Karunendra Mathur, CEO, Montage Advertising
"I don't think a city limits creativity in any way. If you mean the kind of clients that you get to work on in Delhi, well, I think all clients want good work. Overall, the work being done for Delhi-based clients by agencies based in Delhi is good."
Karunendra Mathur, CEO, Montage Advertising, is not too comfortable speaking about himself; instead, he prefers to let his work speak for him. Mathur has had a long association with advertising, beginning his career with Clea Communications as a trainee. By the time he left the agency eight years later, he was Account Supervisor.
He then joined Chaitra as Account Director and has also worked with Speer Communications and Megacorp prior to joining Montage in 1992 as Managing Director. He has handled several well-known brands including Singer sewing machine, Uncle Chipps, Weston Electronics, Liberty Shoes and Amrit Basmati Rice, among others.
In conversation with exchange4media's Pallavi Goorha, this former alumni of St. Stephen's College talks about working in a mid-sized agency, the work being done for clients Toni & Guy and the Outlook Group. Excerpts:
Q. Tell us a bit about your client portfolio.
We are always looking to get associated with newer brands that believe in long-term relationship for brand-building. Our clients include Liberty Shoes, Liberty Whiteware, Kenwood, Spectrum Paints, Brushman India, Neelkanth Town Planners, Inalsa Home Appliances, Welga Foods, among others. Liberty Shoes has been our oldest client in Delhi.
Q. Why is it that not much is heard in the media about Montage?
We don't believe in making noise for the work we do. We do good work for the clients. I think that's the kind of people we are..the silent types. Or does strong, silent types sound better?
Q. Are awards important?
Yes, they matter in as much as they are a recognition of excellence by peers. They help in telling the world that the agency is performing well.
Q. As a creative person, do you think Delhi provides ample opportunity?
I don't think a city limits creativity in any way. So, I don't know what the question means. But if you mean the kind of clients that you get to work on in Delhi, well, I think all clients want good work. When an agency becomes lazy, it's only then that they sell ordinary work to clients. But overall, the work being done for Delhi-based clients by agencies based in Delhi is good.
Q. Do you see it as a disadvantage if an agency in India is not part of the global network?
Well, the biggest disadvantage is that the big clients don't talk to smaller agencies. One reason is that we are not well networked like the big agencies. Having said that, I think there are many advantages too in working with medium-sized, non-networked agencies - they carry no baggage, and there are no frills to pay for.
Q. What kind of creative work will you be doing for the recently launched haircare brand Toni & Guy?
Toni & Guy is available in over 100 countries and its products are sold through salons. The brand has very strict standards and that has made it such a success globally. In India, our attempt in the first year will be to share the brand values with a targeted set of men and women in the metros. The range of products is large and an interface with individual products will follow. We are handling their creative duties and are going to advertise mainly in print. We are targeting all fashion and lifestyle magazines such as F&L, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Stardust, etc. We are also going to do point-of-sale activities like mailers, banners, etc.
Q. How has the journey been so far?
It has been very interesting and a great learning experience. Being in advertising and running an agency are very different things. You have to take a call every day in what you want the agency to do and where you want to take the agency. One has to continue to struggle to do good work against odds of good business sense.
Q. There is talk about lack of good talent these days. Any reason for this situation?
One of the key issues in attracting good professionals is the industry's compensation standard; we have to keep in mind the financial opportunities being thrown up by other industries today. But people with a passion for creativity have been attracted and have stayed and excelled in this profession. We would have to raise the bar to attract more talent.
Q. What kind of work are you doing with the Outlook Group since you handle all their brands?
Well, we handle just three brands - Outlook Hindi, Outlook Business and Outlook Money. The Hindi and Money brands are very strong and established. Outlook Money is the leader in its genre; leading publishing houses are trying to launch titles in this genre, which further reiterates its leadership. Outlook Business is a brand for the decision makers and that is what is being built upon. The response to the brand has been very good both in terms of acceptability and in terms of the advertising support. We are happy to be handling both the magazines business now. We will follow a 360-degree approach to communicate its message to its target audience. It will include print, TVC, outdoor, etc.
We have started working on a brand campaign which will break later in January. The campaign is based on a survey done by ACNielsen that states Outlook Business is the second largest read business magazine. Print ads have started appearing in all financial dailies like Business Standard, etc. We are doing a lot of advertising in Outlook's different publications. We are also running a TVC on CNBC. The outdoor ads would appear all over India by the end of next week. They will first appear in Bangalore, followed by other cities. We will also be doing below the line activities like mailers, direct mailers, events, etc., for the magazine.
Q. Please tell us something about Montage Advertising? Who are the key people behind it?
Montage is a Delhi-based agency that was started in 1992 by a group of advertising professionals. Besides me, the agency has two more directors - Amit Mukherjee and Arun Goswami. We have branches in Delhi and Mumbai. Amit is a Creative Director and has been in advertising for 25 years. Arun looks after finance and writes Hindi copy. We have 30 people working in our Delhi branch.
Q. What would you consider to be the trademark of your work?
We try to deliver relevant yet unexpected work. We always keep coming up with new ideas and try to deliver the best work to our clients.
