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DDB Mudra: Transformative Growth

Technical Report · January 2018

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TRANSFORMATIVE GROWTH

J RAMACHANDRAN AND SEEMA GUPTA

J. Ramachandran, Professor of Strategy and Bain Fellow and Seema Gupta, Associate Professor of Marketing, prepared this case
for class discussion. The authors are grateful to Siddhartha Raman at Mudra for his help and support. This case is not intended to
serve as an endorsement, source of primary data, or to show effective or inefficient handling of decision or business processes.

Copyright © 2016 by the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. No part of the publication may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (including internet) – without the
permission of Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.
DDB Mudra Group: Transformative Growth

November 2011. Omnicom, the second largest advertising and marketing communication services
company in the world, acquired a 41% stake in Mudra, the last of the major home-grown advertising (ad)
networks in India (Exhibits 1, 2, and 3). Together with the 10% stake it had acquired in 1993, Omnicom
effectively gained control of Mudra’s four-agency network that it had reportedly valued at Rs. 17 billion
($350 million). Omnicom also had the option of acquiring another 25% stake in 3 years and the entire
network in 5 years. John Wren, President and CEO of Omnicom Group, said:

This acquisition is an important step in achieving Omnicom's strategy to extend and

deepen our presence in rapidly growing markets. Our vision is to be a source of
innovation in every market we serve. Mudra is widely acknowledged as an outstanding
company with impressive creative product and expertise in a broad range of disciplines.
Mudra's innovation and depth of talent will strengthen our business capabilities not only
in India but around the world.i

Anil Ambani, Chairman of the Reliance Group that was among India’s top three private sector business
houses with interests across communications, financial services, power, infrastructure, and entertainment
industries, said:

It’s been a fulfilling journey for me, having started this agency from the shop floor of
Reliance Industries.ii

After the acquisition, Mudra would become part of DDB Worldwide, the biggest agency network in the
Omnicom group. Chuck Brymer, President and CEO, DDB Worldwide, and one of the most awarded
networks globally for creative excellence, noted:

This acquisition will further unite two companies that have long held the same values,
creative goals, and ambitions…Mudra is the original challenger brand of the Indian
communications industry, and it shares DDB's culture of creative excellence. Together,
we will create even greater growth for our clients in this rapidly changing,
technologically driven region.iii

Madhukar Kamath, CEO, Mudra Group, added:

DDB has been an excellent partner over the years. We have benefited immensely from
the collaboration and transfer of knowledge from around the globe. We are proud to
belong to such a storied network. Omnicom and DDB have clearly been the inspiration
for Mudra Group's transformative growth over the last five years. My colleagues and I
look forward to the next decade of explosive growth in the Indian market.

MUDRA FOUNDED

Mudra was set up in 1980 by Reliance Industries as an independent agency for handling the advertising of
its textile brand Vimal, under the leadership of A.G. Krishnamurthy (AGK), its advertising manager.
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DDB Mudra Group: Transformative Growth

Sporting an Indian name1 and headquartered in Ahmedabad (in Gujarat, India) which had no advertising
ecosystem (Bombay was the hub of the advertising industry) reflected, many would argue, the contrarian
orientation that characterized this agency.

In the early 1980s, India was waking up to the world of television. The new medium quickly became the
toast of the nation for its information as well as entertainment needs. The hosting of Asian Games by
India in 1982 gave further fillip to the penetration of television in the country as Doordarshan, the state-
owned television channel, began color transmission with this event. In 1983, when the Indian government
allowed the private sponsorship of programs, Mudra was quick to seize the opportunity. It encouraged
Reliance to sponsor the telecast of the “India–West Indies cricket series” and thus pioneered broadcast
sponsorship in the country. Soon thereafter, Mudra set up ‘‘Mudra Videotech,” a television software
production unit which produced “Janam,” India’s first tele-movie in 1985, followed by ‘‘Buniyaad,’’
India’s first folk–history tele-serial in 1986. These and the programs it produced were a huge success and
set the stage for mega soaps on Indian television.2 Further, when India hosted the cricket world cup in
1987, Mudra leveraged the presence of world class cricketers and launched a highly successful campaign
for Vimal, featuring them – the legendary Vivian Richards intoning “Only Vimal” became part of the
popular lexicon (see Video http://hrm.iimb.ernet.in/iimb/Mudra_Case/index.htm).

Even as it scripted its success on television, Mudra scouted for clients to grow its advertising business.
The first outside client it signed on was Pioma Industries, an entrepreneurial firm in Ahmedabad. Mudra
launched its soft drink concentrate Rasna and the brand’s popular lisp ‘‘I love you Rasna’’ established
Rasna in the hearts of Indian consumers. Mudra quickly realized that it could gain more ground by talking
to India in the language, tone and visual imagery that the country could relate to. When Jagatjit Industries
wanted to enter the potato chips market, Mudra used “Hinglish” – a very Indian way of mixing English
with Hindi – in the brand’s tag line. ‘‘Humko Binnies Mangta’’ proved to be highly popular. Similarly,
the use of childlike language ‘‘My Daddy Strongest’’ for Dhara vegetable oil, proved to be successful
(Exhibit 4).

To accelerate its growth, Mudra opened offices in major cities in the country. It opened a branch office
the moment it found the right person even if it did not have any client. Mudra recruited people who apart
from being talented wore ‘‘Indianness’’ on their sleeves and with pride. Ability to speak one’s mother
tongue fluently, for example, was highly valued at Mudra. Kamath said:

During those days, Mudra was looked upon as a strange kid on the block, ‘a desi agency’
by the competitors.3 However, what everyone missed was that we worked with best
creative talent. Film makers like Kailash Surendranath, Shantanu Shorey produced our ad
films.

In keeping with the trend of diversification by major agencies in India, Mudra set up ‘‘Samir’’, a research
arm for testing creative strategy; and ‘‘Interact’’ to cater to small and semi-urban brands. It also set up

1
Mudra is a Sanskrit term meaning ‘‘body posture having magical powers.’’
2
Other popular serials produced by Mudra Videotech were Udaan, Rajni, Manoranjan and Ados Pados.
3
“Desi” literally means ‘‘local’’ (from the country). Colloquially, it is employed to suggest ‘‘rustic’’, ‘‘less sophisticated’’.
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DDB Mudra Group: Transformative Growth

‘‘Mudra Institute of Communications’’ (MICA), the first ever educational institute fully dedicated to the
field of advertising and communications.4 It also forged a tie-up with DDB. Mudra ended the decade on a
high note – it was ranked the third largest agency in the country in 1989.

