Exclusive | Winning is always a pleasant feeling: Lowe B'Lore's Krishnan

With the growing focus on digital, one may be not incorrect in stating that ‘offline shopping is passé’! Observation states that with every passing day and week, major activities occur in the ecommerce and online shopping space. Players across this category like Bookmyshow.com, OLX.in, Myntra.com, FreeCharge, Bharatmatrimony.com, Starsports.com etc have upped the game with large scale brand building activities thus heating up the competition in the creative space of the brad building activities.

Apart from bringing in these players into their kitty as clients, advertising agencies are now taking this category a notch higher with innovative, quirky and refreshing ideas. One of them is Lowe Lintas, who, as per industry observation won over other agencies by bringing in online major Flipkart into its kitty! We are informed that this business was awarded to Lowe Lintas Bangalore on the back of a multi-agency pitch process that lasted approximately two months.

Krishnan, being the man behind the Flipkart-Lowe Lintas business sharing his thoughts on the account win said, “e-Commerce is an exciting category and there is a personal involvement in the Flipkart brand. The win was considered to be the ‘pitch of the year’ and we have worked hard on it. Winning is always a pleasant situation to be in. We have attained a strong leadership position in the South. And have flipped many an agency carts with this landmark win.” 

Sharing his thoughts on the impact that this growing optimism will have on the traditional retail business and an agency’s approach to retail advertising, Krishnan said, “Surely, the e-Commerce space is set to grow exponentially and these are very early days of success. Having said that, India is a very big market, and I am of the view that there is place for all. The fortunes of e-Commerce can get better if due focus is paid on distribution and internet penetration in the smallest of towns and villages.”

He strongly believes that it will have a direct impact on traditional retailers to redefine the service offering. The consumer is king in all of this and he will dictate the fortunes. With strong presence in both brick-and-mortar and e-Commerce, he sees an opportunity to bring their learnings and consumer insights to work for both spaces.

With mobile gradually becoming an important part of the media mix, speaking about how an agency deals or works on this, Krishnan said, “We don’t see a need to change our fundamental approach to brand building. Our “problem solving framework” which leads to business building ideas has worked well and will continue to do so. Smart-phones have redefined the way content is consumed and 4G has played a vital role on the ‘access’ front immensely. We will probably need to customize execution to this powerful medium which will only help in furthering the creative throughput.”  

Lowe Lintas + Partners, one of the most storied marketing communication groups in India and having joined Lowe Lintas in May 2008, Krishnan looks after brands like Britannia, Tanishq, Fastrack, Sonata, Future Group, Myntra, Himalaya, MRF, Bharat Matrimony, Daimler Benz etc. Having handled some of top-notch clients in the past and now, shedding some light on the client gaining and retention strategies at the agency, Krishnan said, “We believe the best way to win clients is to just do great work on existing ones. All of us strongly believe that “an outstanding creative which wins in the marketplace will attract genuine talent, which in turn will allow us to win interesting brands.” This virtuous cycle has allowed us to grow our mandate and this year we have won over 17 brands across categories in South.”

As mentioned above, the agency has been handling a varied portfolio across categories; explaining how the team(s) at the agency handle the need to device multiple approaches, he said, “We recruit with great care and closely scrutinize every individual’s skill and passion that allows us to put the right kind of talent on the right brands. This understanding and the culture of recognizing and promoting good work transparently across levels, has allowed us to do well in different categories – FMCG, e-Commerce, Fashion, Retail, Automotive, Consumer durables, Healthcare, Real Estate & IT.”       

Apart from adding such big clients in its kitty, Lowe Lintas has had a good run at the advertising awards this year, with their work for Tata Tea, Tanishq etc being acknowledged and awarded.

Sharing his thoughts on the same, Krishnan conclusively said, “Winning an Effie means a lot to us as it recognizes work that works. We have been winning consistently over the last 3 years and probably have the highest number of Effies to our credit compared to the other agencies in South. Tanishq, Tata Tea and Fastrack are brands we have won Effies on and the wins have hugely inspired the teams and strengthened the client’s conviction in our ideas. Winning in the market place has allowed our brands to increase the investments, which further has enhanced the agency portfolio and revenues.”

A Graduate from Delhi University and armed with an MBA degree, Krishnan dived into Sales for the first 3 years. His passion to build brands and after a strategic marketing stint at IIM CAL, he moved to Marketing and spent the next 15 years leading and directing brand mandates for Airtel, BPL Mobile, Sify, Foodworld in the Telecom, Retail & Internet space.
After 18 years as a client, Krishnan made a defining career change to join Balki at Lowe Lintas to pursue advertising - his passion, and contribute to what he loves most i.e. “Building Brands and Building People”.