Sons of Soil!
‘Kar lo duniya mutthi mein’; and Mudra for sure has an ambition to straddle the world!

(column by R. Prasad)

Once upon a time, Mudra was a star among stars. In a MNC dominated world, it proudly wore Indianness on its sleeve and demonstrated high levels of excellence. Today, every nook and cranny of Mudra’s office in Lower Parel in Mumbai, speaks volumes about that golden period. Those days maybe over, but the spirit lives on...

The year was 1976 when A.G. Krishnamurthy joined Reliance Industries as an Advertising Manager. Four years down the line, AGK (as he’s popularly known now) went to the Late Dhirubhai Ambani with the proposal of starting their own advertising agency. In his true entrepreneurial spirit, Ambani jumped at the idea. He gave him Rs.35,000 a locker along with its key and asked him to create the best textile advertising in the country. Mudra was born!

It started with only one client, Vimal in a 500 sq. ft. office in Ahmedabad. Soon other clients followed, Rasna, Nelco, McDonald’s, et al. Those were heydays and there was path-breaking advertising, ‘Only Vimal’, ‘I Love You Rasna’, ‘Humko Binnie’s Mangta’, to name just a few. Mudra gave the industry its many ‘firsts’ (first ever double-spread colour ads, first advertising institute MICA and many more). Within a short span of nine years, Mudra became the No.1 agency in the country.

The country’s first in-house agency that started with only one client, today boasts of an eclectic mix of Indian and MNC clients. Madhukar Kamath, MD & CEO, Mudra (he took over after AGK retired in 2003) explains, “In the multinational space we have clients like Philips, Johnson & Johnson (J&J), Unilever, and among Indian brands there’s Godrej, LIC, Big Bazaar, SBI, HPCL, R-ADAG, Air India, Madura Garments, et al.”

Today, Mudra might have lost its identity as a trailblazer, but in this age, when MNC agencies have gobbled up almost all big agencies of the country, it holds its head high as being only aligned with a global network (Omnicom’s DDB has a 10% stake in it) and retaining its name that is still very Indian.

If global alignments were the need of the hour, so was providing complete communication solutions to its clients. In 2005, Mudra launched Tribal DDB Worldwide to offer interactive solutions. Talking about Mudra’s sister concerns, Madhukar says, “We charted a path and metamorphosed the agency into a complete communication solution provider. We created Canvas Communications that is based in Ahmedabad and Interact Vision that handles smaller businesses. There is DDB Mudra here, which handles the J&J account.” Apart from these, Mudra, which is now over Rs.10 billion, has its media arm – OMS (Optimum Media Solutions) and a focussed communications services wing that has units like Rapp Collins India (direct response), Kidstuff Promos & Events (promotional marketing services), Primesite (outdoor) and Mudra Health & Lifestyle.

The year 2003 saw the launch of the very successful campaign for Reliance Infocomm (Kar lo duniya mutthi mein). Madhukar recalls the work done on Godrej Hair Dye, where the task at hand was to expand the market. He’s also extremely proud of the work done on SBI Debit Card last year, where the challenge was to create awareness. The outcome was an astonishing idea of welcoming the customer to a cashless world.

Vimal had an untimely death (though it is being revived now) and spunkier drinks have overshadowed the little girl who said, ‘I Love You Rasna’. Just like these brands, Mudra too has been overshadowed by the O&Ms and the Lowes. But, doesn’t it take guts to not give in to the many charms of an MNC and continuously fight tooth and nail to remain in the top ten? Yes, it does!

(End of R. Prasad column)

Not Fin(n)ish(ed)!
Nokia has lost some of its sheen. Maybe a celeb ambassador would serve it well...

