How do you evaluate the Nepali ad industry?
The industry has grown a lot in the last decade and it is still growing. It’s a Rs 3.5 billion industry now. But there’s still the lack of trained, educated professionals in this field. It makes a huge difference in the output, especially in a creative field. The new generation, it seems, is more comfortable to work in the banks, the way the old generation preferred government jobs to private ones. In advertising, as is the case with any other creative sector, people who don’t want a nine-to-five job are more interested. And those who want to explore their talent join this industry.

There is no categorisation of ad agencies. Every agency has the same basic tag of ‘Advertising Agency’. Is that alright?
It is high time that we differentiate. When we help sell the products of the clients, we position them. Every product has its own positioning. Similarly ad agencies must be differentiated or, let’s say, positioned. We in Water Communication would like to call ourselves a strategy and design company. Others see us as a creative agency. I think creativity is essential but strategy must be stronger.

 

A common criticism against the Nepali ads is that they lack creativity. Ad agency people say that highly creative ads tend to go a bit over the top and that the general public fails to catch them. Can’t we create ads that are simple, yet highly creative?
Creativity must be saleable. If you can’t sell creativity, I don’t call it creative. The main purpose of advertising is to promote the sales of products. Creativity must be promoting the sales. We don’t make ads for the sake of creativity. In the case of Nepal, the boundary for creativity in advertising is limited. I have to sell the products of my clients anyhow. Clients have different needs. And we need to be flexible.

Many ads are made in such a way that the focus is more on something other than the product or its value. Such ads, rather than promoting the products, end up confusing the consumers. What is the main reason behind it?
The person or agency responsible for making the promotion strategy must be aware what they want to sell. If I want to sell a house, I must know who the customers are and what their needs are. The consumer insight, aspirations and needs must be properly understood before making an ad. And the creativity that goes into the making of the ad must link those needs.

 

Mobile phones and the Internet are growing as big media. How is your agency trying to cash in on this opportunity?
The new media is coming up rapidly and has a huge scope. In Nepal, the mobile phone has a greater scope than the Internet as there are more mobile users. Around 30 per cent Nepalis have access to mobile phones. Despite knowing about this opportunity, many ad agencies are unable to tap it. Mobile phone is a medium which provides a direct contact with the customers. But we don’t have an up-to-date database for that. Marketing through mobiles is a recent phenomenon in Nepal. We are far behind countries like India, China or even Bangladesh. Our customers are semiliterate. Still print is the best media for us for the time being. The television has definitely gained in popularity lately. So, it will certainly take some time before advertising could be done through the new media.

As you said, the industry has a big problem of skilled human resource. How are you managing this crunch?
We definitely lack the right people in the advertising industry. There is no academic institution to train people in advertising, besides the regular brief training packages provided by the Advertising Association of Nepal. So, there are very few trained professionals in the creative department. In the marketing department, we manage with the products of private colleges.








 

Celebrity endorsement is not used much in the Nepali ads, while we see that quite a lot in foreign ads. Why are our ad makers not interested in using the celebrities to make ads?
A celebrity is already a brand. But the celebrity-brand is perhaps yet to find a wider acceptance in Nepal. A product is also a brand. Rajesh Hamal is definitely a brand. It’s the media that creates a celebrity who then naturally becomes a brand. But sadly, the Nepali media has not gone beyond Rajesh Hamal and a few other names. Stars are not made by advertising agencies but by the media. We have limited celebrities and almost all the advertisers are using them to endorse their brands.

In creating an advertisement, who plays the important role - the advertiser or the ad agency?
Both play very important roles. And both have a common purpose – to reach the consumers. Clients give their needs and requirements and agencies help them with the means to reach the consumers. At the end, that must sell the product. Some might say that advertisers influence the creation of ads while others might argue that such an influence is possible because the ad agencies are not competitive.



 

What are the problems and challenges you are facing in this industry?
The major problem we are facing is the lack of human resource. Another problem is the industry’s growth is not healthy and professional. There is unhealthy competition going on. There are many people who talk more and work less. There is no design policy. Such a policy would not only help to promote the products but also determine the country’s image. When we talk about Nepal tourism year, Nepal is not to be promoted only by the Nepal Tourism Board. Nepal has to be sold as a product. I don’t know if anybody has even thought about this policy.

What future do you see for the advertising industry?
It’s going to be more competitive. It will be run by more professional people. Our market is very small compared to the Indian market. To survive here, agencies must have more professional people. Strategically, only strong agencies can come up with such human resource and compete. The small agencies that can’t compete won’t be able to survive in the market.