Q&A: Sandeep Pandey, principal partner, consulting & analytics, Mindshare

How big is the consulting division for Mindshare India? (size and revenue contribution)

There are more than 15 people in the Mindshare consulting division and we contribute to around 7 to 9 per cent of the total Mindshare revenues.

What functions does the analytics unit (within consulting) perform?

Mindshare is focused on helping clients identify 'business growth' opportunities and driving effectiveness and efficiency in decision making. This is powered by the use of high end analytics, research and database solutions. The data and analytics teams are involved in collecting, analysing and presenting data in a relevant way to deliver budget allocation, return on marketing investment, channel choice and consumer journey analyses.

Where does Live stand in the analytics framework?

Live is part of a larger business intelligence initiative which was launched by Mindshare globally in 2004 and adopted in India in 2005. Some key clients of Mindshare India subscribe to this service (we cannot name them). It started off in 2005 with Motorola (when it was in India).

Currently, clients subscribed to Mindshare's consulting, analytics and intelligence initiatives are PepsiCo, GSK, Ford, HSBC and HUL, amongst others. Our ambition now is to make real time business intelligence (account for) almost 30 to 35 pc of Mindshare consulting revenues by 2015

And what does this intelligence initiative Live do exactly?

It’s a cross channel and cross media tool equipped with technology which assesses the relative importance of each media input on your brand salience, brand sales and company sales. (In other words, it’s a real time dashboard that provides ROI from different media touch points.)

It’s very user friendly. You don’t have to go through reams and reams of data. Data goes to the back end on its own. We have built all the programs and models so that what you see in the front end is only the output of that data and you could actually maneuver  your strategy based on its results. For instance, if the client wants to generate more sales at a point, then the output from Live will indicate what channels and initiatives will give him that sort of increased sales.

Could you elaborate on how Live functions?

When there’s a change in the pattern of a brand/product's outcome, sales or profits, Live aids in bringing out the causes that led to the change in pattern. After looking into all the parameters we derive which particular instance or source of data is lower than the last time. Then we look at all of its influencers. That's how the client devises ways to right the wrong to set the pattern right once again. It's basically a decision-support system that helps bring all the touch points together and makes it convenient to analyse which touch points are more effective for the brand than the other. 

Have any clients in particular changed their strategy based on the results given by Live?

Yes. For instance, we've seen an FMCG brand change its media mix and marketing strategy based on Live's results. The investment priorities have changed and there's also been a shift from ATL to BTL. For all the clients who are taking this offering, it has become a part of their strategy now.

Why are not many clients coming on board to avail for this offering in that case?

For any client, this would be a big investment - about 1 to 2 pc of their entire investment on advertising spends goes into it. Clients who believe in the significance of consulting go for the offering. Clients who need to prioritise between various mediums to advertise and market their product, adopt the offering. The ones who are realising the benefits of real time intelligence such as this, are able to make decisions at faster intervals. In addition to that, Live is only a subset of the entire consulting offering. It just enables consulting to do a better job. Having said that, I reiterate that we do aspire for it to grow to an extent that real time intelligence begins to contribute to one-third of the consulting revenues pie.