Dhunji Wadia, Managing Partner, JWT Mumbai

Dhunji Wadia has over 25 years’ experience in the advertising industry, having worked on major national and international brands (Nike, Levi Strauss, Jockey, Unilever, Diamond Trading Co, Kellogg, Standard Chartered, Warner Lambert and Bosch, to name just a few).

Wadia had set up the Diamond Marketing Group in India for the Diamond Trading Company in 1995. In 1997, he took on the role of Regional Business Manager for Unilever Home and Personal Care division for Central Asia, North Africa and Middle East region (CAME region).

He was responsible for the turnaround of JWT Bangalore during his stint, with emphasis on improving the creative product. He was appointed Managing Partner of JWT Mumbai on January 1, 2008. Among the recent accolade won by JWT Mumbai include the Grand Effie, Yahoo Big Idea Chair, and Marica Uncommon Sense Award, besides two Golds and a Bronze, making JWT Agency of the Year.

In conversation with exchange4media’s Pallavi Goorha Kashyup, Wadia speaks at length about JWT’s journey in India, the importance of awards, ‘Teach India’ campaign, what winning at Cannes means...

Q. How do you justify scam ads and scam work that would fetch awards?

I am in the business for the brands, for the clients. No surprise that JWT is the Effies Agency of the Year. However, if in the process we also win awards for distinctive work, then that would be the best of both worlds.

I believe 2009 will separate the boys from the men. We are on track as far as budgets go. No job cuts, no pay cuts either. So, all you talented people out there, please get in touch!

A scam ad will give the person a few weeks of fame. If it is for the brand, then you are writing a chapter in history. The choice is yours.

As an industry, we would thrive a lot more if we had one voice when it came to important issues like agency remuneration, pitch fees, even awards. And I am not talking about the ‘fly-by-night’ operators here, but the big guns of advertising. I’m sure everyone has issues. But I’d rather work with the system and address these issues than become a rebel.

We also need to be geared to face the digital revolution. We will need people who have different skill sets and aptitude in this context. Mere lip service to this space will not do anymore, we can’t wait for it to hit us, but need to start right now.

Actually, India’s performance at Cannes has been on the up for the last few years. We have slowly started to crack Cannes as well, and what this has done is to give others the confidence that they too can win it. And it is not just the awards, but the pioneering status of the wins in categories that have never been won before by any other Indian. Just picking up that heavy metal is a heady feeling (try lifting those trophies and you will know what I mean!), and having a few in your office showcase is becoming enough motivation for others to add more.

I would say that if India is lacking somewhere currently, it would be in the digital space. Just look at our performance – nothing so far.

As marketers seek new ways to engage consumers, winning at Cannes actually helps demonstrate the vital role that creativity plays in today’s complex environment. Cannes recognises work that most creatively connects with and involves people. Through the years, Cannes has improved the criteria to cover varied disciplines and show more rigour that reflect not just the realities, but also cutting-edge craft.

Awards are important. They are a barometer of whether the work created will be noticed. And if they are noticed by the jury, then they would definitely have affected the consumer’s behaviour and created a stir in the marketplace. Awards also attract hungry, talented people.

Global affiliations make you part of the world. You have access to what is happening out there in real time. It also gives you a perspective on whether the work you produce can stand the test of an international forum. Disadvantages in times of a global recession would be applicable if the operating unit does not do well. As long as the performance is on target, there is nothing that can affect the operation.

Our endeavour is to be trusted advisors for all our clients. That is why more clients choose to be with us than with any other agency. And we would want to keep it that way.

JWT Mumbai is the star operation for JWT Worldwide (JWT is also the largest agency in India.) This represents a unique challenge for growth as there is a dominant presence in most categories. In the last year, JWT Mumbai has added a large amount of new businesses that added 39 per cent of the agency’s revenue.

The new business acquisitions for JWT Mumbai from January 2009 till date include Tata Realty and Infrastructure, Thomas Cook, Johnson & Johnson - Band-Aid and Listerine, STAR Fox, State Bank of India, Nabard, and Fiji Holdings.

JWT won India’s first Direct Grand Prix at Cannes and India’s first Integrated/Titanium Lion and India’s First Design Gold Lion last year. We also won India’s first Grand Prix at the Jay Chiat Planning Awards last year. This year, we won India’s First Gold for Film and also Film Craft at Cannes. The year before, it was for India’s First Promo Lion… We have set high standards for ourselves and the industry to follow.

This year at Cannes has been both rewarding and satisfying. We won three Golds (including India’s first Film Gold and Film Craft Gold) and more.

If you just focus on the creative work, all the other good things will happen – the brands will get healthy, the agency will grow, you will get new business, you’ll make more money, you’ll be able to pay people bonuses. Creative work is the whole agency.

That is a question you should ask the jury members. For me, ‘Teach India’ has no equal in Indian advertising history, though there have been campaigns on education in the past, accompanied by jingles. However, ‘Teach India’ is a programme about transforming the lives of disadvantaged Indian children. It is perhaps the largest such programme in Indian history. If you thought you couldn’t teach, we would train you. If you worried about getting students, we provided eager students waiting for teachers, a full pipeline. If distance was an issue, we matched your location to the NGO and pupils near you.

Conventional thinking and past social programmes had always called for volunteers to teach. This noble thought has been oft repeated, with marginal success. ‘Let’s Learn to Teach’ was our clarion call. All we asked from volunteers was two hours a week. Who could refuse that? Perhaps not too many. No programme has even come close to ‘Teach India’s ambition and results – 100,000+ volunteers, who could teach and were willing to donate their time; 60+ NGOS, who recruited students-to-be; 32 schools donated space to conduct classes; and 31 companies supported the initiative, both in terms of sponsorship and volunteers. At last count, two million children are learning thanks to ‘Teach India’. A drop in the ocean, but a beginning.