Kunal Lalani, Managing Director, Crayons Advertising
The intense competition and the trying times both demand better efficiencies. Looking at the current state of the world economy, even organic growth is not going to be easy. Better financial management would be the key to survive. I am looking at strengthening our online division this year. We plan to open an outdoor division as well, besides aiming for a growth of 25-30 per cent in the current year.
Kunal Lalani, a Commerce graduate from Delhi University, single-handedly set up Crayons Advertising in 1986 with meagre resources. As Managing Director of the agency, he has driven it to make it one of the largest independent agencies in India. A hands-on person, Lalani’s strength lies in understanding the intricacies of Indian business and providing not only communication solutions but business solutions as well.
His passion for the industry led to the formation of the Advertising Agencies Guild of India (AAG), of which he was the Founder-President, and he mobilised 30 ad agencies to work on issues of common interest. He has also been a member representing North Zone at the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI).
In conversation with exchange4media’s Pallavi Goorha Kashyup, Lalani shares his vision for Crayons, some recent successes and the agency’s growth plans.
Q. Crayons has recently completed 23 years? How has the journey been so far?
We have come a long way, from a small Delhi-based agency to being India’s largest independent agency. The journey has been interesting, with many milestones. We worked hard with our clients, built strong relationships based on good work, and as a result have grown with them. We took care to build a strong infrastructure and invested heavily in people, and I am glad that these decisions are paying back now. Crayons today has an all India presence with seven full-fledged offices, two satellite branches and two overseas offices (Dubai and Nepal).The agency has transformed the kind of assignments we handled. We have handled the largest online campaign for Incredible India and the biggest mandate for elections of the Congress party. Everything went off smoothly. It gives us immense satisfaction in terms of competency and magnitude. There is confidence in competency.
Q. What, in your opinion, has been best piece of advertising in recent months?
Well, the best piece of advertising is the one that sells. As of now, the campaign which saw victory for Congress is my favourite. Nothing could be more satisfying than to communicate and connect with over billion people successfully.
Q. How was your experience working on the Congress campaign?
There is one word for it – wonderful. Right from the day we pitched for the Congress account to the day of the watching results on TV, everyday was eventful. A great experience overall. Contrary to perceptions, the decision-making was smooth, the operations were meticulously planned and organised, there was extreme clarity in thoughts and no last minute crisis. We undertook one of the biggest outdoor campaigns ever, with over 14,000 hoardings all over the country, reaching every rural and remote corner of the country, including places like Lakshadweep. We shot common people from various parts of the country and each newspaper carried the face of a person from the respective regions.
Q. Have you achieved the growth targets that Crayons had set?
We surpassed the targets in 2008-09 and grew by a whopping 44 per cent. The best part is that it doesn’t include much of the election campaign spends, which was essentially in this financial year.
Q. How is the advertising market in Delhi different from Mumbai? Do you think Delhi has caught up with Mumbai in terms of business/ billings?
There is hardly any difference between the two markets. The traditional gap between them getting thinner with each passing year and there is a fair distribution of brands/ advertisers between the two cities. In fact, Delhi’s share has been consistently increasing over the years.
Q. What are the areas of concerns or things to watch out for the industry? What are your personal work targets for 2009?
The intense competition and the trying times both demand better efficiencies. Looking at the current state of the world economy, even organic growth is not going to be easy. Better financial management would be the key to survive. I am looking at strengthening our online division this year. We plan to open an outdoor division as well, besides aiming for a growth of 25-30 per cent in the current year.
Q. Please tell us about Crayons' online division. Which are the clients with your online division?
Our online division has been there for some time, but last year, we decided to step up the activities. Along with Ignitee, our online partners, we have handled the biggest and the most prestigious online campaign for Incredible India. For the first time ever, online advertising was used in election advertising and the results were amazing. Thanks to these assignments, we emerged as one of the largest online ad agencies in 2008-09.Apart from these, clients like Gulf Oil, Fortis, ICRI and Kohinoor, among others, have capitalised on this medium.
Q. What are the important milestones that you have achieved in the last 23 years?
We were the first independent Indian ad agency to have its own office in Dubai (2007). It took us just two years to move from Rs 100 crore billings (2006-07) to cross Rs 200 crore (2008-09). We bagged the Congress account in a fiercely fought pitch, which had the biggest agencies in India vying for it (2009). We won Incredible India’s media campaigns for Europe for two successive years (2007-08 and 2008-09) in open international bids.
Q. Has the slowdown affected Crayons?
Yes and no. If you look at the growth and billing figures for 2008-09, there is no impact of recession. But then yes, we are not untouched by recession. Some of our clients in real estate and related industries have reduced their spends. Most of the clients are more cautious and budgets are more realistic now.
Q. We all know awards make one feel good about the work one has done. But how important are they for an ad agency as a whole?
Awards are important for sure, these keep the morale high, but these should not be seen in isolation. While it is great to create an award winning ad, it is even better to have the telephones ringing at the client’s stores. The ad must do the job well in the first place, and in doing so if it wins an award, nothing like it.
Q. What are the billings for this year and the projected billings?
The capitalised billings for the year 2008-09 stand at Rs 205 crore. Next year, we should do about Rs 250 crore.
Q. Which are the accounts that you have won so far this year?
We have won Leela Hotel (partly), Union Bank of India, and BSNL (outdoor) in the first quarter of the year.
