Opinion

Mindshare Indonesia boss Himanshu Shekhar on how to build agency culture around mobile

Himanshu ShekharMindshare’s Jakarta office, which handles about a quarter of Indonesia’s media spend, was recently named mobile agency of the year at the Mobile Marketing Association’s Smarties awards in Singapore, because of its work for Unilever, which was named mobile marketer of the year.

In this interview with Mumbrella, Mindshare Indonesia’s CEO, Himanshu Shekhar, who worked for the GroupM agency since for 14 years, talks about how to grow a culture around mobile in a media agency.

It is not too common for an Indonesian agency to win at a regional awards show. Why do you think that is? Have Indonesian agencies not been entering awards?

The market has been active in entering awards, just not winning. I think there’s huge amount of good work happening around the world, but it’s just so competitive.

Of Mindshare’s campaigns for Unilever that won at the Smarties, which one stands out for you?

Citra [which won gold in the product/service launch category for its ‘Sleeping beauties’ idea]. It was a very cute approach for a skin care brand.

Why do you feel they were so successful, particularly the Vaseline campaign, which saw a significant sales uplift?

The Vaseline campaign was deeply rooted in the target audience, and was promoted on an elegant platform. But the storytelling made the biggest difference.

Jeff Seah, the head of Starcom Southeast Asia, said at a conference not too long ago that mobile is still too complicated and laborious for many media planners to get their heads around. Would you agree that this is a reason mobile hasn’t taken off so quickly?

It’s not a technology challenge, it’s more of a creative challenge. We’re in the business of storytelling, but with mobile we’ve been struggling with the small screen size and the short attention span of mobile device users. Grabbing attention is always a problem. That’s why you don’t see so much good work coming from many places.

When did you start investing in mobile talent as an agency?

We hired our first mobile specialist in 2010, and we started going fully into mobile in 2011. I don’t think there’s ever been any lack of buy-in from clients. The issue is not a lack of belief in the medium. It’s how to do it. The challenge lies in producing the right ideas that work in the medium, rather than finding the right partners. Now, the use of mobile is growing exponentially. I can tell you that today, we invest around 11-12 per cent of our spend in mobile.

The reach of mobile phones in Indonesia is enormous, and yet marketing spend on the medium remains relatively small. What’s the reason for this in your view?

Know-how. It’s purely down to know-how and the ecosystem of partners. Except for the bigger players, clients don’t know how to activate mobile marketing campaigns. That’s what has been delaying it. But there’s no dearth of belief in the medium, as I’ve said.

What’s the secret to creating a culture within an organisation that appreciates the value of mobile?

Because we are transitioning to a new medium, it requires a cultural and mindset shift. We decided that we needed to create a certification course to empower people planning and buying in mobile. We introduced a competitive element to the course, with a score awarded after completion, which has given impetus for a conversation around the medium. The general message that runs through the course is that everything begins and ends with media, as we look to make our media plans more adaptive. We’ve seen a huge cultural shift in the embrace of mobile as a result. We went from a culture of thinking ‘why this platform’ to ‘how this platform’.

Where are the best places to source mobile marketing talent in Indonesia?

We decided in 2010 not to hire anyone from another media agency at a junior level. With digital, we need digital natives and they often do not come from other agencies. We also hire bright young people through the Media Master course. We have trained 150 people through this course over the last three years.

Do you still suffer from churn?

Staff attrition is a lot lower than before we introduced the Media Master course. We’re in the business of talent. If we don’t have a talent grooming process, we wouldn’t be able to run a sustainable business.

How do you see the mobile medium growing in Indonesia in the near future?

We’re extremely bullish. We think the market will triple within the next few years. Among the 18-24 age group, 80 per cent have access to mobile, and that will grow rapidly.

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