1. TITLE OF THE REPORT:
“THE STUDY OF ADVERTISING AGENCIES”

2. PREFACE
It is a matter of great honour for me to present before my humble readers this
project based on the study of “Advertising Agencies”. The foregoing presentation is an
honest and painstaking effort on my part in black and white about the colourful world of
advertising agencies. The data collected by me is both primary as well as secondary. I
have taken assistance from knowledgeable and apt taskmasters shouldering work f great
responsibility in some of the reputed advertising agencies. However, with due respect to
the urge of these agencies for maintaining secrecy about their operations and financial
data ,I also had to resort to secondary sources for obtaining data like newspapers,
magazines and the websites of these agencies. Although the information obtained from
secondary sources may prima facie seem to be paralysed by window dressing, to be
absolutely frank with my understanding readers, it has been discovered that this data is as
reliable as the one I have obtained from the horse’s mouth for other agencies.
Due to paucity of time and reluctance of certain internationally acclaimed
advertising agencies in co-operating with me for this project due to some obvious reasons
on their part ,I have been able to cover in this project a study of 6 agencies. But the
foregoing pages will warrant my painstaking efforts and the extensive study undertaken
by me for each of them.
So, with due respect to my patient readers for the time they will spare for my
project and with confidence flowing through my nerves that both the time and patience of
my readers will not be tried and tested and but duly rewarded with the intensity of my
efforts , I carry you gracefully into my world of advertising agencies……………
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3. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to sincerely thank the University of Mumbai for giving me this
opportunity of taking up such a challenging project which has enhanced my knowledge
about the Advertising Industry & the advertising agencies.
I am very grateful to Ms. Meghana Patil- Project Co-ordinator, under whose
guidance and assistance I was able to successfully complete my project. I am also
thankful to Mr. Vikram Shrotri, Project Guide whose advise and thoughts helped me gain
a better understanding of this huge advertising industry and the flambouyant,
magnanimous world of advertising agencies.
Last but not the least, I also thank the below-mentioned honourable dignitaries
and task-masters who have played a major role in leading their respective agencies to the
sky of glory. This is a special thanks to them for sparing their precious time, fitting my
out-of-the-way appoin”ent into their diary and giving almost all the information required
by me in an unbelievably amicable manner.
Without the priceless contribution and coveted guidance of all the above-
mentioned people, this project would have never got a shape of reality and emerged
before all of you in the manner and in the style as it now appears.
Warm thanks to :
1. Ms. Nandini Rajan, Account Executive of XEBEC COMMUNICATIONS PVT.
LTD.
2. Ms. Tanya Gulrajani of CARAT MEDIA SERVICES INDIA PVT. LTD.
3. Mr. Suresh Kannan, Media Manager of CANCO ADVERTISING PVT. LTD.
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4. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. OBJECTIVE :
To study the various advertising agencies; the ones having local operations as well as
the ones have international scale of operations, their modus operandi, styles and the
manner of functioning, their profiles, their upswing and their downfall and last but not
the least their position in the world of advertising on the basis of the contributions to
the ad world and society at large.
2. METHODOLOGY :
In order to achieve the above-mentioned objective and finish the study to perfection, I
have made a judicious and a balanced use of primary sources as well as secondary
sources of data collection. Well, the primary sources comprise of personal visits to the
administrative offices of some known advertising agencies and a direct
communication with the persons who were knowledgeable and in-charge of the
operations.
To facilitate in my operations, I had first chalked out a detailed questionnaire covering
in length all questions that would serve the purpose in the most efficient and
productive way. The preparation and the formulation of the questionnaire was on the
basis of many considerations viz., the time that the answeree would require to give me
the required answers, the importance of that time and the cost involved. A copy of the
said questionnaire is included elsewhere in this project as an Annexure.
Although the efforts were directed basically towards obtaining information required
for the study from primary sources to the maximum possible extent, due to factors like
lack of co-operation anticipated from stalwarts and internationally acclaimed agencies,
considerations of these agencies over secrecy of data regarding their operations, lack
of time for answering the questionnaire and unavailability of the persons-in-charge, I
also had to resort to secondary sources like websites, magazines, newspapers etc.
