the other to make it to the top.
Well, in this cat-race and times of cut-throat competition, the common layman
always gets the maximum benefit since he is responsible for the bread and butter
of these agencies. However, it is also pertinent to note over here the fact that
many a time the audience is subject to foul-play. Unfortunately, in an attempt to
scale the highest peak, the consumer is made a dumping ground where even
garbage is covered by garland for easy dumping. The agencies make use of super-
humans in the field of cricket, movies, T.V. sops to endorse the products and
services of the companies which may also be of a sub-standard quality for they
know that imitation and emulation is in the nerves of every Indian and that
glamour always has a mesmerising, hypnotising impact on nerve cells. It is a very
sorry state of this industry that following ethics is itself unethical today, and
ethical is considered as impractical. The books propose, the crooks dispose. And
every damage to health and peace is backed by the sincerest of the justifications
and the most convincing demonstrations churned out from the advertising gurus'
brain factories. 95
96. Take the incident-of-the-day case of soft drinks like Coke and Pepsi. Brands of
multinational giants and advertised so appealingly that they have created an
appalling effect. Too late to realise the fact (or is it ?) and too late to affect the
producers' and marketers' images. Well, it is certain that many injurious products
are also publicised as items of harmless consumption and the buyer is an easy
prey to the bombardment of sophisticated publicity. What is required of these
agencies is to unearth the deeply buried ethics and codes of conduct under the
burden of over-professionalism, over- materialism and selfish profiteering.
Though profits are the key benchmarks for every company, no profit can last on
dissatisfaction and denudation of consumer and his welfare. "A stitch in timesaves
nine" and "it is never too late to mend". It will announce a bright future for
producers and advertising agencies that advertise their products and services if
they stitch one button before the shirt becomes buttonless. And ...... buttonless
 shirts are immediately discarded. BIBLIOGRAPHY & REFERENCES : 1.
Marketing Management ---- Philip Kotler 2. Advertising Management –Amita
Shankar 3. Adverting, Marketing and Sales Management- Takur D 4. The
Economic Times 96
97. 5. Brand Equity 6. INA Handbook 2000-2001 WEBLIOGRAPHY 1. Www.
Indiantelevision.com 2. www.adage.com 3. www.mind-advertising .com 4.
www.xebecindia.com 5. www.mudra.com 6. www.eurorscg.com 7.
www.mccann.com 8. www.perceptindia.com 9. www.carat.com 10.
www.thehoot.org 11. www.mind-advertising.com/us/om_us.htm 97