(column by R. Prasad)

When Francisco Tárrega, one of the renowned guitarists of the 19th century, composed ‘Gran Vals’, little did he know that one day his tune would become one of the most heard ringtones across the orb, known popularly as the ‘Nokia Tune’. In the mobile handset market, which has stalwarts like Sony Ericsson, Samsung and Motorola doing their numbers, Nokia has globally maintained a lead. And there was a time when acknowledging its invincibility was not very difficult as this Finnish giant led by a huge margin. Nokia made its debut in the Indian market 12 seasons ago, and its success mantra lay in the diversified offerings catering to almost all sections of the society, packed with continuous innovation and a communication strategy that literally talked to its audience. Nokia gave to India one of its most popular taglines – Connecting People. Talking about Nokia’s ad strategy, Rajeev Raja, Executive Creative Director of Bates Asia (Nokia’s ad agency) says, “The emphasis has always been on recognising and connecting with Indians in the Indian way. Today the brand is seen as an Indian brand and not a brand from Finland.”

At the onset of the new millennium, this mobile giant brought out Nokia 3210, the first handset that was armed with a Hindi menu. Two years later, Nokia unfurled the lowcost Nokia 1100, created especially for India, which proved to be an instant hit. The brand communicated the launch of this phone with a commercial that had Rajpal Yadav and instantly clicked with the masses. The craze for this mobile phone reached dizzying heights and it has sold more than 200 million handsets in the last 4 years. With India being one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the world, Nokia’s special attention to the entry-level segment (volume driven) of the mobile market made great business sense.

After years of catering to the lower and middle segments, 2006 saw the launch of the high-end Nokia NSeries. The commercials to promote the N-Series rang the emotional tune. “We have always based our strategies on the end-user who can be either you or me. So the entire effort of the brand has been to simplify humane,” says Raja. The Nokia N72 series showed individuals switching to a better lifestyle, including looks which were more pleasing to the eye. Added to it was a tagline – ‘Move up to the Nokia N-series’ and conveyed the message loud and clear which was – move up the value chain.

While, Sony has recently roped in Hrithik Roshan and Motorola is doing well with Jr. Bachchan, Nokia has opted to go ambassadorless. Says Raja, “Brand ambassador’s have never been Nokia’s style. Nokia is an honest and sincere brand.” However, despite attractive offerings in every segment and establishing trust in the consumer, last year marked a slight fall for this giant.

The reasons were many; the success of Motorola’s RAZR and its aggressive marketing with Abhishek Bachchan on its side, the widely reported glitches in Nokia N-series, Sony’s Walkman series et al. “Whenever a handset maker has got it right, that company has achieved a lead over the others. And that has never been a static phenomenon! The growth of the Indian mobile market means that many handset vendors, and new entrants, have an opportunity to make an impact,” is what Jay Vikram Bakshi, Head of Enterprise Marketing, Nokia, has to say about the decline in the market share.

Brand Nokia might have lost some of its sheen and also some of its ‘connections’, yet, many of its patrons still swear by it as they say: (with their confidence intact in the brand) – after all it’s a Nokia!

(End of R. Prasad column)

The Next Media Czar!
He was always media savvy and had close Bollywood connections. Is Ambani Jr. dreaming of becoming a media tycoon now?

(column by Surabhi Agarwal)

India’s legendary businessman, Dhirubhai Ambani might have had some sleepless nights because of Ramnath Goenka’s crusade against him (remember Mithunda’s character in Mani Ratnam’s Guru – a film inspired by his life?), but Dhirubhai’s younger heir, Anil Ambani seems to be playing it safe. Slowly and steadily, this media savvy entrepreneur is cornering a larger share of the bourgeoning media and entertainment industry worth Rs.437 billion (FICCIPwC report).

It was in the year 2005 that Jr. Ambani gate-crashed into the media scene. Till 2005, Adlabs was a film and entertainment software company (with meagre presence in film production and multiplexes) when Ambani controlled Reliance Capital bought a 51% stake in it for Rs.350 crore. Today, Adlabs boasts of a diverse portfolio of film processing, distribution, production and exhibition and even has FM stations.

Moreover, Ambani’s recent deals in the channel space speak volumes about his growing interest in what is one pillar of media and is witnessing huge expansion at this point of time. Only recently, Ambani upped his stake in Aroon Purie’s TV Today (which has Aaj Tak, Headlines Today, among others under its umbrella) by 15% through Reliance Capital; along with floating an open offer to buy another 20%. Moreover, Reliance Capital also acquired 5% in Network 18 Fincap Ltd. which operates channels like CNBC TV18, CNN-IBN, et al (Ambani also has stake in NDTV, Zee Enterprises and UTV Software). Ambani’s presence may not be significant in the conventional media (read: TV & Print) but mention new media: you catch him right there.

