THE INDIAN ADVERTISING INDUSTRY

Indian Advertising starts with the hawkers calling out their wares right from the days when cities and markets first began.

● Shop front signages.

● From street side sellers to press ads.

● The first trademarks

● Handbills distributed separately from the products

● Concrete advertising history begins with classified advertising

● Ads appear for the first time in print in Hickley’s Bengal Gazette (India’s first newspaper weekly).

Studios actually mark the beginning of advertising created in India. Newspaper studios train the first generation of visualizers and illustrators.

The Indian Advertising industry has been evolving at a fast pace over the past few years owing to an increase in the forms of media and communication and the emergence of new distribution channels. In 2005 this industry experienced a growth of 20%.Currently Indian Advertising Industry has a low contribution to the GDP ratio as compared to other economies. Competition for the outsourcing business and creativity leakage represent the major issues and implications. However the television advertising is expected to register high rates of growth, with India expected to become Asia’s leading cable market by 2010.

The Indian Advertising industry is being reshaped by regulatory and technological changes spanning various media platforms-radio, TV, internet, print and outdoor. Deregulation involving FM radio, Direct to Home (DTH), broadband, the implementation of Conditional Access System (CAS), foreign direct investment has laid the foundation for faster growth of the advertising industry. However stricter norms on social responsibility, obscenity and ethics are alerting the industry practices.

The industry is dominated by ten agencies, who account for the majority of capitalized billings. Top 10-15 advertisers with the biggest ad spend (like HLL, Maruti, Hero Honda, PepsiCo) wield high bargaining power and their account movement from one agency to another alters the competitive dynamics.

The business of media, advertising and marketing is driven by one resource- People. In this knowledge driven industry, its people’s ideas and accepted wisdom, which shape winning strategies and success stories and at times lead to major failures. So, it becomes imperative to study and ponder on what they say, when they say and how they say. Dialogue exchange4media’s interview of the week each time attempts to get into the mind of these honchos, to understand where media, advertising and marketing industry is headed.

The Indian advertising spends, as a percentage of GDP, is 0.34%, which lags behind other developed and developing countries. The Indian television industry has grown rapidly, especially since 1991, which saw the beginning of satellite broadcasting in India. This growth was also aided by the economic liberalization program of the Government. The growth of the satellite television audience saw proliferation of a number of satellite television channels offering more choices to media buyers and consumers of entertainment. Thus, the television broadcasting business, which started off as a single government controlled television channel, now has over 300 channels covering the Indian footprint, resulting in growing ad spends on this medium. Reforms and proliferation of private players were the key reasons for this rapid growth of the share of television in the advertising industry. Similarly, sectoral reforms and increased number of players could drive market expansion for emerging media segments including radio, outdoor, cinema and internet.

Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) is booming in India. In 2002, it was a half-a-billion dollar industry employing 35000 people. The size has probably doubled by now. The industry’s perception of BPO seems limited to call centers that work through the night to support inbound and outbound customer service in the western markets. The limited perception is mainly responsible for Indian advertising industry’s lack of awareness of and interest in the BPO opportunity. The pace at which Indian Advertising Industry is growing, it could actually double its size if we r successful in catching up with the BPO bus. Today, BPO in IT-enabled services is soaring because the industry has an established track record. Brand India has been built through early body exports and lately by organized industrial efforts. Here I feel it’s probably necessary to form a body that will sell the image of India as a “centre of excellence in advertising and communication” to the world.

THE INSIDE STORY

Multiple responsibilities and personalities is what confront a woman on every way. Responsible daughter, understanding friend, dedicated wife and hard core professional at corporate… is what describes a women in various paths of life.

Women who step out of the corporate world find it really hard to step back in. The glamour of corporate world is right at its own place, but when it actually includes a women’s reaction to corporate as well as into her personal life then its like streaming in the river by stepping on two boats together. Women, who quit the corporate world when they hit a glass ceiling, want to raise a family fulltime or to decide a focus on other interests, encounter frustrating roadblocks in their attempts to re-enter the workforce.

A survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal suggests that:-

●36% of women who left their jobs said they were conflicted about their decision.

●70% however remained positive about their overall decision, although when they were asked to describe their job hunt 50% said that they were frustrated while 18% said that the experience was depressing.

