Campaign India Agency Report Card: Media Direction

Type of agency: Media
Company ownership: RK Swamy|Hansa Group
Key personnel: Les Margulis, president, K Satyanarayana, vice president/communication partner, K Ramesh, vice president/communication partner, Shan Jain, vice president/communication partner

Accounts won Ultra Motors, Victorinox, Basecamp, United Stock Exchange, Central Bank of India,
Shriram Transport Finance, Raheja Universal, Asia Motor Works, Makro Technologies, Calcom, Zuari Industries, Adarsh Developers, BSCPL, Raffles (Digital), HT Mint (Digital)

Accounts lost GPI, BSNL
 
2009 saw the exit of S Yesudas in the middle of the year. Yesudas, who had always managed to count on small to medium sized businesses that helped steady the agency’s portfolio, moved to head Carat Media’s new media entity in the country, Vizeum.

 Les Margulis, who was responsible for setting up the agency globally in 1996, was brought in to head the agency operations as president. Margulis has a tough task at hand, having to manage a portfolio that hasn’t seen too many significant gains. Although there has been a slew of small business notched up this year, the size of the combined business doesn’t add up to much. Margulis will have to work on adding a few key businesses in India, which can help giev the agency some scale in its Indian operations.

 For a media veteran like Margulis, the challenge in India will be to decode the complex environment  that the country represents for anybody who hasn’t worked in this market before. Although he has previously worked in other emerging economies like Russia, this combined with his domain knowledge, local expertise is something that Margulis will have to build on.

Campaign Score: 5
 
How MEDIA DIRECTION rates itself: 8

The agency believes in ‘Sharper nail, not the larger hammer’. With this belief, it is aiming to become a complete ‘communication solutions agency’  by providing accountable and holistic communication solutions, not just a media agency. The RK Swamy|Hansa Group has independent and specialised verticals offering solutions in every sphere of communication, including traditional, digital, OOH, retail, rural, research and PR solutions. Media Direction works closely with the Group’s network and leverages its strength in delivering holistic communication solution. It focuses on both ‘Effectiveness and Efficiency’, not just one. Digital Direction is on the fast paced growth. It has bagged two clients exclusively for digital communication solutions.  With satisfied clients and new leadership, Media Direction is poised for higher growth.