PITCH CMO SUMMIT – MUMBAI EDITION
Slowdown ? ... Innovate or dissipate, urge marketers

When General Motors in the US went public with its announcement that it was in financial turmoil, there were befuddled reactions from many quarters of the industry. After all, not many were willing to make known to the world that their pockets (revenues) were bleeding and that they had nothing more (alternatives) to cling on to. But then a stream of downturn and job cut announcements followed, and one by one the big boys came into the open to air their grievances. Citigroup, BlackRock, HP, Yahoo, HSBC, American Express, Royal Bank of Scotland, WorldSpace, DHL, Pepsi…the list seems endless. But while the West bled, closer home in India, the same set of companies were engaged in taking quantum leaps to steer their business ahead. more...

“WE ARE GOING TO BE BIGGER THAN THE AGENCIES ON TOP IN THE WPP NUCLEUS”

Wunderman has the distinct honour of being the largest marketing services agency across the world with its revenues approaching a billion dollar already. In the WPP structure, where WPP revenues are estimated to be around 12 billion dollars, Wunderman is well-settled and looking good too. Wunderman celebrated its 50th anniversary in October 2008. Daniel Morel, Chairman and CEO of Wunderman has been with the organisation for the past seven years now, and in this much time, reportedly, the company has shown doubledigit growth in revenues and profits, year-on-year. Morel, who was once a trained combat diver for the French Navy, has a very different approach when it comes to creating conversations with consumers, that can translate into a profitable transaction for the client – “pleasant not aggressive”, he says. more...