Happened to meet two passionate advertising people in the last couple of days and was surprised to find how out of touch with reality they were on the relevance, stature and potential of advertising as a strategic brand building tool. Having been an ex-advertising professional, and a passionate one at that, I have been witnessing the gradual decline of it on all the above mentioned parameters. Therefore, this blogpost is just a summary of a number of trends that have been documented in many places which have lead to the marginalization of advertising in the world of management.
No.1- we are living in the service economy so no amount of advertising is going to make up for a shoddy frontline job. The key brand communication tool for most of the brands built in the last 10 years has been the frontliner- be it an Infy, or an NDTV or a Jet or an HDFC/ICICI. HR is new marketing.
No.2- the rise of the company brand. Sony, Apple, Samsung, Dell, Nokia...the list goes on. Single line FMCG (Surf, Tide, Coke etc.) is going to be a rarity and people will first buy the company brand before a choosing a product band in that context. ipod works till Apple does. Ask a car buyer about buying a Palio or an Optra-- the woes of Fiat and GM have enormous bearing on the purchase decision. Even FMCG companies are reducing the portfolio and emphasizing the company brand (J&J, Nestle). And company brands get built by their financial performance, by the management philosophy, by their HR practices etc. CEO is the new brand manager.
No.3- Advertising will thrive, but more as a BPO and not as a strategic arm. CEOs do not even have time for their internal marketing departments, forget ad- agencies. Those hoping that 'great creative' is going to put them back on the CEOs table are trying to lispstick on an elephant...
No.4- Ad agencies have contributed to their problems by not investing enough in their people and attracting the kind of talent that today goes to any consulting job. Their central identity is in the creative function and the best creative talent is moving out of agencies to far more exciting options. However, the deeper issue that makes it even more difficult to fix is one of integrity. I don't intent to sound like a moral science teacher but the level of workability (because people do not have any respect for their word) is pathetically low in most ad firms.
Personally, in my post grad days i used to dream of being a part of another creative revolution of the Bernbach kind and got enrolled every time the head of an agency spoke about reinventing the agency in a manner that reinvents the industry.
Frankly, i have become a bit skeptical of any such claims, not so much because i do not trust their resolve, but more importantly because i always get surprised at how mis-diagnosed the disease remains.
Now what do i tell this girl doing her B.Com when she asks me for tips on building a career in advertising?
No.1- we are living in the service economy so no amount of advertising is going to make up for a shoddy frontline job. The key brand communication tool for most of the brands built in the last 10 years has been the frontliner- be it an Infy, or an NDTV or a Jet or an HDFC/ICICI. HR is new marketing.
No.2- the rise of the company brand. Sony, Apple, Samsung, Dell, Nokia...the list goes on. Single line FMCG (Surf, Tide, Coke etc.) is going to be a rarity and people will first buy the company brand before a choosing a product band in that context. ipod works till Apple does. Ask a car buyer about buying a Palio or an Optra-- the woes of Fiat and GM have enormous bearing on the purchase decision. Even FMCG companies are reducing the portfolio and emphasizing the company brand (J&J, Nestle). And company brands get built by their financial performance, by the management philosophy, by their HR practices etc. CEO is the new brand manager.
No.3- Advertising will thrive, but more as a BPO and not as a strategic arm. CEOs do not even have time for their internal marketing departments, forget ad- agencies. Those hoping that 'great creative' is going to put them back on the CEOs table are trying to lispstick on an elephant...
No.4- Ad agencies have contributed to their problems by not investing enough in their people and attracting the kind of talent that today goes to any consulting job. Their central identity is in the creative function and the best creative talent is moving out of agencies to far more exciting options. However, the deeper issue that makes it even more difficult to fix is one of integrity. I don't intent to sound like a moral science teacher but the level of workability (because people do not have any respect for their word) is pathetically low in most ad firms.
Personally, in my post grad days i used to dream of being a part of another creative revolution of the Bernbach kind and got enrolled every time the head of an agency spoke about reinventing the agency in a manner that reinvents the industry.
Frankly, i have become a bit skeptical of any such claims, not so much because i do not trust their resolve, but more importantly because i always get surprised at how mis-diagnosed the disease remains.
Now what do i tell this girl doing her B.Com when she asks me for tips on building a career in advertising?
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