IIPM: In Media: think local act local!!

Exclusive In chat with Society Magazine - Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri

For now, Media is the lone cash cow in Madison World. Group CEO, Punitha Arumugam on the challenges of living & winning with limitations...

4Ps: You are the lone big agency today that is not aligned with a global partner. In an industry where multinats automatically partner with global agencies, how does Madison’s client list still boast so many MNC clients?
PA: The more you know your limitations, the more you strive for success. We know we are competing with Indian agencies that have global capacities at their beck and call. We recognised that weakness early and worked hard to overcome it. That is the single biggest reason for our success. For example, we know that other agencies have access to global R&D tool, so we’ve developed our own in-house tools. The beauty is that while other agencies are using globally developed tools, which are not adapted to the very different realities of the Indian market; Madison uses tools developed in India that are totally attuned to the local market.

4Ps: So would you say that these tools comprise the strength of Madison?
PA: Yes, but the real strength of Madison is our people, our value system & commitment to our clients. That’s why the industry says, once a Madison client, always a Madison client!

4Ps: Don’t global alignments of big multinational clients affect you?
PA: Global alignments affect us, but they’ve not hindered us. Check our clients – Coca Cola, P&G, GM, Cadbury, McDonald’s... I don’t think that solutions for media are global. In creative, you can think global and act local because basic consumer psychology is almost similar. But in media, one has to think local and act local because media market realities are different than developed nations. Especially in India and China, the media market is very complicated due to strong regional influences.

4Ps: But today the market mostly functions on global alignments...
PA: Yes, but the market is slowly moving toward local alignment in Media. The slowdown had many clients calling for pitches and I know that they are favouring local expertise more.

4Ps: Any plans as of now to expand Media’s ambit?
PA: We’ve set up a second brand Platinum Media and we’re looking at more ways to consolidate its strength. A parallel brand not only helps us handle competitive brands but also gives growth opportunities for our people. If Madison handles Zee; Platinum has NDTV Imagine. Within Madison itself, we have created four units. Madison Media has 30 clients and each of our individual sub-units handle 7-8 clients each, to give them individual attention.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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