whats wrong with ADVERTISING???

[amey katkar]

I begin by asking some provocative questions:

why is today's advertising industry unable to acquire the best talent? Why is the industry fragmenting communication options into different businesses and not providing complete solutions to clients? Why are communication value-additions dwindling, as the industry's shrinking margins seem to indicate? And finally, why is the profession producing no strong leadership?

Advertising was once a career of choice for graduates of management institutes. It was definitely a premier 'creative' option in the 1970s and 1980s. Today, I don't think advertising companies even feature on the top B-schools' placement lists. They can't recruit a single person from these institutes. One wonders why.

I am concerned that in order to survive the onslaught of lower margins, the advertising industry is fragmenting itself relentlessly. This seems unnecessary to me. Lifebuoy is a brand that has been around for a hundred years. It is as 'current' today as it was a century ago. It has managed this simply by reinventing itself. Lifebuoy has launched new products such as hand sanitisers that have done well for the brand and for the business as a whole.

The fragmentation of the advertising industry is unusual: the emergent parts of the business - such as digital communications and PR - are being set up as separate enterprises. What advertising really needs to offer clients is a comprehensive communications solution. The creation of silos will never be able to produce the necessary value addition or secure additive margins.

Leadership: I see a complete lack of it. I don't want to comment on the erosion of leadership over the years. But indeed, where are today's young leaders and 'thought provokers', who could change the very nature of advertising? Post-1992, strands of liberalisation began to emerge in India. Businesses consolidated themselves through buyouts - consider Hindustan Lever, for instance. The advertising industry responded through 'specialisation': advertisers began to earn their surplus income from 30-second spots on TV. The future is India.

In the next 5-10 years, business growth will be massive. Growing business will create a growing need for advertising. Opportunities for growth will present the advertising industry with two options: consolidation or fragmentation. I disagree with the argument that fragmentation is wise because it allows investments to be channelled into other businesses and creates a backup for future.

Fragmentation severely inconveniences clients. Clients want to deal with agencies that can address a communication problem in its entirety - they cannot engage multiple silos separately. No doubt a few agencies have done extremely well, and global realignments have helped certain others. But for the most part, margins have reduced and agencies have been unable to support the needs created by fragmentation. All-embracing communication solutions have not been created.

[Ek Kanya]

I think it all boils down to agencies being spineless when it comes to valuing the work they do.

[vasanth]

Thats Integrated Marketing Communication right?

[MissMallu]

Thats Integrated Marketing Communication right?

what do you mean? thats advertising?

[vasanth]

That was a comment on the article... not related to your comment... sorry

[MissMallu]

That was a comment on the article... not related to your comment... sorry

I mean can you explain your comment in the context of the article?

[kyarajesh]

E V E R Y T H I N G . . .

[TruthHurts]

the problem with advertising is that agencies have stopped thinking of themselves as someone attached to help a client's business. They feel they are running an independent fine art business and the clients are actually patrons.

when you see the amount of effort into the patly gali scence vs real/released advertising you get the drift.

some of the greatest brands of this generation have been built with minimal or zero advertising: Apple, Facebook, Google, Twitter, DropBox, TCS, RedBull etc...

what value do agencies provide anymore? Hence clients paying less and less is justified.

Are agencies design shops? No. Brand Planners? No? Media Planners? No. PR? No. What do they do? They are intermediaries between clients and TVC production houses. Do we really need intermediaries? Especially those that act like parasites and suck money in between? No.

[kyarajesh]

Apart from the awards mess, agencies have forgotten how to say NO to clients. they don't look at us as specialists who prescribe, but suppliers who tow the line. Servicing specialise in second guessing what the clients would like rather than what the target audience would love.

[Saumya]

Agencies have lost track of their role in the process. Shame.

[MissMallu]

advertising definitely needs an upgrade

[shrutigoyal]

They just want customers to buy the product either its good or bad.
They misguide the customers nowadays which is really shamefull.

[Ek Kanya]

misguiding the customers is one thing, but agencies indulge in such atrocious work and zero innovation that it just beats the purpose of joining this industry.

[raja ghose]

EVERYTHING!

[Priyanka]

everything