A "creative hot spot" in Bangalore
A personal account of the atmosphere at an Indian advertising agency, written by a former Swiss advertising executive who has been living abroad for years.
Fisheye Creative Solutions Ltd. is a medium-sized bungalow advertising agency in the center of the vibrant metropolis of Bangalore in South India. 16 highly creative and strategically strong employees develop advertising and marketing campaigns, webpages, corporate identities, promotions and POS material for renowned clients such as Levi's, SF Jeans, Natural Textiles Ltd, Silktex Ltd (silk fabric producer), Bulchee Excessories (fashion accessories), Kings 11 (cricket team) and many more. The focus is on developing exceptional marketing concepts and ideas in addition to traditional advertising as well as working with agencies from abroad who outsource their creation to India.
I met the owner, Dave Banerjee, at an event where expatriates get together for drinks and to share their experiences. Dave has shaped the agency with his 20 years of experience in international agencies, including ten years in New York. He has been back in India for two years and misses working with people from different cultures. The idea of taking a Swiss woman on board appealed to him mainly because he wanted to bring more structure to his agency. For me, it was an interesting and exciting opportunity to get back into the advertising industry after 14 years.
The bungalow agency conjures up images of a trendily styled house that exudes the ambiance of a "creative hot spot". The fact is that we work here in what was once a pretty bungalow. But today the walls are crying out for new paint, loose planks from the wooden floor meet dusty vertical blinds, long outdated furniture is paired with a few modern pieces. Ideas for what I consider to be a much-needed facelift are accepted with enthusiasm, but there is no hurry to implement them - why should there be? People are proud of the bungalow agency - what has to work works - the ambiance is cool and cheerful.
People work at a wide variety of times: Everyday life in India rarely starts before mid-morning. Everyone needs time to get to the agency. For many, the commute to work is very time-consuming. Every day, it is a matter of pushing through the enormous traffic chaos: on a motorcycle, scooter, bicycle or in a car, in an auto-rickshaw, on a bus or even on foot - traffic in Bangalore is completely out of control due to the outdated infrastructure, which has never been adapted to the rapid growth of the city.
"Engineering Fame" is the agency's motto, which can hardly be translated into German. The goal of every assignment is clear: to make brands and products known. One of the major challenges for advertisers in this enormous market with a population of around 1.2 billion is certainly to develop strategies and campaigns that stand out from the crowd of oversized advertising media, in addition to defining target groups. In addition, a national advertising campaign must be translated into at least 14 languages. This is in a country where at least 50 percent of the population still has to get by on less than 2 US dollars a day, but where at the same time a rapidly growing middle class with a great need for consumption is developing and where 54 of the world's 125 richest billionaires live.
Outsourcing creation and production is a hot topic at Fisheye. We work with agencies in America that develop ideas and strategies for their clients. The creative development through to the finished artwork, however, is handled by us. This results not only in very creative solutions, but also in savings of up to 60 percent on creative and production costs.
Almost every day I am amazed at how unstructured the approach to jobs is. However, after three months at Fisheye, I know that despite the typically chaotic way of working in India, the goals are being achieved. I have also taken my first step towards reliable scheduling and work planning: I have successfully introduced the good old "Monday Morning Meeting"!
Denise Weber-Knechtli
I met the owner, Dave Banerjee, at an event where expatriates get together for drinks and to share their experiences. Dave has shaped the agency with his 20 years of experience in international agencies, including ten years in New York. He has been back in India for two years and misses working with people from different cultures. The idea of taking a Swiss woman on board appealed to him mainly because he wanted to bring more structure to his agency. For me, it was an interesting and exciting opportunity to get back into the advertising industry after 14 years.
The bungalow agency conjures up images of a trendily styled house that exudes the ambiance of a "creative hot spot". The fact is that we work here in what was once a pretty bungalow. But today the walls are crying out for new paint, loose planks from the wooden floor meet dusty vertical blinds, long outdated furniture is paired with a few modern pieces. Ideas for what I consider to be a much-needed facelift are accepted with enthusiasm, but there is no hurry to implement them - why should there be? People are proud of the bungalow agency - what has to work works - the ambiance is cool and cheerful.
People work at a wide variety of times: Everyday life in India rarely starts before mid-morning. Everyone needs time to get to the agency. For many, the commute to work is very time-consuming. Every day, it is a matter of pushing through the enormous traffic chaos: on a motorcycle, scooter, bicycle or in a car, in an auto-rickshaw, on a bus or even on foot - traffic in Bangalore is completely out of control due to the outdated infrastructure, which has never been adapted to the rapid growth of the city.
"Engineering Fame" is the agency's motto, which can hardly be translated into German. The goal of every assignment is clear: to make brands and products known. One of the major challenges for advertisers in this enormous market with a population of around 1.2 billion is certainly to develop strategies and campaigns that stand out from the crowd of oversized advertising media, in addition to defining target groups. In addition, a national advertising campaign must be translated into at least 14 languages. This is in a country where at least 50 percent of the population still has to get by on less than 2 US dollars a day, but where at the same time a rapidly growing middle class with a great need for consumption is developing and where 54 of the world's 125 richest billionaires live.
Outsourcing creation and production is a hot topic at Fisheye. We work with agencies in America that develop ideas and strategies for their clients. The creative development through to the finished artwork, however, is handled by us. This results not only in very creative solutions, but also in savings of up to 60 percent on creative and production costs.
Almost every day I am amazed at how unstructured the approach to jobs is. However, after three months at Fisheye, I know that despite the typically chaotic way of working in India, the goals are being achieved. I have also taken my first step towards reliable scheduling and work planning: I have successfully introduced the good old "Monday Morning Meeting"!
Denise Weber-Knechtli
The Fisheye team: Back (from left): Vinod (production), Tarun (web design), Manosh (finance), Radesh (AD), Murugan (security), Manjula (kitchen). Center: Shibani (Consulting), Adarsh (AD), Charles (Production), Denise (Consulting). Front: Jan (Web Design), Dave (Strategic Head/Owner), Malika (Text) and the agency dogs Dark & Dune.
