INTERVIEW: PREETI VYAS GIANNETTI

THE WARRIOR PRINCESS

She runs the only independent ad agency in the top notch. Her revenues surpass those of some of the internationally affiliated names. But she's mad at the industry for lowering the creative bar

Dressed in a calming, cerulean blue, Preeti Vyas Giannetti could easily pass off for a counsellor or a teacher. Who she is however, is India's only woman ad agency founder and owner in the top rungs, reminiscent of Tara Sinha in the good old days of Indian advertising. An NID graduate, she runs her 60-strong agency, Vyas Giannetti Creative, fiercely independently. She is recognized for her work internationally. She has only recently been on the jury of the international awards in Sri Lanka and is, at this moment judging at Cannes.
Besides all this, she is unafraid to air her views on issues on the underbelly of the ad world

Her take ...

On Indian ad awards
They are fake. 95 per cent of the work is done for awards. In the early `90s we yet entered the work that was actually used and that is fulfilling. We are trying to fool everyone including ourselves.

The toll this takes

Four months of an agency's work and over Rs 20 lakh would go into participating in a Goafest-like event. No small agency can afford that. So the awards are skewed in favour of the big and the powerful and remain a rich man's game.
On the other hand, creative talent makes its decisions of job switching based on how many awards an agency participates in. Fifteen minutes of fame has eroded both the practice of meticulous learning in the new generation as well as the feeling of ownership of work as they go hopping jobs every season. Employers on their part also don't work towards creating this feeling In the strategic side of the business, the loss of talent is even greater as people switch over to the clients' side.

Clients

Clients are happy to win awards definitely but are certainly not driven by them. So business is not hampered whether you enter awards or not. While most top end agencies are driven by servicing the old, stodgy clients the real action is happening with young entrepreneurs or young scions of old businesses interested in re-inventing the business. This is fantastic for an agency like ours.

So should awards be a no-no?

Not if they are fair and really showcase the best work. I was recently on the Sri Lankan international awards jury. They had such an award for the first time and the jury came from all over. The most creative from countries like Thailand, Malaysia, U.K. and Singapore were there. It was a humbling experience.

Visual Communication.

My view on this has been media unspecific. I have always exposed brands to the potential consumer wherever strategic, whether it is POP work or say an annual report. I have done a lot of work in corporate brand building, media brand designing (ver 20 publications). I have done music video as and TV programming. I have believed in 360 degree communication for a long while. But I am yet labeled as a designer/ boutique agency. VGC's revenues this year touched US$ 20 million. I understand this is more than the revenues of some well-recognised agencies that are part of global networks.

Making up for loss of a global network backing

We are a part of the global Independent Agencies' Network, the only Indian agency in it. The Network helps us access insight into consumers in member countries, reach, global; knowledge based skill set and new business opportunities without selling out.

The state of the industry today

Some agencies are clearly very top or middle heavy with poor traffic management. Clearly the industry is facing a big management issue. The productivity levels are low and the quality even lower. It is the client who's leading the way and we are reacting. We've stopped being pro-active a long while back.
We are safe riders today. The entrepreneurial spirit is missing. So we witness an outgo of disillusioned people. Inflated egos, salaries and pompous designations rule but what we need is path-breaking work to put the vibrancy back and make advertising the adventure it is supposed to be.

My contribution

We try to keep the bar higher and work for clients who will give us the opportunity. Of course we need billing but creative satisfaction is not compromised.

(This interview appeared as the lead in Billboard, the weekly advertising and marketing features page in Hindustan Times in June `06)