'5 to 6 key media shops will survive'

The stage has been set to introduce the world's largest media brand, OMD (Optimum Media Directions) from theOmnicom stable, in the country. Or so, Sandip Tarkas, the newly appointed chief executive officer of Media Directions, the media company of advertising agency RK Swamy BBDO, will have you believe. Says Tarkas: "It is a matter of time before Media Directions is rebranded OMD."

OMD's India foray has been hanging fire thanks to Omnicom's three Indian partners, Mudra, TBWA, and RK Swamy BBDO, squabbling over the issue. Initially, Omnicom was said to be negotiating with Mudra to launch OMD.

Finally, the media shop seems to be partnering the Rs 450-crore RK Swamy BBDO. Tarkas, who heads the agency's Rs 250-crore media business, worked with Mudra and MPG India earlier.

He spent eight years with HTA (now J Walter Thompson) managing media buying at Fulcrum (now Mindshare). The IIT (Mumbai) and IIM, Bangalore alumnus spoke to Business Standard on media planning's future in India.

What exactly does Media Directions do?

Media Directions is a full-service media services agency. We do planning, buying, implementation, research and consulting. Worldwide, OMD is the single largest media services agency. Omnicom is the world's largest communications and marketing conglomerate. WPP is number two.

Which way is media planning headed? How have the specialist media shops evolved in India?

The future of media planning is certainly bright. From our experience in other markets, we know that while markets are developing, buying is an all-important expectation from a media services agency. However, as markets mature, clients expect sharper insights from planning function. Buying and planning are equally important. Over-reliance on any one of the two will lead to problems.

Specialist media shops have evolved in many ways. From what primarily started as being a buying-led organisation, a specialist media company today is more in tune with the client's business as well as in tune with the consumer. This means that we have moved up the value chain in terms of being able to provide strategic thinking and insights of a much higher order to the client. We are also far better placed to use a feedback loop that helps us fine-tune tomorrow's plan based on today's performance. This has lead to a much higher accountability to achieve a client's marketing objectives. And, frankly, a media services organisation of today is far better placed to provide this accountability than the agency of yesterday.

Do some clients still work on a commission based remuneration? Is the fee structure working?

As an industry, I think, nearly 70 per cent of the clients still prefer the commission system. When clients' budgets are small or uncertain, it makes sense for them to stay with commissions rather than a fee. For a client with larger budget and relative certainty of spends, fees represent a better way of doing things. Fees mean agencies are also clear of their income and are able to commit adequate resources to a client's business.

What have been the major changes in print and television media planning?

The key shift has been a move towards response-led planning. The new tools that are emerging are specifically in the area of targeting and investment prioritisation, in addition to the existing tools. Data on intermediate parameters such as awareness and even sales are increasingly seen to be used in the media planning process. Honestly, we still have some distance to cover, but a beginning has been made.

Will TV continue to eat into print spends?

I think both TV and print have a role to play. I'd like to believe that TV has not been "eating into print". A more accurate description would be that television is growing faster than print. Print has grown, too, over the years. I think, so far, print has responded pretty well to the challenges of TV and is continuing to do so. But TV is still more productive in many cases and, hence, the seeming migration from print to TV.

Is there room for so many media specialist for a market like India?

Among the top 10 worldwide media independents, OMD is the last one to come into India, the rest are already here. Today, there are about 15 odd media specialists that are operating in India, in addition to hundreds of smaller players. I do believe that there will be a consolidation down to five or six key specialists over the next five years.