Advertising, India’s Next BPO Opportunity?
posted in Outsourcing News and Top Outsourcing deals, Outsourcing to India |Source: www.indiaabroad.com
To provide 24 x 7 support for creative functions across the globe, India’s creative reputation stands at a critical point.
Pratap Bose, CEO - Ogilvy & Mather India affirms, saying: “Our core strength is that we communicate in English, are low-cost and have impressive skills in design and creatives.”
When just about every conceivable field is being outsourced, it makes little or no sense for advertising to be left behind. And surely, India has what it takes to become Asia-Pacific’s, even the world’s outsourcing hub. But, as things stand, it could take five to ten years, before India’s imaginative and highly creative skills are noticed.
However, we have to work today to ensure it is a future reality. Giant strides are required, not the baby steps of the Indian advertising industry. What is India scared off? That the West will laugh at it! Stuff and nonsense! Simply laugh back at them, if they jeer, well just stuff their faces! Hasn’t history proved, the West was never superior to the East. The myth was perpetuated through guile and cunning, by playing on Eastern naivety, fooling it into believing West was best. No need to let those thugs and rogues from the West get away with the same trick twice. With attitude and loads of chutzpah, we can ensure India becomes the outsourcing base for global advertising.
Compared to the rest of the world, the Asia-Pacific region records the highest growth in advertising, and India plays a vital role in the region. Already, a regional hub for certain clients and brands, Made in India gaming, animation, design outsourcing, production and research is exported worldwide from the sub-continent. Certainly, it is a regional hub in particular fields; however, it cannot call itself a truly global advertising hub, in any sense.
Still, Indian advertising firms, such as, Ogilvy & Mather and Lintas have begun to open 24 x 7 studios that provide support to creative functions across their global networks. And already, Ogilvy’s Bangalore office is a global hub for Lenovo.
As for Nokia - cell phone manufacturer, recently it selected worldwide agency - Wieden and Kennedy to take care of its global creative work by adapting it to local market conditions. India could well do the same thing! You think impossible! I think not! Case in point, our very own advertising agency – JWT that designs advertising campaigns from a single location, which Unilever runs in several markets.
The Indian advertising sector’s core strength is that it communicates in English, India is a low-cost destination, has an impressive pool of talent, coupled with great design, research and creative skills. So much so, when the outsourcing industry talks about off-shoring to China, they are constantly challenged and hard pushed to find a tough to beat package India offers. The sub-continent’s incredible talent pool, certainly works to its advantage in handling global clients.
As well, India has expertise and knowledge in understanding low-income group consumers, a major communication advantage with developing markets across the globe e.g. in countries like Africa and even those of Eastern Europe, who have only recently broken free of their communist regime. India has the wherewithal to understand the pulse of consumer markets in these countries, which is another valuable bargaining chip in helping global clients sell their products. Excellent communication skills stand India in good stead, when addressing consumers in Africa or other parts of Asia.
The recently held GOAFEST saw Indian advertising industry experts speak about India’s growing status in the field of advertising. To increase advertising’s 0.55% contribution to 1% of the country’s GDP, outsourcing will be the greatest facilitator.
Just proving its mettle in handling a small clutch of global clients, will instil confidence in the international market that India is capable outsourcing destination.
Arvind Sharma, Chairman (Indian sub-continent), Leo Burnett says: “India’s creative reputation is not formidable enough - Indian agencies still haven’t won a TV gold at Cannes.”
Undoubtedly, India is the world’s hottest outsourcing destinations, and with good reason, too. It has a huge pool of immensely talented people, with the right education, dedication and sufficient if not excellent command over the English language, making it an excellent outsourcing hub for any regular function.
But then, neither is advertising a regular function, nor is it an exact science, where the right training or having a right degree guarantees right output. Therefore, a part of the challenge Indian advertising faces, before it can emerge as a serious contender in the outsourcing game, is building credibility amongst global clients. And, before it can get anywhere, certain key issues need to be resolved i.e.:
Over 2-million people responded, helping the city register a 10% drop in energy used that night! It is ideas, such as these that represent not just an agency, but the advertising industry, as well. Unfortunately, Indian advertising remains centred around commercials for TV. This has to change, if India wants to become a global advertising outsourcing hub.
In a creative profession like advertising where people make all the difference, agencies must be managed more efficiently, so that adequate compensation helps retain talent.
All said and done, India can and will become international advertising’s favourite outsourcing hub. The day is not far off, when global clients will swear by Indian creativity, but, for it to come, India has much to do. To begin with, it has to snatch a gold year after year, and ten years from now, as for the IT industry so too for advertising, India will be the world’s favourite outsourcing hub! Amen to that!
