By Yohan P Chawla
As Brand evangelist Kiran Khalap and his team were unveiling chlorophyll 3.0, the evolved avatar of India’s first and perhaps the last independent end-to-end brand consultancy and which is highly respected for its great work on more than 200 brands, the entire audience was in for a pleasant surprise. Suddenly, the lady who is who is without a doubt the First Lady of Indian Media Buying and today is a legendary name across both, media buying and auditing, Meenakshi Menon, got up from her seat right in front of the stage and smiling, walked up to Kiran Khalap, said she’d like to say something. And then, she delivered a wonderful tribute that Kiran would definitely place right up there with the best encomiums he’s earned in a glorious career of a lifetime.
From one legend about another, here’s what Meenakshi Menon said about Kiran Khalap:
“I must tell you, Kiran and I got to know each other in Lintas as colleagues. We were working together on detergents. The wonderful thing is, Kiran has always been one of those guys who was willing to go where no one else was willing to go. You know… Star Trek? That line about going where no one has gone before…? That’s Kiran for you.”
“Kiran and Andy were really close friends, and I have seen them in action – they’ve come in, and they’ve come in to pitch for businesses. And they’ve always walked in saying, ‘Let’s do what’s right for the client, and not what’s right for our business’. And to me, that – next year I’ll have been in the industry for 40 years – and to me, that is what chlorophyll’s all about: doing what’s right for the client, and not worrying about what’s right for your business.”
“And today, when I see agencies and I see the way they operate, I genuinely believe – Kiran has not asked me to say this, and I just jumped up wanting to speak (here today) – but I genuinely believe that chlorophyll is a giant among the so-called advertising agencies. And regardless of what Kiran at the age of 61 may want to do, chlorophyll is not going to let him go!”
All the best, Kiran.”
