Advertising agency-project-report-mba by sumeet bassi -

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
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
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

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

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

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

⇒ 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

⇒ 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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
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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 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

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

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

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

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
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

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

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

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

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

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
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

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

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 , www.final-yearprojects.co.cc