Why was AAN formed and what are its activities?
AAN (Advertising Association of Nepal) was formed as the umbrella association of the advertising industry. It was set up for the protection of the rights and welfare of the industry, and to formulate the policies. It plays a vital role as a bridge between the advertisers and the media enterprises.

 

Being an old hand in Nepal’s advertising industry, what is your take on its evolution?
The advertising industry has now transformed from being a small business sector to a full-fledged industry. Having grown consistently over the years, it has gradually asserted its role in the corporate world. It’s unimaginable today that a product/brand can establish itself in the market without the help of advertising campaigns.

The advertising market of Nepal stands at about Rs 3.5 billion. Is the growth in tandem with the expansion in other sectors?
This augurs well for the advertising agencies, for sure. In fact, the industry value should have been around Rs 4.5 billion owing to the inflation. However, political instability has inhibited its progress to a great extent. Looking at the positive changes, even the rice brands have started advertising which never happened before. Even though the advertising market has been growing at the rate of 15 to 20 per cent annually, the time has not come for us to get particularly happy about it.

How do you view the unhealthy competition among the advertising agencies?
It is no secret that there is unhealthy competition to get ad accounts. However, the Nepali media is the main reason behind this unhealthy competition. The number of media houses has been increasing at an alarming rate despite the market remaining comparatively small. The lack of uniformity in the market value, non-existent market planning and direct marketing, among others, are the key reasons for the unhealthy competition.

 

How can the unhealthy competition for holding the clients come to an end?
There must be uniformity in the market rate. Next, it has become absolutely necessary that the ad agencies be categorised. Similarly, the media should be categorised, too. The government must issue licenses taking into consideration the respective categories. AAN has been working on this in association with various media groups. For example, we have worked with the Television Broadcasting Association to fix ad tariffs. Fixing a standard ad tariff will definitely create a favourable environment for the investors and help the market sustain.

 

Is the industry in dire need of a regulatory framework?
To regulate the advertising market, an advertisement policy is mandatory, to start with. We have certain policies but they need to be updated with the changing time. The government must have a different advertising authority set-up to regulate the advertising agencies.

According to you, which Nepali ad is the best, in recent memory?
Personally, I like Jagdamba Steel’s “Nepali Mann Mann ma” which incidentally, was produced by Welcome Advertising. It was voted as the most popular ad. Quality wise, I think Pepsodent ad is the best one.

In general, the youth is looking at several career options but not advertising. What could be the reasons behind this?
There is no doubt that we have not been able to attract young talent. However, the youth is showing interest in being a part of the industry, off late. Colleges have included advertising as a subject in their syllabi and advertising training centres such as Infinity Advertising Training Institute, too, are being established. Therefore, we are looking at better times ahead and hope that more young people will look at advertising as a rewarding career. There is the lack of skilled manpower due to braindrain and also because the trained ones are enticed by the banks. If the advertising industry will be managed properly, most of the youngsters would be in this sector.


 

Why do our advertisements lack quality as well as creativity compared to the advertising standards abroad?
My personal opinion is that Nepali advertisements do meet international standards. However, it’s unfair to pit us against international advertisements which are produced at costs manifold than ours. We may produce advertisements with far smaller budgets but we never compromise with creativity. The Nepali advertising agencies have been awarded with a number of international awards and certificates of merit since 2003. I will go as far as to say that our creative talents are second to none in South Asia. The annual Crity Awards have also encouraged the advertising agencies to produce better creative work. As the market gets more established with time, we should definitely be in a position to compete in the international market with a renewed vigour.

Why were the recently held Crity Awards criticised and labelled as biased?
Crity Awards is not confined to honouring advertising excellence. It is a celebration for the entire media industry. Any talk of branding the event as controversial is a baseless rumour. Recently, we organised a post-event programme for the ‘6th Crity Awards 2067’ where we had an interaction among the advertising agencies, media executives and journalists. We reached a conclusion that the awards ceremony did not have any reasons whatsoever to invite the wrath of the so-called critics.


 

The corporate big-wigs are circumspect about investing in the advertising industry. How do you view this hesitation?
Well, there is sufficient investment in the advertising industry and that is why it has transformed into an industry from a small business. The annual turnover of the industry is Rs 3.5 billion now. AAN has close to 140 ad agencies registered with it. Politically, once there is a peaceful environment in the country and we have a stable government in place, the investment will definitely increase. There is a good number of multinational as well as local brands looking forward to an investor friendly environment to start/resume investments. It is only a matter of time, hopefully.

Besides being an advertising administrator, you are also an entrepreneur in the industry. How are you doing on that account?
Welcome Advertising is an independent agency, in operation for 21 years now. It is an authorised member of the International Network in Nepal as well as a production house. Welcome Advertising works with some of the biggest names in the market such as the Jagdamba Group, Unilever, G Phone, MS Group etc.




 

There has been an issue about exaggerating product features through advertisements. How do you plan to address this?
The question you have asked is very relevant in the present context. These are the advertisements which are produced by the clients themselves that are courting controversies. For such problems, censorship of advertisements is the best solution that one can think of. Therefore we do need a censor board which will monitor and approve advertisements before they go to print or get aired. The government must take an initiative to this end by setting up a separate advertisement authority. Alternately, the government could give this responsibility to AAN.