Madison Media announced that it ranks 5th in RECMA’s Top 16 independent ad agencies list in the globe. Madison Media has the highest country market share of 11.1% amongst the largest independent agencies of the world.
Madison Media, India’s homegrown media agency that started media operations in 1995, has been ranked as the 2nd most powerful media agency.
Vikram Sakhuja, Partner & Group CEO, Madison Media & OOH spoke to us on being the Top 5 Standalone Global Agency and the initiative for clients in this crisis.
Madison in the Top 5 standalone Global Agency report, your thoughts
We are thrilled. We always knew we were India’s largest Independent. For RECMA to crown us largest Market Share Independent in the World, and 5th largest in Size is awesome. I have always believed that Media is a local game, built on local market expertise and relationships. Madison has always had a stable and highly respected leadership team. The rigor and excellence we have drilled into our people have made us probably the industry’s best talent pool. But the ones we have most to thank are our Clients who have stayed with us for years and from whom we have learned so much.
The lockdown in certain parts are in the green zone, what as an Agency would be your priorities toward your brands?
The lockdown has not lifted. We are in a dynamic situation with localised lockdowns being announced based on the way the virus is spreading in a particular city. What has changed is a resolve to grow business even as we battle Covid. This calls for more dynamic and more local level planning.
Brands in the new normal are now seeing new buying habits, as a brand custodian what will be the new strategies and advertising message?
We believe Consumers are concerned and looking for reassurances and brand news they can use. Two areas stand out – health and hygiene reassurance, and with lesser money in their pockets, the need for better value deals. This is the time for brands to share product innovations that dial both these up.
As brands now are going digital, will they now be more open to more spend on digital as compared to traditional platforms? Also will you advise them to start their own e-commerce platforms?
All brands need to embrace e-commerce. There has been a strong momentum for Digital over all other Media for some years now. That will continue. But it is still a wait and watch to see if growth rate increases even more. They do not necessarily need to start their own platform. They can learn on the back of the aggregators who are doing a good job.
How will you rebuild brand loyalty for certain brands which fell off the radar during this lockdown?
Each brand has a different formula for success. That said if we have to re-build awareness, I would recommend coming back with a TV/ AV campaign at more than threshold levels, and try and maximize Reach and Weeks on Air.
Will Ad Spends on TV, Print & OOH see a spike?
Yes. After a dismal, April and May, TV has climbed up appreciably in June and July. We are expecting this to continue and hope to reach last year levels soon. Print and OOH have been slow to come back. Though in July we have seen green shoots in both. There seems to be a syndrome existing that if in my Work from Home environment I am not getting a Newspaper, or I am not venturing out, then nobody is. Fact is that corporate India resides in Mumbai, Delhi/Gurgaon, and Bangaluru. Large parts of India and even these cities there is data that suggests that exposure to both Print and OOH has reached 60% and more of peak Covid levels. The Advertisers who are using these Mediums are seeing good results.
