| What is your background, in terms of agencies, accounts, and client-side experience? | |
|---|---|
| Kaizad Pardiwalla - Chief Operating Officer | Grey 2011 - 2014 (Head of Mumbai office; Telecom Head - Ferrero, Parle, Reliance Telecom) Bates 2010 - 2011 (Head of Mumbai office - Fiat, Virgin Mobile, Raymond) Ogilvy 1997 - 2010 Ogilvy One 2004 - 2010 (Head of Mumbai; National head - American Express, Cisco, Economist, J&J, Reliacne Capital, IBM, ITC Hotels) Ogilvy Advertising 1997 - 2004 (Account Management - Unilever, Cadbury, ICICI Bank, Discovery) |
| Lubna Khan National Strategy Head | 17 + years experience. Background in psychology. Worked in WPP agencies including JWT, GREY, Y&R. Was client side with the BBC's media for development arm. |
| Sharmine Panthaky. VP and Branch Head, Mumbai - Orchard Advertising. | 15 years of experience across mainline advertising, out of home, news distribution and business solutions. Worked in several WPP companies, start ups and boutique agencies. |
| Pratik Maitra | Agency - Business development |
| Karthik Hariharan, Associate Vice President | I hold a decade of experience that spans 4 agencies including an entrepreneurial stint. Home-grown brands are my forte; having worked on major Indian Brands that have also moved across shores lending me exposure to APAC and other markets. I've been a Senior Planning Director in my last stint at Ogilvy, where I worked across FMCG & Media brands like Himalaya (india & APAC) & BIAL; prior to which I was a Client Services Director managing accounts like The Hindu, Titan Eye Plus, ITC & TTK amongst others. I ran an agency called Dark Horse Creative for a year before I joined Ogilvy and probably was the most exciting phase of my life as I made many mistakes |
| Neha Contractor Branch Head Orchard bangalore. | 16 years of experience, worked in ogilvy, DDB and law and KENNETH. worked heading ATL, activation and digital. No client side experience yet. |
| What has been your role in the new business and organic growth efforts of the agency? | |
| Kaizad Pardiwalla - Chief Operating Officer | Leading pitches, driving integrated agenda for the agency - organic growth |
| Lubna Khan National Strategy Head | Leading it from a strategic perspective, |
| Sharmine Panthaky. VP and Branch Head, Mumbai - Orchard Advertising. | Despite having joined the team fairly recently, I have had the chance to work on several new business pitches in the last couple of months, as well as negotiating better remuneration systems from our existing clients. I have led a few of these endeavours, and worked on other leaders' teams as well. Going forward I see myself being the point person on new business development for the branch in a much larger capacity. |
| Pratik Maitra | I have developed - South India market for Leo experience |
| Karthik Hariharan, Associate Vice President | Ive spent a tad over 3 months at Orchard and have been a part of 3 pitches so far of which one converted, the other is currently in waiting and we lost one. I believe in investing in existing clients and have initiated conversations on fee hike, scaling up our capabilities and looking at digital partnerships we could gain from symbiotically. |
| Neha Contractor Branch Head Orchard bangalore. | I have been the lead on a number of new business pitches such as Amazon, le TV, mayas foods, jana finance ITC foods. |
| As if you were writing to a prospective client, describe the agency in no more than 3 sentences: | |
| Kaizad Pardiwalla - Chief Operating Officer | We at Orchard pride ourselves on building partnerships with our clients and solving business issues and not just creating ads. We do this using HumanKind, our proprietary tool, which helps us analyse and understand Human behavior and how it influences decision making. Our combination of intent, talent and dedication enables us to out think competition, not out spend them leading to the creation of some iconic brands and delivering some startling results. |
| Lubna Khan National Strategy Head | Creative rule breakers Agile learning from and shaping culture |
