Ad men say time ripe for a digital crossover

The fast-approaching death of the 30-second spot is taking along some casualties — more and more ad men, who for long were part of creative teams that made these commercials, are hopping aboard specialist digital agencies.

It’s happening in India, where — unlike global trends — digital units of mainline ad agencies such as O&M, Leo Burnett and the likes, rarely manage to provide end-to-end solutions at the scale at which a digital agency does.

“There’s so much more that can be done in the digital space,” said Shubho Sengupta, national creative director, Interactive Avenues, who moved from O&M. “In mainline advertising, after a point, one begins to feel like an assembly-line product. After all, there’s only so much you can do making TVCs or writing smart copies. Whereas (in a digital agency), thanks to changing technology and new innovations, the approach to each campaign changes.”

Which is why India has seen a mushrooming of digital agencies over the last few years.
Think Webchutney, BC Web Wise, Interactive Avenues, Hungama, Ignitee (formerly Connecturf), Contests2win and Quasar Media, and you’re thinking of banner ads, rich media ads, viral marketing, microsites, social media apps, in-video ads, online communities, search engine optimisation and more.

Balakrishnan S, creative director, Pinstorm, who spent 16 years in mainline agencies such as Mudra, Contract and Percept before making a shift, said: “The possibilities are immense. I learnt that advertising can be triggered through keywords!”

Like many others at Pinstorm, who came from non-digital agency backgrounds, Balakrishnan underwent a customised training programme to get familiarised with the medium.

“There is a common understanding amongst everyone in this industry that investing in digital is the way to go ahead,” said Vikram Sivaramakrishnan, a former McCann Erickson hand, now VP and branch head (Delhi), Webchutney. “In future, marketers will use the online medium effectively, not because it helps target consumers better, or because it’s measurable, but because most of the consuming classes are going to be there.”

Hence, said Sengupta, the earlier the person gets into the medium the better, since there are fewer entry barriers at present. “It’s the right time to switch. Digital agencies are hiring, because this is when you experiment. Two-three years from now, digital advertising would have arrived bigtime and one wouldn’t like to be caught clueless about how to exploit the medium,” he said.

Former Vyas Giannetti Creative CEO Atul Hegde, who heads Ignitee, agrees. His interest in digital was sparked off in 2007, when he visited US offices of Google and Yahoo as part of a study tour for CEOs.

“That was a real eye opener. I learnt that we are after all in a communications business, not a technology business. Skill sets can be taught. What one needs is the mindset to change, and an understanding of brands,” he said.

What’s also fuelling this shift to digital agencies is a visible movement in advertiser confidence. The current recessionary environment has made FMCG, banking services, travel and hospitality sectors reshuffle their advertising monies in favour of digital advertising.

“Greater diversity in the kind of spending would make it even more exciting,” said Balakrishnan.

The interesting bit, say experts, is that there’s no formula for a successful digital campaign.

We’re yet to hear of a Piyush Pandey or Balki of digital advertising. Sengupta offers an explanation: “It’s an even stronger team effort. Even a trainee in here feels he has a stake in what’s happening in the agency.”