2000-2002: JWT

I joined JWT in early 2000 after being interviewed by Sunil Gupta and Meera Patwardhan. I was the replacement for Vinay Ramachandran. Java, as Vinay was called, moved onto CitiBank. DeBeers was a great learning experience . DeBeers in the English tradition of advertising believed in planning and had a resident planner on their side. Nicola Ellis was the Client Strategy Planner overseeing the strategy planning for the region out of London. Subsequently, she was replaced by Srinivas Madani, who came on board towards the end of 2000. Or was it start of 2001?
My first project was an analysis of historical data of the last 6 years. It got me an effusive letter of appreciation from Nicola. This was followed by pre- test on Nakhsatra. Given the nonlinear nature of the creative, it was decided that the traditional testing methods would have to be debunked and we used NLP techniques to get feedback from viewers that were qualitative in nature. This proved to be the right thing to do because we had a clear idea of how the commercial was being decoded and what was driving interest and intention for trial. Nakshatra became a great success and we then moved onto analysis the diagnostics. The quantitative studies happened , which went off well. Then came the exploratory research for a new initiative and it gave us a wealth of insights and a clear way forward. Srinivas Madani was thrilled enough to send in a letter, since the agency was newly empanelled and it was an initiative from my part to rationalise the planning function in the market.

Appreciation letters did not stop with DTC. On BlowPlast, which had the luggage brand VIP, there was a threat of loosing the business. The Client wanted fresh ideas to thwart the competitor brand Samsonite. Both the head of the agency and the Client sent in their praise for the efforts. Neville and Narayan, who worked with me on this came out with two brilliant campaigns "be true to yourself" and "the world is watching". I was not in JWT when they were finally released ... but I believe it went through a lot of changes.

In the middle of all this there was an invitation to handle the Branding Concepts Workshop for the Ad Club. Given my background in teaching I helped Meera Patwardhan put together a 2 day workshop which was a huge hit. M.G.Parameswaran sent in his acknowledgement in the letter produced below and took us both to lunch!! Meera then arranged the same workshop for the JWT teams in Mumbai and my popularity in the agency grew by leaps and bounds.

The other client that I handled was Merril Lynch. That year due to a realignment, the account was to be handed over to Lowe. We however presented strategy and creatives and retained the business. I still remember a corporate branding presentation made to Timothy Cabbott which had Mike Khanna, Sunil Gupta present. We literally turned around the Client and a rejected creative (full page) for the 50 year celebrations was released, breaking the traditional habit of 60 cc ads in Front Page Solus which had become a blind spot for readers!! This ad had the headline :
" On our 50th birthday, we would like to wish you many Happy Returns!!"
With Rajan Krishnan reporting sick, I also shouldered the responsibility of presenting the retail strategy for HPCL. This too found favour with the Client.

Kelloggs was another Client. There was the usual copy tests and a lovely presentation on corporate branding. I met some great talent there and Rajeshwari Sheth was one such person. I did collaborate with her and took a guest lecture at Jamnalal Bajaj where I got a standing ovation at the end of it.
I did learn a lot about planning at HTA.But handling all this without any support staff other than a shared secretary was tiring and took its toll on my health. In retrospect the first symptoms of a thyroid malfunction and a relapse of jaundice happened here.

Appreciation Letters ( Summary)

1 De Beers- Analytical skills

From: Nicola Ellis AT CSOLON01@CSOLONDON_FWL on 2000-09-18 20:58 GDT
To: Vinod Natesan@JWT, Nicholas Graham-Smith ATCSOLON01@CSOLONDON_
cc: Raji Ramaswamy@JWT, Dhunji Wadia@JWT

>Subject: BTS Summary and ROI

Vinod,

>I have now as promised gone through your BTS summary and have to say it is excellent, very well thought through. It is great to have a new perspective on the results. Although many of the conclusions you came to have been discussed, I thought you clearly saw what issues we need to address and came up with some interesting ways to address them.
>
>I particularly liked you analysis of received versus giver as we have never looked at it that way, and I agree that the print could be used more effectively against men to give that extra push. We have always struggled world-wide with the balance between the messages to men and women. It is a tricky thing when you have one product which means such different things to two people.
>
>Anyway the debate will go on. Thank you for stimulating renewed thoughts on India, I will keep on thinking on this one!