| Sharmine Panthaky. VP and Branch Head, Mumbai - Orchard Advertising. | We are the agency that has created work for our clients, which has enabled them to grow and prosper. We take pride in the fact that our work for clients is insightful, addresses business challenges and sets a high bar for creative excellence. We produce hardworking yet creatively superior work. |
| Pratik Maitra | We are highly creative , young bunch of people having execution capabilities across the country. |
| Neha Contractor Branch Head Orchard bangalore. | We are a young agency driven by our passion for effective creativity. |
| Karthik Hariharan, Associate Vice President | We are Orchard from The Leo Group, we are Humankind agency, we believe in behavior that translate into acts. |
| List the top few agencies that you do/will compete against most often: | |
| Kaizad Pardiwalla - Chief Operating Officer | Ogilvy, Lowe, McCann |
| Lubna Khan National Strategy Head | Mullen Lowe McCann DDB Mudra |
| Sharmine Panthaky. VP and Branch Head, Mumbai - Orchard Advertising. | Mullen Lowe Group, Contract Advertising, CLA, McCann Erickson. |
| Pratik Maitra | Jagran Solutions , Wizcraft |
| Neha Contractor Branch Head Orchard bangalore. | Droga 5 |
| Karthik Hariharan, Associate Vice President | Ogilvy Lowe Happy |
| In the eyes of clients, what do you provide of value, that none of your competitors do? | |
| Kaizad Pardiwalla - Chief Operating Officer | A deep understanding of Culture and marrying cultural insights to human behaviour to create unique solutions for brands. |
| Lubna Khan National Strategy Head | Harnessing culture for creativity Agile response |
| Sharmine Panthaky. VP and Branch Head, Mumbai - Orchard Advertising. | Work rooted in cultural insight mining, and addressing of business challenges by understanding the business environment, rather than recommending communication in isolation. |
| Pratik Maitra | Comfort zone |
| Neha Contractor Branch Head Orchard bangalore. | Thinking of today and speed in output |
| Karthik Hariharan, Associate Vice President | Quick Turnaround "Indian" insights Strategically sound on ecommerce |
| In the eyes of clients, what do your competitors provide of value, that you do not? | |
| Kaizad Pardiwalla - Chief Operating Officer | While almost all clients appreciate that the work is on par with other bigger agencies, the big names in their creative departments tend to influence the final decision. |
| Lubna Khan National Strategy Head | Proven creative lineage |
| Sharmine Panthaky. VP and Branch Head, Mumbai - Orchard Advertising. | A larger brand name, for the agency as well as star creative personnel. |
| Pratik Maitra | Experience in the Industry |
| Neha Contractor Branch Head Orchard bangalore. | Process |
| Karthik Hariharan, Associate Vice President | Scale Badge Value |
| Are there any negative perceptions about the agency that might hold your organic growth and new business efforts back? | |
| Kaizad Pardiwalla - Chief Operating Officer | None really. Its more a lack of being known well. |
| Lubna Khan National Strategy Head | Second agency, B team |
| Sharmine Panthaky. VP and Branch Head, Mumbai - Orchard Advertising. | The misconception that we are too small to be able to handle large brands, that we are inferior to Leo Burnett and perhaps also that we are the poor man's Leo Burnett. None of the above would actually hold water in any real world situation. |
| Pratik Maitra | We are creative agency hence clients think experiential marketing is not our forte. |
| Neha Contractor Branch Head Orchard bangalore. | No |
| Karthik Hariharan, Associate Vice President | We are small We are cheap |
| What are top 2 or 3 trends you see in terms of how clients are interacting with agencies in your market? What most makes clients unique in your market? | |
| Kaizad Pardiwalla - Chief Operating Officer | The interactions are more about the here and now and not really about the bigger picture. Its more operational efficiency driven. The emphasis is more on delivery than quality. India is essentially a relationship driven market but now there is no time to develop those relationships. |
| Lubna Khan National Strategy Head | Project based rather than retainer. Multi agency partnerships Agency relationships are shorter |
