LOWE in India is part of the Lintas India Group of Companies. Other than advertising, the group offers a full rage of Integrated Marketing Services from Media Buying to Rural Marketing, and from One-on-One Relationship Management to PR.

In the old days, LOWE was better known as Lintas. It is one of the top five advertising agencies in India and has an impressive roster of brands and clients including HLL, Maruti, LG, Bajaj, ICICI, Bharat Petroleum, Johnson & Johnson, and Idea Cellular. Internationally, LOWE is a part of the Interpublic Group and has a presence in most parts of the World.

Ramu Ramanathan, Senior Editor, Indian Printer and Publisher spoke to Krishnan Anantha, Vice President - Brand Planning, LOWE along with the agency’s production personnel about the role of print in brand building.

In this day and age, how critical is traditional printing and print media to brand imaging?

Even though, 90 per cent of India views television, traditional printing and the print medium have not become obsolete. Consider this fact, there are 5,638 different daily papers published in this country and they account for a staggering total daily print run of just under 60 million. Lowe is committed to this segment. And printing and the print media continue to be a critical part of the advertising and communication process.

A recent example wherein a popular brand image has been “created” for the print media? And benefited from it?

Most ‘popular’ brands would choose to advertise on television today. It offers you reach, flexibility, and economies of scale. However the two examples, from days gone by that come to mind, are Amul Butter (The Amul Girl) and Charagh Din shirts.

What sort of ratio exists in your agency’s investment in the print media vis a vis TV, etc.

Television is the dominant medium, however we still do a fair amount of work in print. In terms of ratio, I’d guess something like 65 to 70 per cent of the work would be television and the rest, print.

What are the focus areas in print?

In a major campaign, all elements are used. Print ads, posters, POPs, outdoor hoardings, packaging. . .

Are there any typical problems vis a vis designing in India? One Indian designer, Sudarshan Dheer, I spoke to, lamented on the lack of colour coding which ruined his HP campaign.

I posed this question to Neville Balsara, a Senior Creative Director, Art, who works with us. He had a similar observation. According to him the devil in print production lies in the detail and many a time our famous ‘Chalega’ attitude makes us compromise.

Are things different in the West?

The best printers in India compare with the best anywhere in the world. However there is no common minimum quality standard. This varies from printer to printer. Some of the printers, who work for us, are very competent.

What sort of systems do you deploy?

Most of our creative hardware is PC based though we do use a few Macs. In terms of software, we use Photoshop, Coral Draw, Adobe Illustrator and Art Pro. The point is, we work with the entire gamut of print technology, depending on the requirement of course.

Which technological trends in print are you keeping an eye on?

CtP. We believe it gives value to the final print product.

Any exciting print job that has grabbed you attention? Why?

The Hutch outdoor campaign is very consistent. Our recent campaign for Star One is pretty striking.