How strong are the apex industry bodies that steer the media, marketing and advertising domain? Are they coping with the emerging digital explosion and new media trends, and forging ahead with aplomb, or are they institutions that have gained popularity with time, but remain stationary in character? Therefore, what is the best way ahead for them - are they better off in their current format, or if they work unitedly as a superstructure, especially now that new media blur the boundaries of their work? Be it the output of a creative, media or marketing entity, it is all gradually converging in the digital domain.
Seven apex industry bodies - the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), Indian Newspaper Society (INS), Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), Association of Radio Operators for India (AROI) and Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) - have elected new heads or extended tenure of the existing heads in the last few months. With this new leadership in place, expectations run high as the industry is right now on the cusp of several game-changers, most immediately digitization. “Most interest groups such as the AAAI or IBF drive the agenda of that particular organization. There has to be a larger ecosystem in which they operate. It would be great if you had a linkage between all these organizations - a superstructure, if you like. Every president can bring his or her own touch, but the broad spectrum needs to be considered. It applies to me and the Ad Club too. We all need to be linked to each other, rather than fulfilling our own agenda,” says Shashi Sinha, CEO, Lodestar Universal Media, and president of the Ad Club.
There are issues that affect the entire industry, but have remained dormant for lack of an overall regulator. For instance, the television measurement issue had not been acknowledged earlier, but the NDTVTAM case made it top of mind for all constituents involved. “All the constituents now want clarity and there is support from all sides to get it done. That support was feeble six months ago, and therefore, it was difficult to get everyone to move on it. We have to play for the benefit of everyone involved, considering the big picture,” says Arvind Sharma, Chairman and CEO of Indian Subcontinent, Leo Burnett, who is at the helm of AAAI and ASCI. It is also a fact that while the major focus of the entire industry is Digital, there is, strictly speaking, no regulator so far for advertising in the digital domain.
INDIAN NEWSPAPER SOCIETY (INS )
AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATIONS (ABC)
THE INDIAN SOCIETY OF ADVERTISERS (ISA)
ADVERTISING AGENCIES ASSOCIATION OF INDIA (AAAI)
INDIAN BROADCASTING FOUNDATION (IBF)
ASSOCIATION OF RADIO OPERATORS FOR INDIA (AROI)
‘GOOD AS THEY ARE’
Of course, these industry bodies individually act as a pressure group or rallying point on issues that concern its members, and to that effect unite industry. “Be it the AAAI, IBF or INS or any other body, they are important as there are regulatory challenges, technology and policy challenges – and they have to protect the interest of their members. By themselves, each member would be a weak entity. So these bodies definitely make an impact in terms of protecting the interest of the organizations in that particular sector,” says Bhaskar Das, who has just ‘declared his innings’ after a 32-year tenure at Bennett Coleman &Co.
Sunil Lulla, CEO of Times Television Network, also reposes faith in the associations as they are, saying the confidence that media enjoys today and that which audiences, customers and the govt reposes in media each day, would not have been possible “without the enablement created by the values of these respected associations”. It is his belief that in recent times, the agenda of these associations has aggressively moved to issues related to transparency, self-regulation, equitable partnerships,
protection of proprietary value and content; and enhancement of economic interest. “These issues benefit all stakeholders in each part of the value chain - from owners to employers; from customers to vendors and partners; from government to regulators. The roles played by IBF, NBA and ASCI as such create the confidence for international companies and domestic companies; collaborators and competitors to participate equitably in creating enduring businesses in India,” he adds.
CALL FOR FULL-TIME HEADS
Another point, perhaps, is that all these bodies are led by industry experts who are extremely busy professionals in their own job spheres. Their biggest challenge is giving quality time to these organizations. As Sandeep Goyal, Vice-Chairman of Mogae Media, says, perhaps the model to follow is that of the CII or FICCI. “The year a President takes over, his or her entire tenure is dedicated to helming the association, and he or she literally takes the year off from the employer. All these associations need full-time presidents at least for the tenure so that running the industry body is not just a part-time job. The leaders would then have more time to meet and mingle, talk and debate, take up larger and loftier challenges,” he says.
Man Jit Singh, CEO of Multi Screen Media, who now heads IBF, in fact plans to look for a Secretary-General for the IBF, who can devote full time and efforts to the organization.