| Sharmine Panthaky. VP and Branch Head, Mumbai - Orchard Advertising. | We have come to champion challenger brands more often than not. Today the size of the company matters less, as long as the conversations they can trigger off are large. Clients seem to be moving back to the integrated model, rather than super specialised services. Clients definitely expect a multi disciplinary, 360 degree amplification of ideas. |
| Pratik Maitra | Clients talk in the lines of cost benchmarking. |
| Neha Contractor Branch Head Orchard bangalore. | Clients like options for growth of brands and thus get agencies to pitch for each project as apposed to committing to a partnership for growth. Speed in the new mantra. |
| Karthik Hariharan, Associate Vice President | Clients are more than happy to have multiple agencies on board and also those with specialties - digital, mainstream, Social, media and also believe in fostering a competitive spirit amongst agencies. While size is great, they are also open to a conversation with a new hotshot agency and often feel that smaller agencies are more nimble and hence tend to reach out to them for projects/ tactical requirements. Larger investments in analytics that clients are able to define problems better and also hence push the agency further The unique thing about Bangalore is simply the start-up scene leading to a culture of "i want it now" "I want super fast turnaround" and importantly clients who are impulsive and often cite that they need someone who matches their "wavelength" when it comes to work and not necessarily capabilities. |
| Please explain how your office is currently experiencing AOR vs. project-based client work? Are you seeing a shift? What are the biggest challenges you’re experiencing? | |
| Kaizad Pardiwalla - Chief Operating Officer | A lot of e-comm clients are asking for project driven engagements so that they needn't pay during a lull. The single biggest challenge is charging the right amount for your work becasue there is always someone knocking at their door step willing to do it 30% cheaper. |
| Lubna Khan National Strategy Head | Yes more clients are moving towards project based work. Working with a short term horizon rather than a long term view of the brand and business. |
| Sharmine Panthaky. VP and Branch Head, Mumbai - Orchard Advertising. | Currently a majority of the work we do is for AOR clients, which helps us sustain our costs better than the uncertainty associated with project work. Having said that, we do see more short term engagements in our future. The biggest challenges would definitely be low profitability for the amount of work we deliver to some clients. Finding people who fit into our world view toward our clients also is a challenge. If we do find them, they sometimes hesitate to come on board with us. |
| Pratik Maitra | Our nature of business doesnt allow to have AOR. |
| Neha Contractor Branch Head Orchard bangalore. | Yes. There is a lack in consistency. |
| Karthik Hariharan, Associate Vice President | We conventionally try to ensure clients experiment with us on a project rather than a pitch to give them a better perspective of how working with us real-time would be. There is a tangible shift in clients (new-age) who are willing to do experiment in this format and we are in conversation with one such client and have completed a project for another. |
| On a scale of 1-10, how well do your presentations back up the agency’s recommendation with an irrefutable logic trail? In other words, how well do you typically build a strong argument for the agency’s recommendation? (10 = we are always strong in this area) | |
| Kaizad Pardiwalla - Chief Operating Officer | 7 |
| Lubna Khan National Strategy Head | 7 |
| Sharmine Panthaky. VP and Branch Head, Mumbai - Orchard Advertising. | 8 |
| Pratik Maitra | 9 |
| Neha Contractor Branch Head Orchard bangalore. | 6 |
| Karthik Hariharan, Associate Vice President | 7 |
| On a scale of 1-10, how well do you build your presentations around a new and unexpected strategic consumer insight vs. a predictable consumer insight? In other words, how well do you always have something brand new to share about the client's target audience? (10 = we are always strong in this area) | |
| Kaizad Pardiwalla - Chief Operating Officer | 8 |
| Lubna Khan National Strategy Head | 6 |
| Sharmine Panthaky. VP and Branch Head, Mumbai - Orchard Advertising. | 6 |
