GroupM’s media agency Wavemaker has been having a good year so far, having picked up its third Media Agency of the Year title at The Abbys just recently. Ajay Gupte, CEO, South Asia, Wavemaker, spoke to Christina Moniz on the sidelines of Goafest about the agency’s partnership with Mondelez and the future of the traditional media agency business. Edited excerpts:
The Abbys turned in your third Media Agency of the Year title in 2024. What is driving this winning spree?
Rome wasn’t built in a day; neither was Wavemaker. The success we are seeing today is the result of investments over several years, across e-commerce, data acquisition, enhancement and enrichment, and content. In fact, we made these investments well before clients had started asking for these capabilities. Way back in 2004-05, we invested in digital marketing talent even though client spending on digital was less than 1% at that time. We now have 18 data scientists and 70 content creators in the team.
We are also fortunate to have a large base of around 150 active clients at any point of time. When I entered the industry, I had read all the necessary marketing textbooks that I needed to read, only to learn that there is no textbook for marketing today. In a sense therefore, we are writing the textbooks for the future by creating the knowledge and expertise that can be replicated on other clients. We have reached a tipping point now where all the work we put in over the years is winning us accolades.
Are the traditional ways of planning and buying media redundant then?
No, I would not say that. Around 70% of our business continues to come from traditional media business. Though the new-age marketing disciplines add a smaller volume to the business, that is the more exciting growth story. That 30% didn’t exist until a few years ago, and that is creating differentiation for Wavemaker.
The traditional media agency model is critical and continues to be the heart of our business. That is where we automate and make things process-driven. So, while the traditional share may eventually reduce a little bit, the new-age marketing proficiency we offer will only serve to enhance the tradi-tional. If we are able to perfect a piece of work on five of our clients, we have a total of 145 others who are a market for us and we can take that new offering to them as well. We can then command a 10% additional fee from each of these, and grow another 10% on the back of one piece of work.
How have your capabilities in data, content and e-commerce been helpful in winning new business?
We are being invited to far more business pitches today. In 2023, we grew by 21% as per COMvergence (media agency ratings body), and close to half of that growth has come from new business. We added around `1,700 crore in new business last year. A lot of the work we’re doing with new clients is largely in e-commerce, data and content, which may not be large in terms of volume bit is still exciting. We have made some significant achievements in first-party data acquisition and enhan-cement, and have been able to demonstrate that value to clients. Brands are also willing to pay more to ensure effective advertising.
Your work on Mondelez has won local and international recognition. What are the advantages of long-term partnerships?
What has worked for Mondelez is that the client is open to innovation and experimentation. This mandate is being driven globally for the company. They view agencies as true partners. The other key factor is the great collaboration among Mondelez, Ogilvy and Wavemaker that has led to some incredible ideas, execution and results. When we work together, we are one powerhouse team and not agency and client. With the client’s support, we have invested in tech that has enabled us to create path-breaking work.
Are you concerned that the team might be focused more on winning awards than achieving business outcomes for clients?
We don’t make campaigns with awards in mind. The campaign is based on the client’s brief and objectives. Once our campaigns are executed, we sift through them and decide on which ones should be entered for awards because award entries are expensive. Having said that, a team that wins awards demonstrates greater positivity, and gets better talent on board.
Brands are also encouraged to try new things and take big bets with us. Young people sitting in the awards shows will watch the Mondelez team do a clean sweep and will want to be part of the team, which is human psychology. There is really no negative to awards.