>Well done with your first full summary of research, I look forward to the next.
> Letter no:2 DeBeers -Research Coordination
>
>Srinivas.Madani@dtc.com on 2001-02-20 22:07:33
>
>To: Vinod Natesan/Mumb/J Walter Thompson@JWT
>cc: Nicholas.Graham-Smith@dtc.com,
>Subject: Research
>Dear Vinod,
>This is to express our appreciation for the excellent qualitative study
>conducted by you on the elite segment. The presentation of findings was
>very lucid and, I believe, addressed most if not all our queries regarding
>the concept we are working on for the elites.
>
>I would like you to thank Proact on our behalf - it is not often that
>qualitative research gives very clear directions, and I think they certainly
>deserve a pat on the back for this one!
>A lot of the credit also goes to the team at HTA for providing inputs on the
>stimulus material and discussion framework, and to you for co-ordinating the
>effort.

Letter 3. Sunil Gupta. Ex-GM,JWT MUMBAI. Appreciation-Creative Development

> 2000-09-05 16:56
Sunil Gupta

To: Vinod Natesan/Mumb/J Walter Thompson@JWT, Narayan Kumar/Mumb/J Walter Thompson@JWT, Neville Balsara/Mumb/J Walter Thompson@JWT

cc: Melwyn Dcosta/Mumb/J Walter Thompson@JWT, Gopi Kukde/Mumb/J Walter Thompson@JWT, Deepa Kakkar/Mumb/J Walter Thompson@JWT, MeeraPatwardhan/Mumb/J Walter Thompson@JWT

Subject: Very Impressive People !

Many thanks for the efforts and above all, patience! A special word for Vinod who worked tirelessly for many days, and especially on the research. I'm glad we did the research, as it gave our work and our presentation the added edge of confidence in our recommendations. And also for Narayan and Neville, who bore my incessant pushing with calmness!

We knew the world was watching, and we ensured we remained ourselves!

And you all know it's now a different trip!!!

Cheers

Sunil

Appreciation Letter 4. BlowPlast Industries. Appreciation-Strategic Direction
>
> Kurien Pothan <kurienpothen@vipbags.com> on 2001-01-25 19:19:29
>To: Vinod Natesan/Mumb/J Walter Thompson@JWT
>cc: Melwyn Dcosta/Mumb/J Walter Thompson@JWT
>Subject: (no subject)
>Dear Vinod,
>I heard from Melwyn that you would be moving out of the VIP account as
>part of a reorganisation of portfolios within. I have not been able to
>speak to you and hence thought it best to mail you since I would be
>travelling abroad across the next few weeks.
>This is to tell you that we appreciate your efforts in helping us find
>newer directions in our search for a new and better communication.
> I am sure you would stay in touch
>
>Regards and best wishes,
>Kurien Pothen.
>

1998-2000: Mayan Consultants. Unreleased Work

Some work for Ion Exchange which were not released are featured here

1998-2000: Mayan Consultants. Released Work

Mayan Consultants was my first foray into entrepreneurship. Mayan was the architect of the Pandavas who built the temple at Hastinapuri which was like Onida, " Owners pride and 'cousin's' envy" :) My mothers name was Maya and therefore Mayan seemed to make sense. My father was assured that as usual he had the last word on the matter, the last alphabet was in his honour the 'n' in Natesan!!

Mayan was founded on the premise of "Big Ideas Small Budgets". Big in terms of the idea and inputs given, and small in terms of what we got our clients to spend. Mayan was different in that the focus was NOT on getting the Client to spend the maximum, but the minimum. Even in 1999, I billed the client on retainer fee and called my enterprise a "Consultancy"

GOLDSTAR JEWELLERS: CONTEXT AND STRATEGY

My first major client was Sanjay Shah, the owner of Goldstar Jewellers. Sanjay wanted to launch his range of inexpensive diamond jewellery. He felt that it could be aimed at youngsters because the more mature consumer would prefer his family jeweller. It was also then decided that these would be first time users.
With Valentines round the corner it was decided to launch this line in Februrary 1999. The communication was aimed at young males (18-30) and the benefit was simply "gift the diamond , get the girl". Our estimate was that most of the affluent teenagers spent nearly Rs 500-5000 on Valentines on gifts and that getting them to invest in diamond jewellery would not be far fetched at the lower price range.

