After Bollywood, the advertisement industry found a new friend in Delhi as the city played host to the prestigious advertising, marketing and media congress Ad Asia 2011 with ?Uncertainty – the new certainty? as the theme early this month. From the royal city of Jaipur (where the event was hosted last in the country) in 2003 to the truly cosmopolitan Delhi in 2011, brand India has emerged into a new world of ideas, innovation and creativity with delegates tweeting and micro blogging from their tablets and smartphones. Along the way, the marketing and advertising industry has seen a lot of downturns and upswings which have shaped the way the industry has evolved.
Day 1 of the four-day festival saw the Badshah of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan transforming into the Baadshah of marketing who left no stone unturned to promote his movie Ra.One at Ad Asia and gave the message of ‘Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and then advertise.? The delegates got down to some serious sessions on decoding the new-age consumer, from chat rooms to Twitter, marketing 3.0?new rules of engagement, ideas that are contagious and building brands in a trust deficit world. The advertising world’s big names were all here to share their experiences and learn from their counterparts. Global leaders discussed the dynamism of markets and Asia becoming the creative lion and growth engine of the 21st century as Western economies face rough weather. Experts acknowledged a shift in the economic centres of gravity towards emerging markets where Asia is set to be the largest consumer block, significantly ahead of North America and just behind North America and Europe put together in the next 10-15 years.
Speakers explained the shift from the AIDMA(attention, interest, desire, memory and action) model to AISAS(attention, interest, search, action and share) and finally to the SIPS (sympathise, identify, participate and spread) model. Discussions on the journey from chat rooms to Twitter and the power of social media to inform, share and interact formed an important part.
China and India figured prominently in the discussions as speakers compared and contrasted the economic scenarios in the two countries. Kitty Lun, chairman and CEO of Lowe China, gave a new twist to Steve Job’s motto of ?Stay hungry, stay foolish? when she spoke about how advertisers had to adapt fast to consumers who are young, ambitious, richer, confident and knowledgeable. Tom Doctoroff, JWT North Asia area director, Greater China, CEO discussed the poor state of training in China despite huge investments made by the agency. It is no different in India. At times, ad professionals are saddled with so much work that there?s no time left for training despite timely allocation of funds. Again, Piyush Pandey, executive chairperson and creative director, South Asia, Ogilvy and Mather had no doubts about urban India?s creativity but expressed his concern on rural India and brand building in it. ?Looking at the global scenario, putting our house in order should be the priority,? he said.
Coca-Cola?s executive vice-president and chief marketing and commercial officer Joseph Tripodi shared his idea of today’s consumer who can differentiate between brands that are ?cool? and ?false cool?. He explained his organisation’s philosophy of 70:20:10. According to this, the company puts 70% of its money on safe mediums, 20% on innovations and the rest 10% on risky innovations that may or may not work at all. And yes, Prasoon Joshi, executive chairman of McCann Erickson India and regional creative director, McCann Erickson Asia Pacific, was present to support the client by explaining how Coke rides popular culture rather than creating it.
Hitting the nail on the head, PepsiCo?s CEO Indra Nooyi suggested some special measures for Indian companies and their indispensible advertising agencies. According to her, the only solution is to adapt to the ever-changing environment by making uncertainty a part of plans and thinking processes. Nooyi also voiced the need for corporations to create brands that serve a purpose. Nooyi addressed one of the burning issues in the industry today? attracting and developing the right talent comprising people from diverse age groups and ethnicity.
