Piyush #1, says R3/GC Study

Piyush Pandey is the most mentioned creative professional in India, according to the India Agency Image Study jointly conducted by independent consultants R3 and Grupo Consultores.

The study found Madison's Sam Balsara as the most mentioned media professional in India.

In addition to Pandey's  personal image, Ogilvy & Mather is seen to enjoy a strong reputation across a range of perception measures.  Lowe, JWT and McCann also enjoy high spontaneous awareness among marketers, at over 40%.

Other top-line findings include the fact that the agency-client relationships in India last an average of just 3.6 years for creative agencies and 3.4 years for media agencies. Local/state owned companies are responsible for this low figure with 42% of relationships lasting just two years.  "This is not as turbulent as China, at 2.5 years average and going down, but it is  a far cry from the 6.8 year average tenure seen in the US," says Sally Warren, GM of agency consulting for R3/GC.

The study was conducted via over 400 face-to-face interviews with key marketing decison makers from India's leading advertiser companies including Coca-Cola, Pepsico, GM, Nestle, Airtel, Tata and Air India.

The study faced hostility from creative and media agencies alike when R3 announced it in 2008. The Advertising Agencies Association of India wrote to members on the R3 announcement: "Let us, as discussed at the ECM and with some of you personally, stick together and not share data, participate in the survey, give client details or even subscribe to the research.  If you agree and comply, we succeed.  It will be a cake walk to get the other Media Agencies roped in."

The study is ready; some agencies have been confirmed to have subscribed.