"Essentially it is a lack of method in the madness"

AURORA: What led you into advertising?

AWAIS IQBAL DHAKAN: I picked advertising and media planning as an elective as part of my BBA in Business Administration and Marketing.

A friend was working at Spectrum as a copywriter and I was offered a summer job there; later they offered me a permanent position as an English copywriter. Although I started in copy, I would think visually too and in addition to my creative inclination, strategic thinking was an area I wanted to explore. I like to think holistically.

A: As the ECD of a leading Pakistani ad agency, how would you define a ‘big idea’?

AID: Let me give you an analogy. Here is a glass of water; imagine a drop of blue ink drops inside... the water slowly turns blue as it flows through the ink. This essentially is what a big idea is about. It is the story of the brand flowing through the consumer reality, connecting it to the consumer.

A: And this story is built on an insight?

AID: Yes; it is built on a consumer reality that strikes a chord. It has to be a story and have longevity, so that different campaigns are able to express the idea and it remains true over the years.

A: Can you give an example of a big idea that works?

AID: Axe deodorants. The big idea is that the ‘fragrant irresistibility of Axe gives men seduction power over women.’ This is a consumer insight that will remain true even if the story evolves. A big idea changes only if there is a major change in the external or internal factors affecting a brand; for example, the company has evolved into something else which needs re-articulation.

A: Yet, local brands seem to change their big ideas very often.

AID: Local brands keep evolving their big idea and the problem is that by not sustaining it over time, the opportunity to measure the effectiveness of an idea and draw lessons from the experience is lost. This is partly the reason why big ideas are not thought through in terms of finding the right insight and why after a couple of campaigns they need to be changed because they do not have the depth to sustain themselves across different media platforms. Local clients often lack a far sighted approach; they don’t have a long term vision for their brand. Also, a lot of the strategic thinking for the international brands is imported and agencies end up being local execution wings and miss out on the opportunity to create big ideas for these brands. Global brands are looking for economies of scale, so their research is done at a regional level.

A: Insights are a product of market research, yet many local clients are resistant to the notion of investing in this.

AID: I have seldom come across local clients willing to sanction money for research and the kind of research and thinking that go into the creation of big ideas for global brands is not available to local brands. However, the larger local clients have started to value research; as for the smaller brands, the merits of advertising have yet to be ingrained. Local businesses are largely distribution driven. They have been there for over 50 years and have only recently started to think about branding, and even then the branding is at the level of the packaging. The concept of advertising as a means to brand creation has yet to take hold, so it is a far shout to get them to pay for research.

A: Looked at from a global perspective, the competition in this market is relatively mild. Therefore, if a local brand is able to sell without advertising, where is the business sense in investing money there?

AID: It is about growing a larger share. Sure, some brands may not need to advertise because they are selling to their full production capacity. However, to grow they will need those incremental benefits and it is at this point that they will start to think about advertising and brand creation. Of course, competition is important. Look at mobile phones; there are so many Chinese brands available and with this kind of competition it becomes a question of branding in order to stand out from the other players.

A: Yet every now and then we do get a good local big idea. For example, Seasons Canola ‘Aaj kya pakaain?’ was an excellent insight. Why are such insights so few and far between?

AID: Essentially it is a lack of method in the madness. Why are international agencies able to consistently deliver on good campaigns with a communication that hits the target, while in Pakistan only occasionally do you see a great insight in the communication? The difference is that in Pakistan the insight is essentially a shot in the dark. It is the result of creative brainstorming, where you can sometimes hit on a very good local insight. The problem is the lack of backend thinking and an insight driven focus. Only a very few agencies have strong strategy departments. It is this strategic focus that drives the process that should eventually articulate a big idea. Most agencies usually have a creative-cum-strategy person driving strategy, yet it is the strategic footprint that enables agencies to consistently develop big ideas.

A: Do you think there will be a time when this strategic footprint will be an inherent part of a local agency’s DNA?

AID: We are increasingly being pushed. There is the impact of Indian advertising and some brands are now considering looking to India for their agency solutions – although the cost implications of working long distance is a major deterrent. There have also been instances of clients suggesting bringing an Indian copywriter on-board. It is a bit like the entertainment industry. When some of our local TV channels started airing Turkish dramas, the calibre of the local content improved and it opened doors for a lot of newcomers. In the same way, the pressure from India will lead to the creation of new agencies and set-ups.

A: So it’s a question of client pressure?

AID: It is not just client pressure. Look at all the blogs, the comments about Pakistani advertising and the comparisons that are made. Local agencies are realising that they have to compete.

A: Could one of the problems be the fact that ad agencies in Pakistan work more or less in isolation from one another – and there is no exchange of ideas?