Through the mid-1990s, Mudra continued to attract new clients. Some of its campaigns played a major
role in redefining the category. For instance, in 1992, it successfully launched Hercules MTB (a bicycle
brand) as an ally for teenagers in adventure. In 1994, it repositioned Orient (a fan brand) as Orient PSPO
(peak speed performance output), which created a differentiation by setting new performance benchmarks
for the whole industry. In 1995, it created a new category of value-added hair oils with its launch of
Dabur Vatika, a coconut oil brand with herbs. The agency’s ‘‘Mint with a Hole’’ campaign for Nestle’s
Polo brand was recognized as the campaign of the year in 1995. In the same year, Mudra was declared the
Agency of the Year and AGK was nominated the Advertising Person of the Year, by ‘‘Advertising &
Marketing”. Soon thereafter, AGK was included among the top twenty-five advertising influential
persons globally by Media International, U.K. Even as he acknowledged the recognition that the agency
and he had received, AGK said:

Awards are incidental. We can never rest on our laurels as we are only as good as our last
campaign.iv

GROWTH PANGS

AGK’s comments proved to be prophetic. Although Mudra produced other campaigns that were well-
received – ‘‘McDonalds’ mein hai kuch baat’’ (1996); ‘‘Zindagi ke saath bhi, Zindagi ke baad bhi”5 (Life
Insurance Corporation (LIC) – in 1997) – the industry noticed a marked deterioration in the quality of
creative output of the agency. Many reasons were offered. Reportedly, the towering personality of AGK
did not allow Mudra to develop a strong second line in command. Others attributed the deterioration in
quality to a distinct shift in the focus from creativity to revenues and profits. This was reportedly because
of the inability of the many new businesses that Mudra had set up – Vibrant Media, (for media buying);
Indian Consumer Research Group, (for market research); Mudra Interactive (for online advertising);
Mudra Infotech, (for IT businesses); MAG India, (an online portal that archived all print and television
ads); Primesite (out-of-home) and Mudra Direct (for direct marketing) – to generate adequate profits.
Kamath said:

Mudra had to wind-up many of the new businesses as it did not back them to the hilt. I
had even proposed to take charge of some of these businesses and take a salary cut in lieu
of a share in profit, but my dreams found no takers. Mudra had stopped changing orbits.
And many of us left at that time as the Indian advertising industry was undergoing a
dramatic change.

Mudra’s loss of creative edge had other consequences as well. It no longer attracted accounts that fueled
the passion for creativity. Meera, Copy Writer, Mudra, said:

4
MICA started functioning in 1991 and by 2012 had more than 1,200 alumni.
5
‘‘There is something in McDonalds’’ and ‘‘LIC: with life and after life’’.
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DDB Mudra Group: Transformative Growth

Creative people need to build their portfolio with interesting categories like chocolates
and toothpaste. Our categories are solid such as banks and insurance which don’t offer
too much scope for zany work. The chocolate guy will come to you only when you do
some zany work. It’s a Catch 22 situation! The only way to regain our position is to
create edgy work that wins awards; the awards will get good coverage which in turn will
build image.

Paradoxically, at a time when Mudra’s quality of creative output deteriorated, creative excellence became
the new buzzword in the industry. Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) that had slipped behind Mudra used the
creative platform to not only renew itself, but also march to the top of the industry ranks. Under the
leadership team of Ranjan Kapur, Suresh Mallick, and Piyush Pandey, O&M developed some highly
memorable campaigns anchored on popular culture. In the 1990s, Cadbury was popular as a kid’s brand
in India. O&M made it relevant to adults too based on the insight that there was a child in each one of us
(The real taste of life). Similarly, its campaign for Asian paints, ‘‘Har Ghar Kuch Kahta Hai’’6 dealt with
the problem of the category being subjected to the whims and fancies of the contractor by making the
consumer a proud decision-maker. It leveraged the cultural insight that home was an expression of its
inhabitants. These and other memorable campaigns made O&M, the new Mecca of creative advertising in
India.

THE INDIAN ADVERTISING INDUSTRYv

Indian advertising industry came into being in 1905 when the first agency B. Dattaram and Co. was set up
in Bombay. The late 1920s saw the entry of multinationals such as O&M in 1928 and Hindustan
Thompson Associates (HTA), an affiliate of J. Walter Thompson in 1929. Since then, the Indian
advertising industry has been subject to all the prototypical experiences of the industry in the West. These
included formation of breakaway agencies (Ulka, a breakaway from O&M in 1961 and R.K. Swamy from
HTA in 1973), the emergence of creative hot shops (MCM and Frank Simoes in the 1960s; Rediffusion
and Trikaya in the 1970s; and Ambience and Enterprise in the 1980s), the setting up of in-house agencies
(Shilpi in 1960s and Mudra in 1980s) and the establishing of a second agency to handle conflicting
accounts (Contract by HTA and Karishma by Lintas). Most leading advertising agencies diversified into
marketing services such as market research, public relations, financial services, video production, and
sales promotion.

In the late 1970s, multinational agencies, in keeping with the laws of that time, reduced their stake in the
Indian subsidiaries. Despite the change in the ownership status, the newly ‘‘localized’’ agencies
continued to maintain strong relationships with the erstwhile ‘‘parents’’. They functioned as their
‘‘affiliates’’ in India and often participated in the global seminars and creative brainstorming sessions
organized by the former parent.

The liberalization of the Indian economy in 1991 led to a dramatic change in the ownership structure of
the agencies in three ways. First, multinational agencies that had equity stake in their local affiliates
increased their stake to a controlling one following changes in the ownership regulations that now
6
‘‘Every home has something to say’’.
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DDB Mudra Group: Transformative Growth

permitted majority ownership by multinationals. Others renewed their earlier relationship or built new
ones by acquiring a stake, including controlling stakes wherever possible, largely with a view to exploit
the opportunities the opening up of the Indian economy provided. Second, ‘‘local’’ agencies in their
search for account gains and/or fearing loss of multinational clients owing to global realignment of
accounts opted to become part of the global network of multinational agencies.7 Third, many founder
owners expecting the Indian industry to follow the global pattern of domination by large global agencies
preferred to ‘‘cash-out’’ than compete in the market place.8 By the end of the decade, the global majors
had an equity stake in 17 of the top 25 agencies.

