Campaign India Agency Report Card 2011: Bates Asia

Virgin Mobile which was the highlight for the agency last year (for Indian Panga League) seemed low-key this year, even with respect to its Mobile Number Portability campaign. There was the loss of Fiat to Saints And Warriors, which has been a visible brand for Bates. Sonal Dabral made a geographic shift back to India, to make a difference in what he said is one of the most important markets for the agency network. Dheeraj Sinha was elevated to regional planning director,  APAC, and Rajesh Ghatge to chief executive of 141Sercon. In October, the agency dropped the ‘141’ part of its old name ‘Bates141’ and adopted a new ‘changengage’ philosophy. With the effects of Dabral’s move and the new philosophy not being seen as yet, the jury felt that the agency has perhaps not had a great year this time, and their best is still ahead.
How Campaign India rates the agency: 5

How Bates Asia rates itself: 7
2011 has been a mixed year for us. A number of highs mixed with a few lows. The year got a great start with the arrival of The Yahoo Big Idea Chair and the setting up of Team Colgate.  What followed was our best ever performance at local and International awards shows for both creativity and effectiveness.

Today Bates India is a collection of specialists companies with scale. With the Integration of Landscapes and  Wall Street, we’ll have one of largest OOH offerings in India and in Sercon we have the number three digital and activation agency in India. We relaunched Bates across Asia with a new identity and new positioning; as the ‘changengage’ people, which is about understanding larger shifts in culture and using it to engage people in new ways. Sonal Dabral our chairman and regional creative director moved base to India adding robustness. Dheeraj Sinha our regional planning director, became the youngest Advertising author through his book launch, Consumer India. 

After a mixed 2011, it’s about consolidation for Bates India.  We are investing in training and talent in a big way starting with a recently concluded Film Appreciation workshop conducted by the Films Head at NID.

2011 will end for us as a growth story with healthy margins and we are well on our way to welcoming 2012 on a positive note and turning it into our best year ever.