It’s actually startling to look at the statistics which suggest that the highly talented MBA women who were once paid with handsome packages are totally unrecognized when they want to be back in the game after a break.

It’s often seen that many women who reach 50 and their kids heading off to college and now when they want to re-enter the workforce they truly find it an uphill task.

After visualizing such real life scenarios there’s one thought that often tickles my mind-

“These are talented professional women. Why was it so impossible?”

The women often indicated that they wanted to find a job for intellectual challenge and a stimulation of being back in the workforce. Many are returning out of economic necessity. It can be rightly quoted here-“Economies change. Children’s ages change. What these women thought out to be a lot of money in IRA is now not a lot.”

A live survey conducted very sharply indicates that women re-enter the new job searches with realistic expectations. 49% anticipated that process might take a few months and 36% thought they might have to take lower level positions. Frustration developed when they actually started the interview process and had trouble even making it past initial gatekeepers.

Here I should say that one major obstacle to women re-entering the workforce is corporate recruiter’s concern that experienced MBA’s are more expensive than new graduate. It drains away more time, effort and money to train experience MBA professionals and put them on track. Best way to combat such a problem is to stay up to date on skills to keep a hand in the working world while absent from full time employment. Women should maintain professional licenses, take continuing education, courses and keep their informal network of business contacts alive.

BRAIN DRAIN

Brain Drain is actually a bill that gives visas to high tech foreign industrialists to exploit the greatest brains of the 3^rd world countries for the sake of American industries. Today we are proud to be a part of immense globalization. But we did not give a glance at the less noticed consequence of globalization- “BRAIN DRAIN”. Globalization has definitely reduced the distance between countries and has given a fairly well integrated global market for the high end human capital, but it has brought with it some serious consequences for the 3^rd world countries:-a shortage of skilled and competent people, hike in billing rates and many more…. “Brain Drain” has been a major concern for us for over 30 years now.

We conducted a survey in MITS to analyze the possible causes of brain drain.

If I speak in terms of infrastructure available in India then obviously in a developing economy like ours its difficult for a government to provide high state of the art technologies at par with the developed countries. But then we belong to a fast growing progressive economy due to which there have been continuous upgradations in the level of infrastructure and new technologies have continuously been introduced. Is this the only reason for an increase in the percentage of brain drain every year?? Emigrants who leave India for this reason often say “IT’S HARD TO SAY GOOD BYE”, is it really hard?????... Another factor is that 90% of the qualified techies who are nurtured by high state of the art technologies abroad are lured by the handsome paychecks and attractive lifestyles of the west.

Nobody has ever realized that the headhunt is still on and rather increasing in India. Brain Drain first of all hard hits the software sector in India. It’s basically due to a mismatch between the growth of software sector and the number of engineering graduates every year, of which 40% are exported to foreign countries. So the Indian market is facing an acute shortage of qualified techies. Every day a new country lures the software talent away and the paucity of software professionals in India continue to intensify for the Indian IT industry. IT Brain Drain in India is landing the mushrooming IT industry into a crisis. NASSCOM-Mc Kinsey study says that the software job market will remain tight and difficult as India will require 2.2 million IT workers by 2008. The country’s IT capita; is gripped with a terrible shortage of software professionals, that companies are unable to sign contracts and complete projects.

Even the I IT’s are unable to trap the fresh graduates in India. Every year 1/3^rd of IITians leave India but the Q is, to whom do the remaining 2/3rd serve. Few of them go to management schools, banks and the ones with technical bent are absorbed by IT firms like IBM, Infosys,SUN Microsystems,Wiprossss etc. which supply cheap offshore labour to foreign countries. So only few are left to work with other Indian industries. A country disproportionately depends upon its brains and IITians are worth much more than the nominal cost of educating them.

It’s very right here to say:-

BEES TRAVEL FOR MILES SEARCHING FOR THE RIGHT NECTAR. BUT THE REAL SWEETNESS OF THEIR EFFORTS IS REALIZED ONLY AT HOME.

• It was in the year 2005 when TCS had been looking for 300 qualified engineers for developing telecommunication software but managed to recruit only 15 techies.
• Intech solution had lost a couple of its high profile clients in the year 2005 as the company had just 28 software engineers.