Additionally, the liberalization of the Indian economy resulted in explosive growth in media. The
resultant impact on the advertising industry was significant. New television channels focused on
delivering specialized audiences by geography, language, and genre came into being. The consequent
openness in the print medium to innovations in terms of both size and positioning of ads resulted in the
hitherto largely neglected function of media buying and planning in agencies gaining prominence. Media
was increasingly being seen as the second creative ‘‘department’’ in agencies. Many agencies spun-off
their media departments as separate entities. Although, initially these entities offered their services to the
clients of the agency (agencies) that promoted them, over time they started bidding for ‘‘outside’’ clients:
brands that were not part of the promoter agency’s client roster. As a consequence, a client could have
two agencies catering to its communication needs; the ‘‘conventional’’ advertising agency providing
strategic, creative and planning inputs; and a media planning and buying agency planning the media
releases and negotiating the buying. The historic 15% agency commission was shared by these agencies
in the ratio of 2:1.

Television continued to be the key medium. It accounted for over half the total ad-spend. In contrast to
global trends India continued to have high newspaper readership reaching 67% of the urban adult
population.vi Hindi and vernacular print media had high readership in small cities. English media
commanded a premium in advertising rates as compared to vernacular and Hindi media, but the gap was
narrowing as marketers spent increasing budgets on small cities to drive growth. However, as the media
prices had escalated higher than the rate of inflation, marketers invested greater budgets in marketing
services which also had higher reach than mass media in small cities and rural markets. Advertising
agencies continued to build their portfolio of marketing services to meet the growing demand. Internet
population was concentrated in big cities and mobile penetration outstripped personal computer
penetration. Investment in online marketing started late, but was growing though its role as mass medium
was limited by its reach and the small scale of e-commerce in India.

The global shift in compensation practices from the standard 15% agency commission to fee-based
compensation began to manifest itself in the Indian industry (Exhibit 5). Although, multinational clients
adopted this practice first, soon many large Indian advertisers followed. No more were client relationships
based on ‘‘committed partnerships”. They were increasingly getting anchored on ‘‘performance’’.
Agencies sought to address the issue of enhancing performance by adopting the global templates of their

7
For example, the tie-up with BBDO secured R.K. Swamy, the Adidas account in India as BBDO was the global agency handling the Adidas
account. This however did not happen routinely. The same R.K. Swamy failed to secure the Pepsi account in India despite BBDO being the
worldwide agency for Pepsi.
8
For example, Bobby Sista divested his entire stake in the agency he had founded to Saatchi and Saatchi.
Page 6 of 25
DDB Mudra Group: Transformative Growth

parents for campaign development and by increasing investments in development of their human
resources, including sending their personnel to overseas offices of their partners. To improve productivity,
agencies resorted to outsourcing studio and print production activities, and adopting state-of-the-art
technology, especially information technology.

THE GLOBAL ADVERTISING INDUSTRY

The global advertising industry throughout the twentieth century was characterized by the presence of
creative geniuses around whom the culture of their advertising agencies was built. Three people stood out
in particular – Rosser Reeves, David Ogilvy, and William (Bill) Bernbach. Reeves (of Ted Bates)
believed that each product should develop a ‘‘unique selling proposition’’ (USP) which promised a
unique benefit (Colgate cleans your breath as it cleans your teeth) to the consumer based on consumer
research. Ogilvy (founder of Ogilvy & Mather) believed that advertising must build brand image and
personality (the man in the Hathaway shirt with his aristocratic eye patch). Bernbach who co-founded
DDB believed how you say is as important as what you say. His campaigns for Avis (We are No. 2. We
try harder) and Volkswagen (Lemon) achieved legendary status in the advertising world.

The brothers, Charles and Maurice Saatchi, who founded the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi in
1970, changed the landscape of advertising industry. In a highly influential article in Harvard Business
Review, Professor Levitt, who was a member of the Saatchi & Saatchi board, argued that the growing
convergence in consumers’ preferences the world over, aided by low transportation and communication
costs, provided opportunities for the modern global corporation to sell the ‘‘same thing in the same way
everywhere.’’ The advertising of such global products, Saatchi & Saatchi asserted was best conducted by
global advertising agencies. They then set about converting Saatchi and Saatchi into a global power house
by acquiring agencies across the globe. Their acquisition of agencies with high earnings, but low P/E
multiples, boosted the company’s stock price. However, the deal structure of the acquisitions – part
upfront cash payment and part earn out – made it imperative to grow revenues and profits.

In contrast to the Saatchi assessment, many big clients were reluctant to employ the services of an agency
network that worked with their competitors as well. They feared loss of confidentiality. For instance,
following the Saatchi acquisition of Bates in 1987, RJR Nabisco (billings $96 million) and Michelob ($38
million) withdrew their accounts. To increase revenues and profits (and thereby shore up the stock price),
the brothers then started acquiring consulting and other firms. The failed bid to acquire British banks
further eroded the shareholders’ faith in the business strategies of the brothers and when Martin Sorrell,
the company’s Chief Financial Officer quit, the share price plummeted. Despite efforts to focus the
company once again on its core business of advertising and related services – it sold the consulting
businesses – and streamlining operations and reducing costs, the disagreements between the Saatchi
Board and the Saatchi brothers persisted. Further, in 1995, the Board ousted the Saatchi brothers and the
agency was acquired by the Publicis Group in 2000.

After quitting Saatchi, Sorrell gained control over a small listed company ‘‘Wire & Plastic Products’’
(WPP). He noticed the increased allocation of marketing dollars to marketing services such as public
relations (PR), direct marketing, sales promotion, and increased investment of multinational companies in
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DDB Mudra Group: Transformative Growth

emerging markets such as China, Brazil, India, and Indonesia and set about assembling a network of
specialist agencies by acquiring them. Realizing that scale could come only from having advertising
agencies in the portfolio, he acquired James Walter Thompson (JWT) for $566 million in 1987 and O&M
for $864 million in 1989. The advertising world was stunned since these iconic agencies were many times
the size of WPP. To stem the loss of competing accounts, Sorrell managed JWT and O&M as two
‘‘autonomous’’ networks which competed fiercely with each other in the market place. WPP became the
financial holding company and was popularly described as a mega agency.

Sorrell continued to buy other agencies – Young & Rubicam and Grey being the more prominent ones –
as he believed that the advertising industry was fragmented and was ready for consolidation. He also
introduced stringent financial controls to achieve the desired return on investment and set up a treasury
function to manage the extensive cash flows associated with media advertising. Sorrell’s strategy resulted
in industry-wide consolidation and by the turn of the new century, four major holding companies –
Omnicom, WPP, Interpublic, and Publicis – emerged. These mega agencies continued to dominate the
global advertising industry by acquiring both specialist agencies, digital media firms, for example, as well
as the large media agencies (Exhibit 6).

