Advertising Avenues embarks on a restructuring drive  ( August '9,2001, FE)

Even as Mumbai-based agency Advertising Avenues has chalked out a blue-print to restructure its operations, it has undertaken a downsizing exercise.

With the economic slowdown, the Indian advertising industry is today facing tough times. According to Mr Goutam Rakshit, managing director, Advertising Avenues, the era of conventional ad agency is over. In a bid to cater to the evolving needs of its clients the agency has charted out a restructuring plan which includes:
* Breaking down the walls between creative, media and servicing departments.
* To impart cross-training across various disciplines
* Redefining roles across the agency
* To reinforce that good media strategy is far more effective than highly creative ad campaigns
* Finally, to hammer in the fact that account management team and creative teams are equally responsible for the success of any brand in the market place

Despite the recent attrition, as part of its restructuring plans, the agency is currently scouting for new talent to add muscle to its creative as well as client service divisions. Mr Rakshit says that the agency has picked up a host of new accounts in the last few months. “To handle new client wins which accounts to over Rs 25 crore, it was necessary to re-engineer our operations. Recently, we bagged the ad account of the audio and video range JVC in India. Also, we won new clients which include, Gel Pens, Gini & Jony (childrenswear) among others,” adds Mr Rakshit.

In addition, the agency has also won the ad accounts of key brands of two pharmaceutical companies namely Hoechst Marion Roussel and Speciality Ranbaxy. “We will be handling the accounts of industrial companies like Steelage Industries and Venus Wires Ltd,” adds Mr Rakshit.

Some of the other successful brands which were built by Avenues over the years include, Parachute, Nippo, VIP Apparel and Onida TV. In the last ten years, the agency has created over 130 award winning television commercials, informs Mr Rakshit. Mr Rakshit, however, points out that the restructuring process was not quite easy to adopt. “The path so far has not been easy; starting with getting people to face realities. We had to separate absolute liabilities—many of them oldtimers—from the assets,” explains
Mr Rakshit.