Advertise for success even in a recession

Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things. — French writer and philosopher Denis Diderot (1713-1784)

Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion. — Georg Wilhelm

Should businesses large and small cut back on advertising in times of global economic recession as part of cost-cutting measures? What are the universal secrets to success of nations such as India and China? We sought answers to these questions from 46-year-old Nirvik Singh, chairman and chief executive officer for the Asia Pacific region of Grey Group, one of the world’s leading advertising giants.

Nirvik recently visited the Philippines for the fifth time at the same time the successful forum of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was held. Among Grey’s global clients are Procter & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline, Sara Lee, Axa Life. He spearheaded two important acquisitions in Asia — Star Echo in China and RAMMS in India. His bold and innovative reengineering of Grey India is now a business school case study due to its success. Business Today magazine named Nirvik one of the 25 young rising stars in India.

In a free-wheeling interview with The Philippine STAR, the award-winning corporate leader and innovator Nirvik Singh shared the following insights and business ideas:

Should businesses advertise more or less in economic crisis?

I think there’s enough empirical evidence to suggest that companies that continue to advertise during an economic recession will come out stronger when the economy finally turns around.

On the secrets to success:

Luck. Seriously, I think if you enjoy what you do and therefore have passion for what you do, and I think if you have the perseverance and if you’re curious, then you will succeed. I just finished reading a book on the 26-year-old Chinese musician Lang Lang. He’s the world’s most well-known pianist. He is only 26, but already giving back to society, he’s already a UNICEF ambassador. You’d be inspired by the tremendous sacrifices his parents made for him to get to where he is now. This is a young man who just loves playing the piano; he has passion. It’s amazing the amount of hours he spends practicing. This is one lovely part of the book — Lang Lang was six or seven years old when his parents were working but the boy wanted to go home because he wanted to play the piano. The parents at first thought he was up to no good, but the boy devised a system, using a tape-recorder to record his practice sessions daily to prove to his parents that he was playing the piano four hours daily! That is pure dedication!”

On where his drive to succeed came from:

In my case, I lost both my father and mother when I was 17 years old. I come from a business family, but my uncle didn’t let me go into the business. I guess I had to learn to stand on my feet early on. Apart from my love of reading, I enjoy sports like soccer, golf, cricket, squash and tennis. I gained my competitive streak from sports and I hate losing.

Advice to entrepreneurs, professionals and others in this era of crisis:

I think the first thing people need to do is to face facts brutally. I think people are often in denial. People often want to see what they want to see. Act quickly, execute perfectly whatever it is you need to do. I think you need to be flexible, and this is the most important time to retain your key talents. 

Assessment of the Philippine economy:

I think the Philippine economy is less affected by recession than other parts of Asia. Your economic growth rate this year might be lower, but it is not the same or as gloomy as other places in Asia. I sense a certain sense of optimism in the Philippines.

Suggestions on how to further improve the Philippine economy:

I think the Philippine economy has not yet fully integrated into the world economy. I think there are still protectionist policies, but I believe that if you open up, you will see more foreign direct investments coming into the Philippines.

Clearly, the way to grow the economy faster is through better and more infrastructures — in financial services, or even in the media businesses.

On the importance of the Asia Pacific region to Grey Group’s global business operations:

The Asia Pacific region, which I am in charge of, consists of 17 countries. We are growing very fast in this dynamic region. If you look at the world, and if you look at what’s going on now with economic recessions in Europe and the United States, more business growth has to come from Asia and Latin America. The Philippines is very important to our network. Our Philippine operation is one of our best creative companies. We are among the top five biggest advertising firms in the Philippines.

On new challenges for advertising and media businesses:

The digital space is changing our business completely. Even children nowadays don’t watch TV that much anymore, but they’re on the Internet. Consumers today are creating so much content online… In the Grey Group, we really want to be in the digital space in the future. We will make strategic acquisitions. I do not believe the Internet will totally replace newspapers and TV, but today the Internet is viewed as an alternative medium, and it may soon be part of our main media. This trend is changing our business and the world.

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