Asia: Special report

by Anant Rangaswami, editor, Campaign India, Campaign 02-Nov-07

There are a number of indicators that suggest that, as far as advertising and media are concerned, Asia is the future.

Consider that recent visitors to Mumbai include Keith Smith, TBWA's
president, international; Richard Pinder, the chief operating officer of
Publicis Worldwide; and David Jones, the global chief executive of Euro

RSCG Worldwide.

Last month, Group M's Mark Patterson, WPP's Sir Martin Sorrell and
Ogilvy's Miles Young visited. They were all taking stock of India,
described by Sorrell not as emerging, but as a "faster growing market".
According to ZenithOptimedia, adspend as a percentage of GDP in Brazil,
Russia, India and China was 0.5 per cent in 2001, compared with 1.5 to 2
per cent in mature markets.

Economies in Asia are booming, with India and China recording more than
10 per cent GDP growth - and estimated to do so through to 2015. The GDP
growth-fuelled investments in infrastructure, such as malls and
multiplexes, make advertising more effective. In large parts of Asia,
until a few years ago, there was little or no retail infrastructure to
support the sale of premium products and services. Now, India has an
embarrassment of riches.

Asia is moving up the value chain of business. All of Lenovo's worldwide
communication needs are managed from Bangalore, an exciting experiment
in advertising, analysed on page 27. India has been chosen not as a
low-cost option, but as a high-competence one.

Now, add up all these factors. A region with a low advertising-to-GDP
ratio, long-term double-digit GDP growth, a retail infrastructure and a
talent pool that is available locally. Who is travelling to Mumbai or
Shanghai or Jakarta next month? John Wren? Lee Clow? Perhaps all of
them.