Indian media market would grow by 25% in 2011: Mindshare's Dominic Proctor

A man of vision and great perception, Dominic Proctor, Chief Executive Officer, Mindshare Worldwide began his media career at Everett's almost three decades ago. Proctor was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Mindshare Worldwide, WPP's newly-formed media planning, buying and research company in September 1997. Proctor then led Mindshare Worldwide under his able leadership in April 2008, after the agency announced its global restructure. Speaking exclusively to Adgully at the recent Mindshare Brand Equity Compass 2011, he discussed international trends along with the Indian market scenario.

Adgully: Can you tell us your take on the Indian Market?

Dominic Proctor: It is growing. It is big. It is successful.

Ag: What do you think Mindshare needs to do to enhance its performance in India?

DP: I think we need to continue to grow on our top line business. We also need to diversify our company because we already have a very high branch in India. What our clients are asking us to do here is to provide more additional services. There two aspects to our plan, one is to deepen our company by making it bigger and the other is to broaden our company by adding new services.

Ag: What are your strengths viz. a viz. other agencies?

DP: I don't want to comment on other agencies. Our strengths would include the fact that we do a broad range of activities right from the top end of strategic business advice to clients all the way down to media buying and reporting. So we have abroad company here.

Ag: Could you elaborate on some of the initiatives that you intend to roll out?

DP: Some of the examples would be in the area of digital media. We are getting more questions now here about social media networks and mobile media opportunities. When you look at the number of devices that are there in the market and the number of projections for smart phones in India in the next two to three years, it's remarkable. It is a potential gold mine for marketers to find a way for exploiting and finding a way to work with those devices.

Ag: How the past year and what was were some of the learning?

DP: The last year was very good and strong for us. It was our tenth year in India for us and our tenth of big success. We have grown and grown here. We came out of recession last year. And the main learning in the recession was not forget our basics and to make sure our core business remain strong because the news service we have in development are only relevant if we are still offering very strong core service.

Ag: In terms of growth how would you rate India viz. a viz. other countries?

DP: Very highly. Our forecast for 2011 in India was that the media market would grow by 25% this year. The general economy is forecasted to grow by 9%, so the media market and marketing is growing much faster than the general economy which has to be a very good sign for everybody involved in marketing.

Ag: You have made this visit after four years; are there any particular plans of implementing new initiatives?

DP: India was not badly affected by the recession as compared to some countries. So global managers like myself probably concentrated on areas in need of repair. So we spent a lot of time in more recession damaged economies the last couple of years. So it is very nice to be back.

Ag: On the digital front, how do you plan to strengthen yourself?

DP: I think it is very difficult to be distinctive. I think all we can really do is to forecast the trends that are there in the pipeline and staff accordingly. There are a lot of forecast on how digital economies are changing things in books so what we are doing is recruiting and training people who can do that on behalf of our clients.

Ag: Could you share with us some of the trends that you have noticed internationally and within India?

DP: I think one of the trends that are going to grow rapidly in India in the digital space would be social networks. And looking at the next big opportunity in this market definitely hinges around mobile phones where smart phones would be the next ambitious aspect. We need to keep a track on this.

Ag: Are there any particular milestones you are looking for India in the next two years?

DP: Nothing, except continuous growth. If we can continue to grow at the speed of the market, then we would have a very successful business. | By Janees Antoo [janees(at)adgully.com]