Distribution was therefore based on width. We therefore tied up with Archies which was a novelty and gifts chain. Other outlets with a similar footfall and product profile were roped in. However, to induce credibility with the customer and to ensure that off take was not affected by lack of trust, we provided an authenticity certificate with a clear indication of grammage and caratage.

Media chosen was mainline dailies in Gujarathi, Marathi and English. We went for the supplement section, which had a lot of casual readership and was popular with the young reader.
Mumbai Times, Guj Samachar, Navbharat Times, Afternoon Despatch and Courier , MidDay carried the Goldstar blitz. The off-take in a week was what we budgetted for a month!!. It also had the happy consequence that since I paid the publications directly (thanks to sanjay) and on time, my accreditation happened in 6 months!!! I was a one man agency full service agency with the highest per capita billing at that time!!!

Sanjay Shah was more than happy with the result and granted me the Aradhana Collection campaign. Aradhana was a range of gold jewellery which involved engraving of images on gold. This was customised to the extent that any photograph or image could be engraved on gold and provided to the customer within hours. This again did well with the religious use proving to be a hit. Corporate gifting was slow, since diaries and calendars were seen as appropriate and gold it was felt would be melted and used unless of course it was a medallion.

The creatives were done by Sagar Mahabaleshwarkar and Ramanuj Shastry who were working at Ogilvy & Mather at that time. They did this campaign over a weekend at my place which doubled up as my office!!

HL: If you are planning to capture her heart this Valentine’s Day, choose your weapon carefully.

BC: Whoever said that everything was fair in love and war, hadn’t seen our collection of exquisite diamond studded jewellery. Each place is designed to floor the woman of your dreams. Gift her one this Valentine’s Day and rule over her heart.

HL: They speak eloquently of your feelings to someone who leaves you totally tongue tied.

BC: If her mere presence leaves you stammering and stuttering, maybe you should pick up something for her from our collection of exquisite diamond studded jewellery. It’ll speak volumes about your love even if all you manage all evening is “Happy Day Valentines dear!”

HL: If you are thinking of giving her chocolates, may we remind you that it’s the 14^th of February. Not the 14^th of November.

BC: Just because you call her ‘baby’ all the time doesn’t mean you have to treat her like one. So, this Valentine’s Day, instead of giving her something juvenile, chose something special for her from our collection of exquisite diamond studded jewellery. The only trouble is, on receiving it she’ll act like a twelve year old.

HL: The lord is omnipresent. And now, so is his image.

BC: Now along with the thoughts of your deity, you can also carry the image of your deity with you. Wherever you go. Made with a break through technology which allows the photograph of your deity to be reproduced with amazing detail and clarity, each Aradhana creation is an act of faith. Now no matter where you are, you can be sure that your God is with you- his magnificent image engraved in gold.

Gold Star: ARADHANA COLLECTION

HL: And now finally a corporate gift that is worth its weight in gold.

BC: Aradhana creations. Corporate gifts that are valued and treasured. Made with a breakthrough technology which allows the photograph of your associates, your products, your logo to be reproduced on gold with with amazing detail and clarity, each Aradhana creation is a symbol of pride. Now your best wishes are always with those who matter, remembered and engraved in gold.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

ZERO-B PURIFIED WATER , FROM ION EXCHANGE.

Context and Strategy:

"People who know about water prefer Zero B" was based on the fact that among institutional buyers and those from the industry, Ion Exchange was a known entity and respected. Its technological expertise was recognized. Zero B being its brand, would enjoy the same trust and this was to be capitalized in the launch. As support to the proposition the rigorous process of purification followed by the brand was detailed in brochures and literature.

Copy was by Pushpinder Singh who now runs his own outfit, Saints and Warriors and Viren Kamdar was the Art Director. I did meet Padhi and a writer whose name fails my memory(rajesh, I think it was) who also did some work on this.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

INTERACT VISION: KIRLOSKAR AIR CONDITIONERS

In 1999 September I took up an assignment with Interact Vision. The deal was that I could continue to service my clients provided there was no conflict with IV.

