| Interview with Triton
executive director Vivek Srivastava |
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"CAS
will surely bring in more transparency but industry would
be hit in the short term"
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| Posted
on 19 July 2003 |
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As
one enters Triton Communications' Delhi office, the presence of
orange colour on the front wall strikes one instantly. The bright
colour, introduced recently, has a reason behind it.
"We
are trying to pep up the proceedings and raise the energy-levels
within the agency. The colour signifies growth, energy and action.
I think this is more important than volume business. Level of enthusiasm
should be high and there needs to be a buzz and electricity in the
air," says Triton's executive director, Vivek Srivastava.
Srivastava,
who has been associated with Triton since 1992, has gone through
different phases, both high and low, as the agency has grown over
the years. "I have seen all kind of phases at Triton - dull,
upstream, highly profitable, cost-cutting - wide spectrum of experiences
one can think of from this industry," says Srivastava, who
has been in advertising for 16 years.
Srivastava
spoke to Indiantelevision.com's Ritesh
Gupta
about progress made by Triton over the years, challenges faced by
a mid-size agency, CAS and work culture. Excerpts:
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How
have the operations of Triton in Delhi shaped up over the years?
We have had this upward curve from 1999 September onwards. That's
when we started adding fresh perspectives to the way in which we
looked at the market. We realised that volume is important but so
is visibility. Every agency has to have visibility in any particular
market, in which it is operating. This is critical in terms of recognition
and also with the client it works. We made some calculated moves
in terms of new business acquisitions. We went after some big clients
and fortunately succeeded in adding them to our list.
The
first big client which came our way was Samsung - a client which
we have strengthened our relationship with over the last few years.
We handle parts of their consumer electronics and information technology
products business. The acquisition of this account made a lot of
people sit up and take notice of Triton.
We
were able to prove our strength in terms of strategic planning,
quality and execution of creative as well. We have been able to
consolidate and build on our strengths. We are trying to create
an infrastructure through which we manage to withstand the pressure
of deadlines. Big business can be picked up and strategies can be
worked out; but lots of agencies fail to deliver when it comes to
implementation, execution of the creative ideas and delivering the
final product.
Today,
we are proud of our capabilities in all the allied functions. It
was very fashionable to call yourself a creatively-sound agency
but a lot of organisations forgot the importance of delivering a
service. The time-frame, punctuality, turn-around, deadline is equally
important as much as the quality of the service.
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Being
a mid-size agency, what does Triton focus on - volume or quality
of clients?
I think it's a trade-off between the two. Volume is important but
at the same time, it is not necessary to compromise on the quality
aspect. There would be occasions when there is a lower level of
creativity but what we ensure is a minimum standard. Anything below
this level is not acceptable.
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So
how many clients Triton added after Samsung?
We haven't added too many clients. We have been able to grow with
our existing clients. Besides Samsung, we also handle Honda Motorcycle
and Scooter India. We have recently added Eterno brand, Sivananda
- first Lal Dant Manjan and then Chavanparash. The other acquisitions
includes Du Pont, Uppal's Orchid, Swarowski amongst others. We target
clients who appreciate the importance of inputs; and simultaneously
appreciate efforts which go in to ensuring a proper turnaround.
And our clients appreciate both these values.
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"It's
pretty much part of our culture that if you promise, you 'kill'
yourself but have to deliver" |
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What
in your opinion is the key to retaining accounts?
We believe is building stout relationships, which are based on professional
levels of input. And at the same time, we not only promise but we
also deliver. It's pretty much part of our culture that if you promise,
you 'kill' yourself but have to deliver.
Our
main emphasis is always on consolidation. We work on building relationships
with our existing clients. Yes, new business is important but if
you ask from a purely business perspective, I would say 60-70 per
cent effort goes on ensuring that our existing business grows. It
has always worked better this way. And 30 per cent would be looking
around and trying to gain new accounts.
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So
how can a mid-size agency fight with its bigger counterparts?
You can create an image for yourself. As an agency that is hardworking
and strong on several aspects of business, I would say that business
gains happen automatically. Developing recognition of one's brand
name always helps. Thereafter, it's easier as more doors open. At
the same time, it's important not to risk what you have at the expense
of what you expect to get. That's the belief we work upon. What
you have is what you nurture. Focus is always on increasing the
quality of the output.
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What
is the size of Triton in Delhi?
The Delhi office forms the second largest operation of Triton. Probably
in the next two-three years, we shall be at par with the Mumbai
office. We stand at Rs 45 crore (Rs 450 million) today, out of the
total billings which are in the region of Rs 160 crore (Rs 1.6 billion
also including TV software marketing arm, PR and others). Today,
there is no point having numerical targets in this business. We
are definitely looking at healthy growth - planning to grow by 15-20
per cent over the previous year.
