In the spotlight: Indian Society of Advertisers’ Sushil Matey

I was born in… Nagpur, India.                                                 

I have worked in marketing… for 33 years, straddling 15 product categories across the US, Middle East, China and India, including B2B, B2C, Consumer Durables, Auto, Building Construction, and Lifestyle & Smart Home brands. Marketing as a profession was enticing because of its intrinsic ability to communicate a compelling story succinctly. My knowledge and experience working on brands has also helped me as the CEO of the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA).

When I started in the marketing industry… it was about simpler stories, simpler times, simpler mediums of communication and a fairly connected world at a personal level. What has changed significantly is that today there is information overload and consumers’ attention span has reduced dramatically. Additionally, there is a huge trust deficit in media and brands.

One industry issue we are focused on… is digital measurement. This is the need of the hour and all efforts are being taken to provide a holistic measurement system for India, which is in line with globally accepted benchmarks.

If I could change one thing about the marketing industry in 2022… it would be improving the trust quotient of brands. In this post-truth world, brands promising more and delivering less has become more of a norm than an exception. The marketing industry has to be more honest about its value proposition. The good news is that increasingly consumers are prepared to reward purpose-led enterprises who are working to combat climate change and build more equitable and diverse societies.

One ad campaign from India that caught my eye… the Nescafé campaign “Karne Se Hee Hona Hai”, which means “Only doing will make things happen”. In the two years since Covid, we have heard globally that a lot of people lost focus and slackened, resulting in physical, mental and social issues. Hence this campaign was apt, contemporary and relevant and it covers all demographics. Apart from that, Nescafe’s tagline is my all-time favourite: “It all starts with a Nescafe…”

One thing most people don’t know about me is… I am not as serious as I portray!

One fun fact most people don’t know about India is… it has the highest population of non-vegetarians!

This is part of a series of monthly interviews with heads of national advertiser associations in WFA membership.