"An advertising agency is 85 per cent confusion and 15 per cent commission" said Fred A. Allen.   Today while the 15% commission hardly exists, the confusion, sadly enough, still persists.   But before I add to the confusion, I must clarify one important point.  I am no agency basher.  Whatever I have in life is because of advertising.  (And that as my wife will tell you includes hypertension, and as my colleagues will tell you includes a short temper).  My association with advertising has been for over 2 decades now in some agency or the other and it has been full of learning, very often at the expense of my clients! And I must confess that the maximum learning has been over the last 5 years since I started brand-comm.  My exposure to brand consulting and public relations has opened my eyes to several opportunities that my eminent friends in advertising are sadly yet to discover.  Yes, agencies are relatively clueless about what public relations can do for their clients.  And as a consequence of this ignorance, agencies continue to do very poor PR for themselves too.

One voice or one invoice?

"When the advertising agency says ‘one voice' it is actually saying ‘one invoice' is a not-so-flattering comment that one has heard.  Today agencies pay lip service to the concept of integrated marketing communications.   Few agencies understand it and fewer still practise it. And public relations is one part of the communications mix that is largely unrecognized.   Just a few days ago I heard a fairly large advertiser saying, "Send the press release to so and so publication.  We advertise in it, so they will carry it".  I wish clients and agencies would understand that sending press releases along with media release orders does not work.   If media coverage is to be linked to ad spend then JWT the largest agency, must surely be the largest PR agency in the country. They are not, because PR is a specialized skill. Today specialization is the key.  And unbundling of services, is the shape of things to come.  There is only so much that advertising can do.  And the sooner advertising agencies realize this, the better for themselves and their clients.  My friends in public relations know the value of editorial publicity.  They will give you the example of the best selling book "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" and how its sales went through the roof after it was reviewed in the Oprah Winfrey show.   This was achieved not by a slickly executed 30 sec TV commercial but by PR.   Agencies need to welcome PR and not resent it.   It is not a smaller share of the revenue pie but a greater slice of visibility for the brand.  Integrated communications will certainly get more bang for the buck.

And how about a PR agency for your ad agency?

Ad agencies are brilliant at positioning brands.  And yet what about their own positioning?  PR is not the odd photograph of the Creative Director in the advertising supplement (which no client reads), or the announcement of new business gains.  It is about having a clear strategy and competent execution.  It is about communicating your point of view to prospects and being seen as what you actually are.   I remember when I used to work in Mudra, Mr. A.G. Krishnamurthy, the then CMD, offered the agency's contract and a retainer to the PR division of the agency.   Later, I remember Mudra signing on Perfect Relations to handle their public relations.   Many agencies' achievements are well-kept secrets.    Today most advertising is on TV which means no one knows who is doing what.  Historically agencies have learnt a lot from their clients.  Appointing a PR agency for themselves could well be the next big learning. n

Ramanujam Sridhar is CEO brand-comm. Feedback can be mailed to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Issue BG83 Feb 08

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