AID: It is true, but this applies across the board and not only to advertising. You will find small pockets of fraternities, but a holistic platform on which people can engage in or interact with is missing. It is very much a Pakistani mindset; fear of sharing and exchanging ideas.

A: Do you think that Adcom is at a disadvantage in not having an international affiliation?

AID: There are positives and negatives. On the positive side, not having an affiliation has pushed us to compete against the big multinational agencies and be right there in the top slot. It has made us think and work harder pushing the creative process or drawing the learnings from insight development – as a result our learning curve has been much steeper. Also, when you are able to compete and deliver at that level, the pride and motivation for the people on the team is that much stronger. As an agency we have developed our own way of working and this has given us the ability to be at par with international affiliates. But yes, to a certain extent exposure to the international affiliates and their training does count.

A: What about having access to international tools?

AID: Today thanks to the internet one can still gain an understanding of the tools, but the experience that comes from implementing those tools, that is invaluable.

A: You are only in your early thirties, as an ECD where do you go from here?

AID: At this level it is about training and development and articulating your experience and way of working. The biggest challenge is developing processes that encourage people to work and deliver. Once you are a creative, you are always a creative, but at this level you are looking at the overall business picture. We are in an era of convergence and one cannot just be a pure creative; one needs to be involved in the business implications, as well as in modelling effective creative units. These are areas where you can contribute and expand.

A: What do mean by modelling effective creative?

AID: Agencies have tried different approaches to make the creative process more effective. From silo based design and copy to working as teams in integrated set-ups. There is still a long way to go and this is an open playground for a creative director – to keep evolving and be part of a transition that will eventually lead us to consistently winning international awards.

A: Doesn’t the whole idea of convergence pose a threat to ad creatives, in the sense that today every and any company linked to the business of communications, be they in market research or PR, are offering creative and strategy solutions that once were the territory of ad agencies?

AID: On the outside it may be perceived this way. However, look at the trajectory of the ad business; first there were full service agencies, then specialist agencies and now we are going back to the full service agency with digital as an integrated component of the creative team. With convergence, specialist companies have to justify their existence, and of course everyone can speak creative, but where the full service agencies have the edge is on the ideation part. Companies, be they in BTL, digital or media can provide content solutions that may be very good, but they still need the ideation power of the big agencies.

A: Does Adcom have a digital wing?

AID: We do; Green Man’s Ark (GMA).

A: Does GMA operate as separate entity?

AID: Our vision is that integrated is the way to go. We have our social media and content people sitting with the creative team to ensure core delivery across platforms. Digital is quick and snappy and you have to respond very quickly, and by expanding our verticals we are able to tailor the communication there and then. Also, because the creative and the social media teams are integrally involved with the communication, they have become much better at developing content and responding to social media queries; they also benefit from strategic level thinking and are able to translate the big idea across creative platforms.

A: Do you think that the notion of an overarching big idea has had its day, given that the nature of digital calls for constant iteration as well as rapid, flexible and customer tailored responses?

AID: I think it would be misleading to say the age of the big idea has passed. Essentially, digital is simply forcing the thinking around the big idea to be more surgical and take into account all the factors. A big idea today has to have the fluidity to cut across all media and the breadth to respond to anything that comes on social media. If the big idea is a true connect with the brand and the consumer reality, it will always find ways to respond to changing media platforms.

A: How do you find and motivate young creatives?

AID: I am constantly interviewing people and identifying talent and then waiting for the right opening to bring them on-board. I like to hire people who do not necessarily have an advertising background; people with an anthropologic or even political science background. With convergence you need people with more than a uni-dimensional field of expertise; you need at least two areas of expertise converging. In terms of motivating and retaining people, inclusiveness is very important. This means avoiding a culture where the ideation is done by the seniors. During a brainstorming session, a lot of people contribute and the important thing is to give them ownership right from the outset, even if they are fresh out of college. Secondly, keep an open ear. Allow people to express an idea and then respond to it, no matter how absurd it might be. If you allow people to give their input, they feel they are being heard, and for every input there must be feedback. Thirdly, give them the opportunity to stand out and showcase their work. Fourthly, keep them moving. This generation has a very short attention span; they change their field of interest, let alone their job, within very short time spans; they are in constant flux. So if they are stuck with a particular category of brand, they dry up. You have to keep rotating them, putting them on special projects, setting up cross functional teams just to keep the excitement going. Look at their phones, they are constantly changing their apps, their skins, their Facebook profile. You have to understand that mindset and keep giving them change. However, what is consistent is how you develop the work and the input. But you have to keep changing the flavours.

Awais Iqbal Dhakan was in conversation with Mariam Ali Baig.
For feedback, email aurora@dawn.com