A well-kept secret unrevealed!

IIPM, GURGAON

Korea’s leading ad-agency is all set to take the Indian advertising industry by storm

“Cheil is the best kept secret of Indian advertising arena… but not for long!” points out a confident Prathap Suthan (with a smirk on his face), National Creative Director, Cheil Worldwide, South West Asia. Cheil Communications, grown under the shade of being an in-house agency of Samsung, has the potential to outshine many big names in the Indian adland. So what is it that has kept Cheil inside the shell for so long?

Cheil was conceived to help Samsung to flaunt its advertising campaigns, so in the beginning the agency just focused on Samsung. But of late there has been a lot of restructuring and new hiring going on in the agency. Pat (as he is fondly called) has been brought on board with an aim to expand the agency and equip it for future challenges. “Cheil is no longer just a Samsung based agency… Many clients are willing to come along with us, however I can’t reveal any names right now,” reveals Prathap. Even though Samsung still remains its hottest account, Cheil has some more exciting accounts & campaigns lined up for 2008.

Pat proclaims that Cheil is preparing itself for its new role very seriously. “Within six months, Cheil will be equipped to take on any agency in this country in terms of a pitch. We are ready to strike back with a vengeance,” he says. Ask him about the billings of the agency and the reply comes with a mysterious smile, “The figures will make all heads turn around in surprise. It is larger than many of the bigger agencies of this country.” This confidence is obviously backed by the agency’s outstanding global performance. It is South Korea’s largest advertising agency & grabbed 16th position in the global ranking by Advertising Age in 2006. Their consolidated billing for 2006 was $1,936 million. Cheil has kicked off numerous high-profile campaigns for Samsung Electronics, including the ‘Imagine’ branding campaign spanning across 80 countries. Some of its successful global campaigns include the Olympic Marketing campaign, Samsung brand campaign in Russia, Samsung ‘SangSaeng’ campaign et al. Some of its recognised campaigns in India include: ‘Har ghar mein khushi…Har ghar mein Samsung’, ‘Meri duniya mere phone ki nazar se’ etc.

Pat has no qualms in admitting that despite being an in-house agency, Cheil is at par with any of the ‘out-house’ agencies of India. Elaborating on this, Pat says, “It’s just a mental block. As an ad-man, you’ve to be convinced about your agency. My role is to ensure that this place becomes a very bright talented place.” He adds further, “I don’t want people to think that they are working for an in-house agency because then they would make them feel inferior. Rather I would say I’m not only superior to my counterparts but even superior to my clients; I lead my clients.” Undoubtedly, Pat resounds the confidence of an agency leading one of world’s largest consumer electronics maker – Samsung. And this confidence is reinforced when he says, “Cheil’s secret will soon be revealed and it will leave the veterans of advertising in amusement.” Sure Pat we will wait!

Edit bureau: Savreen Gadhoke

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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