Braving the sun and the humid weather, global advertising leaders like TBWA Chairman Jean-Marie Dru, JWT President Michael Meaden and BBH Chairman & Creative Director John Hegarty winged their way to India to participate in the three-day Goa Adfest which got over today.
They did so to acknowledge that the country is integral to their survival over the next one or two years as they search desperately for plans to beat the downturn.
The evidence is already there. Wieden & Kennedy set up shop in India in late-2007. In early-2008, BBDO, which was present through a joint venture with RK Swamy, launched on its own. It was followed by BBH which has global clients like Johnnie Walker, Levis and Audi. TBWA India was completely bought over by Omnicon. And there have been talks of Strawberry Frog coming to India.
The reasons hold no surprise: While USA and UK are in recession, India is still growing at above 5 per cent and its rural market is booming. “The slowdown is limited to the metros and Tier I cities and a few sectors like advertising and media, entertainment, retail and real estate, effecting 25-30 per cent of the Indian economy,” said McKinsey Principal Consultant Toshan Tamhane.
“The thrust on India comes out of two key reasons. One is the pace at which the Indian economy is growing. India will be one of the top ten markets within the next two years us. The second is that India is not only a base to service our global clients but also to innovate with its vast diversity which makes us believe that we must invest in the country,” said TBWA’s Dru.
India is now the third-largest market for JWT, after the US and UK. The company expects it to overtake UK in revenues in the coming year. “India will be the second-largest market for us in the coming year. Emerging markets like Brazil, China and India will contribute 50 per cent of our revenues in the next three years as against 30-33 per cent currently,” said Meaden of JWT.
“India with its ability to deal with diversity has a lot to teach BBH and the rest of the world as we deal with recession. Our presence here is like a re-birth,” said Hegarty.