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5. Bibliography of these sources forms a part of this Project for ready reference of the
reader.
A sample of six agencies was chosen on the basis of their scale of operations,
reputation and quick accessibility.
3. CONCLUSIONS :
During the course of this study I have observed many a facet of the advertising
agencies ----- their strengths, their weaknesses, their opportunities and threats which
deserve a mention :
Most of the advertising agencies are basically interested in catering to just the
needs of the consumer irrespective of the nature of the product or service
proposed to be advertised.
The primary objective of the agencies is basically profit generation and profit
maximisation.
The agencies conduct a SWOT of the client but not of the product at the time of
accepting an assignment.
There is not much of a dynamism in this agencies as far as expansion plans are
concerned, diversification objectives are involved or specialisation motives are in
question.
Not much is done by these agencies for the social welfare and advertising of
social values
The agencies are highly committed to their activities but sometimes they tend to
be over-professional in their attitudes, over-reserved in the choice of strategies,
over-confidential in their operations and over-aggressive in competition.
Not many agencies are laying too much emphasis on selection of proper human
resources or managerial personnel. They appear over-burdened by objectives of
cost control.
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6. There is not proper training imparted to people working in the modestly
positioned advertising agencies. Due to this, there is lack of specialisation,
improvisation and dynamism.
4. RECOMMENDATIONS:
The following are recommended in view of the importance and the strategic position
occupied by these agencies :
The advertising agencies should function in a healthily competitive
environment rather than in an aggressive world of cut-throat competition.
The agencies should definitely give importance to profit maximisation but at
the same time function in public interest as far as charges and quality of
products is concerned.
The agencies should also conduct a SWOT analysis of the products to be
advertised at the time of accepting assignments alongwith the routine SWOT
analysis of the clients.
There should also be a provision for staff training whereby the staff is properly
motivated and educated for the roles they perform in the organisation leading
them to specialisation and perfection.
The advertising agencies should also have a perspective of tapping new
avenues, creating mew markets and pursue global expansion for the benefit of
themselves and for the country at large.
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7. Table of Content
Sr.No Topic Page No
CH 1 Research Methodology 11
CH 2 Introduction 14
CH 3 Profile
3.1 Introduction to Advertising Agencies 18
3.2 Functions of Advertising Agencies 18
3.3 Model Organization Structure 22
CH 4 ADVERTISING AGENCIES
1 XEBEC
1.1 The Whereabouts 23
1.2 Modus Operandi 23
1.3 The Canvas on which Xebec paints its product 24
1.4 How can I know about Xebec? 24
1.5 SWOT Analysis 25
1.6 Case Studies 27
1.7 Awards and Achievements 30
1.8 Who’s who in Xebec 31
1.9 Divisions of Xebec 31
1.10 List of Clients 33
2 CARAT
2.1 The Whereabouts 34
2.2 Modus Operandi 34
2.3 SWOT Analysis 35
2.4 List of clients 37
3 CANCO
3.1 The Whereabouts 38
3.2 Modus Operandi 38
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8. 3.3 SWOT Analysis 38
3.4 Canvas on which Canco paints its product 41
3.5 How can I know about Canco 41
3.6 Organization Structure 41
3.7 Facilities offered by Canco 42
3.8 Awards 42
4 MCCANN - ERICKSON
4.1 History 43
4.2 Who’s Who 43
4.3 Modus Operandi 45
4.4 SWOT Analysis 57
5 MUDRA
5.1 History 60
5.2 Pioneers in Advertising Agencies 61
5.3 Divisions 62
5.4 Founder 62
5.5 List of Awards 63
5.6 Major Clients 64
5.7 Organization Structure 66
CH 5 SWOT Analysis of Advertising Agencies-Comparative 67
Study
CH 6 Statistics
6.1 Comparison between Gross Income of Top 25 Agencies 69
6.2 Growth of Advertising Agencies 70
6.3 Top 20 Advertising Agencies 72
6.4 Top 20 Advertising Spenders 73
6.5 Agencies Ranking 74
6.6 2001- Top Ten Multinational Advertisers 75
6.7 2001- Top Ten Advertising Agencies 75
6.8 Comparison of Agencies on the basis of Worldwide Gross 76
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9. Income
6.9 Graph of Growth of Agencies 77
CH 7 Suggestions and Recommendations 78
CH 8 Conclusion 80
CH9 Annexure 82
