My tryst with web panels so far

Just when I overcame my lingering stage-fright, stopped winging it, cracked some hacks, and truly began enjoying the process of moderating discussions and interviewing executives on stage, covid happened. Enter webinars. After moderating a few of these, I’ve come to the conclusion that panelists and interviewees are a lot more unabashed and forthcoming when they’re in a grid on a screen, than when they’re up on a live stage. 

Few weeks ago, at a discussion on ‘silos in advertising’ (<<< that's the youtube link to the session) organised by the Ad Club of Madras, a group of advertising and branding experts expressed some delightfully frank views on the matter.

Creative entrepreneur Prathap Suthan said, "No agency, small or big, is built to handle the profusion of platforms and experiences out there…consumers are spread thin like diluted water…we’re in for disintegrated agencies because none of us has the skills to do everything that today’s media demands."

At a later stage in the discussion, he said, "Ever since Sir Martin Sorrell came and chopped media from advertising, we all got jacked. He’s the man who destroyed this business completely."   

Adman Venkat Mallik said, "Ever since the disaggregation of agencies started in the '90s, agency-client relationships have been going south. In 2020, we have tonnes of agencies – many claim to be 'integrated', some are 'specialists' – and everyone is willing to do everything. The agency world is full of people trying to make their firms commercially wealthy and famous, chasing fake metrics, scam awards… clients, on the other hand, have found lots of agencies to divide and rule, with 'If you don’t do it in X time for Rs. X, I’ll find someone else who can…' It’s important to re-integrate."

He also said, "Turf wars are real, and if clients encourage it, they'll stay real. There are more turf wars inside organisations than outside, but they’re doing it because they’re chasing their own targets. The client needs an integrated partner, an ‘A’ team to build the brand with them." 

The 'client' on the panel, Mark Titus (marketing head of Nippon Paint) said, "It’s important for a brand to have specialist partners. Yes, agencies can be territorial, but so can client teams and more often than not they don’t see eye to eye. The problem exists whether a brand works with several small agencies handling different things or has one large agency with many verticals or has a single agency with teams across different geographies… I stopped working with an agency once because of these internal battles. A lot of the onus is on the client, to set the right culture. But yes, it’s an eternal struggle... Many brands have started creating an ‘IMC vertical’ (integrated marketing communications) but that hasn’t solved the problem either because now the turf war is between everybody and this IMC team!"

He also said, "I really don’t think disintegration is bad. You don’t need to re-integrate. It’s perfectly fine if you operate with specialists. I don’t think ‘silo’ is a bad word."

Media vet Yesudas spoke passionately about the importance of first-party data capabilities at the client’s end, among other things.

More recently, I sat down with another set of agency and marketing executives to discuss creativity and technology in the covid era. That was a lively, albeit slightly meandering, discussion. But again, all participants were candid and unafraid to make bold statements. You can watch the video here.

As we at afaqs! gear up for TV Week --a themed series of webinars-- I hope this run continues and I encounter enthusiastic interviewees who share their frank opinions on important issues. 

Image credit: Adobe