Being elected President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) is a culmination of my involvement with it, which started almost eight years ago. The post comes with a lot of responsibility and duties to the member ad agencies, creative agencies, full service agencies and media agencies. I hope to fulfil these to the best of my abilities.
BY MG PARAMESWARAN
President, AAAI & Advisor, FCBUlka
The AAAI has over 100+ small and medium-sized agencies as members, and they account for almost 80% of the advertising throughout the country. As President, it is my duty to try and serve all these diverse constituencies equally well. I look forward to the challenges and the opportunities to serve the industry that has been my home for the last 35 years.
AAAI was set up almost 70 years ago with the objective of helping advertising agencies serve a better role in society, and it provides them a strong voice in dealing with powerful industry bodies and government agencies. The meeting of the newly elected Executive Council of AAAI is set to take place in two weeks, and I will work with my EC colleagues to evolve an agenda for the next year on what AAAI can do to help its member agencies, clients, media and the society at large.
THE CHALLENGES
The advertising agency business around the world has been buffeted by winds of change and the wind speed dramatically changed with the growth of the digital medium in the West. I believe that just as Television changed the way advertising was delivered many decades ago, digital too will change the way advertising is delivered. Agencies will have to learn how to do this well, in India as well.
Advertising agencies in India also face multiple challenges, in addition to the one mentioned above. Clients want more and more services for less and less. Agencies that win a pitch are told to negotiate with the Procurement Team; often agencies are not prepared in the fine art of negotiations.
Media owners have always been bigger than advertising agencies, at least in terms of capital employed, and they are creating innovative sales methods that are causing heartburn to agencies. As recently as last week, AAAI had to intervene to help a small South India based agency which had got caught in the cross-fire between a media group and a client.
Above all, AAAI has to act as a strong yet fair intermediary force between clients and media. We also need to be active in presenting the cause of advertising to the powers that be. This may need new measures, new processes, new training, etc. We will discuss what can be achieved in a reasonable time-frame and get down to work.
INVOLVING THE YOUNG
AAAI’s Goafest initiative is aimed at helping the younger members of the advertising community get exposure to top class speakers and great advertising, all under the Goa sun! AAAI also holds contests to send bright young people both from the client and agency side to international contests and conferences. AAAI would love to create a forum for young leaders from the ad agency world to provide it with new ideas on how it can serve the larger cause better. Education and training is on top of our agenda and hopefully we will be able to create some online courses to help raise the talent level in the industry.
NEW INITIATIVES
AAAI is deeply involved with several industry initiatives such as BARC, besides being one of the founding partners of ASCI. Initiatives like NRS were also actively supported and mid-wifed by AAAI. We are also proud of our partnership with Ad Club on many fronts. Going forward, AAAI will be actively involved in industry bodies that will help ad agencies, clients and media do their job better.
If I were to single out one area for me to work on, I would pick talent upgradation. I think AAAI can do a lot more. When I was at Ad Club, I piloted the concept of Continuing Education Programmes (CEPs). AAAI may want to explore that option, but now with the power of the Online Classroom model. We will also make sure that the colleges in key cities of India offer a competent Advertising Management course and AAAI will help them by creating material for their use, under the AAAI banner. We will also explore ways of getting involved with other media vendors in a more systematized manner; we do have arrangements with the larger media, but other key media such as Digital, Outdoor and Radio are on our agenda. We hope to create forums to involve young leaders, the digital agencies (who may not be part of member agencies) and other specialist units that need a stronger voice. The international world of advertising needs to see a lot more of the intellectual and creative prowess that exists in Indian agencies; we may need to set in motion initiatives that can get Indian advertising professionals a stronger voice on international forums.
Even in our own country, AAAI needs to work hard to ensure that advertising professionals are seen as value building consultants and not as mere suppliers of creative, to be hired and fired at the whim of brand management. This cannot happen just because we want it to happen; it will happen only if we make our competencies and deeds speak this language.
THE INDUSTRY CAUSE
The AAAI serves a very important cause for the larger advertising eco-system. I hope to make a change, in some small way, in the way advertising agencies work, the way they are perceived and their larger role in society. We belong to a great industry that can act as catalyst for economic growth. We may have individual differences, but the agency world is united in our cause towards serving the clients we handle, the livelihoods we provide and the society we serve. In some small measure I hope to remember all this in serving my duties.
Finally, I do have a 9 to 5 job at FCBUlka, so I hope to devote time after 5 pm to do whatever it takes, every day, for AAAI and bigger industry causes. I look forward to the support of member agencies, clients and definitely the media in this endeavour.