CH10 Bibliography and Webliography 84
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10. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Topic : STUDY OF ADVERTISING AGENCIES
1. OBJECTIVE :
The project deals with the study of advertising agencies encompassing a multi-
dimensional discussion on the whereabouts of these agencies, their modus operandi,
their manner and coverage of operations, their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
available to them and the threats posing obstacles in their journey to the max. This
study shows the diversity underlining their operations and at the same time the unity
in aims, objectives and target. As during the preparation of this project, some
inevitable obstacles and natural hindrances restricted the scope of this study just as
these agencies are restricted by many environmental and socio-economic factors,
nonetheless, its a sincerest attempt to do the best possible justice to the said topic.
2. AGENCIES COVERED :
(1) Xebec
(2) Canco
(3) McCann-Erickson
(4) Carat
(5) Percept
(6) Mudra
3. FROM PLACES TO PAPER :
The data required for this study as per my vision was collected from the following
two types of sources :
(1) Primary Sources
(2) Secondary Sources
Primary Source of data collection was tapped in the following manner :
(1) Personal visits :
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11. This was given the topmost priority. Well, any information from the horse's
mouth gives a touch of reality, practicability and conviction to every study and
this aspect made it an area of key importance. I visited three agencies viz.,
Xebec, Carat and Canco, though I approached many others including the
topnotch like Ogilvy & Mather, Mudra, Lowe. However to my utter
disappoin”ent and ill-fate, I never succeeded in getting appoin”ents from the
ones. In the agencies I visited, I contacted those taskmasters who were holding
positions of no less importance and who had a thorough knowledge of the
environment of their respective agencies, the operation, the style of working and
the clientele. At the same time, I found these people quite enterprising,
professional-to-the-core in their approaches, knowledgeable, speech-conscious
and very co-operative. I basically got answers to all the questions that were put
in the questionnaire in an unhesitating and amicable way.
(2) Sending questionnaires :
To those organisations that showed their firm unwillingness in attending to me
personally, I sent my questionnaires through internet to the key personnel in an
attempt to convince them into giving some information about the agencies for
whom they toil. Some replied back courteously; either disclosing their
helplessness in giving information or informing me to surf their websites and get
all possible information to my u”ost satisfaction (an advertisement for
advertisers).
Secondary sources of data collection :
On account of the cold shoulder given to me by the media-giants and their
contemporaries, I had to resort, as also advised by some of them, to secondary
sources of information like newspapers, websites and books for supplementing
the information obtained from primary sources and sometimes for the main
information. Honestly, the information obtained from the websites was detailed
and sufficient to an extent that would even surpass those of primary sources. In
the ocean of the information that the websites contained for each agency, I had to
fathom for the most precious gems which required crisp editing, preciseness and
good scissor-work. Also newspapers like The Economic Times and its
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12. supplementary called Brand Equity did leave their imprints on the papers of the
project to follow and their contribution to this presentation cannot undermined
and unnoticed. Help was also taken from books based on advertising and
marketing to give a better appeal to this study and enrich it with more detailing
and liveliness.
4. RESULT
The cummulative result of primary sources of data collection and secondary
sources is obvious from the pages that follow. However, I have been able to
generate sufficient information and moreover, in detail from all the sources
employed in an endeavour to leave no stone unturned in justifying the selection of
this topic and advertising agencies, at large. Though marred by some obstacles, I
am convinced that my painstaking efforts and drops of sweat that have made the
papers intangibly wet and the ink of the pen go dry will convince my patrons
carrying good doses of expectation from this project.