Along with advertising agencies, media agencies also underwent globalization and consolidation. To
serve multinational clients, and to negotiate better terms with media which increasingly had global reach
and common ownership, the media agencies pooled media buying across markets and clients.9 This led to
the emergence of few large media agencies, such as Mindshare, Carat, Starcom, and MediaVest, each of
which operated through hundred or more offices around the world. Despite their size and scale, the media
networks were under increasing pressure to shore up their margins as large clients flexed their power.
They broadened the range of their services to include services such as sponsorship, product placement,
branded entertainment, etc.

The industry landscape underwent further change following the emergence of new markets, new media
and the attendant need to develop new customer insights. Economic growth in BRIC countries (Brazil,
Russia, India, and China), prompted advertising agencies to expand their presence in these markets. New
media – internet and mobile – became important as consumers spent more than 20% of their media time
on them.vi Social networking sites such as Facebook had global membership of more than 300 million
people. Companies were using them to engage their target audience. Coca-Cola, for instance, had 3
million followers on Facebook. However, the revenue models of social networking sites were in a state of
flux as consumers did not consider them as media through which advertisers could transmit their
messages to consumers. They considered it more as a medium to interact with others similar to
themselves! Since brands were not seen as naturally belonging to the world of consumers in new media,
advertising had to create more value than ever before. That called for developing new consumer insights.
For instance, Amazon realized the influence of ‘‘reference groups’’ in buyer behavior. With the help of
collaborative filtering technology, it started providing its customers information on the purchases made by
other ‘‘similar’’ users.

9
For example, Time, Newsweek, Economist, etc. had readership across the world. Similarly, broadcast media became global with CNN gaining
worldwide coverage. There was common ownership, for example, Rupert Murdoch owned television networks in the United States, United
Kingdom, and Australia.
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DDB Mudra Group: Transformative Growth

MUDRA REMASTERED

In 2003, AGK, the founder CEO, stepped down. Kamath, then CEO of Bates returned to Mudra10 to bring
his dreams for the agency to life. Kamath said:

I was welcomed back into Mudra with the departure of our No.1 and No. 2 clients
(Reliance Communications and Samsung). Mudra had begun losing clients as question
marks began to appear about Mudra’s quality of creativity.

Kamath, an industry veteran,11 also discovered that Mudra’s revenues were not aligned with clients’
spends. Realizing that television and print were not the only media to hold sway over consumer interest,
clients were seeking solutions that went beyond traditional advertising. A significant part of their
marketing budget was spent on services. However Mudra’s revenues were largely from offering
traditional advertising solutions. Kamath said:

Global industry leaders like WPP and Omnicom were earning over 50% of their top-lines
from 360 degree marketing solutions. And I could see what they were doing. WPP for
instance had Young & Rubicam (advertising), Burson Marsteller (PR), Wunderman
(direct marketing), and Landor Associates (design) in its network. I was convinced that
Mudra too would need to build specialized services – it can be a startup or an alliance or
an acquisition. But, we need to do it. We need to become India’s foremost integrated
marketing communications network.

Expanding Services Portfolio

Kamath first explored the marketing services portfolio of DDB Worldwide and found that it owned Rapp
Collins, a leading customer relationship management agency and Tribal DDB, a leading digital agency.
He launched both of them in India. Mudra then acquired Kidstuff, a Delhi-based company which
specialized in contact programs with schools and colleges and rapidly added other specialized services
such as Mudra Health & Lifestyle, Primesite (out-of-home solutions), Multiplier (trade marketing), 10
Integrated (sports marketing), Terra (rural marketing), Celsius (event marketing), Water (strategy &
design consulting), Connext (business solutions through media), RADAR (media solutions for Reliance
ADAG), and Videotec (brands and entertainment) (Exhibit 7).

To fulfill the agency’s newly articulated promise to clients that it did not create ads but produced
solutions that lived in all kinds of media, Kamath realized that it was important to bridge the traditional
“Above-the-Line”–“Below-the-Line” divide prevailing in the industry. He declared “there is no line” at
Mudra and raised the profile of the marketing services professionals by inducting them into important
decision-making bodies of Mudra. To foster collaboration and bring to life the agency’s newly articulated

10
He left Mudra, after a 15-year stint, to join Bates as its CEO.
11
An Economics graduate from Loyola College Chennai and MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur, Kamath actively participated in and led several
industry bodies. A past President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India and past Chairman of The Advertising Standards Council of
India, Kamath had served the industry as the Chairman of the Organizing Committee for Ad Asia 2011. In 2016, he served on the Board of The
Audit Bureau of Circulations, and as Chairman of the Governing Council of the Mudra Institute of Communications.
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DDB Mudra Group: Transformative Growth

philosophy of Total Brand Solutions; he offered people mobility within the various business units. Pratap
Bose, Chief Operating Officer Mudra Group & CEO Mudra Max said:

Our biggest USP is that we are the largest communications group with real specialist
skills. We are not paying mere lip service to the term ‘full service agency’. In most
agencies, 360 degrees is the shorthand for maximizing revenues. Our approach is
different. We choose carefully which specialization works for the client. And make it
work.

Ajit Gulabchand, Chairman and Managing Director of the leading construction firm, Hindustan
Construction Company, said:

One of Mudra’s strengths has been the ability to focus on what needs to be done to solve
a problem rather than just the message. Today, it is one of the few agencies structured and
equipped to conceive, deliver and champion media neutral ideas. This approach has
helped evolve integrated communication solutions and not just a conventional TV or print
ad.vii

With its expanded range of offerings and its promise of Total Brand Solutions, Mudra added clients to its
roster – Big Bazaar, Philips, Lipton, Johnson & Johnson, Wrigley’s, Orbit, Economic Times, and
Volkswagen. The high point for Mudra came when it was ranked the No. 2 agency by Brand Equity in
2007 for, among other things, creativity, and integrated solutions (Exhibit 8).

Regaining Creative Glory

The leadership at Mudra believed in giving freedom to creative people and encouraged a culture of
challenging the status quo – so that they could do things that they felt were game-changing. To drive this
effort, Bobby Pawar12 who had worked at O&M Mumbai, O&M New York and BBDO Chicago came on
the Executive Board as the national creative director. Pawar said:

What provoked me to join Mudra was the sheer challenge of turning around a ship of this
big in size, in my own way. The prescription was simple – every day, do one thing that
scares you. You may not hit the nail on its head every time, but every once in a while it
pays off big. And there are a lot of brave marketers out there ready to take risks.