| Pratik Maitra | 7 |
| Neha Contractor Branch Head Orchard bangalore. | 7 |
| Karthik Hariharan, Associate Vice President | 7 |
| On a scale of 1-10, how well do you build your presentations around a new and unexpected creative/concept/program/tactical idea? (10 = we are always strong in this area) | |
| Kaizad Pardiwalla - Chief Operating Officer | 6 |
| Lubna Khan National Strategy Head | 6 |
| Sharmine Panthaky. VP and Branch Head, Mumbai - Orchard Advertising. | 7 |
| Pratik Maitra | 7 |
| Neha Contractor Branch Head Orchard bangalore. | 6 |
| Karthik Hariharan, Associate Vice President | 6 |
| On a scale of 1-10, how well do you demonstrate the business impact of your recommendations? (10 = we are always strong in this area) | |
| Kaizad Pardiwalla - Chief Operating Officer | 2 |
| Lubna Khan National Strategy Head | 5 |
| Sharmine Panthaky. VP and Branch Head, Mumbai - Orchard Advertising. | 7 |
| Pratik Maitra | 7 |
| Neha Contractor Branch Head Orchard bangalore. | 4 |
| Karthik Hariharan, Associate Vice President | 4 |
| Overall (and as you consider the questions above), what do you believe most holds back the effectiveness of your client and new business presentations? | |
| Kaizad Pardiwalla - Chief Operating Officer | Showcasing the business impact it can have on their business. |
| Lubna Khan National Strategy Head | Lack of insight into the client's actual desires and triggers |
| Sharmine Panthaky. VP and Branch Head, Mumbai - Orchard Advertising. | Most often lack of bandwidth plays a large role in our being able to put our best foot forward - we are working hard to change this. In addition, strong insight derivation has been a strength - translating that into equally great creative work has sometimes tripped us up. |
| Pratik Maitra | Cost |
| Neha Contractor Branch Head Orchard bangalore. | Demonstrating the business impact of our recommendations. |
| Karthik Hariharan, Associate Vice President | More than often the discussion on which is the right idea, this significantly due to lack of data 1. Clients don't share key/confidential data during pitches) 2. We also have limited access to category data to prove that our POV stems from logic than our natural instinct of problem -solving |
| Bottom line, what do you think the agency most has to do to improve at new business? | |
| Kaizad Pardiwalla - Chief Operating Officer | 1. Business impact vs just leaving it at creative presentation 2. Sharper creative effort 3. Get known more in the market (PR) |
| Lubna Khan National Strategy Head | Reading clients/potential clients and their needs better |
| Sharmine Panthaky. VP and Branch Head, Mumbai - Orchard Advertising. | Better creative work. More prospecting rather than open pitching. Use our parentage wisely to open doors that typically may not open easily, yet continue to build an independent identity for our work. |
| Pratik Maitra | Team size and cost effective vendors |
| Neha Contractor Branch Head Orchard bangalore. | Package ourselves better. And talk about growth as equal stake holders |
| Karthik Hariharan, Associate Vice President | Stay true to itself Don't posture as a digital agency when you are not Know your skills and categories of strength and try to work in those Invest in the data that would help us see a lot more beyond what clients see to guide them better |
| Any advice for us as we prepare the training program for you? | |
| Kaizad Pardiwalla - Chief Operating Officer | I hope the output of the program is clearly implementable and has a clear impact measure to it. |
| Lubna Khan National Strategy Head | -- |
| Sharmine Panthaky. VP and Branch Head, Mumbai - Orchard Advertising. | Please do help us with exercises to keep morale high in (consistently) adverse circumstances. How to evaluate problems in one pitch and address them comprehensively over others. |
| Pratik Maitra | Please prepare the training program as per experiential (BTL) business. |
| Neha Contractor Branch Head Orchard bangalore. | No |
| Karthik Hariharan, Associate Vice President | It would be great if you shared with us specific case studies of real-time impact on pitches (a pre-Mirren way and a post-Mirren way) and also some metrics we need to use to measure creativity that solves problems. |