Trikaya Grey will bring to the table its international expertise in the field of pharmaceutical marketing and be able to offer a complete communication package. Grey Healthcare is the ninth-largest healthcare marketing agency, with 22 offices in 16 countries. It specialises in developing integrated marketing programmes for healthcare products and services, covering advertising, PR, education and consulting for companiesmarketing products and services to healthcare professionals. International clients include Proctor & Gamble, Smithkline Beecham, Glaxo, Kytril, Forest Labs and Astra Pharmaceuticals.

Trikaya already has a number of pharmaceutical clients in India like PMC, Infar, Novo Nortisk and Knoll Pharma. Pharmaceutical marketing would be a challenge as the entire approach to communication and retailing in pharmaceuticals is different from an FMCG product, says Nirvik.

Besides healthcare, other focus areas for the agency will be Direct Marketing and event management. Trikaya Grey Interactive (TGI) which offers specialised help in setting up web sites for its clients, already has clients like Johnson Controls and AP Tourism. It site for Arvind Mills has also won an award. TGI worldwide is the largest global interactive network and the third largest in the USA. It is P&G's global interactive agency and also interactive partner to Warner Brothers, Discovery, Nokia, Dell, Liz Clairbourne among others.

The agency willalso focus on its media independent division, Mediacom. With 1998 billings that crossed Rs 100 cr, MediaCom has emerged as a key media player and is ranked among the top 5 media divisions, says Nirvik. Its AOR clients include J&J and Marico. This year, it will put into operation its proprietary tool Maxis, a fourth generation portfolio optimiser developed by Grey Worldwide, ``which will give it an edge over competition.''

With such specialised offerings, Trikaya Grey hopes to do 20 per cent more business in 1999 than last year, when it did business worth Rs 160 crore. Already it has expanded business with its 50 top clients, which include J&J, Marico, Times of India, Mauritius Tourism, Proctor & Gamble. Marico, for example, has expanded from being a Rs 3 cr client to a Rs 15 cr client; while Mauritius Tourism is a Rs 20 cr account.

After a tumultuous two-year hibernation, following Ravi Gupta's death, the agency has re-engineered its priorities and focus. Says Nirvik, ``Our biggest strength now isinnovative thinking across all functions: The ability to think outside the box and provide value-added services.''

Explaining the need for the shift in focus, Nirvik says,``When Trikaya Grey looked at its client list last year, it found that of the 90-95 clients with billings of Rs 170-175 crore, 50 contributed Rs 150 crore, while the 45 others collectively generated just Rs 25 crore.'' This resulted in a dissipating of energy, so it decided to concentrate on the big ones - the 50 top clients, with a long-term commitment to advertising. While this meant consciously losing business worth Rs 25 cr, the agency feels it has been worth it concentrating on its committed clientele and adding value to their business.