Now these are some of the serious consequences of Brain Drain. This is what the Indian companies like Wipro and Infosys advertise these days:-

WHY GO TO WEST FOR A AJOB AS ATTRACTIVE PAY PACKAGES AND INCENTIVES ARE AVAILABLE IN INDIA ITSELF.

Now that is the real scenario in India at the moment. But there is a big Q as to what can we do about this sensational issue. Probably we need to take higher education more seriously and obtain a ten fold or 100 fold increase in the supply of quality masters and PhD’s. We are accustomed to boast about the 6 IIT’s and steady stream of newspaper articles of their international success. How many engineers do we fetch from these Indian Institutes each year??? The degradation in quality of the next 10 universities is simply mind boggling. Why do we pretend to have a system of higher education which is only marginally credible??? This is something that India needs to ponder about and should work for it. Ironically, one of the biggest hurdles in obtaining an efficient system of higher education is low wages for faculty in academics. Another ambiguous Q that needs a sincere thought- What about the Indians who go abroad for higher education don’t come back?? They spread our Indian culture across the globe but they don’t carry that little essence of responsibility towards their own nation. I am not a relative to those emigrants, neither am I the government nor am I an economist, But I being an Indian would convey my sincere request them to- “COME BACK HOME….YOUR NATION NEEDS YOU….”

UNEXPECTEDLY UNEXPECTED

Its like a strange journey, I think, dream, feel, live, walk, run but I still don’t stop, I still aspire to move ahead, I can see the road moving on with me, I can see what’s ahead of me, I can see who’s following me, I can see who’s walking with me, but there’s something I cant really watch out, what will I receive next on the way, there’s so much I expect from this journey, there’s so much I really don’t expect, don’t even dream to expect, but still I can pen down what I don’t expect but as obvious I don’t really know the unexpected ones. I believe that’s the biggest mystery once could have ever tried to solve or solved or even thought of. I don’t say that I m really great in aspects of thinking what others don’t but I just want to reflect the difference of thoughts, wherein people just begin to push a “t” to the “thought” of unexpected, but without reaching ultimate “t” they we put a full stop to all. I said “we” put a full stop to all, as I m not an exception to the normal buzzing crowd of people, I am just a millionth part of it, nothing else. I live the same way everybody does, I give the same excuses of not finding time the way every1 else gives, I give the same excuses of being the busiest part of this busiest buzzing swarm of human beings. There’s something very strange I often not very often but still often find people saying” I don’t find time”. It’s this time that’s given me that schedule I m living in and fortunately its all for this time I can find myself so busy, but still I cant find time, isn’t that strange??? It’s this time I m living in but still I don’t find it. It’s this time that made me work hard, earn a 6 figure salary, build a huge house, live a hypocrite’s life and the best part of all- every evening when I get back from work I find that same address by default, but still I fail to find time. When I come back home, when my dad asks me” how was your day my child?” even then I find enough seconds of time to reply my dad back” Dad I got some work to do, can I talk to u later” During all my so called busy schedules when my dad again comes in to ask me” Beta do u have some time to….” Again I answer like a looser with a realization of being a winner of all” I m sorry dad I don’t really find time to...” Next day when I turned out to be successful in my presentation, got the deal done, got lots of appreciation and now when I m self satisfied with what I made out successful today, I still say the same to my dad when I see him” Dad I don’t find time as I got a party tonight.” After every achievement, that I sometimes regard as unexpected or expected, I feel so contended, I feel as a winner. But am I actually a winner????? It’s the time that made my existence in this world viable, its this time that gave me my mom, my dad, my relatives and everyone else, but still I m so framed up that I can find everything in this world ,except something that gave me all-TIME. When people ask me “whom do u live with” I speak with pride in my eyes” I live with my parents”, that implies howsoever huge we become in terms of name and salary but could never really grow up in our selves, in true sense, as at the end of day, I can’t find all that always accompanies me, that has always been a part of me, that has always given me a living I wanted, a way I thrived for. But still I fail to find them- I fail to find my mom, my dad and the god of all: time. What else could be more disgusting than this? I speak aloud myself as an egoist, I say I don’t forgive people, but still my heart shrinks down when I find my parents- “my mom, my dad and TIME” forgiving me despite of the fact that I never found them out, I never figured out anything for them, how could I figure out anything for them, when I never figured them out. Now when I look at my mirror image, I find the very same existence of my non-existence, “Lost, Lost, Lost” tag for me that my kids are gona gift me on our 25^th wedding anniversary. As it’s ultimately” The way u sow, so u reap”, that’s a simple funda applied to all doers in this heavenly earth, so that’s nothing new that I would reap after few years from now.

