W+K is here to take on WPP, Publicis

Barely one month into operations in India, Portland-based $1.4 billion advertising hot shop Wieden+Kennedy (W+K) has already caused a stir in the Indian ad space. It will pose stiff competition to agencies that are a part of European advertising networks like WPP and Publicis group, which currently dominate the Indian ad space.

For starters, the company has already pocketed the Rs 110 crore Nokia India account from Bates David Enterprise India. And it could only be getting closer to grabbing other accounts as well.

According to industry sources, clients who are currently with Indian subsidiaries of international advertising agencies may also move to W+K. "Like Nokia, several big advertising spenders including Coca-Cola, Starbucks, Honda, ESPN and P&G among others are also with W+K globally. These may also move to W+K if there was a global realignment," an advertising industry source said.

The company though differs: "It is not fair for us to get accounts just because of our international alignments. Neither do we expect it nor is it going to happen. Nokia account is held by W+K globally, and the account shift was a part of the global strategy," says Mohit Dhar Jayal, managing director, W+K Delhi.

However, the big names of the industry remain unfazed. McCann Erickson Chairman Prasoon Joshi, whose agency handles the corporate campaigns for Coca-Cola India, says: "There will always be competition in the market. It is good to benchmark but I believe the biggest competition to one is oneself. We have to better ourselves."

John J Dooner Jr, chairman and chief executive officer, McCann Worldgroup, on his recent visit to India told Business Standard that with India becoming an exporter of creativity it was natural that international players would want to enter the market. "It is a good thing for the advertising industry," he adds.

W+K Delhi, a joint venture of Delhi-based Agency A and W+K India, already has Incredible India global campaign and Agency A's top accounts, namely Indigo, Royal Enfield, HCL Tech, A1 Grand Prix Team India, on its platter.

Going forward W+K is expected to exert its influence on the advertising of brands like P&G, Coca-Cola, Starbucks and Honda, in India. Accounts of all these firms are managed by the agency globally.

W+K Delhi is the first independent American agency to enter India and is all set to destroy the long-held myth that independent advertising agencies cannot manage large advertising businesses.

"Until now, the Indian client used to worry that pure creativity is at the expense of being able to work on big brands. W+K hopes to change this mindset and prove that great work and skill are not mutually exclusive and that both can be achieved. W+K hopes to show the sheer quality that an independent agency can deliver, which I believe can change the face of the business," says Jayal.

Currently in the process of recruiting a creative team, the task for W+K Delhi is to not only create a Nokia campaign to take on the highly successful Motorola ads but also bring in a new creative approach. "When we feel there is a local client need and we can bring value to it, W+K Delhi will knock on the right doors and tell the client what we can do for them," Jayal adds.