Ciao'14 | A look back at 2014 with Havas' Anita Nayyar

Within 8 days the entire world will be seen welcoming the new year with lots of excitement, amusement and celebration and Havas Media, an integrated communications agency with digital at its core and one of the world’s fastest growing media groups, is also all geared up to welcome 2015 with passion and positivity. In India, Havas Media is known to deliver holistic media and marketing solutions across media platforms including Traditional, Digital, Mobile and Outdoor; suited to client requirement, by specialized professionals; leveraging the knowledge, systems and proprietary tools available within the network.

To know more Adgully caught up with Anita Nayyar, CEO Havas Media Group, India & South Asia who has led the agency with dynamism and passion.

Adgully: It’s time to welcome the New Year and bid adieu 2014, how have you planned to welcome 2015?
Anita Nayyar: Come 2015, it will be business as usual at Havas Media Group India and will be following the success of previous years where we were adjudged as the fastest growing agency at 43% with the industry average at 15%. 2013 saw us topping Recma compitches in March and August, Campaign’s Agency Report Card marked us as the No.2  Media Agency in India in 2014.
In 2013 our Key Focus was ‘Acquisition’ with a slew of new business. With LGE & Emirates wins, in 2014 it was ‘Consolidation’ of these wins along with other new wins. 2015 will be a healthy mix of organic growth and new business with increased focus on digital. Our new digital product offering is set to take on the market challenges and provide digitally enabled solutions. For any agency our size New Business will always be the lifeline and 2015 will have a lot of that in the digital domain.

Adgully: What was the biggest game-changer in the media/ad-world that you witnessed in the year gone by?
Anita Nayyar: It’s been the adoption of digital and digital literacy by both client and agency. It has moved from discussion to action, this includes social as well mobile though there is still a long way to go. Digital has served as a launch pad, engagement and revamp platform. Cadbury Silk Caramello for its launch created social content to excite curiosity as to what the silk was transforming to – Facebook cover image, vine videos and other visuals showed silk cubes becoming thicker before revealing the caramello inside and silk outside. Users got a virtual eat experience through an innovative banner using face technology.

HDFC Life to promote its ‘Click2Protect Plus’ insurance plan for youth collaborated with professional stand-up comedians to host the first ever stand-up comedy #Little2Adjust on Twitter.
For, ‘It all starts with a Nescafe’ campaign Nestle instead taking its celebrity route had a stammering standup comedian video for fans on social media and Twitter where users we invited to be a part of Nescafe Journeys. At Havas we effectively provided the experience of the world’s first LG Oled curved TV on mobile phones resulting in many leads and some conversions.

Adgully: What would be your strategy for chasing the ‘evolved consumer’ this year?
Anita Nayyar: The way we at Havas Media understand an evolved consumer, is one who finds the brand to be meaningful to him/her. Our meaningful brands study helps us exactly do that. It provides the meaningful quotient, a new brand health parameter for the brand, to be measured on. In sync with the study our Meaningful Connections Planning process helps us take the approach for leading the brand on the ‘meaningful’ parameter. The ‘evolved’ aspect also comes in the process funnel of acquiring and retaining the customer. It encompasses understanding touch points relevant to the customer and how he/she uses media today.

Adgully: The year gone by saw internet penetration curve going all the more up, so with regards to advertising, how can you like to elaborate on the importance of traditional media over digital media? (as we see many marketers still prioritizing TV, print and Radio over digital medium) 

Anita Nayyar: The problem lies in our thinking. The minute we start looking at traditional and digital media separately the whole purpose of reaching the consumer with the message gets diluted. It has to be a healthy combination of what works for the brand in a particular situation. Thinking needs to be media agnostic. Each medium offers its unique attributes. However, going forward it is true that digital is gaining ground and today many brands are using the medium to fulfill a lot of gap areas. There is a huge opportunity for programmatic, social and mobile in the digital domain. The dream of advertisers to do a 2min or more commercial is taking shape through its streaming on digital. Media works in tandem basis brand messaging, product consumption, and media consumption by TG.

Traditional is both a great launch pad for digital as well as a compliment to digital in niche and mass cases, brand or audience. After all Yahoo did advertise its services through traditional media. E-commerce brands do promote their online sales through print and television. In the same breath XOLO launching its OMEGA phone on social media is a great example of what role digital has started to play in the brand’s life and very successfully.

Adgully: What trends do you visualize in the media and advertising space in the next couple of years?
Anita Nayyar: It will be the story of integrated marketing, also real time marketing. Adaptation in real time and taking advantage of circumstances as Oreo did at Super Bowl will not only be game changers but capture that elusive mind space. Appropriate response and response time will be brand differentiators. While the discussion of traditional v/s digital will continue, marketers will increasingly optimize traditional/digital use in tandem or in silos for maximum engagement.
Native advertising, programmatic buying, videos, social, mobile will play out louder as marketers get more savvy.

Adgully: Which are the new clients that you acquired?
Anita Nayyar: We picked up an interesting array leaning towards digital and integrated media wins both organic and inorganic. Some clients include Xolo, Starbucks, Yepme.com, BusinessWorld, Radico (digital) and Voltas (digital), we retained and added digital with MTS. Also on were Borosil Glass Works, World Kabaddi League, LIC, Assetz Properties and OCM India Ltd. amongst others.

Adgully: What is Havas Media’s core strength? 
Anita Nayyar: It is a triple core - transparency, personal involvement of top management and the Havas Meaningful Connections Planning with digital at the core.

Adgully: What categories of clients will make you stronger if you acquire them?
Anita Nayyar: We are seeking to strengthen our portfolio of clients by adding personal care/hygiene, F&B, healthcare, dotcoms, education, mobile handsets, ecommerce etc. Havas Media Group includes Havas Sports and Entertainment and Arena. Together they draw from the expertise within the group, including Mobext for mobile solutions and Ecselis for performance marketing. | By Aanchal Kohli | Twitter: @aanchalkohli