Golden Triangle: Delhi Corporate Visits W+K and O+M

Thursday July 15th, 2010:

W+K Unassuming Office Space in Delhi

W+K Motto: Work is Worship

W+K Royal Enfield Campaign

Today we had the distinct honor of visiting two leading advertising agencies with international offices in Delhi, India. We began the morning with an appointment at Weiden + Kennedy, where Managing Director Mohit Jayal presented to our group. We received a tour of their offices and a very heartfelt and engaging presentation regarding the philosophy of W+K Delhi as well as highlights of some of their key account work. The accounts highlighted included creative and strategic work for IndiGo! airline, Royal Enfield motorcycles, and the Incredible India! tourism campaign. I was VERY impressed with W+K's approach to their work. Mr. Jayal was a very passionate and honest speaker, and issues of integrity and corporate social responsibility really seemed integral to the work process of W+K Delhi. Their account work showed a great deal of inventiveness and consumer insight. He stressed that their mission was to add MEANING to marketing, and to create VALUE driven work that is both creative and insightful. It was also clear that W+K is interested in the many layers of India; digging deep into various Indian sub-cultures and identifying various facets of today's India as well as spotting emerging trends in the market. It is particularly this kind of value-based, creative boutique in which I'd like to work (in the U.S.) after graduation. The visit to W+K left me energized and hopeful about the future of international marketing.

We next visited the international office of Ogilvy & Mather in Delhi. Ogilvy has a beautifully modern office space on the sixth floor of a highrise building in an office park. The two ad agencies have very different and distinct corporate cultures and creative styles. Lakshmi Duttagupta, VP, National Head of Training and Sr. Talent Coordinator at Ogilvy addressed our group. Our time at Ogilvy focused on the brand communication process. Ms. Duttagupta outlined Ogilvy's Effie award-winning work for several clients. We examined several product campaigns such as Sprite, Limca, and Vodafone ZooZoo! ads as case studies of effective brand communication in increasing sales and fulfilling a brand's market strategy.

It was a pleasure to visit both agencies. I particularly liked that we happened to visit a smaller boutique and a larger corporate office on the same day. It showed the breadth of the advertising industry and gave me, as a student, a clearer sense of my potential place in the market. It was so gracious of both agencies to take time out to meet with us and educate us about the Indian advertising market. This whole trip has been such a blessing and wonderful opportunity! I appreciate every moment of this incredible journey:) 

To see more photos of my time in India, go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=67693&id=1493536168&l=6effaaef67 or connect with me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/alexandra.watson.
You can also find me on Twitter as "abcwatson".