By Madhukar Sabnavis
In 1985, when I joined advertising, it was an exciting option for many graduates from premier business schools. Though starting salaries were low, there was the prospect of quantum jumps.
An informal environment, where you could be yourself, was an attraction few other jobs offered. Through much of the 80s and 90s, for creative minds, it was the best field to be in. You could see your output to fruition fast and when you saw the ad on TV or press, you could proudly say it was your work. The 2000s opened new avenues for advertising professionals.
The industry expanded to include new platforms: digital, ground activation, rural marketing etc — a larger canvas to play on for strategic and creative minds. However, the industry has been hit with a serious challenge — a talent crunch. 'Worst thing to happen' are hard words, I would prefer 'the biggest challenge!'
Advertising continues to be exciting. It still has a lot of energy and magic and you work with many intelligent people. The creative sensitivity of clients has improved with global exposure and experience. However, with the number of advertisers and categories having increased in the last decade, a number of large spenders have become more cautious.
The stakes have increased and so too a client's dependence on 'scientific' evaluation. This has put stress on the creation process and taken away some of the 'fun' of the business. The processes have become more prolonged with multiple layers of evaluation.
Intuition and gut feel has given way to more considered decision making based on formal consumer research which often pushes creative into safer territories. So, you need more fortitude to see your best ideas — creative or strategic — through.
Just talent is not enough; you need the right temperament too! Link this to compensation and the talent challenge mounts. Moving agency compensation from a 'commission' to 'fee' system had its benefits. It has provided greater stability to an agency's earnings. But it has also meant that agencies have not grown their toplines as exponentially as industry spends.
It is interesting to note that clients see independent consultants and filmmakers as specialists and compensate them accordingly; but are stingier when it comes to agency compensation. And this has limited the agency's ability to compensate its talent. And with it, good talent sees its ability to make a 'fortune' limited.
People work for fun, fortune and fame. If two of these are under strain, the net result is a brain drain. Bright creative people feel better off becoming producers or independents or move into allied fields like feature filmmaking.
Professionals in other functions feel no different — planners are better off as brand consultants where their words carry more weight. And bright client servicing gravitate to marketing.
For many, the industry is a good launching board. It's ironic that in an era when advertising as a business is booming, it is losing its attraction for talent: both in recruitment and retention. It's only the diehard 'passionate' who continue and thrive.How are we dealing with it? It's a tough journey. One way is to accept attrition as par for the course and work around it.
Another is to identify stars and work plans to keep them with special incentives. Give the stars an opportunity to shine and keep 'fame' going. As for recruitment, look for the 'passionate' and hope they will stay the course longer. But ultimately, the answer is in making clients see value in what advertising and creativity bring to their business.
Every business has its paying capacity. Clients need to recognise that 'idea creation' is a specialised business. This will make them pay us more commensurately. And alongside that, agencies need to sensitise clients to the value of intuition and gutfeel. Thus, allowing for more daring ideas to happen, more often. It's interesting to note that this is one business where clients can play a role in keeping talent going.
There is no greater joy for creative minds than to see their 'most loved' ideas see the light of day. Advertising allows for that to happen fast! Something worth thinking about.
(Madhukar Sabnavis is vice chairman, Ogilvy and Mather India. Views expressed are personal.)
In 1985, when I joined advertising, it was an exciting option for many graduates from premier business schools. Though starting salaries were low, there was the prospect of quantum jumps.
An informal environment, where you could be yourself, was an attraction few other jobs offered. Through much of the 80s and 90s, for creative minds, it was the best field to be in. You could see your output to fruition fast and when you saw the ad on TV or press, you could proudly say it was your work. The 2000s opened new avenues for advertising professionals.
The industry expanded to include new platforms: digital, ground activation, rural marketing etc — a larger canvas to play on for strategic and creative minds. However, the industry has been hit with a serious challenge — a talent crunch. 'Worst thing to happen' are hard words, I would prefer 'the biggest challenge!'
Advertising continues to be exciting. It still has a lot of energy and magic and you work with many intelligent people. The creative sensitivity of clients has improved with global exposure and experience. However, with the number of advertisers and categories having increased in the last decade, a number of large spenders have become more cautious.
The stakes have increased and so too a client's dependence on 'scientific' evaluation. This has put stress on the creation process and taken away some of the 'fun' of the business. The processes have become more prolonged with multiple layers of evaluation.
Intuition and gut feel has given way to more considered decision making based on formal consumer research which often pushes creative into safer territories. So, you need more fortitude to see your best ideas — creative or strategic — through.
Just talent is not enough; you need the right temperament too! Link this to compensation and the talent challenge mounts. Moving agency compensation from a 'commission' to 'fee' system had its benefits. It has provided greater stability to an agency's earnings. But it has also meant that agencies have not grown their toplines as exponentially as industry spends.
It is interesting to note that clients see independent consultants and filmmakers as specialists and compensate them accordingly; but are stingier when it comes to agency compensation. And this has limited the agency's ability to compensate its talent. And with it, good talent sees its ability to make a 'fortune' limited.
People work for fun, fortune and fame. If two of these are under strain, the net result is a brain drain. Bright creative people feel better off becoming producers or independents or move into allied fields like feature filmmaking.
Professionals in other functions feel no different — planners are better off as brand consultants where their words carry more weight. And bright client servicing gravitate to marketing.
For many, the industry is a good launching board. It's ironic that in an era when advertising as a business is booming, it is losing its attraction for talent: both in recruitment and retention. It's only the diehard 'passionate' who continue and thrive.How are we dealing with it? It's a tough journey. One way is to accept attrition as par for the course and work around it.
Another is to identify stars and work plans to keep them with special incentives. Give the stars an opportunity to shine and keep 'fame' going. As for recruitment, look for the 'passionate' and hope they will stay the course longer. But ultimately, the answer is in making clients see value in what advertising and creativity bring to their business.
Every business has its paying capacity. Clients need to recognise that 'idea creation' is a specialised business. This will make them pay us more commensurately. And alongside that, agencies need to sensitise clients to the value of intuition and gutfeel. Thus, allowing for more daring ideas to happen, more often. It's interesting to note that this is one business where clients can play a role in keeping talent going.
There is no greater joy for creative minds than to see their 'most loved' ideas see the light of day. Advertising allows for that to happen fast! Something worth thinking about.
(Madhukar Sabnavis is vice chairman, Ogilvy and Mather India. Views expressed are personal.)
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