As the Chief Creative Officer, Pawar oversaw the creative product for the entire group which helped
change the thinking to integrated ideas and solutions, rather than just television or print. To support the
‘‘creative’’ transformation effort, a strong account planning function was built. Aditya Kanthy, Vice
President – Planning, DDB Mudra said:

12
A month after the Omnicom buy out, Bobby Pawar left Mudra to join JWT. Sonal Dabral, who had earlier worked at Mudra (he had created the
‘Humko Binnies Mangta’ campaign) replaced him as Chairman and Chief Creative Officer.
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DDB Mudra Group: Transformative Growth

We believe that planning and creative must go hand in hand. At Mudra, we have
dedicated planning resources for clients and it is mandatory for every planner to spend
certain days in the market. These visits are critical for developing consumer insights that
form the basis for our creative expression.

Kishore Biyani, Founder Chairman of the Future Group that had significant presence in mass retailing,
commented:

Retail communication can be boring and most agencies feel it’s about showcasing
‘offers’. This is where Mudra gives meaning to it and creates ‘concepts’ which give our
consumers a far stronger promise.viii

What helped Mudra’s efforts were the tools and philosophies of DDB that Mudra had embraced. Mudra
used the twin philosophies of ‘‘social creativity’’ and ‘‘behavioral planning.’’ Social creativity was
defined as approaches aimed at groups rather than individuals. It believed in harnessing the power of
social networks by triggering word-of-mouth. The philosophy was exemplified in the digital campaign of
‘‘save paper’’ for Idea Cellular. On registration, consumers were given a digital seed which they had to
grow. The more the consumers communicated with others through SMS as to how they saved paper, the
more their tree grew. On attaining a certain threshold, consumers received prizes such as getting a phone
free or donating a tree in their name. The campaign was integrated across several social networking sites
such as Facebook so that people could spread viral messages and feel a sense of competition. Max
Hegerman, President, Tribal DDB India said:

The new media also offers ample opportunities for experimentation. Our philosophy of
word-of-mouth makes social media a huge focus for us.

Mudra believed that social creativity required media-inventiveness and not media-neutrality. It required
combining of channels and content. For Volkswagen, it created a roadblock in the Times of India –
leading English daily such that no other brand was advertised. The campaign spoke about the company’s
history, its products, its values through the length and breadth of the newspaper. Innovation in medium
was repeated for Volkswagen Polo in which the newspaper had a cut-out in the shape of Polo; for
Volkswagen Phaeton, it tied up with Hindustan Times to print the daily in a handwritten typeface to
communicate the positioning of a handcrafted car. To launch the Volkswagen Vento, which was
competing against the Honda City, a ‘‘talking newspaper’’ was created. Times of India readers opened
their morning daily to hear the voice of a Volkswagen engineer telling them about the VW Vento. The
launch was huge success and created a “buzz” for the Volkswagen brand.

The second philosophy ‘‘behavioral planning’’ aimed at changing consumer behavior and not just
attitudes. For instance, DDB Worldwide launched a campaign for Volkswagen Golf in the United
Kingdom to resonate the brand with the pleasure of driving. The key barrier was the high incidence of
traffic jams on the roads resulting in low number of test drives. To overcome the barrier, the campaign
promoted night time test drives when roads were clear. Consumers could pick the keys for test drive in

Page 11 of 25
DDB Mudra Group: Transformative Growth

the evening and return it in the morning. Michael Follett, Senior Vice President – Strategy & Planning,
DDB Mudra said:

Planners seek to understand the drivers of the behavior. We believe in unlocking the
barriers that leads to behavioral change.

Kamath’s efforts to transform quality of creativity paid off. In 2011, DDB Mudra Group was the most
awarded Indian agency at Cannes with 8 Lions; was ranked the third most creative agency in Asia by
Spikes Asia; and won the most number of awards at India’s Abby (see Exhibit 9 for select awards won
by Mudra).

Growing Leadership

Even as he sought to attract and hire the best talent in the industry, Kamath was committed to “creating
leadership from within”. Towards this goal, the company invested in people, far above the industry
standards. It set aside 2% of its revenues for staff training and development. The annual Mudra Applied
Leadership Program sought to ensure that all its key people were at the cutting edge of knowledge and
practice. The Mudra Executive Board comprising the heads of various offices and functions reviewed the
performance and the three-year career progression plans of 100 young leaders identified as high
potentials. To signal his commitment, Kamath personally piloted the “star program” that ensured that the
“stars” of the organization were well looked after. To keep track of people sentiments and internal
operating culture, Mudra did an annual ‘‘health check’’ by participating in the Great Places to Work
survey. In 2011, Employer Branding, a virtual organization that recognizes exemplary work in creating a
positive brand experience for employees, ranked Mudra in the top 20 companies to work for in India. In
the same year, Kamath was named the Agency Head of the Year, India & Subcontinent.

MUDRA REBRANDED

Mudra’s growth prompted Kamath to restructure the company into a four-agency network viz., Mudra
India (the Branding & Communications agency), DDB Mudra (the Influence & Behaviour Change
agency), Mudra Max (the Integrated Engagement & Experiential Agency), and Ignite Mudra (the
Partnership for Entrepreneurs agency) (Exhibit 10) and develop a mission for what he described as the
Mudra Group. The in-house design and consulting unit ‘‘Water”13 crystallized the Mudra Group’s
mission as ‘‘creating infectious ideas that influence behavior’’ and identified empathy, experimentation,
expression, and dynamic integration as the four key pillars of its creative philosophy. The historical
symbol of Mudra, ‘‘the hands’’, were freed from the rigid roundel. Kamath explained:

We replaced the solid red circle with a ‘brush stroke’, denoting experimentation, energy,
and dynamism. The brush stroke signifies the commonest human behavior when trying
something new – be it a crayon, a pen or the artist’s brush.

13
Water won the International Advertising Association First Creative Lantern Award for its work on Dr. R. K. Pachauri’s ‘‘Lighting a billion
lives’’ initiative.
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DDB Mudra Group: Transformative Growth

Further, each of the agencies in the group network was qualified by a unique symbol – the quote mark, a
symbol of conversation for Mudra India; the degree symbol denoting higher degree of creativity than
others for DDB Mudra; the forward mark symbolizing maximal impact for Mudra Max; and the start
button symbolizing a spark of ideas for Ignite Mudra (Exhibit 11). Although, all the four agencies were
endorsed by the corporate brand name ‘‘Mudra’’; in some instances, Mudra was a prefix; in others, it was
a suffix. Only if the agency was seen as comparable to Mudra in premiumness was the Mudra
endorsement prominent (prefix), for instance, Mudra Max. However, if the agency was seen as premium
or lower than the erstwhile Mudra advertising, the endorsement was subtle (suffix); for instance DDB
Mudra and Ignite Mudra, respectively. Commenting on the impact of four agency structures, Jude
Fernandes, CEO, Mudra India said:

The way we approach our clients has changed dramatically. If there’s a digital solution
that a client needs, there’s Tribal DDB that can be approached. If there’s a rural
opportunity, we will network with Mudra Max. Therefore, today when I go into the
market to talk to a potential client, I am not talking only advertising. We incentivize
cross-selling of our services by giving referral fees.

