Grey, Orchard buoyant on prospects in Chennai  ( October '24,2003, HBL)

GREY Worldwide and Orchard Advertising, the new kids on the block in Chennai, are upbeat about emerging opportunities here , but admit that there are challenges in a market long considered small and slow to change.

With the retail industry booming and opportunities in information technology, auto and services, growth prospects are bright, but finding talent is still a problem, as is establishing new business relationships. "Getting talent here is a perennial problem, but it's easier today than it was five years ago," said Mr Kaushik Tiwari, Branch Manager, Grey Worldwide, which handles the Sara-Lee account.

"Also, the market has been slower to adapt to new techniques in production, and to new media. Because of smaller spends, there is a `fear factor,' and a tendency to stick to what's tried and tested. "However, the city has become more cosmopolitan in character, and consumers' lifestyles have changed, influenced partly by the constant influx of people from other cities, Mr Tiwari said.

"Clients' attitudes have also changed; advertising by the MNCs has opened the eyes of regional advertisers, and they are getting more aggressive," he added. Retail is key in this market, and it will be driven by below-the-line communications and a strong local focus, Mr Tiwari added.

Across town, in the no-cubicles office of Orchard, the upbeat feeling is the same. The agency handles CavinKare's Fairever brand and the TVS Tyres account, and has picked its team of 10 carefully. "They are people who have their roots in the South, but have had national exposure," said Mr Nitish Mukherjee, Managing Director, Orchard Advertising. "So clients coming in from outside are secure that we know the local market, and clients here are comfortable that we also have national experience."

This is important, as brands that have traditionally operated regionally are now operating in a more pan-Indian context, or have national aspirations, he added. The southern market is estimated at Rs 1,000 crore, and there has been a thrust by several agencies to consolidate operations here.

"Clients here tend to build relationships over a long period of time — they don't enter or exit relationships so easily," Mr Mukherjee said. "But we understand that this is the culture of the place, and are willing to do what it takes." While finding talent is difficult, the city is a more desirable place to be in today, and `circulation' of talent is also possible, across its three offices.