Entropia hopes to bridge the gaps

Prashant’s pick: Prashant (standing third from left) with his team from Entropia.

Veteran: Ad industry needs to combine creativity with technology

“BRIDGING Madison Avenue with Silicon Valley.”

That is what marketing consulting agency Entropia envisions to achieve in the challenging advertising industry where ad spend is feeling the heat from cautious consumer spending.

Entropia senior partner Prashant Kumar, who is a veteran in the advertising industry, says that to “bridge” these two hubs is a way forward for the ad industry. Basically, he says, this means to combine creativity with technology to get the optimum results.

To achieve this, three core elements must be present – talents, processes and culture, he notes. Madison Avenue in New York refers to the US advertising industry and became identified with the industry after the quick growth along the avenue during the 1920s.

“When we set up Entropia in July last year, many of us with valuable experience in the advertising industry left to join the new agency. Now we are considered a mid-size agency with a staff strength of 84 with 22 clients and growing.

“You need the right talent that can understand data and technology as well as creative ideas to help in developing campaigns and other marketing initiatives.

“There must be an ability to mix and match with different skill sets rather than working in silos. At the same time, the right attitude and temperament must be present among talents in order to collaborate.

“Lastly, a culture must be present in an agency that thrives on innovation and discovery of new pursuits. With the presence of these three core elements, an agency will be able to succeed in the current trying times,’’ he tells StarBizWeek.

Prashant was formerly president of IPG Mediabrands in Asia world markets and CEO of IPG Mediabrands Malaysia before joining Entropia. The name Entropia comes from the word Entropy and Utopia and is meant to denote the movement from disorder to order.

Unfazed by the operations of big global agencies in the ad space, he says a smaller independent agency has the ability to customise without restrictions and is more agile than the bigger ones to changes. This is because it is not owned by a network and does not need approval from a higher authority, he says.

Prashant adds: “Due to Entropia’s open architecture approach to data, technology and culture, we can provide them with the latest innovation to meet clients’ needs with high speed. For example, we have a media planning and buying offering called Integrity Planning. It brings media planning and buying, e-commerce acquisition and customer relationship management (CRM) under one roof.

“Traditionally, while the media planning and buying happened via media agencies, CRM and shopper media or eCommerce acquisition media was mostly done via specialists or in-house departments. Now, we have the ability to customise and bring all three processes into one.”

Earlier this year, Entropia launched its data consulting arm – Sentient – that sought to bring together the world of big data with big ideas. Also it has over the last one year won a slew of CRM and e-commerce clients such as Samsung, KFC, Tesco Online and Beiersdorf among others.

According to Prashant, in view of the challenging economic environment, the time for one-size-fits-all type of assembly line offerings is over. Towards this end, the agency took the step to split into three different brands to customise offerings as well as to manage client conflicts. The three are Entropia Blanc, Entropia Noir and Entropia Rouge.

“Entropia Blanc will be for clients who have the lion’s share of the market, and need to focus on expanding the category, creating new usage, and keeping the game forever one step ahead. These are clients who have a lot to lose, if not defended.

“The offering for Entropia Noir is designed for clients who are challengers in the market, whose primary focus is the market leader, and how do they continuously innovate to beat the leader as well as protect against those behind them.

“Entropia Rouge will ideally be for clients who are disruptors in their category, with relatively small shares, but audacious risk takers, looking to disrupt the game to eventually win. A high degree of focus is as critical to success here as boldness,’’ Prashant explains.