Indian advertising is served by a variety of agencies — big conglomerates such as WPP, IPG, Publicis, Havas and Dentsu and a number of small independent agencies, either generalist or specialist.

Big networks foster advertising culture and talent, and attract big budget advertising. Smaller agencies have meagre resources, and work hard to get a share of the total advertising revenues. Smaller agencies generally do not handle big brands or large mandates. It is the niche area they cater to. Large mandates, especially in multiple markets, require scale and speed and modularity of solutions. This could be provided by bigger network agencies. They get insight from their global associations.

However, the times are changing. The localised smaller agencies are nimble and lift heavier business from the market surrounding them. Bigger agencies have multiple bureaucratic hurdles in the approval process. These are the best times for independents to thrive in the advertising ecosystem. They bring in services such as analytics, social performance and Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Their biggest plus point is the freedom they enjoy. They take quick managerial decisions. To retain talent, they offer ESOPs. Independents allow talents to access higher executives easily. There are issues of constant sales pitches to win business, and long working hours.

Industry will undergo a churn. There will be consolidation of business and few players. The current small independent agencies will by then ready for acquisition by the larger agencies. Global networks are likely to become uncompetitive since talent likes to have more space. Clients too would be choosy. Both independent and networks will fight for the space. Some may sneak into the digital space. Future is bright for the proactive agencies. Independents can offer services to consultancies and financial services firms.