The four-agency structure provided Mudra the head start for phenomenal growth. Its emphasis on
performance was reflected in its organization structure – Mudra no longer had “offices”, it had strategic
business units. Kamath said:

Instead of just one agency, I have four agencies headed by three CEOs. They compete as
well as collaborate. The four agencies can develop their own cultures within the Mudra
Group. But I spend lot of time developing shared culture within the group. The CEOs
meet regularly and are given incentives based on the performance of not only their
respective agencies, but also of the Group. We share tools and knowledge. Instead of one
monolithic structure, our four agency structure keeps us small and nimble. We are in the
business of ‘inventive brand solutions’ not just through advertising, but multiple touch
points. We need to morph into a group, like Omnicom. Like them, we must have the best
creative networks in our portfolio.

Instead of becoming similar to Omnicom, Mudra Group became a part of the Omnicom when the latter
acquired controlling stake in it!

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DDB Mudra Group: Transformative Growth

MUDRA RECHRISTENED

After the acquisition of Mudra by Omnicom, the new entity was rechristened DDB Mudra. It now
comprised eight agencies – DDB Mudra, DDB Mudra Max, Mudra (for entrepreneurs), DDB Health &
Lifestyle, Rapp, Tribal DDB, Water, and Maatra (Exhibit 12). Plans were afoot to launch the other
brands in the Omnicom stable, starting with Tracy Locke, a shopper marketing agency. Omnicom's
strategy was to make up for its late entry into India, a market that WPP, its arch rival, dominated. Wren
said:

My competitors are strong, but when I have the right resources, we grow very fast. Look
at China. We have closed the gap with WPP quite a lot. Nobody is a global emperor and
that big to prevent anyone from accomplishing what they want to. Omnicom will look to
be the best and with that size will come.ix

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DDB Mudra Group: Transformative Growth

Exhibit 1: Leading Advertising and Marketing Communication Services Companies

(in US million $)

Ranking Agency Headquarters Worldwide Worldwide US Revenue

(2010) Company Revenue Revenue Revenue from
2009 2010 2010 outside the
US 2010
1 WPP Dublin 13,598 14,416 4,786 9,630
2 Omnicom New York 11,721 12,543 6,683 5,859
3 Publicis Paris 6,287 7,175 3,451 3,724
4 Interpublic New York 6,028 6,532 3,710 2,822
5 Dentsu Tokyo 3,113 3,600 218 3,381
6 Aegis London 2,109 2,257 434 1,823
7 Havas Suresnes, France 2,010 2,069 676 1,393
8 Hakuhodo Tokyo 1,522 1,674 9 1,665
DY Holdings
9 Acxiom Corp Little Rock, 750 785 623 162
Arkansas
10 MDC Toronto/New 546 698 583 115
Partners York

Source: Advertising Age; April 26, 2010, 81(17).

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DDB Mudra Group: Transformative Growth

Exhibit 2: DDB Mudra Group Network Income

(in million $)
250
205
200 187
168

150 134

100 103
100
Income

50

0
2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10

Source: www.impactonnet.com, The Impact Interview, November 13, 2011

Exhibit 3: Mudra Group’s Indexed Growth

47
40

12 14.4
4.75 6.75 2.7 3.9

Rev PBT Margins PAT

2011 2012
Source: Company

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DDB Mudra Group: Transformative Growth

Exhibit 4: Select Campaigns from the Early Years

Source: Company

Page 17 of 25
DDB Mudra Group: Transformative Growth

Exhibit 5: The Advertising Agency Business

Advertising agencies essentially enable marketers (their clients) to find customers for their products or
services by developing advertising campaigns and placing them in the media. The development of an
advertising campaign begins with the receipt of a ‘‘brief’’ by the agency from a client outlining the
communication task. Although, the advertising generation and release process is an iterative one, it
typically follows the following sequence: development of a communication strategy, development of the
creative idea, conversion of the creative idea into advertising material (television commercials and print
ads), development of a media strategy, buying of media space/time, and finally release of the
advertisement.

Most clients selected agencies based on competitive ‘‘pitch’’ for the account which acted as a surrogate
for the agency’s ability to create winning campaigns. Awards won, roster of clients, key personnel,
agency’s culture, and its congruence with the firm were some of the other factors influencing choice of
the agency. Large clients also did not allow agencies to serve competing accounts as they feared transfer
of confidential information to competitors. Additionally, agencies earned reputation for distinct
competencies – strategic planning, copy, visuals, consumer insights, expertise in specific product
categories, etc.

Agency Economics

Advertising agencies came into existence as agents of the media and were paid a commission of 15% for
selling space/time. Ad agencies billed to the client the full media costs, retained the stipulated 15% as
commission and passed the rest on to the media. For the non-media costs incurred by the agencies
(production costs for example), agencies billed the clients for actual costs plus a service charge. However,
this commission system got replaced as clients negotiated a fixed ‘‘fee’’ arguing that much of the
expenditure incurred by an agency in developing a campaign was largely independent of the size of the
advertising spend. The fee-based system buffered the agencies from the risk of bad debts since agencies
were contractually agents of the media and they were legally liable to them for payment of monies due by
the client. Increasingly, clients linked payment with performance demanding greater accountability from
agencies and some paid incentives based on the efficacy of the campaigns.

Employee costs and rent (as agencies located their offices in central business districts) constituted the
majority of an agency’s total costs. Costs such as market research, travel for production of commercials,
etc. incurred by the agency were generally reimbursed by the client. Although, there were no significant
economies of scale in most of the operations of an advertising agency, size mattered for attracting talent.

