The Way Ahead [/b]
Greater Ideas and Accountability is the mantra post economic slowdown: Rahul Welde[/b]
When recession hit markets in 2008, it made big news and bigger impact. Almost two years have passed, but the aftershocks can still be felt. It not only changed the economics of the world but also made some much needed corrections.
Focusing on the impact and the lessons learnt from the downturn was Mr. Rahul Welde, Vice President - Media at Unilever for the Asia, Africa, Middle East and Turkey region. Rahul is a strong advocate of non-traditional thinking and has applied this in communication and media and his views made a big impression at the 10th exchange4media conclave held in Mumbai. Rahul as the new age Marketer was speaking on the new rules for the industry once the recession dust has settled down.
The slowdown came as a big blow to the industry which was living in extravagance and exuberance. The downturn has served as a wake up call to the industry and has made the companies revise their costs and spending. Contrary to the popular reports, recession actually heightened the competition between the companies and has everyone fighting for growth. Getting the market back to basics was the biggest effect of the economic turmoil.
Like every industry, recession had a devastating impact on the media and communications industry too. In the United States alone, about 1000 newspapers were shut. Tremors were felt by every media agencies and they jumped to the bandwagon of cost cutting and delivering pink slips.
But now when the recession has calmed down, the big question is ‘How to deal with the market which at present is very vulnerable and volatile’. According to Rahul, who has number of initiatives under his stewardship and has received wide acclaim and recognition in recent times, Ideas and Accountability are the two golden words that the industry should follow.
Ideas: [/b] Great Ideas still rule the roost. Brighter ideas are the new rules and models the industry requires post recession. But how different are the new ideas from their earlier counterparts; 1. The Ideas should be bigger ones which can travel. One Idea should connect and make connection with the audience. 2. Focus should be on integrated campaign and new media such as internet and mobile phones should be leveraged. 3. All media channels should be open for the free flow of ideas and communication 4. Ideas have a very short shell life and the challenge is to sustain them. To cope up with shorter shell life of ideas, we need more number of ideas. 5. Detailed attention should be given and the ideas need to get more creative. The consumer has come of age and is not content with pedestrian ideas 6. The frequency of idea change should also be high
Accountability: [/b]The industry should keep a check on each single rupee it is shelling out. All the marketing spending not only has to be justified but also guarantee returns. The Performance and delivery of media agencies needs tightening and improvement. In-depth attention should be given to the analysis of the agencies performance and the central focus should be on the brand growth.
Consumer value should be given the top most priority and every nuances of the customer relationship should be efficiently worked upon. Importance should be given to in-store activation as well. Balance between the agencies input and its derived results should be maintained. Procurement is another aspect of accountability which has now become the norm in the industry. There should be relevant expertise and not bad policing on investments and procurements. Audits and the role of procurement is here to stay for long
The last two points Mr. Welde stretched upon was the growing importance of audience participation and digital revolution. The audience had become very smart and sensible. It doesn’t want to be just a third party. The clue is to involve the people and invite participation from the consumers. The response of the audience is necessary to run the show
Last but not the least; we are today living in a digital world. Traditional media’s like newspaper and radio are still working but there can’t be any denial that their usage is waning. Today’s media is being driven by the digital revolution and we should get onto to it so as to gain the advantages. The digital media is technologically advanced and can be seen as a cost effective medium too.
Profile: [/b]
Rahul Welde is the Vice President - Media at Unilever for the Asia, Africa, Middle East and Turkey region. The role covers areas of Media Strategy, Planning and Buying. It includes shaping the overall approach in the context of a rapidly changing landscape and driving the agenda through a network of agencies and media partners. The key thrust is on Media Effectiveness which covers the gamut of Innovation, Cost Management and Analytics. Rahul is a strong advocate of non-traditional thinking and has applied this in communication and media. A number of initiatives under his stewardship have received wide acclaim and recognition in recent times. Unilever is the leading advertiser in the region with strong presence across countries.
Rahul was the HeadMedia Services, Unilever South Asia prior to his current role. He joined Unilever in 1991 after completing his MBA and has worked in a variety of assignments within Unilever – in Commercial, in Sales and in the Corporate Centre.
Rahul is also actively involved in industry issues and is the Regional VP Media and Marketing for The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA). He has extensive experience in[/b]