5. DIFFICULTIES FACED :
1. Stipulations and urge for strict adherence to the length of this project upto a
maximum of 80 pages forced me to run the merciless scissor on many points. The
pen was on but the papers were gone.
2. Lack of co-operation from the stalwarts and the internationally acclaimed ad-
giants has been the biggest obstacle in the way. Though, they are very much
justified and I give due consideration to their urge for maintaining confidentiality
about their operations and financials, I still believe that had this information,
however explanatory it is, been obtained from them directly, it would have
definitely made neighbours' envy and owner pride.
3. Unavailability of concrete sources of secondary data was another hindrance.
Though websites form an exception, barring them there was hardly a source that
carried some potential in meeting the requirements. Prestigious publications like
A & M have faced shut doors of printing presses and a replacement is still hiding
in some unknown corner of invisibility.
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13. In a nutshell, all these ingredients which have gone into the making of this recipe
wait a verdict from the readers for their taste.
INTRODUCTION
The word that bridges the gap between “no more” to “know more”- Advertising……….
and further between “know more” and “grow more”. Knowledge is power, they say and
today the biggest weapon of power in anyone’s hands is that of advertising. Just as water
is to a fish, advertising is to business; something without which the basic question of
survival is bound to rise.
In this jungle of name and fame, where every creature confidently defies William
Shakespeare when he says,” What’s there in a name” there is definitely everything
attached to name and it’s this name which gives you fame……And what gives an identity
it’s name? Well, the only golden word “Advertising” Definitely roses will not smell less
sweet by any other name but businesses will undoubtedly go back to the coffers if the
world forgets their names and to keep them alive in the minds of billions, you go for
publicity.
Today everyone advertises – from crèches to crematorium ,from hotels to hospitals, from
clubs to pubs,from marriage bureaus to lawyers…… well name it and you have it.
Everyone needs recognition, from a 6 month baby in the cradle to a 60 year old preparing
for a graveyard, from a beggar to a billionaire…… everyone wants you to recognize in a
train or in a plane , irrespective of what you are. In the yesteryears , everything was
considered fair in love & war and advertising . It does not mind if you have to pull
someone down, important is that you should rise.
And who helps you to project yourself in the public, who brings you from the greenlight
to the limelight, who brings you from the darkness of ignorance to the light of
recognition? Obviously, the advertising gurus seated comfortably in their mind-blowing
offices
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14. These Advertising Agencies may be raking in big “moollahs” but no one can question
their contribution in enabling the business to burn their “choolahs” .Today there are the
movie moghuls and cricketing badshahs dancing on their fingertips, models and
celebrities weaving their irresistible web of magic around people like us. Well, necessity
is the mother of invention and our necessities have opened the doors of prosperity for
these agencies.
Be it a product or be it a service, they have the magic formulae for everything and mind
you, these formulae really work on our minds as is clear from our very own experiences.
And sometimes their roles really makes a layman wonder as to what would have happen
to those hundreds of unsung brands appearing as faces in the crowd on some rack or
shelves of a huge supermarket or a not-so-popular stores if these agencies would have
never risen from the sands of time.
Today, the exposure of every individual to advertisements and advertising has increased
manifolds than what it was in the past. Kudos to these agencies ; at least they have turned
out to be major trend-setters and torch-bearers for people like us showing us the way to
the magnanimous world of sophisticated products & services. However unethical and
materialistic these agencies may be, at times in a bid to grab the lion’s share of the
buyers’ market, it is doubtlessly certain that without these agencies we would have never
come out from the age of transistors to reach the modern age of home theatres. Well,
every cloud has a silver lining to it.
Who can forget the extent and the manner in which Reliance Infocomm marketed its
Wireless in Local Loop (WLL) Technology on the onset of the launch of its mobile
service. Irrespective of the post-use catastrophes, the impact of solid marketing &
publicity on the minds of an ordinary laymen for whom having a mobile in hand was
nothing less than wearing a gold ring in the ring finger is reflected in the way such a
person is today using a cell phone. The hype was created by the agencies like Xebec
Communications who advertised the product of one of the Fortune 500 Companies of
India and the hysteria still continues.
