Goafest 2011: Advertising Conclave reviews the preparation for new decade

Advertisers expect a lot from the agencies but are they ready face the challenges? Discuss industry leaders.

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | April 8, 2011

Keeping in mind the changing landscape of the industry the Advertising conclave by the Advertising Agencies Association of India addressed the need for anticipating and preparing for the coming decade! Led by Srinivasan Swamy of RK Swamy BBDO the Advertising conclave saw many eminent personalities taking the stage to discuss and share their views on certain issues plaguing the industry and the way forward!

The first session brought in the advertisers perspective on what agencies should be doing to maintain their relevance in he coming years. Rajiv Dube Director, Group Corporate Services and Director Aditya Birla Management Corporation private Limited and Mayank Pareek, Managing Executive Officer Maruti Udyog were on the panel of speakers who shared their perspectives on the issue. While Dube was of the opinion that agencies should move into the role of business partners more than being the creative outputs to tackle the issue of relevance, Pareek stressed on the importance of focus on the rural markets to make the business future ready.

The next session was chaired by Nagesh Alai, President of AAAI and the speakers of the session were Farokh Balsara, Partner and National leader, Media & Entertainment, E&Y Sanjay Behl, CEO, DTH and IPTV and President – Brand & Marketing at Reliance, Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group, Arun Tadanki, CEO, Yahoo India and Thomas Simon, Vice President, Tata Consultancy Services. The session was focused on learning's from the service industry. The key learning's from the session were – every agency should have a robust engine of talent, recruitment and retention as people form the core of this business. There needs to be more focus on attitude than aptitude in recruiting as nobody can excel at everything! Another important learning from the session was 'plugging the leakages' wherein agencies need to evaluate profitability of the accounts they handle through regular internal audits. And finally focus on differentiation of content while addressing different audiences.

Session 3 was moderated by Colvyn Harris CEO JWT followed by a presentation from IMRB. Colvyn did a quick take on ideas for the future of the industry – Talent management, digital technology, integrated communication and creativity. The IMRB session highlighted the issues faced by the industry and the client and concluded that although both the industry and client face the same issue they are separated by perspectives.

The final session was moderated by Sam Balsara and the speakers for the session were Arvind Sharma, Chairman and CEO Leo Burnett, Ashish Bhasin Chairman Carat Media Services, Josy Paul Chairman and National Creative Director, BBDO India. The topic of the session was Where is the upside of this profession? The speakers unanimously agreed that an incredible future awaits for the advertising industry and the next decade will bring about a wave of positive change.

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