Goafest: Traditional media to play a big role

According to tradition, the first day of Goafest is reserved for introspection and debate. Though the annual extravaganza of the advertisement world in Goa is a time to celebrate the profession and allow the executives of the agencies and the advertisers to take a break from their hectic schedules, it usually begins with reflection on serious topics.

This year, it was: Client-agency relationship against an evolving media and communication landscape.

It's a burning issue and refuses to die out, said GroupM's South Asia Chief Executive Officer C V L Srinivas, the moderator of the panel discussion on agency-client relationships.

INTROSPECTION TIME

Like other year, Goafest began with introspection and debate over the future of the profession

IN FOCUS

• The relationship between clients and agencies

WHAT CLIENTS SAY

• Agencies must get paid more, but they should drive sales
   
• Despite the draw of the digital, tradition media must continue to play a significant role
   
• Agencies must understand the business of their clients more closely

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Clients and agencies will have to be brave, loyal and united, much like Jai and Veeru in Sholay"
Chandramouli Venkatesan, MD, Mondelez India
"For the last three to four years we've been thinking what can be the topics of discussion for the conclave held on the first day and the needle always stops here," he said. The panel to reflect on this comprised Chandramouli Venkatesan, managing director, Mondelez India; Samar Singh Shekawat, senior vice-president, United Breweries and Oliver Maletz, head of connections planning, media & international communication, Volkswagen AG.

Venkatesan, who oversees operations of the country's largest chocolate maker, admitted that agencies must be paid more for their services, but this can only happen if the work of the agencies has a tangible business impact.

"The reality of the matter is that advertising and promotion today must generate business. There is no running away from this. Clients and agencies will have to be brave, loyal and united, much like Jai and Veeru were in Sholay," he said in his opening remarks.

Jai and Veeru, played by Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra, in the 1975 blockbuster Sholay, immortalised their undying friendship in a popular song from the film. Venkatesan drew attention of the audience to three points - trust, talent and processes - to help foster good client-agency partnerships, which was also endorsed by the two other panelists during the conclave.

His words of advice: "Make decisions keeping in mind the client." He added agency professionals would need to bring "commercial responsibility" to their work and not compromise on integrity.

At a time when advertising for advertising's sake has gained credence following the series of controversies that rocked Goafest in the past, Venkatesan's comments were topical.

Agencies have been increasingly clamping down on the practice of producing scam ads - created for the purpose of simply winning awards, with both internal and external assessment of campaigns at agencies now growing aggressively. Venkatesan was also of the view that traditional media had a role to play in a client's budget and plan despite the growing influence of digital.

"Digital has the coolness quotient and the eyeballs, but there is need for time-bound impact, which is still not quite there," he said.

UB's Shekawat, a veteran consumer goods marketer, who has worked for companies such as Cadbury (now Mondelez) and PepsiCo in the past, said agencies must understand the business of their clients more closely.

"Too often, it is missing," he said. "For instance, the challenge for us as the country's largest beer maker is to be relevant to a younger target group that does not want to drink what their fathers drank. We would expect our agency partners to provide solutions there."

Maletz of Volkswagen, which is grappling with a worldwide emission issue of its cars, was sharper in his comments. He said agencies would have to "stop selling" to them and "helping" them instead.

"If you have to sell an idea to us, it probably won't work. Most marketers are willing to take risk, provided the agency can make a good case for it," he added.

to be relevant to a younger target group that does not want to drink what their fathers drank. We would expect our agency partners to provide solutions there," he said articulating his expectations from agencies.

Maletz of Volkswagen, which is grappling with a worldwide emission issue of its cars, was sharper in his comments saying that agencies would have to "stop selling" to them and "helping" them instead. "If you have to sell an idea to us, it probably won't work. Most marketers are willing to take risk, provided the agency can make a good case for it," he added.

THE STAGE IS SET

Organisers of the Goafest maintained on Thursday that the turnout at the annual festival had surpassed expectations with 2,300 delegates making it for the three-day event from 350 organisations. Thanks to the increase in the number of participating agencies and companies, the number of entries was also up

Pitchers for UB
United Breweries will be launching a new app in the coming days called Pitchers, which will provide details regarding nightlife in a city. The idea has roots in the realisation that Kingfisher as a brand needs to communicate with the youth. The name of the app follows The Viral Fever's web-series TVF Pitchers, which the company partnered as a brand (Kingfisher) last year. The TVF series is slotted for a second season this year, with Kingfisher expected to continue its relationship with the web-property.

Second wife of Henry VIII
Samar Singh Sheikhawat of UB had the crowd in splits as he walked up to the podium and announced, "Speaking after Mouli (Chandranmouli Venkatesan of UB), I feel a bit like Henry VIII's second wife... I know what is expected of me, but have no idea how I will deliver it."

No barriers to creativity
There were interesting points that came at the advertiser conclave on the first day of the Goafest. One was this: There is need to debunk the notion that process is a barrier to creativity. It co-exists with creativity, and indeed, helps improve the scale of creativity.