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15. Today, may products like chocolates and butter come to be identified by their brand
names like “CADBURYS” & “AMUL”. On the other hand, many others are identified by
their slogans, catchlines & punchlines devised by the advertising wizards like
“BLACKMAGIC MOTION PICTURES” for their clients’ products like “Hamara
Bajaj (Bajaj Auto)”, “Utterly Butterly delicious Amul (Amul)”, “A gift for someone you
love(Cadburys’)”, “Yeh Dil Maange More (Pepsico)” , “Taste the Thunder (Thums-Up)”
etc.
Before we go ahead with the discussions about the advertising agencies & the brains
behind them, it’s pertinent to bring to limelight the benefits which we, as a society, are
deriving from these agencies and the not-so acceptable traits.
PRESENTING...
The pros…
(1) Creating awareness :
Due to the increasing role of the advertising agencies and so-called dominion over
our minds, today the level of consumer awareness could be well adjudged from
the fact that even a toddler identifies in the spur of the moment an ad of
Cadburys’ chocolates or Amul Butter been run on the screen of the idiot-box
ornamenting our spacious drawing rooms.
(2) Enabling wider choice and access to products :
So many products and so many ads for each of them…leaves the poor customer
gasping for some free space. Well, with the bombardment of so many
commercials, universal hoardings, from advertisements stuck on the walls of the
building compounds to those stuck on the walls of the railway compar”ents, the
customer has multitude options and ample of choices to really get “ better than the
best”. Well, people are after all paying handsomely for their requirements and
they deserve choices and options. But, it all owes to these agencies who have
spread out before us 10 different types of toothpastes for making out teeth the
whitest and the hardest, 100s of moisturizers for giving the best glow to our skin
an all sorts of luxuries which have become more necessary than the necessities.
(3) Uplif”ent of standard of living :
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16. Well, its said that “Money makes a mare go”. Today, this not be any more
emphasized as everyone knows that depending on the financial background,
people can get the best of everything. From a cycle to a car, or from a dhaba to a
restaurant, the customer knows where he is the most comfortable and is able-
bodied to plan out his budget as he knows the price tags stuck on every product
and service. And all this, is possible because of the constant exposure to media
and publicity.
(4) Necessary for the growth of the businesses :
From the Ambanis to the paanwalla, from the Bachchans to the street-actors,
every soul is convinced of the power of these agencies in giving them a larger
than life size image. Every business house, big or small, though cutting the cloth
according to the size of its coat, needs the services of these agencies to project its
brand image before the laymen and convert these laymen into prospective and
from prospective to loyal customers for their products and services. Revenue
generation is the prime objective behind every business and to rotate the wheel of
success, its important for them to use the services of these think-tanks and always
remain on the topmost rank.
The cons.....
(1) A cold shoulder to social responsibilities :
The advertising agencies today are not performing to the non-material welfare of
the society. Their commit”ents and obligations to the society are mani-fold. Being
the torch-bearers of the world of publicity and media, they are on a huge platform
from where they can spread messages of public interest in every nook and corner
of the country. Alongwith their professional assignments for profit maximisation,
they can also design propagandas for conveying important social messages like
harmfulness of smoking and drinking liquor, abolishing evil practices and dogmas
deeply rooted in the blood of the rural illiterate, importance of a nuclear and small
family etc. Accepting these assignments for a social cause will not create a dent in
their pockets but will surely go a long way in revolutionising thoughts, attitudes
and mindset of every Indian.
(2) No SWOT of products advertised conducted :
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17. All the advertising agencies are conducting a SWOT analysis of the prospective
clients that approach them with a product or service meant to be advertised but no
one is bothered about a scrutiny of the products to be so advertised. It is not their
business, perhaps it is anti-business; that's the feel and the flavour.
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