Piyush Pandey, executive chairman and national creative director, Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) South Asia, part of the WPP Group, is busy integrating the agency?s organic and inorganic growth plans to sustain its competitive edge in the Indian advertising industry. To build its capabilities in the digital and brand activation space, the agency is scouting for acquisitions across the county. The agency has recently restructured its operations by creating new posts at the national level to strengthen its services. O&M India?s clientele includes Vodafone, Cadbury India, Hindustan Unilever and Lenovo, among others. In an exclusive interview with FE?s Lalitha Srinivasan, Pandey talks about O&M?s strategic plans. Edited excerpts:
Tell us about O&M?s restructuring plans.When did you initiate it?
We kick-started our restructuring operations last month. To start with, we appointed Madhukar Sabnavis as vice-chairman, O&M India. For the first time, we created a new post like ?head of client servicing? at a national level. We elevated Hephzibah Pathak, president, O&M Mumbai, to the new post. Prateek Srivastava, group president, O&M Bangalore, will now head our Delhi operations too. These restructuring were done to beef up our operations across the country.
What?s going to be O&M?s strategy to fight competition in the Indian ad industry?
Primarily, we will be investing in fresh talent. We are scouting for competent professions to add muscle to our existing manpower. We wish to develop our digital capabilities to meet the new media needs of clients. We plan to strengthen our retail communication strategy to tap the growth potential of this sector. In essence, our key strategy is to go for new things and fresh ideas. We are scouting for buys in digital communications and brand activation sectors to strengthen offerings.
How significant is O&M India for Ogilvy?s worldwide operations?
The Indian operations are one of the most significant markets for Ogilvy?s worldwide operations. In fact,we are rated as one of the top 10 agencies in our global operations. We are also rated as one of the creative hubs for Ogilvy as we handle Lenovo?s global account from our Bangalore office.
What?s the impact of the economic slowdown on Indian ad agencies? Is O&M looking at any cost-cutting measures?
I do not think there?s any significant impact on ad agencies as of now. I think ad agencies are smart enough to deal with any new challenges. Right now, we have not felt the need to go for any cost-cutting measures at O&M. As and when there?s a need, we will go for it…
What are the major challenges that the Indian ad industry face today? How do you plan to address these?
For O&M and other ad agencies, the major challenge is to attract talented people in creative and client servicing space. It is a bigger challenge to retain young talent. We, at O&M, are creating an environment to attract and retain talented people.
What will really work in the Indian ad industry in the next two years?
We have to integrate mass media advertising with customer experience management to woo and retain consumers. I think the future of advertising is all about managing customer experience. Every customer is a carrier of goodwill of the brand. Treat him like a king to win any battle.
