I had decided I will write a post on some interesting situations that I faced in my career on the weekend. And so I started writing one. Yes, its not yet weekend but having worked in the middle east where the weekend starts on Thursday evening, you will excuse me for getting confused sometimes.
So let me start with Egypt. My first day in a totally alien country. I meet the head of the agency, a gregarious, self made, well connected around seventy year old Egyptian around noon. This was on a Sunday morning as Sunday is the first working day of the week. As if that was not enough of a culture shock I was soon heading into another one. After initial formalities were out of the way the gentleman suggested that we meet up for a detailed chat after lunch. And then he fixed a time. 8:30 pm! Sure that I had got it wrong I deadpanned to him the fact that 8:30 was dinner time. Now it was his turn to be flummoxed. He shrugged and said that he will go home for lunch at around 5, take a siesta and be back around 8,8:30!
It was only a few days later I understood that in Egypt concept of lunch hour didn't exist. People ate some local snacks through the day and had lunch at home after office hours. And many would then come back for some time and work till 10,10:30. If you want to know the reason read my blog http://vikasmehta73.blogspot.in/2014/07/this-happened-when-i-was-in-middle-east.html
So what did I do. Remained in office till 8:30, met the agency head and trudged back home at 11. Welcome to Egypt.
Back home in India too I have had such moments of....well, you be the judge.
This was in Kolkata 25 years ago. I was visiting a client at home around dinner time to show a TVC. He lived in a huge mansion and had a receptionist who took my visiting card and sent it to the client. As I walked into his living room he was finishing his dinner and my visiting card was being used as a tooth pick!!! (that's what happens when you use thicker GSM paper). But wait, that's not the end of the story. Once we finished the meeting, which was about 35-40 minutes later, he handed my card back to me.
And then the far east. We were working on a new brand in a new category. The work had been going on for months and we had finalised the creative. It was time to share the same with the CEO. 3 days before the meeting I realised that the client marketing team had not shared even the brand strategy with the CEO. So though everybody was gung ho about the meeting the onus was on the agency to take the CEO through the full thinking and creative. In about 40 minutes.
I met with the marketing head a day before this meeting and asked him why had the CEO not been kept in the loop. Now the CEO was a strong willed, independent thinking, sharp and extremely clued in person and his marketing team (or for that matter any department) was wary of his questions and thinking. The marketing team was hoping that whatever the CEO'S reservation the creative would make him come around. This was not acceptable to me as I first absolutely wanted the strategy to be nailed down. But now it was too late. What I did was changed my presentation to take the CEO through various strategic options we had discussed, researched and then the one agreed to.
As my luck would have it, my boss took ill on the morning of the presentation and when we reached the client's office the marketing head too had not come in. So it was me and the marketing manager with our teams.
The CEO started asking questions from slide 1 and within 10 minutes it was obvious he did not agree with our thinking. Not to my surprise I found that I was the only person talking and defending our strategy. Every one else wanted to hurry up with the strategy and unveil the creative. At this stage I asked the CEO to excuse us. I politely told him that since he did not agree with our thinking (and by our, I meant us and the client marketing team) it would be better if we first agree on to the strategy before discussing creative. So in effect I refused to share creative.
For a few seconds there was stunned silence in the room with my Account Director and planner kicking me under the table. The marketing manager was of course having nightmares with open eyes. For no one ever advised the CEO on how to move forward. The CEO just looked at me and asked me to follow him to his room.
Expecting the worse, I followed. Once in his room, he relaxed. Told me that he was just checking on his marketing team's ability and agreed with me not to discuss creative till the strategy is nailed. And of course he was clear that the strategy he was recommending was the best.
He then called his team in and announced that he has given us another 10 days to come back with creative, according to his thinking. Ten minutes later I got a call from the marketing head congratulating me on handling the meeting well.
Of course, for the next meeting everyone was present. I had belled the cat and now every one wanted to have a slice of the cake.