Context and Advertising Strategy:

I did the Kirloskar campaign on my own since IV did not have a writer. Gautam, the Art Director who was hired from Dubai did the layouts. Kirloskar had compressors which were used by most air- conditioners. Given the popularity of their compressors ,they decided to integrate forward and provide consumers the entire package. The colour campaign was the theme and released in magazines while the black and white ads were released in dailies during the elections. This should explain the play of words "opposition", "strong, stable ", etc. The original visual had a gandhi topi on the airconditioner , but the client wanted to be politically correct and the idea was dropped.

HL: Kirloskar, Strong, Silent, Stable

BC: The quiet performer with no nakhras. Strong, stable and capable of giving you trouble- free performance for years. In fact is guaranteed to last its term and beyond. Upto Rs 10,000 off under festive buy-back scheme on any working airconditioner.

Bullets: Faster cooling, Low Power consumption, Noise Free Operation, Voltage Fluctuation Resistant

HL: For Kirloskar, there is no opposition.

BC: The one air-conditioner that understands the Indian weather. Has successfully fought the vagaries of it,for years. Silently, effectively. No wonder then that there is no opposition to Kirloskar. The winner with a clear mandate.

Bullets: Faster cooling, Low Power consumption, Noise Free Operation, Voltage Fluctuation Resistant.

HL: The man in the double breasted Versace suit looked relaxed as he stood up to speak. There was a hushed silence in the room. I settled down in my chair enjoying the cool comfort of the room. The Kirloskar hummed on silently.

BC: It is fact not fiction. Kirloskar Airconditioners have found favour in many Indian homes and offices. Quietly providing cool comfort at the click of a button.

HL: Silence hung heavy in the room. She had not finished her drink. The ice cubes still floated in it, chilled by the cool air. The Kirloskar hummed on silently.

BC: It is fact not fiction. Kirloskar Airconditioners have found favour in many Indian homes and offices. Quietly providing cool comfort at the click of a button.

Creative Route

HL: It was a hot and dusty after noon. As I stepped in, the cool air of the restaurant enveloped me. She looked up as the stillness of the room echoed my footsteps. The Kirloskar hummed on silently.

BC: It is fact not fiction. Kirloskar Airconditioners have found favour in many Indian homes and offices. Quietly providing cool comfort at the click of a button.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Ministry of Defence:

This involved a pitch with the established provider. I did the copy and concept with art support being provided by Rajul Dhaimade. Pednekar provided the translations and artworks. These were my ex-colleagues from PSL McCann. This was an internal communication exercise and the print order was huge. It generated enough revenues to keep me going for a year in reasonable comfort and most importantly an income that was more than what I made as a Head of Business in McCann!!

Teaching assignments were took a lot of my time and I was very popular at Vivekananda, SIES, and Somaiyah. Students who passed out continue to be friends and are my biggest reward.

1996-98: PSLMcCann Erickson, Guestline Hotels

The Guestline Hotel was located in Juhu, Mumbai. It had another property in Tirupathi. It was rated 4 star in 1996 when we were asked to handle the business.
Occupancy was an issue at the time and with limited budgets, it seemed daunting. The solution was to tackle the corporate segment which could book en-masse for their dealer meets, sales meets, functions etc. Not all managers were eligible for 5 star accommodation. However to raise awareness levels amongst this segment, we took the route of promoting the restaurants. These were positioned in the fine dining slot, moving the entire property upscale in terms of image and perception. Al Frescoe the Italian restaurant, Manhattan the 24 hour coffee shop were sub-brands that we built for the Hotel. These were released in tabloids that had leisure reading audience. The results were immediately visible. Cover rates in the restaurants went up and so did awareness and bookings for both functions and rooms. This continued with festivals being organised in these restaurants and the South Indian Festival was one such. The work done for the Health Club again won us acclaim and members for the hotel.



Creatives:



*Ganesha's love for food is well known and this was used during the time of Chaturthi as a topical one -off.




* The South Indian Festival was done by Paul and Meenu with Ganga providing Mallu insights and guiding Paul while Nalesh Patil and Meetu Mahabaleshwarkar provided vegetables used traditionally in the cuisine south of the Vindhyas with a appropriate South Indian clothing!! Vanmali as usual did a phenomenal job with the illustrations.
The copy written was to me as appetising as the food served up at the Guestline. A sampling is pasted below:

Headline:Eratchi Olathiyathu or Lamb Cooked in Pounded Coconut Masala. (This went with the visual of the coconut with the turban. )

Body copy:These are things that people down South do to a coconut. They scrape it, they squeeze it and if they feel particularly cruel, they pound it. Of course its all for a good cause. Succulent as the lamb may be, to capture its true essence, it needs the help of the lowly coconut.

