Interview: What inspires you?

What inspires me is Change.

Over the past 20 years I have seen our industry change 5 times over. Each time the challenge it has thrown at us is that of adapting. And each and every time it is tough… there is a tendency to react with “Who moved my Cheese?” kind of reaction! But each time, one has found the strength and vision to go forth and adapt to the change.

Change has come from all kinds of directions…  could be the economy, clients, people, technology, consumers etc etc. Each time the change has brought out the best in the business and had helped us to create a better solution for the brands we work with. (Well, almost always!)

We have, and continue to learn so much from the change around us that we are now hard-wired to seek out change around us, sniffing for opportunities to metamorphosis & grow, thrilling and scary at the same time.

What is even more inspiring is to “create the change” J

The Power of Partnership

The power of partnership.... should be called the power of long-term partnership, because the term 'partnership' is often misused. The spirit of partneship is more important than the letter of an agreement.

No one knows the power of partnership better than those who have suffered the lack of partnership. In th business of events and activation have been build purely on the spirit of partnership.

The value that clients and agencies who have had the strength to build such long-term partnerships have reaped the rewards with building great brands, intellectual property events and so much more.

First, develop ‘non-short-term’ relationships with agencies, and make some level of financial commitment to such relationships. Such commitments allow the agency to have a medium term view and invest in resources that would then contribute positively to clients’ brand building.

Second, Instead of calling for multi-agency pitches, which is counter productive because agencies are investing in pitching rather than the process of building clients’ brands. Trust in your agency’s ability, give them more information and ‘gyaan’ about the brand, and make them a strategic partner. It will pay back in dollops!

Third, respect intellectual property of the agency. Just because an idea has no physical form does not mean it belongs to nobody. If your agency does not have the ability to execute the idea you have presented, “buy” the idea and get another agency to execute it (if you like). Investing in intellectual property develops stronger relationships and develops the industry at large.

Fourth, pay fairly for the value you are getting. Negotiation and driving value is all very well, but no agency or business is going to take on projects that make a loss. If the client is going to beat the price down, the difference will show in quality, for sure. You may get a great value deal 1 time out 10 but you will end up paying for it the other 9 times.

Interview: “Is BTL booming as a result of the economic slowdown?”

I believe that the slowdown is mostly in the mind. Unfortunately, what’s in the mind has a profound impact on everyday action. Consumers and customers alike are reacting to sentiment and there is an overall sense of “hold is gold”.

In this scenario, it is key to get the buyer to make decisions, influence the buyer at the key moment when he or she is taking the plunge either by impacting their experience or enhancing it. This could lead to either the consumer succumbing to temptation, need or greed. Or even better, simply switching brand choice.

As a BTL evangelist for the past 15 years, I have seen it proven time and again that what Activation can achieve and deliver for a brand, advertising and mass media is not capable of. BTL as a discipline and marketing communication tool has been growing relentlessly for the past 15 years, at first in spurts and now in leaps and bounds.

In the economic slowdown, more and more brands are shifting money to BTL to influence buyer decision making. The process of growth of BTL has been given an almighty heave, where BTL was already growing in credibility and delivery, the economic slowdown is going to prove to be a major turning point in this growth.