ADAG’s IPTV and DTH (Reliance Bluemagic) – called the future of television viewing – are expected to be rolled out by the end of this year and in the DTH space, Ambani will take Zee (Dish TV), Star (Tata-Sky), Sun TV and Bharti head-on. Says, Timmy Khandari, Executive Director, PwC, “Anil Ambani’s stated intention is big in the convergence area. Reliance is the only player that has the technology behind it to sustain new technologies of distribution. In IPTV, it has both brandwidth and the last mile connectivity.”

Where a strong presence on the world wide web is still a far fetched dream for many a established media players, Ambani’s ambitions have scaled that front too. What started with a single gaming portal on the Internet (Zapak.com) has not only expanded to an email portal (Zapakmail.com) but also to a community website (Bigadda.com a la Orkut), a movie download site for the NRIs (Bigflicks.com) and more are on their way. Grapevine has it that Zapak is already scouting for acquisitions abroad to fructify its investment of $100 million (over the next three years) which also includes setting up gaming cafes across the country with the first 8 unleashed as soon as within this month. Says Rohit, Sharma, COO, Zapak Entertainment, “Broadband is at the inflection point now with India’s 50% population comprising youth less than 25 years. Moreover, nobody has cracked the right property with tech strategy as Zapak.” Marketed aggressively, Zapak has made a niche for itself in only few months of its launch.

Ambani already has a major pie of Bollywood in his arsenal. Adlabs has a 70% share of the movie processing market; has ventured into distribution with hits like Krrish, Guru, Bheja Fry, Spider-man 3, et al, to its credit; it is also produced films like Gangaajal, Bluffmaster, Namastey London, Nishabd. Also, Ram Gopal Verma’s Sholay, Sarkar 2, Marigold are under production. Through a majority stake in Siddharth Basu’s Synergy Communications, Adlabs also has some popular television properties like KBC, Jhalak Dikhla Ja under its belt now.

As far as film exhibition is concerned, Ambani has big plans for this big growth area too and has outlined 315 screens in 130 locations across the country by 2009. Recently, Adlabs signed a deal with Rave Entertainment. The deal gives Adlabs control over 23 screens in North India. “Coupled with our own aggressive growth path, we are well on our way to becoming the market leader by July 2007. By end of March 2008, we will have a presence in 70 cities, spread over all significant film territories that contribute over 80% to the domestic boxoffice collections,” said Manmohan Shetty, CMD, Adlabs Films. PVR definitely has reason to worry. Moreover, Adlabs has also been approaching theatres to digitalise their screens. The new technology will use Reliance’s fibre optics (spread across the country) as the distribution tool, dramatically bringing down costs of multiple prints. Slightly off the league but not completely off it, Adlabs also ventured into the booming FM radio industry by acquiring 45 licences for its BIG FM, of which 18 have already been launched. Says an ecstatic Tarun Katial, CEO, Big FM, “After all the stations are rolled out, Big FM will touch every 5th Indian...”

With so much happening, it is not surprising that Adlabs has posted a growth of 174% in consolidated revenues at Rs.106 crore for the quarter ending March 31, 2007. It has also earmarked around $180 million to be invested over the next three years and the break up is 40% in film exhibition, 15% in processing and infrastructure creation for production services, 20% in content production and distribution. 25% has been kept aside for new initiatives.

While analysts may accuse him of focusing on too many areas and not having leadership in any, there is a smart strategy behind it all. Competition in the telecom sector has gone through the roof and will increase further with the entry of global giants. But, his position as one of the largest telecom players will go a long way in consolidating his position as a strong media player too, all thanks to technology. Right now, his every acquisition or venture in the media sector may not make big news but if everything works in the traditional scheme of things of Reliance (that is lot of buzz and dirt cheap prices), it would not be long when Ambani will claim the title of the next Media Czar!

(End of Surabhi Agarwal column)