Blink and miss?

ADVERTISING: Agencies are discovering that the online medium might well be the message.

It seems like Indian ad agencies are finally getting serious about the online medium. For years, the medium has been growing and has been touted as the Next Big Thing but has struggled to make a significant impact.

But now with agencies launching their specialist arms to handle the Internet, mobile and other interactive mediums, it seems the "new" media is ready to cash in on the cyberboom.

It all started with Dentsu launching its digital arm, Dentsu Digital. Mudra already has a separate entity looking after online and other interactive mediums, while Oglivy and Mather too has had a separate agency, Neo@Oglivy, for some time now. So, is this finally the next big thing for Indian ad agencies?

"It is a natural progression for agencies. The online and mobile medium are here to stay, and the business is bound to grow," says Gullu Sen, vice chairman, Dentsu India.

"More and more clients are looking at the interactive medium in a big way and having a dedicated agency to service the medium seems to be the way forward."

R Laxminarayan, CEO, Mudra Marketing Services, feels that this was something that was bound to happen. "With all the talk of providing 360 degree solutions, separate agencies for online was a thing waiting to happen."

But are clients interested in the online medium? "Yes," says Chaya Brian Carvalho, CEO, BC Webwise, "more and more companies are realising the importance and reach of online mediums and definitely want activity on that end." The online advertising market stands at about Rs 170 crore and looks set to grow up to Rs 220 crore by 2008.

Sen, though, feels it is not enough to dedicate an agency to the task. "Though nascent, expectations could be high as you only have to look at the interactive medium."

Agrees Lakshminarayanan, "The interactive mediums could be a bit risky as the impact of a campaign can be tracked very quickly. So the kind of work churned out will have to be topnotch." A risk, some might say, that is well worth it.