Sign off: A variety of tongue twisting vegetarian and non- vegetarian delicacies await you at the festival. All lovingly created by the great gurus of gourmet, chefs especially flown in for the occasion. So drop in and savor a slice of the south.

Headline: Vazhakkai chops or Banana chops. (naturally, the banana in a dhoti visual)

Bodycopy: Raw banana caught in its adolescence, is chopped into delicate slices and served. Sweet and yet sour, it flirts cheekily with your palate as you munch into its creamy tenderness. For those with a sweeter tooth, the multi-faceted banana appears in a riper avatar as Nendrapazham Puzhingiyathu or Steamed Banana.

Sign off: is the same for the camapign.A variety.............. slice of the south.

Headline: Murungakkai Sambhar or Drumstick Sambhar.( guessed right.. the drumstick legs)

Body Copy:Full grown men have been known to giggle like little school girls. Such is the wondrous image of South Indian Sambhar. This fiery concoction of the choicest spices, liberally laced with slim, shapely, drumsticks is an essential requirement for every South Indian feast.

Signoff: A variety .............. the south.

Headline: Yennakai Barthide or Fried Brinjals in exotic gravy (Brahmin brinjal ?)

Body copy: The dark horse of the culinary kingdom, the passionate brinjal has the latent charm not apparent to the uninitiated. When roasted and mashed to a quivering pulp, this vegetable takes on hitherto unknown shades of flavour. Adding a touch of romance to the proceedings.

Sign off: A variety ...........of the south.

*The Valentines Day Promotion was done in 24 hours. Nalesh while toying with the salt n pepper crockery came up with the idea. We sold the Client the campaign and for a change the agency initiated the promotion!!

*Al Fresco:

This campaign was done by Meetu and Zubin , but was rejected. It was however revived with changes suggested by Ganga and Nalesh and sold to the Client. Having a strategic overview and the big picture helped me sell the AlFresco and the Manhattan campaigns.

Headline: Munch a Modigliani

Bodycopy: In celebration of its re-opening, Al Fresco pays a tribute to the great Italian master Modigliani. Like Modigliani’s paintings our desserts are a sensual treat. We recommend the xxxxxxxxxxx our signature dessert, a rich blend of xxxxx.and xxx.

Sign off: All under the aegis of the beautiful night sky in the heart of Juhu, in the spirit of Italy.

Headline: Tickle Michelangelo with a fork.

Bodycopy: In celebration of its reopening, Al Fresco pays tribute to the great Italian painter Michelangelo. Like the masterful creations of Michelangelo, our Italian cuisine is prepared from the finest raw materials and presented with the utmost finesse and care. We recommend xxxxx

Sign off:All under the aegis of the beautiful night sky in the heart of Juhu, in the spirit of Italy

Headline : Gobble up a Leonardo.

Body copy:Like Leonardo’s magnificent creations, our meals are prepared with similar genius and eye for detail.We recommend xxxxx

Sign off: All under the aegis of the beautiful night sky in the heart of Juhu, in the spirit of Italy

Tag: Al Fresco, the taste of Italy.

This won us a Clio Nomination in 1997

Manhattan

Headline: International Dishes. Round the Clock.

Body copy: Break fast menu , Lunch menu, Dinner menu. And a special Midnight to Morning menu. With a fare that extends from India to Indonesia to Greece to Hungary to Austria to Burma to the list is enough to make your taste buds blossom. Manhattan, for a variety of dishes under the sun. And of course the moon.

Here it was quite a task getting the Client to pay for a food stylist. In the end we managed and I consider an achievement in terms of selling. It won us another Clio nomination in 1997

Body Routine:

Here too the Client was not willing to invest in such an expensive production. I first did a dip stick to get client reactions. It was quite positive. "Tough enough for a beer?" and "Svelte enough for a strawberry cream"? definitely were insights. Most people exercised to "stay fit" and to ensure that indulgences never showed up on the wrong places. Sanju Hinge, the photographer, did the special effects shoot for almost nothing, when we were worried about huge system work colour corrections. Rajul Dhaimade did the art while Zubin wrote the copy. Dorothy Paul who handled the account brilliantly ensured that all was on par.

