‘Contract is a more stable ship today than the one I first walked into’

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Rana Barua, COO, Contract Advertising, speaks exclusively to Priyanka Mehra about bringing back stability to the agency after senior exits, reassuring the agency’s clients and focusing on developing its digital arm

It has been an interesting journey to put it mildly for Rana Barua, who joined Contract Advertising in February earlier this year as Chief Operating Officer. For Barua, whose first job in advertising was as a trainee in JWT Kolkata and has sinced worked at O&M, Law & Kenneth and McCann Erikson, to name a few, this was a homecoming of sorts. He has been tight-lipped about the various ups and downs in Contract, until now. In an exclusive chat with us, he talks about bringing back a sense of stability to the agency despite the senior management exits, handling the anxieties of clients and focusing on building the agency’s new digital entity.

Q] What has been your approach to bringing a sense of stability to the agency, which saw a quick succession of exits of senior management?

It wasn’t that one walked into an unknown territory. In all fairness, there was a clear-cut conversation about the changes and challenges that were expected. The idea was to have a smooth first year, and the plan never was to create something in six months. Contract has been here for 26 years and it has a very strong brand legacy. What works for it, is the brand reputation remains extremely strong so there was no need for change or rebranding. The idea was to get the house in order and get it back into the competitive landscape. Coming from a very dynamic world where things changed overnight, I was   mentally geared for the changes. Moreover, I don’t believe in the word ‘challenge’— every challenge for me is an opportunity. We are going to end the year being far more stable, looking at the way we are progressing. It is today a more stable ship than the one I first walked into.

My approach was also ‘I don’t need to fix what is not broken’, but it was holding on and strengthening what we already had. The first three-to-four months, I consciously stayed out of any new pitches in terms of approaching clients. Since the last quarter we have got the right people at the right places. It is business as usual.

Q] How did you handle client apprehensions?

I’d be lying if I said there were no client apprehensions. Obviously they felt that the key people had left. The good part was that we had people like Rohit Srivastava, our CSO, who has been with us for nearly 25 years, so we had key people holding fort. Externally, it was my job to ensure we don’t over-promise. My approach to clients was that they have faith in us, and they will get our best resources. Reassurance also comes from the kind of people you hire and the change you bring about; and slowly the results will fall into place.

Q] what would you call the turning point in this eventful journey so far?

In the months of April and May, we were able to increase the size of the business we were getting from Dabur with a completely new team. This gave new impetus, as that was my first quarter.

Q] Can you share the kind of growth that has happened so far?

Let me just say that we will be meeting the numbers we set out to meet. We have retained 90% of our clients;there has been a new infusion of energy from clients like Asian Paints, Star and RNA, and more exclusive units for clients like Dominos and Microsoft. We’ve established a deeper, more engaging client–agency relationship now. There’s also a solid structure at the top; so the client is dealing with the same person. There are no gaps at various levels. We have managed to do this structuring for both Delhi and Mumbai to assure our clients that they are in safe hands.

Q] With Prashanth Challapalli’s appointment, the agency has a marked approach to increasing its   strength and portfolio in digital offerings. How has that been working out for the agency so far?

Prashanth was brought on board to re-engage iContract in a bigger way. Let’s be honest, if you haven’t interacted in the digital world you won’t be able to understand it. Apart from independent clients, Prashanth works on all of our other brands; so when an idea is getting cracked and the creative people are working with his team, they are also getting exposed to the workings of the digital world. Earlier, every answer to a digital assignment was “let’s create an app.” Now, we’re asking, “Is this idea adaptable? Is it exciting for the medium?” That’s how our teams are thinking, and with a beautiful integration of digital culture in most brands, it is also a great value-add for the client.

Feedback: priyanka.mehra@exchange4media.com

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