Goafest 2012: Living in a harmonious world

The fourth session on 'Ideas that impact the full circle' at the Goafest Advertising Conclave witnessed panellists talking about the need to target consumers in each category through the creation of unique content.

The fourth session on the topic 'Ideas that impact the full circle' at the Goafest Advertising Conclave witnessed panellists talking about companies' need to target consumers in each category through the creation of unique content.

The panellists included Jean-Yves Naouri, COO, Publicis Groupe; Tim Love, CEO, APIMA and vice-chairman, Omnicom; Jonathan Mildenhall, vice-president, global advertising strategy and creative excellence, Coca-Cola and Jayant Murty, director, strategy, media and integrated marketing, Asia Pacific, Intel. The session was moderated by Anuradha Sengupta, features editor, CNBC-TV18.

The session started with Mildenhall talking about how Coca-Cola has created products keeping in mind various factors, including consumer age, preference as well as health. He said, "For people who are conscious about caffeine and calorie, we have products such as Coke Zero, Diet Coke and many more, depending on the need of the consumers. Companies should be responsible towards their consumers and therefore, should respond in a sensitive manner."

Murty then stressed on the need for companies to be good listeners. He gave the example of Gatwick Airport in the UK, where a large screen has been installed. "The screen takes consumers to the Twitter page of the airport and any complaints or anything written about the airport can be read by everybody," he said.

Next, Murty talked about how, for companies, brand stories need to work harder as the consumer is looking for something fresh every day. And, brands therefore have to keep the interest intact.

Sengupta then asked the panel about the idea of working with multiple agencies in the same market. To this, Murty replied, "Not every agency has the expertise to work in all specific genres. Therefore, we look for specialists in specific subjects."

Love said, "We are in the business of idea generation, and if my client is looking for a new partner then I should be able to present ideas that would force her to stay back."

Next, the panel was asked about the ironic situation where the age of an agency head is 55 years onwards, in a world where everyone is talking about acquiring young talent. Love remarked, "While it is true that we need young rebellious talent at the same time we need the wisdom of people who can teach and groom the young talent."

Next, Naouri spoke on how the borderline between various media has diminished, with social media taking on the role of a bridge that links all media together. He said, "There is no difference between television and IPTV, it is basically social media which links one media to another.

The session concluded with the panellists agreeing that while the difference between one media and another has almost ended, there is room for existence for everyone.

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