AgTalk | Belief in what you do is the Key to Success: DDB Mudra's Pratap Bose

In the crowded environment of today’s advertising world you need to produce clutter breaking ideas to make it up top there, where you have always desired. When you therefore see a professional who has already achieved that, you admire him and wonder; “What does it take to be successful?” Well my friend the answer to this question does not lie in probation but by asking the achiever how he did it himself.

So Adgully made the work easy by bringing the successful man, Pratap Bose to share his success mantra and his experience. Pratap Bose, the man who wears many hats; he is not only the Chief Operating Officer of DDB Mudra Group but also the CEO of Mudra Max, the Integrated Engagement & Experience Agency and is also responsible for Ignite Mudra, the Agency for Entrepreneurs. In the Mudra Group, Pratap has set up Integrated Communications Planning and built the framework for what can truly be called India's first integrated Engagement and Experiential Agency - Mudra Max.

Before joining the DDB Mudra group Pratp worked for O&M for 15 years and is credited with the setting up of Ogilvy Landscapes and pioneering the Outdoor AOR concept in India which segregated outdoor advertising very uniquely from mainline media. In 2002, he took over the operations of Ogilvy Live, the events and promotions division. He is also acclaimed for creating the retail and visual merchandising arm - Ogilvy Signscapes. In 2004, he took charge of Ogilvy Outreach, the first and largest rural advertising and marketing unit in India and then went on to merge the four out-of-home units as Ogilvy Activation and served as its President. In 2006, he took on the role of CEO at Ogilvy. He was also the Managing Director for Kinetic, South Asia in the same year.

Pratap has a lot of awards to his credit. In 2000, he won the WPP Atticus Award and has partnered creative to win numerous international outdoor awards at Cannes, Clio Awards, London International Awards and the One Show Awards.

We had a long discussion with him to understand the advertising business, what it takes to reach there and some tips to follow his footsteps. Here is what all he had to share with us.

Adgully AG: Please tell us how DDB Mudra Group has grown in the last five years and what are the key changes introduced by you after taking charge of the company.

Pratap Bose PB: In the last five years the Grouphasgrown from being just an advertising agency to an integrated marketing and communications group and it’s quite significant because that depicts that the agency has gone forward. So you have to grow the offerings to your clients and your expertise in the non-traditional advertising formats. Special emphasis is on direct marketing, design and various other things. I take a special interest in the agenda which keeps me engaged and also other decisions in charting out the growth strategies.

AG: As a leader, what are your key priorities in the coming years? Which are the two key areas where you would like to focus on to ensure the group continues on its growth path?

PB: I would say we would be focusing on the product and getting better in terms of the creative process and thinking variation.The product i.e. in terms of the ultimate print ad, or the TV commercial or the activation programme, we need to create something better than what we have done before. The profit is something that we are very conscious of in terms of the product we create and lastly what is important, is the people.

AG: What are the challenges that you feel, need to be addressed in the course of growth?

PB: There are many challenges and the most important being people because you need to keep them motivated, interested and show them the growth prospects and encourage them to work hard. Also they need to be made to feel that they are a part of the organization and so the people are a large challenge. The second most important challenge is the economies of the business because there are times when the business is good but last year in particular wasn’t that great. 2013 looks quite promising. The business dynamics is a big challenge and it is just nor for us but most of the people.

AG: You have been on board of many juries this year, how would you describe your experience as a creative jury member?

PB: A lot of people don’t know but I have a huge soft corner for creativity for I am myself a creative person. I have been a creative writer and over the years have honed my skills to fairly judge what a good creation is and what is not. It takes a lot of experience and common sense to be able to do that. So whether it is creative awards, media awards I am extremely neutral in my judgment. It adds to your exposure and teaches you a few new things.

AG: What is DDBMudra Group’s overall business growth strategy and wherewould you place vis-à-vis some of the other competitors in the market?

PB: I am not interested in comparing ourselves with the others in the industry because I think we are a unique advertising agency in terms of our length and spread. We are a marketing communications group not only into advertising but we also deal in media planning & buying, digital & new media, Data-driven Marketing, promotions and so on. I think that’s a great position to have provided you have the skills to handle a large size.

AG: Mention some of the unique strengths which give DDB Mudra Group a sustainable competitive advantage?

PB: We have a wide set of businesses, offering many products and that’s a good enough game. We might seem like a wide fishing net casted in the sea.

Each of the businesses pitches for business individually, the approach is integration and we are a communication group and just not an advertising agency therefore the big clients take us very seriously.

AG: Given the overall advertising scene today, where will the industry be in the next three to five years?

PB: Our advertising spend as compared to the GDP is one of the lowest in the world. It certainly needs to go up. The whole area of marketing and communication has a lot of growth opportunity but unfortunately the media only looks at the advertising revenue and they are not open to the idea of marketing. So if we believe that the 30 second TV commercial is going to be the future then it’s not. The accounts spend, the litigation and a whole lot of it is a part of this and the agency that is going to take that route is bound to succeed. There is a limitation to which you can grow. You can create lots of things and in the process win some and lose some, there is a fair ratio but at the end of the day it is only one part of the communications budget and it’s a very small slice of the exhibition of a project. Unfortunately the media does not look at it. It’s a very large pie and there is enough food for all in the field but we have grown blinkers and categorized things as advertising and non-advertising which is not feasible. So agencies that will realize that and will reap the benefits if they have the scale and back up to implement will definitely do well.

AG: What are the emerging areas that an agency like yours would be keen to invest in?

PB: The answer to this would give the trade secrets away but I think any agency that goes beyond advertising.Social and digital media is the way forward,in order to get this you need to understand the advertising business in India.We have about 150 advertising agencies here, if x no of digital agencies are fighting for this project and so on;but I think it’s important for us to not look that way. We have to look at communications as a far larger area so if there are consultancies existing than why we can’t do the same. The possibilities are endless so it is for the agency to determine what they want to get into and how they want to take it as path to tread on.

AG: Do we see you investing in the same or are you already there?

PB: We’ve been into lots more businesses and we are there.

AG:  What is your business mantra?

PB: My business mantra is very simple, you must come to work every day to enjoy yourself and create value for clients and that’s all what a client asks from you. I think if you do that than the numbers work. But if you are not chasing your dream and not enjoying what you are doing than your heart would not believe that you are doing a good day’s work.

AG: Share the highlights of your journey.

PB: I think I am happy that the world does not have a clear picture on me because that’s the way I am as a person so I won’t hate to be labeled as a direct person. I am one of those journalists who is pretty good at everything and I have far more things to look forward to in terms of my work and I think I have been always good with building things, building business groups, organizations and expertise that is hugely successful and profitable.

AG: Any one thing you regret you could not do and would like to do it?

PB: I do not regret anything. The quest for creative success not for me personally but for the groups that I have worked with and the people associated with it is that they always want better creative output and that’s what keeps me going.

AG: What is your style and approach when dealing with your teams? Are you a liberal boss or a tough task master?

PB: I think both because you need to have the lackadaisical approach where fundamentally people would love you, so you are respected by your seniors, peers and juniors. I think if you can add value to someone who comes up with a problem and asks for a solution and I think as leader you have to be able to provide that. Also as a leader you should have a great strategy and vision as to what you want from your team.

AG: Any advice you would like to give to prospective industry professionals?

PB: Only one thing, work ten times harder and have a total sense of passion and belief in what you do. Learn everything that you can about the business. I By RababRupawala [rabab(at)adgullydotcom]