Date:22/07/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/07/22/stories/2005072201760800.htm

Back BBDO Worldwide chief sees great potential for Indian advertising

Purvita Chatterjee

Mr A. Robertson, CEO, BBDO Worldwide. — Paul Noronha

Mumbai , July 21

On his first trip to Mumbai, Mr Andrew Robertson, President & CEO, BBDO Worldwide, is optimistic about the future prospects of Indian advertising.

"It is a market which has massive growth potential because the percentage of GDP spent on advertising is about half of that in other countries. Not only do you have a lot of growth in GDP to look forward to but within that you can expect advertising to grow as a percentage of GDP as well,'' he said.

With just 0.4 per cent of the GDP spent on advertising compared to countries such as Japan, which has 1.1, India portends a market with a "great" potential, according to the BBDO chief, who is here to deliver an inaugural address at the diamond jubilee seminar of AAAI (Advertising Agencies Association of India).

"It is an important market for us because it is important for our clients. You will not hear the MNC clients talking their growth plans without mentioning India," added Mr Robertson.

In his inaugural address to the advertising fraternity, Mr Robertson will be highlighting the facets of an "attention economy".

"We are living in an attention economy where things are going to get more intense. The only way to deal with that is through creativity which is why we have to be obsessed with creating compelling content,'' he said.

The BBDO chief feels that over time the `attention economy' will create a situation where a message to an audience could well lead to it participating in an agency's communication. This would lead to a situation where the audience will actively seek out the communication, which, in turn, should lead to a scenario where they will actually be prepared to pay for the communication, he explained.

Mr Robertson also realises the limitations of the Indian market place. "It is a very complicated market since the country is broken up into different languages and cities. Doing advertising is going to be tricky but the scale and opportunity is only going to get bigger and better. India has not fulfilled its potential as a creative powerhouse,'' feels Mr Robertson.

Regarding its JV partner, RK Swamy, Mr Robertson said, "In RK Swamy we have an agency which is strong and cares for its clients' brands. In terms of creativity the agency has definitely improved.''