BS People: Rana Barua

Reaping the benefits of being an outsider

He is a control freak in the kitchen—yes, he likes to buy his veggies and go through the entire drill of rustling up something nice for his boys — but Rana Barua, the newly appointed chief operating officer at Contract Advertising, is a completely hands-off manager at work.

“I like to delegate; if you hire a person and don’t allow him or her to do his job, you would be cheating that person,” says Barua.

Barua joins from Law & Kenneth and succeeds Umesh Shrikhande who left the agency after putting in 17 years. Shrikhande, along with Jagdip Bakshi, who preceded him, was credited with inculcating a culture of sound thinking and a value-based approach to doing business. Barua understands theirs will be a tough act to follow. “See, there was a Contract of the 1990s and there was a Contract of the 2000s. And growth during these two phases happened in two different directions. Now the environment has changed and I can tell you it’s time for Contract to change,” Barua says talking of the way ahead for him. He adds that the agency has some great clients but growth has been a thorn in the flesh.

So what is the way to grow in an industry that has been in the throes of one its leanest patches? Barua says Contract could grow by growing the number of clients and by playing in new verticals. To be able to grow, one needs to be in the potential clients’ consideration set when he calls for an agency pitch. “That’s the acid test for an agency, being part of the invitee list without pushing. We have to work on that,” he says. The other way is about having a wider play. “If 90 degrees is about TV and the rest about all other media then you really need to rethink your strategy,” he adds. That's easier said than done, right? “Well, being kind of an outsider helps,” Barua says, referring to his earlier stint as RED FM (COO).