Guestline Tirupathi

The ad was for a property were people went on a pilgrimage. The ad too was in keeping with the ethos. Ganga at his best. Short and simple!! In fact the Client was planning to put classified ads and this one turned him into a believer in regular display ads!!!

Client Feedback

1996-98: PSL McCann Erickson, Mahindras,M-Seal

CREATIVE
The first three ads were part of a campaign. The first ad had the headline above the left visual showing the idol of Lord Shiva with a broken nose, which said "Shiva temple , Mumbai" and the headline above the right hand visual said "rebuilt". The two visuals indicating a "before -after" scenario with M-Seal adhesive as the saviour! Similarly, the next visual with the sculpture with the hands cut had the headline "Venus di Milo,Louvre, Paris". The after M-Seal visual had the hands returned and the headline went "Joined". For the third one it was "The Pissing Boy of Brussels" and the visual on the right showed the boy rather "inactive":), thanks to M-Seal and the healdine said "Leak stopped"!. Meetu and Paul did this campaign with Ganga and Nalesh supervising.
STRATEGIC RELEVANCE
M-Seal was faced with stagnating sales growth. Our attempt to rejuvenate this by identifying "new uses, new users" and increase frequency of consumption. The known benefits of stopping leaking pipes, rebuilding cracks in walls and joining parts were presented in unexpected situations and contexts. The body copy exhorted readers to send in innovative uses of M-Seal that they had discovered. It was aptly christened "Eureka" contest!!

The last ad was to promote M-Seal as a medium for art. The headline went without the alphabet i in "artist" The body copy urging the reader to discover the hidden "i" in themselves. Art with M-Seal was a means of self expression and discovery, argued the writer Cherry Koshy. Ganga and Nalesh got this released after working on this with the original team.

We pitched and won this account from Mudra the incumbent agency. We also did a film which showed a nervous thief breaking into a house and using M-Seal to stop all the nocturnal noises, leaking tap, a clock pendulum about to strike 12 and even a creaking open window from where he climbed in, closing all his exits!!
CLIENT FEEDBACKFeedback on Mseal, MRIDL others

1996-98: PSL McCann Erickson: Mahindras. Corporate

The ad at the top was done for a magazine that was published by the Mahindras called "Interiors and Lifestyle India". The ad showed the centre clip with all pages torn away. The line at the bottom simply said "Interiors and Lifestyle India. Every page is a collectors item." The Copywriter was Paul Menacherry and the Art Director was by Viren Kamdar. Ganga and Nalesh worked with them and ensured that the final product was world class. It indeed was because it won us our first statuette after numerous finalist nominations!!


The ad "Just a few lines in the fond memory of Mother Teresa was on her death.



This one was just before the New Year eve, when drunk driving accidents were at the highest in Mumbai and we got Lazor Digital Proab,Shirnaz Motors,GMS Group and QCPL to sponsor it.


The matchbox with the film poster of "Mother India" and matches with the colours of the flag were used to promote communal harmony and was carried in the souvenir that was published on the occasion of the MAMI Festival.




Nanhikali was a welfare organisation that helped girl children. The ad was for Christmas gifts.

 

Client Feedback

1996-98: PSL McCann Erickson, Automotives

The automotive division of Mahindra's was handled by Enterprise Advertising. We pitched and won the account from them. The Voyager campaign was based on the feature of roominess. This was dramatically shown in the layouts above. The film featured a glass shell on a chasis so that the "big picture" or the dramatic rendition of the benefit could be carried across media.
The Great Escape was event for Mahindra 4 wheel drive owners who saw themselves as macho, adventure seekers. It was a drive which was across rugged terrain that pushed the driver and vehicle to the limits. The campaigns were done for various locations... the first one was in Delhi (cute cars wont make it... was a swipe at competition:)), the blockbuster cinema feel was for the Bhopal were films were the staple entertainment mode and then Goa and Mumbai.
Paul Menacherry was the writer on this with Ganga and Nalesh providing guidance. Ganga did the whole hog and converted the Delhi event creatives into a film using the ads as full supers interspersed with rally footage.