Adapted from the Bates India Case Series (Professor J. Ramachandran and Nisheeta Bajaj), IIMB Case, 2002

Page 18 of 25
DDB Mudra Group: Transformative Growth

Exhibit 6: Worldwide Revenues of Major Agencies (Networks and Services)

in million $

Group & Network Agencies Worldwide Group & Network Agencies Worldwide
Revenue 2010 Revenue 2010
INTERPUBLIC WPP
McCann Worldwide 2822 Young & Rubicam 3022
-McCann Erickson Worldwide – 1438 -Young & Rubicam – Network 987
Network
-MRM Worldwide – Digital 278 -Burson–Marsteller– Public Relations 450
Momentum Worldwide – Marketing 189 -Wunderman – Direct Marketing 943
Service
-Weber Shandwick –Public 450 Ogilvy Group 2112
Relations
Draft FCB 1336 -Ogilvy&Mather Advertising – 761
Network
Draft FCB – Network 942 -Ogilvy One Worldwide 522
R/GA – Digital 190 -Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide 220
OMNICOM -Ogilvy Action 192

DDB Worldwide 2343 -Ogilvy Public Relations – Public 255

Relations
-DDB – Network 1149 JWT 1224
-Tribal DDB - Digital 200 -JWT – Network 1149
-Inter brand – Marketing Service 207 Grey Group 990
-RAPP – Other Service 644 -Grey – Network 576
-Tracy Locke - Group M
BBDO Worldwide 2006 -Mindshare Worldwide – Media 760
Agencies
-BBDO – Network 1210 -Media Com 710
-Proximity – Marketing Service 420 -MEC 695
TBWA Worldwide 1561 -Hill & Knowlton Public Relations 339
-PHD 314 PUBLICIS
HAVAS Leo Burnett World Wide 1249
Havas Worldwide 1230 -Leo Burnett – ARC 1238
-Euro RSCG Worldwide 1230 -Leo Burnett – World Wide/ARC 2 877
-MPG – Media 553 Publicis 1023
-Euro RSCG – Network 940 Saatchi & Saatchi 802
-Euro RSCG Life – Other Service 187 Vivaki
-Starcom MediaVest Group 968
-ZenithOptimedia 731
MS&L Group 405

Source: Advertising Age; April 25, 2011, 82(17).

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 DDB Mudra Group: Transformative Growth
Exhibit 7: Brand Architecture of Mudra Group
MUDRA INDIA
(Branding &
Communication Solution)
(35% Contribution to
Billings*)
Maatra (Localization)
Water (Brand Consulting)
Tantra (Content Creation)
Cirrus (Image Measurement)
* Figures are for the year 2009
Source: Company
MUDRA GROUP
DDB MUDRA
(15% Contribution to Billings)
DDB Health & Lifestyle
DDB India (Advertising &
Brand Management)
Tribal DDB (Digital & New
Media)
RAAP (Data-driven Marketing
Services)
MUDRA MAX IGNITE MUDRA
(Integrated Engagement & Experience) (Entrepreneurs)
(40% Contribution to Billings) (10% Contribution to
Billings)
Connext (Media Convergence)
Primesite (Out of Home)
Prime Retail (Retail/Merchandising)
Prime Wayfinding (Navigation Solutions)
Prime Consult (City Infrastructure)
Kidstuff (Children Promotional Marketing)
Street Smart (Interactive Out of Home)
RADAR (ADAG)
Mudra Videotec (Brands & Entertainment)
10 Integrated (Sports Marketing)
Celsius (Event Marketing)
Clear Channel Mudra
(Global Out of Home)
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Portland Mudra (Leisure & Travel)
DDB Mudra Group: Transformative Growth

Exhibit 8A: Ranking of Advertising Agencies in India

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Rank
1 O&M O&M O&M O&M O&M
2 McCANN MUDRA JWT JWT JWT
ERICKSON
3 LOWE McCANN LOWE LOWE LOWE LINTAS
ERICKSON
4 JWT JWT MUDRA MUDRA McCANN
ERICKSON
5 LEO BURNETT LOWE McCANN McCANN MUDRA INDIA
ERICKSON ERICKSON
6 MUDRA REDIFFUSION REDIFFUSION REDIFFUSION LEO BURNETT
DYR DYR DYR
7 GREY LEO BURNETT LEO BURNETT LEO BURNETT DDB MUDRA
8 FCB-ULKA GREY CONTRACT CONTRACT DRAFTFCB
ULKA
9 CONTRACT FCB-ULKA RK SWAMY RK SWAMY REDIFFUSION
BBDO BBDO YR
10 REDIFFUSION SAATCHI& FCB-ULKA FCB-ULKA CONTRACT
DYR SAATCHI
Note: Estimated billings for 2009–2010 in Rs. million for JWT – Rs. 30,000 million, O&M – Rs. 25,000 million,
Mudra – Rs. 20,000 million, DraftFCB Ulka – Rs. 20,000 million, Lowe – Rs. 15,000 million

Source: Brand Equity – Ad Agency Reckoner

Exhibit 8B: Ranking of Media, Digital and Promotion Agencies in India in 2010

Rank Media Digital Promotion

1 Mindshare Hungama Candid Marketing
2 Madison World iContract Kidstuff Mudra Max
3 Lintas Media Group Webchutney Encompass
4 Lodestar Universal Media2win Sercon
5 Maxus Tribal DDB Solutions Digitas
6 Starcom Mediavest Interactive Avenues
7 Mediacom Neo@Ogilvy
8 Dentsu Media BcWebWise
9 Carat Starcom IP
10 Zenith Optimedia Publicis Modem
11 Mudra Max

Source: Ad Agency Reckoner 2010

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DDB Mudra Group: Transformative Growth

Exhibit 9: Select Awards Won by Mudra

Unit Year Award Award Brand Medium
Forum*
Abby,
Cannes Bronze Reliance Media Works – Silent Film,
Mudra Max 2011 Silver Silver National Anthem Activation
Loving Hands Ministry – Dwarf
Mudra India 2011 Abby Silver Depression Design
Mudra India 2010 Cannes Silver Bangalore Traffic Police Others
Mudra India 2010 Spikes Asia Bronze Federal Bank Outdoor
DDB India 2010 Abby Silver Volkswagen – Passat Outdoor
DDB India 2010 Abby Silver Volkswagen – Touareg Outdoor
Celsius 2010 Abby Silver 7 up Others
Mudra India 2010 Abby Gold The Economic Times Others
Mudra India 2010 Emvies Gold National Association for Blind Others
Primesite 2010 Abby Silver Aircel Others
Tribal DDB India 2010 Abby Bronze Orbit Web
Tribal DDB India 2010 Abby Silver Reliance GSM Services Integrated
Air India – family – Bangalore –
Mudra India 2009 Cannes Silver Dubai
Mudra India 2009 Effies Bronze The Economic Times TV
Mudra India 2008 Clio Finalist Duroflex mattresses – family Print

