9
Secrets of Advertising:As the title clearly points out, in this
book Ram Sehgal unveils the nine advertising secrets, which he has coined
after experiencing the advertising industry for nearly four decades.
This book is a treasure trove of experiences which Ram shares in simple
anecdotal style. This book will not only be irresistible to any advertising
practicioner but will also help students and aspiring professionals
understand the nuts and bolts of advertising. Advertising is an exacting
business, which calls for high levels of commitment and passion for
work. Before one steps into the world of advertising or for that matter
any profession one must examine his strengths. First step is one must
discover and unleash his full potential. The point is if one does not
discover his own strength he may land up with the wrong job. A frequent
contemplation and reflection on one's shortcomings helps the person
turn his weaknesses into building blocks of success. Second step for
all advertising professional is to control his ego as ego may play havoc
and ruin important client relationships. Efficiency and time management
are also very important for advertising professionals. There is no room
for careless, shabby and tardy work.
Creativity, planning, hard work, honesty
and dedication will invariably help the agency earn respect and build
strong relationship with the client. Managing human resource is also
one of the prerequisites for successful working of the agency. Performance
evaluation, recruitment of the right person with intellectual and creative
talent, compensation, reward and training are some key areas of concern.
Some valuable pointers sprinkled all across in the book by Ram are:
understand the client needs and build a pitch which aims to solve the
company’s problem and instill a little bit of fun, do not overrun
your time as this may irritate the client, do not ramble or argue, just
try making connections, heighten their interest and get them involved.
Projecting good vibes and creating chemistry is very important to win
over even the fussiest client and lastly never go half heartedly into
any pitch. Give it your all. 9 Secrets of Advertising talks about all
this and more. Ram has designed a roadmap to success based on his explicit
experience and warns readers about various stumbling blocks and at the
same time inspire them to have boundless energy and guide them to discharge
responsibilities to the best of their abilities. Ram Sehgal is one of
the icons of advertising industry. He began his career at AIR India
after obtaining his degree in Journalism from Regent School, London
and an advertising degree from the Institute of Practitioners, London.
He has also worked with SH Benson (now Ogilvy) and HTA (now JWT) in
various capacities. He then took on the assignment of President at Contract
Advertising. For his contribution to advertising Ram was conferred with
the prestigious A& M award and has been elected for the Hall of
Fame by Advertisng Club Calcutta. By Ram Sehgal Publisher: Tata Mc Graw-Hill
Price: Rs 150 The 9 Secrets of Advertising are: Secret 1: Managing yourself
Secret 2: Managing creativity Secret 3: Managing people Secret 4: Managing
clients Secret 5: Managing planning Secret 6: Managing media Secret
7: Managing new business Secret 8: Managing change Secret 9: Managing
finance
Desi
Dream Merchants
By : AG Krishnamurthy Published jointly : Tata McGraw-Hill Price
: Rs 215“Honestly sir, this was an appetizer! We want more!! I
am waiting for part two,” so declared Venke, a colleague of AG
Krishnamurthy from Mudra after he read his first book - The Invisible
CEO. This is what made Mr Krishnamurthy set out to write yet another
inspiring book Desi Dream Merchants – the sequel to the Invisible
CEO. Desi Dream Merchants is a story of Mudra and Mudraites who are
very ordinary Indian people but have extraordinary thinking. Mr Krishnamurthy
taught his boys everything, be it advertising aesthetics, virtues of
keeping a low profile, to be a fighter, realise dreams and a sense of
pride and belonging for India. In the pages of this book, Mudra relives
its early days when it began way back in 1980 and then by its ninth
year grew to become India’s largest‘desi’agency. This
book is a tale of Mudra way of doing things, by the bright, talented
souls who made Mudra happen.
It all started when in 1980 when Dhirubhai
handed over the mandate to begin an agency to Mr Krishnamurthy. He was
asked for creating the best textile advertising in India. There he was,
just with Dhirubhai’s statement and Rs 35,000 without any business
plan or HR to guide him to start the agency. The first step was to get
talented people. Mr Krishnamurthy’s criteria of selection were
a bit different. He wanted only boys from large family who were hungry
for success. They needed to have fire in their bellies. As luck would
have it Mr Krishnamurthy got Dr Naganand – a PHD holder from IIMA.
Now Mr Krishnamurthy had got his boys, and then came the hard part of
training this raw talent. As a result Mudra Management Training Program
or MMTP was designed, which later evolved into the institution –
Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad (MICA).
....CONTD