I feel I m the biggest failure anybody in this world could have never thought of. Even I didn’t expect myself to be that big a failure, as I found myself achieving all those I wanted, and all those I didn’t expect but still I got them. Is this actually how I define as what is unexpected? That’s where I truly prove myself to be a human being. As the true essence of unexpected is” something one could never expect”, If I can’t expect it how could I think of it and how could I even dare to dream in the wildest of my dreams that I got it.

We human beings live with it but still we don’t realize that every time we r loosing something so big by not finding it out. That’s the most unexpected loss we always suffer from and the most unexpected forgiveness we always receive from those we never find who are moving away along with us, but with a difference- they are moving away apart from us.

THAT’S HOW LIFE GOES ON IT’S A CHEMISTRY OF ALL UNEXPECTED MYSTERIES……………

Those were the Days ...

Those were the days

When with u

Strolls were longer than highways

Every evening was painted with a new color

On every step u scattered a sweet odor

I never needed a helping hand

U always gave a supporting hand

There were some very odd hours

When I was all shattered

There were times

When there was no hope

But u gave me a will

U showed me a way

Every drop of rain had meant

With u twas significant

Sweet fragrance of rain wet grounds

The misty cool breeze that breezed

Across my face

Always made me yearn 4 u

To share the magic of monsoon

Those were the days…..

We actually walked

On endless highways

When it was not I or U

But just WE

When there were no haves

We just knew about shares

When we had no wants

We just knew about wishes

Those were the days…

1 such day brought me

On a speed breaker on the ways

That I never expected on any way

We became I and U

Shares were replaced by haves

Wishes were replaced by wants

It was all shattered

I saw the highway ending

Still I tried to walk beyond

But I fell around

I never wanted to fall

But I was forced 4 a downfall

I had dreamt to walk on the way

Till life gave me a way

I never wanted to bid good bye

Never did I wanted way to say bye

I never wanted u to drift

Never wanted myself to quit

Never wanted the highway to drift

Never wanted speed breaker 2 creek

Never wanted THE PAGE

2 become THAT PAGE

Never wanted to flip over

U as a HISTORY PAGE

And now I don’t wana look back

Even then memories retrace me back………

I know I broke ur heart

I know I broke my heart

I know I broke we

And my heart still woe

                                                  I know U r still waiting

On the same roadside standing

I can see u

Still standing there

Stagnant on the same corner

Watching me out

But m sorry

I don’t have a word to spell out

M SORRY

M a long way out

On a new way out

I saw that highway end

Don’t want this way end…

I just wana spend my life on this way

Just wana make it 4ever and let it stay

On the NEW WAY OUT

Is like filling in

Truth and trust

In my dreams INSIDE OUT

IT’S LIKE A DREAM COME TRUE

Like a leaf cherished with a drop of DUE

Sweet incense cloaking me upside down

And I can sense it from dusk 2 dawn

Month’s b4 I was on a strange way out

Walking strangely with no odds out

But 2day it’s not strange

It’s like a part of life

It’s like a truth of life..

Its something and some1 on the way...

Whom

I would love to cherish 4ever

I would love to smile 4ever

I would love to relish 4ever

But still I realize those days

Still I reminisce those days

Still I can’t wipe out those days

I speak u out as my past

But

I still feel u in my present

I don’t know how and y

But this time

It’s like easy to give up

But

It’s hard to FORGIVE

It’s hard to FORGET

Somewhere somehow

I feel I still relish u

I feel still I reminisce u

Those were the days…………

Those were the days…………….

