Spirit W | Women, a powerful force: Saatchi's Vidhya Sankarnarayanan

Woman today is empowered to make a mark in her chosen career. She is passionate about her work and readily faces challenges and obstacles and overcomes them to emerge a stronger person and a  winner!

 

Vidhya Sankarnarayanan, Strategy Head at Saatchi & Saatchi plays a key role in driving brand solutions and creating brand opportunities through multi-channel experiences. She is considered one of the best account planners in the business today. She is passionate about great ideas that can positively impact clients' businesses and brings a very strong digital perspective. Her skills and attitude epitomises the way forward.

 

Sankarnarayanan believes that this is a time when people, companies and brands in India are being revolutionised by technology and new media. "I joined Saatchi with a mandate to drive brand solutions and create brand opportunities through multi-channel experiences that hinge on social, cultural and human truths. Given Saatchi's rich creative heritage and current focus on India, it is at the same time the most challenging and most exciting assignment I have had till date. In the current scenario, the greatest imperative for Saatchi as a brand as well as for the brands we will shape in the future, is the opportunity to be agents of this revolution, as we will inevitably be products of it,” she says.

 

Vidhya Sankarnarayanan started her career with All India Radio as a radio jockey in 1998. About a year after that, she went ahead with post graduation, specialising in brand communication from Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA). Subsequently, she joined Leo Burnett, Mumbai in 2001, as senior account executive. She stayed there for about two and a half years before moving on to join Contract Advertising as brand planner in 2004.

 

Vidhya joined McCann Erickson in the same capacity in 2005 in Mumbai. Later, she shifted to Publicis Advertising as senior brand planner in 2006. Two years later, she moved to represent the clients' side and joined Futurebrands India as group head, brand consulting in Mumbai.

 

In 2010, she moved to Delhi to join SapientNitro as Director, Marketing Strategy and Analytics. Here, she was integral in establishing the global start up tech-agency's business in the country over the last two and a half years.

 

During the span of her career in the industry she has partnered with marketers, NGOs, technologists, entrepreneurs, and professionals from the creative arts and has seen the industry evolving!

Adgully spoke to Vidhya about her career, the competition and challenges she faces, her motivations in life and her leisure time hobbies. This is what she had to say:

 

Vidhya’s journey seems quite eventful. She has been a radio jockey, ethnographic scout, brand consultant, communication strategist and new media evangelist! Describing her journey, she says, “I think the one thing that delighted me about Radio Jockey-ing is that other than unlimited access to AIR's amazing archives, was what it taught me about connecting with masses of people, one on one. It's what I love the most about advertising and new media today. Overall, I'd say every role has naturally led me to the next, to a deeper dive and a fresh perspective.”

 

Sharing her experience about how the industry has evolved over the course of time, and the difference she sees in the industry when she started and the way it is now, she said that “Digital is the hottest new offering an agency brings to the table these days. While it is a tiny chunk of ad spends as compared to TV and print, it is projected to overtake spends on radio, outdoor and cinema in 2012. Search, social media, content, communities and apps are fast becoming the grapevine that integrates and extends advertising spends and strategies today”.

 

With regard to striking a balance between business and creativity she believes that “business at its best is always creative.”

 

Today competition has become the order of the day. When asked, how much competition and what kind of challenges she faces in the domain she is in, Vidhya shared her views and said, “Competition has always been a powerful driver in advertising and the biggest challenge has always been to demonstrate business efficacy.” “While this is becoming a real possibility with digital integration, it demands a steep learning curve on the part of creative professionals,” opines Vidhya.

 

She is of the firm belief that her role as a leader is to learn every day from the eclectic mix of talent she works with.  

 

The  qualities required to become a true and proactive leader in the industry today  is, “Social influence more so today than ever before!” exclaims Vidhya.

 

When she is not occupied with work pressures Vidhya  believes in relaxing in her leisure time. She is most of the time reading, eating, loitering and philosophizing with her cats but she adds good humouredly , “Though I'm a firm fiction addict and pop culture junkie, my current bed time reading obsession is the menus on the Zomato app!”

 

Her efforts have been rewarded and she holds a responsible position in her career. She attributes this to, “The top notch people I have worked with and the opportunity to keep reinventing myself professionally. This is what excites me the most about my assignment at Saatchi India as well.”

 

Sharing  her opinion on the women of today especially in metros and big cities who have evolved rapidly and seen as key decision makers, Vidhya proudly said, “Women have always been a powerful force in the Indian household. It is the scope of their power that has catapulted in recent years. Mom bloggers are some of the most influential people on Indian social media, for instance.” She also strongly believes that women have inherently sharper social instincts, which is what makes them powerful influencers and key decision makers today.