MNC's way, then there are the smaller clients and the Fly-by-night operators. Biggest agencies normally don't get the lowest rates. Had it been the case then only one big agency would have been in the market. Which is not the case. Media is not only a science but also an art. Market has room for many but agencies work on wafer thin margins. Most of the time it's the internal spending of an agency, which puts pressure on the functioning of an agency. There is definitely room for more than 5-6 players in the market"

Chintamani Rao was not in agreement with Srini. He said," As we go along there will be less and less space for smaller players. Working on thinner margins will have to be countered by large volumes then only the money will go into the organization for increasing the competitiveness and fine-tuning the agency. Actually it's not the agencies who undercut themselves. The clients are responsible for forcing the agencies to undercut heavily."

He further added, " Pricing was a matter of strategy and the blame lies with the clients as they know the prices and economics of their product. Market has to enable you to have a buy at lower price. You can't blame the agencies for undercutting alone. "The market will even out after a while as people will realize that they can go any lower in pricing"

On the issue of too many players in the market, Vij said that players with fat stomach say their stomachs are empty and the impoverished ones say that there is enough space for everyone. But he agreed that consolidation is inevitable.

Sandip Tarkas was also of the opinion that consolidation was inevitable but commented that the existing players would have to discover different models in order to generate business.

On the AORization of media services CVL Srinivas said, " Because of AOR, media has become a driving force. It contributes to the clients business in a better way. Media is not a sequential function today and all the changes are the result of AOR culture.

On Clients behavior towards the media services industry, Chintamani Rao said, "Today clients spend more time with their media agency than they do with their creative agency as the stakes have become very high for the clients."

Sadip Tarkas directed the attention of the panelists towards the organizational set up of agencies. "In my opinion the advertising agencies are not organizations. They largely operate on the individuals sitting at the helm of affairs in a particular agency. But the Media business has to have an organizational structure. It cannot run on Individuals alone. We are on our own in this business and hence all the investments have to go on priority basis which was never possible on an advertising agency set up."

Drawing comparison from last ten years, CVL Srinivas was of the opinion that In the time when 'Mahabharat' was a hugely popular serial on TV, we knew that if we get a spot on the serial, it will be the best buy for the client. Today. That's not the case. It has become survival of the fittest. What you buy is more important than how you buy."

Moderating the panel, Amit Agnihotri asked," Are Clients ready for niche media products? And are the agencies ready to deliver them? In response Chintamani Rao added, "Media is a volumes business. Agencies do come out with products which are innovative and have the potential for a better delivery but the clients today are not ready to pay."

The question of the need to have a regulatory body for media services industry initiated similar response from across the panel. Sandeep Vij said, "Its a wonderful idea. But the Industry will have to agree on it in spirit. Once that happens, it will have a great significance for our industry." Chintamani Rao pointed out that the industry will first have to learn to sit across the table more frequently to discuss their concerns, otherwise nothing will come out of any regulatory body. "Having said that, I do feel that we need our own body as AAAI has a varied area of work. Clients normally don't pay fees for our services. We are paid commission. Once the clients realize that a fee has to be paid to the agency for services, most of the problems of compensation and undercutting will be resolved."
"It will take a couple of years before we move away from the commission system," added an optimist Vij. Tarkas also pointed out that the future of media services agencies lies in making a difference to the client's business.

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