SADDAM DIDN’T GO QUITELY

THE STRONGMAN OF IRAQ IS FINALLY DEAD- TIMELINE

IRAQ EXECUTES SADDAM HUSSEIN- ARABIAN NEWS

On December 30, 2006 A dictator is dead again and that is how the newspapers and media wrapped up the whole incident with dual degree words!!! All who feared the former Iraqi ruler would somehow return to power could now breathe a sigh of relief-

BUT FOR HOW LONG????

Saddam Hussein was not the only 1 but just another dictator like Hitler and Mussolini who was thrashed to death. He was found guilty of committing crimes against humanity. During his regime documented chemical attacks from 1983 to 1988 resulted in the deaths of some 30000 Iraqi’s and Iranians. It has been estimated that Saddam Hussein’s 1987-88 campaign of terror-which include mustard gas and nerve agent attacks-destroyed 2000 Kurdish villages and killed at least 50000 Kurds, perhaps as many as 200000. But the question is Will Atrocities and Global Sufferings Decrease??

Hours after Mr. Hussain met his end at the gallows, shitt Muslims throughout Iraq and in other parts of the world danced on the streets. Though the shitts at 13 million are the majority population of Iraq but under Saddam’s regime they were dominated with severe restrictions on their religious practices.

An Iraqi special tribunal with 5 judges was formed on December 9^th, 2003 by the Coalition Provisional Authority to try Saddam Hussein. Mr. Hussein was transferred from US custody to Iraq’s custody in July 2004. His first trial began on October 19^th ,2005.In this case Hussein and 7 other defendants were tried for allegations of crimes against humanity with regard to events that took place after a failed assassination attempt at Dujail in 1982. On November 5, 2006 Saddam was sentenced to death by hanging. The date and place of execution was secret until it was carried out on Dec 26, 2006. It was then followed serial reporting by many TV stations saying- Hussein executed at 6A.M (local time)

The entire sequence of legal proceedings was aggressive as obvious and unfair for some while a fair trial for many. The international opinion over the whole issue was diversified and as follows according to an e-poll conducted by NDTV in the month of January 2007 :-

India: - Such verdicts should not appear to be victor’s justice and should be acceptable to the people of Iraq and international community.

──External affairs minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee

Iran: - The Islamic republic of Iran welcomes the death sentence but we can’t forget the western protectors of Saddam who by supporting him prepared the ground for the execution of his crimes.

──Foreign ministry spokesperson Mr. Mohammed Ali Hussein

Italy: - While not wishing to play down the crimes …I can’t but express the firm opposition of the Italian govt. as well as mine to the death sentence.

──Prime Minister Romano Prodi

Russia: - This is more of a moral rulling, revenge that modern Iraq is taking on Saddam’s regime.

──Foreign Affairs committee member Konstatin Kosachev

UK: - its right that those accused of such crimes against Iraqi people should face Iraqi justice.

──Foreign Secretary Margarette Beckett

US:-The trial showed absolute proof that the judiciary in Iraq is independent.

──The White House Spokesman Tony Snow

Saddam Hussein’s trial is a milestone in the Iraqi people’s efforts to replace the rule of tyrant by the rule of law.

──President George W Bush

If I spell out my views on the entire sequence of events then I would very firmly condemn the entire sequence of events. Actually there several Q that very tickle my mind as follows:-

─What does the hanging of Saddam Hussein mean to the Iraqi people-America-the whole world?

─Can we expect peace, security and prosperity to eventually break out in war torn Iraq?

─Will the Iraqi insurgents lay down their arms and ally democracy to take hold?

─Will other Islamic militants give up their hatred for the west?

These are some Q that are no doubt a bit difficult to be answered and thought off as well.

Rather even America is trapped in a catch 22 situation- Leave Iraq thereby emboldening insurgent forces to continue their quest of turning their nation into an anti-Western Islamic Theocracy OR stay for a long haul thereby adding fuel to the flames of anti Americanism throughout the Arab world. Today I can say that Iraq is not fully is not fully independent rather its present scenario is something like India Before 1947. At this point of time I strongly feel that the whole sequence of happenings has simply opened up the gates for 3^rd World War. Well I believe that the rule of tyrant instead being replaced by rule of law has rather been unfortunately supplemented by intra Iraq conflicts, escalating each passing day.

Such low expectations of a hopeful future have actually made me quote on the whole situation as:

TODAY IS BETTER THAN TOMORROW….