As the chief marketing officer of Digitas, Seth Solomons has been responsible for steering the digital arm of the world?s fourth largest communication company, The Publicis Groupe, through the choppy waters of the past two years.
Named among the top ?40 under 40? marketing executives by Advertising Age, in 2007, Solomons attributes this success not just to Digitas? consolidated base in key, evolving markets, but also to the responsible local leadership that helped the company straddle the sudden burst of online activity in these countries.
A seasoned marketing professional with more than 16 years of integrated experience in traditional advertising, interactive, direct and partnership marketing for well known companies such as Samsung, Delta, American Express, and Pfizer, Solomons was in India recently.
In an interaction with FE?s Radhika Sachdev, he spoke about the agency?s plans for the country, which he happily counts among the three most promising markets globally, in the next few years. Edited excerpts:
Digitas had a good run in 2007-08 when its revenues grew 100% over the previous year. What do you attribute this stupendous growth to and will you be able to sustain that pace this year as well?
I would attribute that growth to a couple of things. To the fact that I was heading the operations (laughs), I must congratulate myself wherever I can; and the close collaboration that we had with all other Publicis sister agencies, Starcom MediaVest Group, ZenithOptimedia, Saatchi & Saatchi.
The acquisition had just happened and playing well with these sister companies, we were able to proactively net more clients in diverse markets, especially in India, France and the UK. We were fortunate, we inherited very strong local leadership teams in these markets and we were able to consolidate our business in these markets, more than in any other markets.
That said, it may be difficult to sustain this kind of growth outside India this financial year because of the general market slowdown. During recession, brands obviously have to work hard at staying relevant. They have to multi-task, so there is a shift from traditional broadcast media to cross-channel marketing; anything that promises best return on their investment, which includes digital (mobile, social marketing and internet). At such times, brands are looking at more efficient, integrated communication across a brand?s consumer journey; sort of experiential marketing that we specialise in.
How did the acquisition of Solutions help your business in India?
It helped us tremendously. Again we benefited tremendously from the presence of a strong local leadership, that?s given us at least a 10 years? lead over others. Solutions has a very strong presence in the business-to-business segment and in the mobile and social marketing space.
Globally, it gives us a different level of insight and curiosity into these markets. Solutions was growing 30% before the acquisition, now we are growing almost 100%, year on year.
You are present in 16 markets globally. Which ones are the most promising?
I would name three, but, not necessarily in their order of importance. In the UK, we have a new leadership team, so there is a big local opportunity and the UK is the hub for our global business.
We are entering into Germany early next year, and India is representative of the top three markets in terms of adoption of digital medium, and also from our offering stand point.
Lastly, China and Australia are also important, so we are looking to scale up in these markets in the coming year, as well.
How big is the market that you are targeting in India?
It?s a very fragmented market, so estimates are difficult. There is no formal data, but the estimate is that it?s Rs 600 crore market, made up of 40 million active internet users. That may be small for a country the size of India, but we are not looking at the size but the potential opportunity in India.
Most brands aren?t able to make an optimal use of the digital medium. At best, they re-purpose the traditional content for online consumption. How do you propose to overcome this challenge in India?
You are right. Until brands realise that digital has to be used as a strategy; a strategy for listening, it will not serve its purpose. In many ways, digital marks a shift from push to pull advertising.
It?s a starting point for cross-channel campaigns that you can use to understand your consumers. Traditional forms of advertising were only used to talk to the consumers.
With digital and at Digitas, we use the medium to listen closely to the consumer. There are so many unarticulated needs, untapped market opportunities that you can tune into through this medium.
What are the kinds of brands that lend themselves happily to the digital medium?
This varies with the geography. In the UK, it?s the 50+ generation that is the fastest growing internet population, and their need for information through this medium is the highest.
In India, it is the youth brands, in the consumer durable, technology, telecom, FMCG and the electronic space that lend themselves most happily to this medium.
Can you cite one key strength of the digital medium?
It integrates so seamlessly with other mediums? mobile, social media, out of home (OOH)?that it can be used to cover all consumer touch points.
Brands today don?t want consumers to talk at them, but talk to them. Peer-to-peer contact has always been relevant to consumers; social media provides just one more platform for it.
Healthcare is a big market in India. When do you plan to bring Digitas Health to India?
Our first priority is of course to establish it in the UK. We will very soon be bringing this opportunity to India, as well.