We
are fully independent in terms of our capabilities. And the strength
of Triton as an agency is the amount of federalism that is prevalent
- in fact it is a culture in Triton. There is no attempt at centralised
control. All of our offices are intended to be stand alone entities
- financially, creative, planning resources and media resources.
We can be compared to any other agency in terms of services we offer,
quality, width and depth of operations…from any perspective
you look at.
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| "The
media independent will be free to pursue its own business but
will follow Triton's norms and ethics" |
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What
about launch of separate media division?
We are looking at it from the all-India perspective. Once operations
take shape, it will be in Delhi as well. Currently, we are still
in the process of planning and will launch soon. It will function
like a strategic business unit. The media independent will be free
to pursue its own business but will follow Triton's norms and ethics.
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How
has association with International Communications Agency Network
Inc. helped?
ICOM is a body that can be termed as a conglomerate of independent
agencies or entities that have no foreign equity participation in
their respective markets. And there are lots of such agencies in
every market. ICOM was driven by a simple thought - why should agencies
be driven by networks? If agencies start sharing their resources,
it will provide everyone with an access to a strong and viable resource.
We
get information on specific markets, case studies and category information
from other markets, which we don't have access to otherwise. Plus
if we want to carry out business in other markets, we can use ICOM
services.
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How
do you work on getting business from new categories?
Category expertise is something that has to be worked on over a
period of time. You work with a specialised existing team that can
take on the challenge of gearing up for a new category. Also, when
new business is added, there is an option of adding new people with
experience in the same category.
Also,
we do lot of research on our own and there is no compromise on the
quality of inputs which we come up with. We have a planning cell
here and we do take lot of initiatives in new areas of expertise.
We have worked on our success the hard way as we don't have anyone
sitting overseas feeding us with clients. We don't have any superstar
in our team but all of us combine together to produce great work.
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| "As
a market, Delhi has growth, action and lots of opportunities" |
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Do
agencies in Delhi get noticed for their work? Are they being neglected?
Not at all. It's a fallacy. As a market, Delhi has growth, action
and lots of opportunities. I totally disagree with it (on Delhi not
getting its due).
In
fact, Delhi is where the talent is. Probably, Delhi-based agencies
are caught up with issues on a macro level; the rapidly changing
environment and allied factors. Due to these precoccupations, they
are not giving attention to publicising their achievements and the
potential in the market. But, people in the industry should realise
the fact that Delhi market is thriving in terms of work and talent.
And even in terms of volume.
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Is
it true there is pressure on creative side of business as well with
review of media accounts?
Cold calling is historical. There is always pressure on agencies to
perform.
Yes,
definitely, there is a lot more activity on the media front with
all these media independents and media agencies coming up. No denying
that. And yes, it has impact on the creative side of the business
as well. But it's all part of the game.
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| "We
are looking at exit clauses and we are also looking at intelligence
scheduling, where effort is to make sure the brand gets maximum
visibility in the pre-CAS phase" |
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How
are you preparing for the conditional access system (CAS) rollout?
It's surely led to apprehension. It's an unknown variable for everybody.
All kinds of analyses associated with the medium of television will
change dramatically once CAS is implemented. CAS will surely bring
in more transparency but industry would be hit in the short term.
Because clients won't go all out for CAS. There is no guarantee that
message will be aired or is being seen by enough or desired number
of consumers.
We
are looking at exit clauses and we are also looking at intelligence
scheduling where the effort is to make sure the brand gets maximum
visibility in the pre-CAS phase. So that impact foreseen with the
implementation of CAS gets minimised. One has to contend with the
reality that for about four-six weeks, there will be some amount
of lull, confusion and uncertainty.
We
are not avoiding any channel and keeping all options of stand-by.
It could see a renewed focus on print for sometime vis-à-vis
television. There might be a shift from pay to free-to-air but it
would depend on the relevance of the free-to-air channels with respect
to brands and communication strategy. It won't be an automatic shift
but would be based on several factors.
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Finally,
what's your agenda now?
I am trying to groom several specific skill areas. We always undertake
continuous efforts to work on consumer insights and use them in a
right manner in communication strategies. I am also trying to work
on certain models mapping consumer behaviour and trying to relate
to brand and category depending upon the stage of the product lifecycle.
Also,
the most important function is to keep in touch with the people
you are working and keep an eye on the level of their performance.
There is a need to examine the kind of strategic thinking that is
currently being used; converting strategic planning into quality
creative output and media thinking.
I don't
interfere much and keep a macro-perspective. We believe in pre-emptive
action before its gets too late. We spend time and effort in training
people and work on specific skill sets - problem solving and strategic
thinking. It has a spin-off as team spirit becomes better. And orange
colour is also part of such plans.
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