Mudra India 2008 Cannes Bronze Cycle Agarbathies – Jai Jagdish Radio
Tribal DDB India 2008 Abby Gold MTV Roadies 5.0 Web
Mudra India 2000 Abby Gold McDonald TV
Mudra India 2000 Abby Nestle Polo TV
Mudra India 1998 CAG Bronze Nestle Polo TV
Mudra India 1997 CAG Copywriter Freddy Birdy
of the Year
Mudra India 1995 CAG Copywriter Freddy Birdy
of the Year

Mudra India 1994 CAG Silver Van Heusen TV

Ignite Mudra 1992 CAG First Ajanta Musical Clocks TV
Ignite Mudra 1987 CAG First Vimal Sarees Others
Cannes Lion International Advertising Festival) was the largest and most prestigious award for creativity in different
mediums of advertising worldwide. Spikes Asia was the annual creative award for creative excellence in Asia. CLIO
Awards was the reputed global award for creativity in advertising and marketing communication services. Common Arts
Guild (CAG) was an Indian organization which awarded creative work in visual communications and encouraged budding
artists. ABBYs (acronym for Ad Club of Bombay) was the biggest national award for creative advertising in India.
EFFIEs were awards for creative advertising that was effective in attaining business objectives from the American
Marketing Association to. EMVIES (stands for Media Value – MV), organized by the Ad Club of Bombay, was an annual
event that recognized innovation in media.

Source: Company

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DDB Mudra Group: Transformative Growth

Exhibit 10: Profile of the Four Agencies of Mudra Group

Mudra India was the original Mudra Advertising and hence its name was retained as changing the name
would have meant a completely new entity and giving up the historical imprint of brand Mudra. It stood
fifth in the agency ranking for 2010 and had an enduring relationship spanning decades with clients such
as Godrej, Madura Garments, United Spirits, Dabur, LIC, HBO, and Future Group. It employed over 300
people in six full-service offices, and had more than 50 clients. Maatra – its localization unit provided
translation services for a linguistically diverse country such as India. For example, during the re-launch of
Union Bank of India, Maatra translated the signage in 3,000 branches to local languages in 72 hours.

DDB Mudra consisted of DDB Advertising, Tribal DDB, Rapp, and Health & Lifestyle. DDB Mudra was
ranked the No. 7 agency in India in 2010. It had clients such as Volkswagen, Philips, J&J, Novartis,
UNICEF, Idea Cellular, Wrigley’s, and HP. Tribal DDB was ranked fifth among digital agencies in India.
In 2008, Tribal DDB Worldwide became the first digital agency to win global agency network of the year
award. In 2009, Advertising Age added Tribal DDB Worldwide and Rapp to its esteemed A-list of
agencies. Rapp Collins was rechristened as Rapp. DDB Health & Lifestyle won the Communicator
Award of Excellence and Rapp bagged the Leader Award at the 2008 Direct Marketing Association Echo
Awards. DDB Mudra had a team of over 150 people across five offices and four specialist units.

Mudra MAX housed specialist units in media buying, out-of-home, retail, promotions, rural, events, and
sports. It was an ideation and execution agency. Its clients were from different categories – FMCG –
Unilever, Pepsi, ITC, FritoLays, Heinz, Kwality Walls, Quaker, J&J, Wipro, Dabur; Automotives – VW,
Hyundai, TVS, Honda, Castrol, Maruti Suzuki; Telecom – Aircel, Reliance Mobile, Uninor, Tata
Indicom, Videocon, Docomo, Virgin Mobile and Financial Services – LIC, RBS, ING Vyasa, Future
Money, Max NewYork Life, ICICI, Kotak, SBI Life, American Express. It enabled consumers to
experience the brand. For instance, its campaign for Wrigley’s Orbit allowed 3,000 people to get their
teeth checked in one day resulting in a Guinness record; its campaign for TVS Scooty persuaded young
girls by teaching them how to ride; Mudra Max installed a removable lifeboat on a hoarding in a flood-
prone area in Mumbai which did not just talk about Aircel’s service, but was actually of service to its
consumers when they really needed it. The agency network covered 4,000 towns and 1,75,000 villages
with a team of 350 employees in 26 offices and 7,000 feet on street.

Ignite Mudra was the erstwhile Mudra Ahmedabad which had a team of 60 people and clients such as
Zydus Cadila, Paras Pharmaceuticals, and Rasna. The Ahmedabad office had given Mudra many of its
classic brands – Vimal added fashion to fabrics, Dhara redefined purity in edible oils, Symphony
launched the category of air coolers, Ajanta was the revolution of musical quartz wall clocks, Paras
brands – Moov, Krack, Livon, DermiCool, Itchguard, and Recova, were all category creators. It worked
closely with entrepreneurs, supporting them not only for brand building, but also for services in corporate
law, equity funding, public relations, organizational development, and sales and distribution.

Source: Company

Page 23 of 25
 DDB Mudra Group: Transformative Growth

Exhibit 11: Visual Identity of Agencies of Mudra Group

Mudra Group - Old Logo Mudra Group - New Logo

Branding & Communication Integrated Engagement & Experience

Influence @ Behavioral Change Partnerships for Enterpreneurs

Source: Company

Exhibit 12: New Brand Architecture of DDB Mudra Group

DDB MUDRA GROUP

DDB MUDRA Tribal DDB DDB H& L DDB MUDRA MAX

Creative Interactive and new Health and Experience and
services mostly media lifestyle solutions Engagement agency
for MNCs combining media, OOH,
network clients retail and experiential
services

MUDRA RAPP Water Maatra

Creative services mostly Data-driven Brand and design Localization and
for entrepreneurs marketing services consultancy pre-media services

Source: Company

Page 24 of 25
 DDB Mudra Group: Transformative Growth

End Notes
i
http://www.indiantelevision.com/mam/headlines/y2k11/oct/octmam79.php Accessed on April 10, 2012
ii
Mudra starts new innings, Business Standard, February 29, 2012
iii
http://www.indiantelevision.com/mam/headlines/y2k11/oct/octmam79.php Accessed on April 10, 2012
iv
www.agkonline.com/AGK-site/htmls/Achievements/Achievements12.htm Accessed on March 16, 2012
v
Bates India: The Acquisition Opportunity (2002), J. Ramachandran and Nisheeta Bajaj, IIMB Case
vi
World advertising research center www.warc.com
vii
Campaign India, Mudra Supplement, March 25, 2010
viii
Campaign India, Mudra Supplement, March 25, 2010
ix
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/After-Mudra-buy-Omnicom-eyes- talent
pool/articleshow/10598984.cms Accessed on April 10, 2012.

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