After a four-year stint at Cheil Worldwide SW Asia, Prathap Suthan (Pat) joined iYogi, a direct-to-consumer remote tech support company, early this year as its chief creative officer. He has also started his own creative shop The Advisory. At Cheil, he played a key role in building the Samsung brand in India and repositioning Samsung mobiles in India. Suthan has also worked in Mudra and Grey. In an exclusive chat with FE?s Payal Khandelwal, Suthan tells us what he has been up to at iYogi, his future plans for The Advisory and the issue of dearth of talent in the advertising industry. He also talks about the new initiaves being planned for ?Delhi Alternative? (ALT DEL), a platform for meeting and sharing ideas for the communications industry. Edited excerpts:
After being associated with advertising for so long, what made you join iYogi? How has the experience been so far?
The first part of the question isn?t quite correct. I am still very much in the thick of advertising. Just that my playing field has changed. Today, instead of creating work for India, I now lead and create work for global markets. This across all media ? especially driven through digital. And with a team that?s among the best in the business.
I did have an offer from a large agency to head their SE Asia region, and to also set up a new independent American agency, but I was pretty sure that I didn?t want to get into another hectic network role again.
So why iYogi? Great people to work with. Brilliant company to work for. Our business operates right at the edge of technology, innovation, and marketing. It?s quite a rush to be involved with and contributing to the evolution of a new business and communication future. IYogi offers me an opportunity that I will never get anywhere else, and I doubt if any other creative team has this going for them. To build the iYogi brand into a more visible global brand.
As it is, we are already India?s first global consumer services brand. Now with the credibility of the brand already in place, I am looking forward to a brand new idiom, and to explore the possibilities of the digital marketplace.
The experience till now has been dynamic. From understanding the auricles of ATL (above-the-line) to the ventricles of Google. From interacting with the Guptas from Nagpur to the Joneses in Nashville. From waiting for weeks to see the impact of a new campaign, to being able to instantly answer, shadow and sync with online demands.
How is The Advisory coming along? Can you give us some details?
The Advisory is doing alright. It?s on its own course and trajectory. We did handle Carlsberg for sometime and we made a film as well. It was our first account. But we chose not to invest with it.
I must also confess that I haven?t been able to give The Advisory more time. I am not in the game to go and sit hours outside a prospective client?s office and end up being told that he has a more important meeting. I have reached a point where I am confident of delivering an effectiveness quotient, and the last thing I want to do is to pitch for free.
There are clients and brands out there who truly look up to the value that advertising agencies can bring them. People who cherish our intuitiveness, instinct, guts, and conviction. There?s no joy better than working with clients who share your passion and belief, and mutually building a relationship that?s inspiring and motivating.
At The Advisory, we are currently gearing up to launch a new brand in a familiar segment. And once a bit more clarity arrives, we could be taking on more people. We are also in the middle of tying up with a European agency, and opening an office in Chicago. Hopefully in the next six months, there will be more news to share.
When you had quit Cheil it was announced that you would still be associated with them as a mentor? How is that working out?
I am sure they said that with all sincerity. But in reality such things never take root. I am happy that the separation has been efficient and pleasant. However, I miss Bruce Haines a lot. He bought bold ideas. And he probably is the one person in the system who saw the big picture for the brand.
I am sure Samsung is doing well and they are self-sufficient. Though I still believe that the brand is under-powered. There?s more potential. I was delighted to see a recent survey that ranked Samsung as India?s most trusted consumer electronics brand. I am confident that my three years of work had a role to play in taking Samsung to the top.
You have often said that there is a dearth of talented people in the ad industry? How, according to you, can that be taken care of?
I sensed this a while ago when business greed blinded commonsense.
When people in charge create and build advertising agencies with the sole intention of funding their personal bank accounts, you don?t need to be George Soros to predict where the business is headed. They spent no money on training, recruiting layers, building redundancy, investing in the right people, and the right clients. They were also far too bothered about bottom lines and global balance sheets.
The only thing this business has going for it is a happy lot of committed people. That?s the true capital of this business and you can?t play hooky with it. You can?t sack people and hire people to make your accounts look right, and make your numbers look robust. The agencies that took care of its people are still strong. The ones that played politics with its people are suffering. And leaking.
Advertising is no longer the plentiful home of radiant minds. It?s fraught with uninspiring leadership, it?s creaking at the hinges, and it?s teeming with jellyfish. The business ought to have remained independent instead of giving up their originality and uniqueness to the slaughterhouse of capitalism.
What new initiatives can we expect from the ?Delhi Alternative? forum?
There?s some really interesting stuff on its way. We will have a wealthy winter. And as far as I know there are three workshops ready to be announced. Shouvik (Roy), the president of Alt Del, should be ready to share that almost immediately.