Golden Triangle: Delhi Corporate Visits DDB Mudra and IMRB

Friday July 16th, 2010:

DDB Mudra Offices

Our ad industry visits continued today in Delhi, India. On the agenda today: DDB Mudra and IMRB research firm. We first visited DDB Mudra, where account planner (and former MICA student) Vibha Gupta shared a presentation with us on "India and Indians". It was an educational exploration of Indian culture. The first bit of information about India that I took away was that "For every thing that is true about India, the opposite is also true".

Here are just some of the facts about the vast spectrum of India:

• One of the most ancient civilizations 
• Yet, 54% of current population is under age of 25
• 2% of the world's land mass
• Yet, 17% of the world's population
• 27.5% live below poverty
• Yet, One of the world's fastest growing economies
• Over 1 lakh (million) of high net-worth individuals (over $1 million personal net-worth each)
• Yet, 40% of Indians live on les than $2 U.S. per day
• 35% illiteracy rate
• Yet, Large % of people are multi-lingual, and use English in trade
• Less than 1% penetration of personal computers in households 
• Yet,  The IT capital of the world
• 6 major religions, 4 of which originated in India
•  Yet, a peaceful, harmonious society

We watched the following Times of India 2 minute commercial from 2007, entitled "India Poised: Our Time is Now" starring actor Amitabh Bachchan which I think brilliantly sums up the dichotomy of India:

My favorite line from the commercial is "History is a bad motorist. It rarely ever signals its intentions when it's taking a turn. This is that rare moment: history is turning a page." That is especially poignant, given the driving conditions in India! I hadn't thought of the state of traffic in India as symbolic of the change its society is undergoing until I heard that line. It puts an entirely different perspective on driving through the streets of Ahmedabad, Agra, or Delhi to think of it in that light. This is a nation in flux; struggling with change and progress while still trying to retain its heritage and independence. What a wonderful time to be visiting India!

Dr. Patty Alvey, Vibha Gupta, Harleen Bhatia

Ms. Gupta (of DDB Mudra) went on to explain the primary characteristics of Indian culture through the following: caste, colors, chaos, community, cricket, and cinema. We examined each of these cultural elements as they reflect Indian values, attitudes, and beliefs and then looked at examples from the world of marketing and advertising. She highlighted business examples such as the Amul milk cooperative (a 9000+ village effort), commercials such as American Tourister's "Survive Mumbai, Survive the World" luggage ad, HDFC financial services recent father/daughter savings ad, and the phenomena of Indian Premier League cricket. The entire lecture was so informative! It really helped me to understand the unique position India currently inhabits in the world, as well as the cultural characteristics that are vital to the Indian market. Many thanks to DDB Mudra for the excellent opportunity we had to learn from them.

Following our visit to DDB Mudra, we went to IMRB. IMRB is India's leading (and largest) market research institute. They provide data and solutions to government and business entities. We met with A.V. Surya and Parul Sharma of their Social & Rural Research Institute.  Mr. Surya described social marketing as the process of  "unselling" an idea. IMRB's mission was stated as "marketing of concepts that are beneficial to society with the objective of achieving social change". The examples highlighted were HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns, seat belt usage, and polio vaccinations. They talked to us at length about the unique problems and opportunities of social advertising in India. Some of the barriers to social communication in India are: illiteracy levels, gender bias, poor media reach (TV in only 55% of households as of 2007), and cultural and religious variations. With such a diverse and emerging market in India, their lecture made me appreciate how difficult the task is to educate and raise awareness of key social issues to the average Indian (particularly those that are "media dark": without access to technology).  

We wrapped up this intensive day with a trip to a local shopping emporium that specialized in hand-crafted items. They had an amazing selection of goods, everything from hand-carved wood, to textiles, marble, and jewelry. I found some unique gifts for family and friends (the end of my gift shopping list)!


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".