Women don't have to work as hard as men: Monica Tata

The IAA – India Chapter held another edition of IAA Interactions in Mumbai yesterday, where industry leaders like Bobby Pawar, CVL Srinivas and others shed light on the state of advertising, media and digital in India

Aanchal Kohli | Mumbai | October 28, 2015

Monica Tata

The International Advertising Association (IAA) – India Chapter has been taking up industry issues of relevance and importance under its property, IAA Interactions. The industry body hosted a delegation of 23 power women from nine business sectors in the US and seven industry leaders from IAA - India Chapter in Mumbai last evening.

The event presented an insightful overview of the various facets of the Indian economy and the state of the advertising, media and digital industry in India.

Among the speakers at the event were Srinivasan K Swamy, CMD, RK Swamy BBDO and President IAA - India Chapter; Neeraj Roy, MD and CEO, Hungama.com; Bobby Pawar, MD and Chief Creative Officer, Publicis Worldwide, South Asia; CVL Srinivas, CEO, GroupM; Ashok Venkatramani, CEO, ABP News; and Kaushik Roy, President - Brand Strategy & Marketing Communication, Reliance Industries.

Starting the conversation, Monica Tata, Honorary Secretary, IAA - India Chapter, shared her 25-year experience in the industry. She remarked, “Challenges become obstacles if you bow down to them. Leadership is not about being a CEO, it is taking charge of roles that influence an organisation. Women don't have to work as hard as men as they get it right the first time. Students can play a huge role in communication, brand advertising and strategy.”

Speaking at the event, CVL Srinivas pointed out, “The Indian M&E market size is $16 billion, while the Indian advertising market is half that figure at $8 billion. There are still a few sectors in India that are under-branded and under-advertised. However, at the same time, we've had amazing campaigns by advertisers like Hindustan Unilever, which came up with the idea of missed call for its Kan Khajura Tesan campaign. Today, the radio network is a big channel in media dark areas of Bihar and Jharkhand.”

Commenting on the media consumption pattern in India, Ashok Venkatramani said, “India still remains a one-TV household and the average number of hours spent watching television is half of what it is in the US. There lies a huge content opportunity due to diversity of languages, which holds huge hope for the future of television industry in India.”

Neeraj Roy emphasised on the growing digital market in India and said, “The impact of digital media has led to three transformation and growth triggers not only India but other parts of the world too. First is the Internet; second is transformational; and third, the advent of digital has had a huge impact on commerce as well. Digital has penetrated 55 per cent of the market. Besides, the huge increase in the number of smart phones has led to increasing amount of time being spent on mobiles.”

Roy further pointed out, “65 per cent of the consumers are below the age of 35 years. Interestingly, entertainment is a catalyst to media consumption. Out of the total digital consumption, soon nine out of 10 people will use it for entertainment, five out of 10 people will use it for financial services and three out of 10 people will use it for making e-purchases.”

Highlighting the creative side, Bobby Pawar said, “Creativity in India is a work in progress and humour with empathy works. It seems quite important at times to bend the rules to innovate. For example, 'adopt a pothole campaign' by Apollo Tyres. Interestingly, stories rule and especially stories based on a deep human truth.”

While concluding the discussions, Srinivasan Swamy said, “India's competitiveness is at 55, which has moved up 12 points from the earlier 67. India has the fourth largest number of start-ups. India is a land of opportunities.”

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