Additionally, continuity of an organization’s work also gets affected by heads with short tenures, though one may argue that every new leader brings in new perspective, a new kind of dynamism and new thought, helping an organization grow. The general opinion is that three or four years are required to make any agenda fruitful as frequent change of leadership does not leave scope for vision. “The way industry associations are run, you bring your entrepreneurial zeal and experience, but there is no continuity, plan or vision. President after president comes, and team after team. When every team has its own way of looking at things, it might sometimes be detrimental,” Sinha says.
A new committee member has to walk into the shoes of a predecessor who had a certain action plan and take that mandate forward, with too little time to create a new paradigm. “You need a longer tenure, two years is a good time to settle down and develop a sense of ownership in any organization,” says Ajay Chandwani, CEO of Percept-H, who has been on the executive committee of the Ad Club for nine years.
INFUSING YOUNG BLOOD
Young blood is rarely seen at the helm of industry organizations, and this is said to be the reason why fresh ideas do not surface. “Younger leadership is non-existent. Hence, newer ideas never really surface. AAAI has been talking to IAMAI for years. The inclusion of the digital agencies in the fold is still far, far away. However, I am happy to see Shailesh Gupta of Dainik Jagran take over at ABC. It is a generational leap. He is young, he is global and I am sure, if he wants, he can usher in change,” says Goyal.
According to Chandwani, each of these institutions could develop a second line like an opinion panel, which would be a way of judging the impact of the institution’s decisions on younger people. The panel would deliberate over the institution’s decisions and actually say ‘this is wrong’ or ‘this is right’. The associations can also seek personal time from people who can really make a difference - for example, Nitin Paranjpe of HUL – to inspire young members.
In the creative sphere, Sharma calls for a platform so that advertising as a profession becomes top of mind among youth in the mid-tier towns and they are enticed to be in the profession. Good communicators tend to gravitate towards Bollywood, Tollywood, Kollywood, and this should be countered by providing them continuous opportunities to display their talent, Sharma says.
EMBRACING NEW MEDIA
Coping with new media and new developments in each domain is the requirement for every industry association. The market is fast evolving and demands a new perspective and new strategies as old ones get fast outdated. The IBF, for instance, has a key role to play as the television medium is set to undergo a sea change in the form of digitization, and the INS needs to include in its purview online editions of publications. But, the progress report is different from different quarters. “I think they are really unequal to the task as yet. Digitization and online are not really on the active radar. IBF would rather figure out the future of TAM than get involved with Alexa or Comscores or Vizisense,” says Goyal.
However, Singh of IBF does see supporting the rollout of digitization as his biggest challenge. “We need to work closely with the Ministry, MSO and all stakeholders and ensure a ‘win win’ result in the mid-term while being willing to collectively sacrifice some short-term economic interests,” he says. “In the long term, new media and new delivery platforms will bring new challenges to the IBF. As a dynamic body we will need to address new concerns that our members have and are committed to being a fast, fluid and flexible organization.”
While embracing change is not an independent battle to be fought by any one industry or industry body, the constituents need to sit up and prepare for that change. “We need to change time horizons from the here and now, towards a long term perspective. This, I believe is the challenge and opportunity before all the industry bodies and their leadership,” says Ajay Kakar, CMO, Financial Services, Aditya Birla Group.
THE CHALLENGES
Television: The single biggest challenge that the television industry faces is over-reliance on advertising. Digitization, by ensuring broadcasters get a fair share of subscription revenues, will go a long way towards addressing the situation and that is why it must be a key priority for the IBF and NBA. Until digitization is complete, it is a key priority of the IBF and NBA to ensure regulation on advertising time is held in abeyance. Both the IBF and NBA need to ensure that market forces are allowed to work in the industry.
Print: The biggest challenge to Print is ironically the advent of digital and new media. The INS and its subsets need to bolster the attractiveness of Print, create best practices to prevent migration from Print, and make the medium appealing to investors in spite of the digital challenge. The bodies also need to address cost structure of the industry, newsprint shortage, survival in an economic downturn that sees decline of advertisement flow.
Radio: Linkages with advertising industry for revenue enhancements and outstanding control, with listenership measurement agencies for evolving acceptable listenership survey models and with foreign media and investor bodies for mutually beneficial collaborations. AROI has to focus on addressing all of the above issues in a limited timeline. Other specific issues, for example, the huge unbudgeted hike in mid-license period on annual spectrum rentals, will keep requiring collective attention intermittently.
(Inputs from Srabana Lahiri and Priyanka Mehra)
