Campaign India Agency Report Card 2010: R K Swamy BBDO

Type of agency Advertising

Company ownership Swamy brothers and Omnicom

Key personnel Srinivasan K Swamy, chairman, Shekar Swamy, group CEO, V S Chakrapani, director,K L Venkatasubramanian, CFO  

Accounts won Lloyd (consumer electronic business), Nitta Gelatin India, LIC Nomura (empanelment), Valvoline, Rage Mobile, Shriram Capital, MTNL Mumbai, Marg Properties, Gemnini Oils, DELL Internal Communications, Jindal Steel & Power, United Commercial Bank 

Accounts lost IndusInd Bank, Abbott Nutrition, Air India, Karvy Group

If there’s one tag that RK Swamy BBDO wants to shed in a hurry, it’s their perception of being conservative and largely south-strong. Whatever they are doing- it’s working. We like their new website, one of the few traditional advertising agencies which seems to have taken its digital presence seriously. 

The agency has brought new talent on board, it has created fresh work on Raymond and maintained their consistency on work for brands like LIC. In the middle of 2010, the ownership stakes of the agency were revised leading to some fresh capital infusion and of course, more independence for the Swamy brothers on a day to day basis. It remains to be seem what this move will imply for the Group going forward.  The agency generally keeps a low profile at awards shows. They won a bronze at Goafest this year for best website debut. They were named by The Internationalist, New York among the Agency Innovators of 2010. At the same awards, they also won a Silver for Innovative digital marketing solutions for Siemen.  

As for new talent, Dipanyita Ray came on board as principal consultant, planning for the south and Rajesh Sanyal joined as principal consultant. 

How Campaign India rates the agency: 8

How RK Swamy Hansa Group rates itself: 8

The year 2010 has seen the Group expand rapidly. With 18 significant new business gains in the advertising business, with major gains in database analytics, events and research, the growth rate is far higher than the industry average. The creative work on major clients like Raymond, LIC, Mercedes, Suzuki, Shriram and several banks has been exceptional. The Media business under new management has pulled in big gains, like the Raymond consolidation. All of this has been supported by careful additions in management talent across the board.With a most competitive offering in Integrated Marketing Communication, the Group is gearing for rapid growth in 2011, in India and beyond.