Engineering and management degrees are quite common for professionals working in automobiles. But it is a surprise to find folks who have chosen to get educated in these two disciplines before plunging into advertising. Take CVL Srinivas for instance who has an engineering degree from BITs Pilani and a management degree from XLRI, Jamshedpur.
Today, Srini, as he is called, serves as the chairman of the Publicis-owned Starcom MediaVest Group India and also as the managing director of LiquidThread, one of its divisions.
He has 14 years of exposure to the media business, having scored numerous successes for leading media agencies such as Madison, Fulcrum and Maxus over the period as a senior manager or head. Srini is wont to do what he wants to do, like taking a four year break from media and advertising, and at a time when his career was roaring. In 2007, he gave up a plush job as CEO, Maxus Asia Pacific to become a consultant with Surewaves, a company that specialises in media convergence solutions. He then went to consult a private equity (PE) fund in the media sector and also worked with BCCL‘s Private Treaties as director for two years.
SMG was his media comeback vehicle earlier this year. And it has been on fire under his and his colleague Mallikarjundas CR‘s stewardship. It has focused on three pillars of insights and research, digital and branded content. In the process, it has not only managed to retain old businesses but also gained some new accounts. Among the 15 brands it pocketed include: Yahoo, Biba, Sab, Pix and Aircel.
Indiantelevision.com‘s Prachi Srivastava spoke to Srinivas about his charge, its performance and the way forward.
Excerpts: |
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How has the performance of the company been in this year, as it comes to an end? |
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What was your focus this year? |
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You have been with multiple agencies. What difference do you see in the work culture? |
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There were different specialist units earlier. Why were they merged in Vivaki? |
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Are clients showing an inclination towards the new media (digital, internet, mobile, retail) or they continue to be comfortable with traditional form? |
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How is LiquidThread doing since its launch in India? |
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How do you see the economic slowdown affecting Starcom or the advertisers‘ spend? |
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Is it as bad as the slowdown in 2008? What have been the learnings from 2008 slowdown that you apply now? |
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Television today has the efficacy for advertisers. How does it affect the other mediums? |
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Is reallocation of resources happening from client‘s side across different media? |
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Has the concept of return of investments (RoI) changed with the clients? What is the measurement metrics followed now?
SMG is pioneering lot of work in this area which I hope will benefit our clients in the coming years. |
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Have the dynamics for communication to rural market changed? How are you helping your clients communicate to their rural consumers? |
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How will Starcom MediaVest‘s business be split in Print/ TV/ FM/ outdoor/ Internet etc? |
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As a media planner, how do you view the emerging radio and digital scenario?
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But we still see a dominant readership in print… For a majority of the population, Print is still the first choice for daily news. For advertisers, Print is still the first choice for announcement value and immediacy. According to TAM, Print has grown at 7 per cent in Nov 2011 v/s Nov 2010, led by Services and Banking. The reason why print is still a dominant media in India is that every few years, new categories come into the market and most new categories start with print and only then they come onto TV and then other mediums, whether its education, insurance or healthcare. As and when digital penetration increases, Print could start feeling the pinch. Print needs to learn how to co-exist with digital if it has to remain relevant.
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What is your strategy to integrate media plan across different verticals? How do you make that more effective? |
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What do you have to say about the cut throat competition in the media industry? |
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Over the past five years what changes have you seen in media business, planning and buying? Three things that are worth mentioning - a lot more focus on digital media, advertisers willing to invest in impact and a change in the profile of a media agency, especially with the influx of insights, digital and content talent. |
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Is youth still the hardest segment to capture? |
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When it comes to television, how do you stack up the genres as per the deliveries? |
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What kind of research you conduct before deploying digital media for any purpose? |
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What are your plans for 2012? |
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