I am a professional who loves challenge and hates the status quo: Les Margulis

In the media and advertising space, few enjoy as much recognition and command as much respect as Les Margulis does. And that is a fact endorsed by all the media and agency shops worldwide, no kidding. Look at his corporate profile, read about him on the forums and you'll know what I mean. He is to advertising industry what The Buzzcocks has been to the world of music ' rockstar and a legend in his own right, with a signature style of his own.

Les majored in advertising from Syracuse University and went on to have many corporate associations. In his long career in media agency management, Les has worked with the Omnicom Network as the International Media Director of the BBDO Media Department, he then went on to work as a Senior Director of a B2B internet company in New York and San Francisco. Following this, Les was roped in as Director for Media at the most rocking Hispanic agency in USA. He has worked in Australia, where he was responsible to run a WPP agency and then moved to Kiev and Moscow where he was responsible for Media Direction.

Les then worked with MindShare Moscow as Client Services Director and since the beginning of 2008, has been training both media and creative agencies globally. He was a distinguished Professor of Advertising at University of Florida and is a Contributing Editor with The Internationalist Magazine. Les is also the founder of Margulis Media Group and works in capacity of the CEO of the company.

In 2009, RK Swamy Media Group hired Les Margulis as president for RK Swamy Media Group/Media Direction.

It was an immense honour for Adgully to be in conversation with this living legend. What follows this statement a textual representation of an exchange between Les Margulis and Adgully.

Adgully (AG): Can you tell us a bit about your journey so far?

Les Margulis (LM): I love the challenge of working in India. I can't imagine working anyplace else. It really is the best of all worlds. Here we have a workplace that has all of the best people, the best technology and the second best economy in the world. Why would any professional want to work in the sluggish marketplaces of Western Europe? The media and clients here are willing to listen to any argument that will help leapfrog their business.

AG: What was instrumental in bringing your association with Media Direction?

LM: I was one of the founding fathers of Media Direction almost 15 years ago. I have also been very close to the Swamy family for some three decades. I personally knew and worked with RK, the founder, who was truly the lion of advertising in India. I would say virtually everyone who is at the top of the rung here owes RK a note of thanks for opening up the industry to Indian nationals.

Therefore, there has always been a place in my heart for this country. When an opportunity presented itself to return, I jumped at the opportunity which I have never regretted.

AG: What is your vision for Media Direction?

LM: Well, that is a closely guarded secret. If I told you, I would have to kill you (laughs). Suffice it to say, that there will be some announcements in the future. We certainly want the best people in the industry and if any of your readers want to work for the best, have them contact me at les.margulis@mediadirectionindia.com.

AG: You have been known for keeping a close watch on new marking trends. Can you share some trends that you see around and intend to advise your clients on the same? Also, what new things can we see from the digital team of Media Direction with your guidance?

LM: India is in the process of catching up with other parts of the world in terms of its use of digital. Any by digital, I mean going beyond the banner and looking at mobile, Bluetooth and all other methods of communication used by the consumer. The objective is to engage the target willingly and not interrupt his/her use of the media by inserting a TVC. Even now, my business oriented clients hardly use TV at all to reach their target.

AG: What changes in media space have you observed since the time you took over last year and since the time you came to Mumbai thirteen years ago?

LM: India has changed so radically in thirteen years that I must classify it as a metamorphoses. During my first encounter it was a country getting over its early socialist roots. Automobiles were all Ambassadors and you had your choice of colours as long as you wanted either black or white. TV has been deregulated and there are more channels available here than in London. Shopping malls are springing up like mushrooms and the old mainstay industries such as textiles are being replaced by gleaming modern office buildings housing forex traders and code writers. In 13 years, India has had three generations of growth compressed into little more than a decade.

AG: What are the current happenings at Media Direction?

LM: We are expanding to meet current and future needs. The digital group has tripled in a year and will triple again in another year. I can imagine that in 24 months, they will be almost the size of the main agency. We have recently hired a very experienced professional, Partha Ghoshe, to be our head of new business development and Rohini Gauthaman to be our Head of North. Both are very aggressive and I expect important news from them moving forward.

AG: What are your plans for the remaining period of the year?

LM: There are three items on my agenda: first, new business; second, new business; third, new business. Of course, we have to provide the highest quality of innovation and service to our existing clients. That is a given.

AG: Can you share with us the new accounts that the agency has gotten on board?

LM: This list is quite extensive, both for Media Direction and Digital Direction. For Media Direction, we have, Adarsh Developers, Allahabad Bank, Asian Motor Works, Basecamp, Bayer Pharma, Calcom, Central Bank, Chaitanya Developers, Gemim Oil, Makro Technologies, Noel Pharma, Rasa, SBI, UCO Bank, USE, Victorinox, West Bengal Tourism and Zuari.

Digital Direction has enjoyed the company of clients like Abbott (Pediasure), Basecamp, GPI, Hamdard Safi, Hindustani Times, HT Mint, Karvy Private Wealth, LIC Endowment Campaign, Mercedes C Class Launch, Mercedes E Class Launch, Mercedes Auto Expo, Raffels, Ranbaxy Revital, Raymond Corporate Wear, SBI Car Loans and SBI Savings

AG: Which medium of marketing and advertising (print/Outdoor/Radio/TV) do you see growing by the end of 2010 and by what percentage?

LM: In terms of traditional media, India is no different than any other market. We see slow but continued growth. I have outlined below what our estimates are by media for the next 12 months:

Digital: +12%

Radio: +10%

TV: +7%

OOH: +6%

Print: +4%

Cinema: Flat

However, these numbers particularly for print are so much better than those reported in the US press, specifically: newspapers will drop 10.7%, while magazines will slip an additional 7.3%. Those drops, however, are less significant than the plunges of 27.2% and 19.6% for newspapers and magazines in the US respectively in 2009.

India is indeed looking very good.

AG: Please describe yourself in one sentence...

LM: I am a professional who loves challenge and hates the status quo.

AG: A parting message to our readers...

LM: We are all fortunate to be still at the beginning of India's finest moments. This is the best of times to be working in the ad industry and I look forward to my next 100 challenges.

Les Margulis is an institution by himself and it was as educating as it was entertaining and interesting to confabulate with this massive pillar of excellence in the world of media and advertising. And to all those creative heads desperate to get cracking with your work, jump on the opportunity ' Les himself indicated that he'd love to have some super guys working with him.