So that's it for me this Thursday. I promise next time I will leave stories for the Indian weekend.
So let me start with Egypt. My first day in a totally alien country. I meet the head of the agency, a gregarious, self made, well connected around seventy year old Egyptian around noon. This was on a Sunday morning as Sunday is the first working day of the week. As if that was not enough of a culture shock I was soon heading into another one. After initial formalities were out of the way the gentleman suggested that we meet up for a detailed chat after lunch. And then he fixed a time. 8:30 pm! Sure that I had got it wrong I deadpanned to him the fact that 8:30 was dinner time. Now it was his turn to be flummoxed. He shrugged and said that he will go home for lunch at around 5, take a siesta and be back around 8,8:30!
It was only a few days later I understood that in Egypt concept of lunch hour didn't exist. People ate some local snacks through the day and had lunch at home after office hours. And many would then come back for some time and work till 10,10:30. If you want to know the reason read my blog http://vikasmehta73.blogspot.in/2014/07/this-happened-when-i-was-in-middle-east.html
So what did I do. Remained in office till 8:30, met the agency head and trudged back home at 11. Welcome to Egypt.
Back home in India too I have had such moments of....well, you be the judge.
This was in Kolkata 25 years ago. I was visiting a client at home around dinner time to show a TVC. He lived in a huge mansion and had a receptionist who took my visiting card and sent it to the client. As I walked into his living room he was finishing his dinner and my visiting card was being used as a tooth pick!!! (that's what happens when you use thicker GSM paper). But wait, that's not the end of the story. Once we finished the meeting, which was about 35-40 minutes later, he handed my card back to me.
And then the far east. We were working on a new brand in a new category. The work had been going on for months and we had finalised the creative. It was time to share the same with the CEO. 3 days before the meeting I realised that the client marketing team had not shared even the brand strategy with the CEO. So though everybody was gung ho about the meeting the onus was on the agency to take the CEO through the full thinking and creative. In about 40 minutes.
I met with the marketing head a day before this meeting and asked him why had the CEO not been kept in the loop. Now the CEO was a strong willed, independent thinking, sharp and extremely clued in person and his marketing team (or for that matter any department) was wary of his questions and thinking. The marketing team was hoping that whatever the CEO'S reservation the creative would make him come around. This was not acceptable to me as I first absolutely wanted the strategy to be nailed down. But now it was too late. What I did was changed my presentation to take the CEO through various strategic options we had discussed, researched and then the one agreed to.
As my luck would have it, my boss took ill on the morning of the presentation and when we reached the client's office the marketing head too had not come in. So it was me and the marketing manager with our teams.
The CEO started asking questions from slide 1 and within 10 minutes it was obvious he did not agree with our thinking. Not to my surprise I found that I was the only person talking and defending our strategy. Every one else wanted to hurry up with the strategy and unveil the creative. At this stage I asked the CEO to excuse us. I politely told him that since he did not agree with our thinking (and by our, I meant us and the client marketing team) it would be better if we first agree on to the strategy before discussing creative. So in effect I refused to share creative.
For a few seconds there was stunned silence in the room with my Account Director and planner kicking me under the table. The marketing manager was of course having nightmares with open eyes. For no one ever advised the CEO on how to move forward. The CEO just looked at me and asked me to follow him to his room.
Expecting the worse, I followed. Once in his room, he relaxed. Told me that he was just checking on his marketing team's ability and agreed with me not to discuss creative till the strategy is nailed. And of course he was clear that the strategy he was recommending was the best.
He then called his team in and announced that he has given us another 10 days to come back with creative, according to his thinking. Ten minutes later I got a call from the marketing head congratulating me on handling the meeting well.
Of course, for the next meeting everyone was present. I had belled the cat and now every one wanted to have a slice of the cake.
So that's it for me this Thursday. I promise next time I will leave stories for the Indian weekend.
