In Conversation with Jyotsna Parikh, Triton Communications
We interacted with Jyotsna Parikh, Creative Head at Triton Communications (Mumbai). With 18+ years of experience, she has spent all of it at Ogilvy, before joining Triton last year. Celebrating her prodigious experience, here’s talking to her about creativity and the advertising industry.
Q. Tell us about some brands you admire. What makes them stand out for you?
A. Nike has done some brilliant advertising over the years. My personal favorite is ‘Find your greatness’. I love the Burger King-McDonald’s wars. iPhone ads are particularly drool-worthy, even if they’re just displaying the product. I love what Titan and Tanishq have been doing. And Fevicol and Cadburys do manage to impress even now.
Q. How do you define your style of creativity? What do you think works best in your case?
A. You can’t be fixated on one particular style when you work on multiple clients across categories. I believe in different strokes for different folks. However, working in Ogilvy for over 17 years prior to joining Triton, has made me a great storyteller. A story conveys why it matters and why we need to care. I can tell a compelling story that touches people’s hearts.
Q. Is it ever appropriate for data to overrule creativity? Why?
A. Data can help creativity but never rule it. Data can help you find your customer and knock on the door but what you say to convince him to not shut the door in your face is what creativity is all about. If he invites you in for a cup of tea, you know you’ve made a great pitch. We must remember that we are in the business of creativity where nothing can overrule instinct.
Q. What are some ways brands and agencies can do better work?
A. With small scale and digital agencies popping up, agencies are afraid of losing the business and hence tend to take the path of least resistance. Clients should give agencies the space to build a brand and not treat every project as a pitch. Agencies too, on the other hand, need to be more proactive so that the clients are satisfied and are not attracted by others offering tactical communication. Clients should invest more in the agency so that the agency can hire better talent. With the remunerations coming down the quality of new talent entering the agency business is dropping ultimately resulting in a loss for the client.
Q.What do you believe will be the next big trend in advertising?
A. AI is already here and it’s slowly changing the game. I’m not talking about robots replacing copywriters and taking over creative teams at agencies. AI enables advertisers to understand the data of an individual at a granular level and identify if a person is interested in a brand’s products based on individual information. So leveraging AI will be the key.
Q. Tell us about one of your campaigns at Triton that received the maximum traction. Please share some insights and numbers.
A. Our most recent ad for Fortune on Mother’s Day got 2 million views in 24 hours. It was a simple message of inculcating values in children and went well with Fortune’s philosophy of ‘ghar ka Khana ghar ka khana hota hai’. We saluted moms who dished out good values along with home cooked food.
