The Mindshare Benchstrength:

The Mindshare Benchstrength:

An agency's edge come only with its people. With a total of seven offices , Mindshare's revenue pie across markets is well distributed. Meet the agency's general managers who talk about their respective markets and offices:

Mindshare Fulcrum GM R Gowthaman: Set up in July 1995, Mindshare Fulcrum this year completed 10 years of being a dedicated secure unit of Unilever in India. Fulcrum started off as a TV buying shop, and by 1998 made headway into other media options as well. In 2000, this dedicated unit went on to become a fully integrated planning and buying shop. The role from 2000 to 2005 was this unit adorning Unilever's single point agency. Says Gowthaman, "Fulcrum's single point priority focus is return on investment (ROI). It contributes to 1/4th of Mindhare India's overall revenue." Interestingly, the brand name of Fulcrum is unique to India. Says Gowthaman, "Fulcrum buys a total of 150,000 spots every month with an annual turnover of Rs 80-100 million.

Mindshare 1 (Mumbai) GM Hiren Pandit: "Mindhare 1 and 2 are separate units in Mumbai. The idea is not to fight but complement each other. The Mumbai market is a more mature market compared to a Delhi, hence the growth is much smaller. New businesses are relatively small, hence even a Rs 70 - 100 million account becomes a large client." Pandit pointed out that to grow the market, the plan was to raise the bar and go beyond conventional media. Mindshare 1 contributes 18 percent to Mindshare India's total revenue.

Mindshare 2 (Mumbai) GM Sunitha Gopalakrishnan: This portfolio spans across financial, durables, services, public service, local and international business.
"We follow the ROI focus and this is demonstrated through a better understanding of the consumer through customized research (which drive not only media decisions but impact the creative routes and product offerings) and usage of media beyond the traditional options - 360 consumer contact points." Mindshare 2 contributes a total of 12 per cent to the overall Mindshare India's revenue.

Mindshare Delhi GM Sunder Raman: "The Delhi market over the last five years has seen a dramatic growth in the market and over the years will become the single largest market. We've always been extremely strong in the Delhi market even before Mindshare came in. The challenge was to make headway into the new emerging categories. Mindshare commands a 25 per cent market share in the Delhi market." The Delhi market contributes to 25 per of Mindshare's overall revenue.

Mindshare Bangalore & Chennai GM Girish Menon: "Bangalore being an IT city, we have the biggest IT players as clients - IBM and SAP. Both being worldwide clients, what makes it interesting is that we become a part of a larger community. Mindshare India (Bangalore) got the highest score in the multi layered review conducted by IBM worldwide. In Bangalore, the focus is clearly a richer customer contact experience, rather than just the conventional medium. Mindshare enjoys a 45 per cent market share in Bangalore." In Chennai, Mindshare's clients include Sun TV and Ford, its market share being 65 per cent in this market. While Bangalore contributes 8 per cent, Chennai contributes a total of 5 percent to the overall revenue pie.

Mindshare Kolkata GM Chirantan Chandran: The recent addition to the Mindshare team joined on 8 July. "The Kolkata market is looking up as a lot of small and medium services accounts can be picked up. Real estate and retail as categories will be out priority for the future. Mindshare commands a 20 per cent market share here." Kolkata contributes 7 per cent of the overall Mindshare revenue pie.