Young and Rubicam (Y& R) Asia president Matthew Godfrey has built his career in the Asia Pacific region, beginning at George Patterson Bates in Sydney. Before moving to Y&R, Godfrey was the CEO and COO of Publicis Asia. Godfrey, who is based out of Singapore, was in India recently to announce the launch of VML Qais, a digital agency in the Y&R network, in India. In an interview with FE?s Anushree Chandran, Godfrey talks about plans to take VML to other markets, as well as bringing other Y&R brands into India. Edited excerpts.
Digital agency VML has come to India as the result of an acquisition. Are any more mergers or acquisitions in the pipeline?
At the WPP level, it?s always been about fast growing markets across the world and new media. VML Qais is an example of that. Qais was an agency headquartered out of Singapore and it also had India operations. In December last year, VML and Y&R combined to do this acquisition. VML is a global brand, and we have plans to take it to other markets. Right now, VML is present in Singapore, India and Sydney in Asia and I hope that over the next 18 months, we can bring it to two or three more markets.
What are the other companies under Y&R that you may want to bring into India?
There are companies that are doing well in Asia which we could potentially look to bring into India.
But there are no immediate plans. We have a brand called Ideaworks based in Sydney that works in the retail space. Another company is Y&R Retail which focuses on shopper marketing. We?ve also had a very successful Campaign Palace launch in Jakarta. It is a boutique creative agency that is doing really well for us. If the opportunity comes and it makes sense in India, and if clients were to see value in that, it would not be unexpected for us to bring these companies to India.
Many classify India as an emerging market. What are your thoughts on this?
India is a fast growing market, not an emerging market. If you look at Indian advertising, it is a very old industry. It?s one of the most progressive and mature advertising markets in the region. India has very successful brand-building and leadership skills. To classify it as an emerging market is to underestimate the power of Indian marketing. I think it just happens to be fast growing. We intend to take VML to places which are fast growing; ultimately these offices should give back to VML as well. Places like India have so much expertise, knowledge, entrepreneurial skill that we want.
How do you see the global economic crisis affecting the advertising and marketing industry?
In the advertising and marketing industry, slow growth comes with an advantage because it brings an end to lazy marketing. When brands are faced with challenges and it?s harder to get growth, they will work harder. It forces you to be more accountable and think beyond the box. For instance, it?s a good time to do creative things around social media.
India is the number one in Asia and number two in the world on Facebook. There is a huge opportunity here. If you look at Twitter – the top ten brands are not brands but people (celebrities). Brands use celebrities in ads all the time but seem not to notice what celebrities are doing to build their own brands on Twitter. This is the opportunity for digital companies such as VML. Also, changes in the last few years have led to price points coming down. It?s given a tremendous amount of liberation to individuals in the 18-24 years age group in India. Maybe that?s another opportunity right there.
Has the economic environment affected your bottom lines?
In Asia, it hasn?t. In Asia, growth is slowing down, but it?s better than the no-growth markets of the West. No client is talking about less ad spends, they just want the right accountability. If you are out to get market share in Asia, you will. There is a big difference in attitude between fast growth markets and recessionary markets. In recessionary markets you are forced to cut. You have difficult decisions on how you spend your money and there are significant pressures. But I think that the underlying principle here, globally and in Asia, is the same?whatever money you have, get more out of it. Most advertisers are not lacking opportunity, if you look at innovations taking place in the market place. If you look at Apple, they launched the first iPad 24 months ago. And since then, they have brought out three iPads. The pace of innovation is amazing.
Who are the big gainers of this innovation rush? Facebook? Apple?
Look at what it?s done to business models?books, magazines, newspapers, other content providers. It?s a huge change. If you look at the Facebook IPO, they did pretty well too. I think that a big gainer in all this is the consumer.
How does Indian advertising stack up in comparison with China?
I don?t look at them as competitors at all. It?s not an either-or situation. You cannot have a global strategy without both. In India specifically, it has ceased to be about how big you can grow in the country. It?s more about how big you can be from India, what you can do for the world outside from India. The best ideas, creativity, campaigns, breakthroughs come from fast growing markets such as India and China. Our ambitions are not so much inward looking, but outward looking. There?s no reason why places such as India and China can?t be global centres of excellence. Most Asian ad agencies don?t always see themselves as drivers of innovation. But they should absolutely be that in this space.