What does the Starcom-Ambience merger mean for the employees, advertisers and media houses in the Indian context?
A. As far as the employees are concerned, Ambience employees have moved lock, stock and barrel. They have integrated very smoothly. We are protecting all commitments of salaries, incentives and the like. Second, they are now entering a global media specialist. So they get an opportunity for considerable skill enhancement through both structured and unstructured training. Advertisers who were Leo Burnett clients gain more bargaining power. And this applies more to Ambience clients. They will also get a far superior media product. For media houses, it is a neutral move. It does bring in a lot more simplicity in dealings. If we get more scale, we get more leverage over media houses. My personal belief in media is not of strangulation but educating the media buyers of achieving the results that they require.
