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News<= /A>=20 >> Advertising

Inspired by others' incompetence: Mukesh Manik

afaqs!=20 news bureau | afaqs! | Mumbai, February 18, 2009 =

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From=20 running a company that sells office automation products to setting up = his own=20 niche out of home advertising agency that has helped, among other = brands,=20 Coca-Cola=92s Sprite topple competitor Pepsi from the No. 2 spot, is = nothing short=20 of an achievement. That=92s Mukesh Manik, MIC (man-in-charge) of = Encyclomedia=20 Networks for you.

The man in charge has been on a roll, recently = accomplishing another first =96 a joint venture in Australia and = starting work on=20 Cadbury=92s there. Encyclomedia Networks is now present in about 15=20 countries.

The=20

agency has = become=20 synonymous with =91jump-out=92 and =91in-your-face=92 3D ads. There have = been cases of=20 people reportedly walking into closed lifts and other doors because the = ad=20 graphics vinyl stuck on them were so realistic.

Encyclomedia=92s = most=20 recent work includes the extensive outdoor campaign for Sprite = comprising train=20 wraps, lift wraps and metro tunnel branding. The agency has also created = clutter=20 breaking work for clients such as Hewlett Packard, XBOX, Airtel, = Hindustan=20 Unilever=92s (HUL=92s) Dove, Clinic All Clear, Coca-Cola=92s Thums Up, = Limca and other=20 beverages, Shoppers Stop, Hyundai and Samsung.

Manik was inspired to = start his own=20 creative agency after the advertising agency he had hired, wasn=92t able = to=20 deliver. Back in 1994, Manik, who was running Manik HSM (selling office=20 automation products), wanted to advertise a paper shredder model. =93The = agency=20 created a small ad for the classifieds that cost Rs 24,000 to place. The = call=20 backs from the ad generated business of only about Rs 18,000. So I = thought =96 let=20 me create my own ad,=94 he says.

In the same classified section, = he created=20 an ad that said =91Our models will strip for you=92 with the image of a = paper=20 shredder shredding a sheet into strips! This time, the business = generated=20 amounted to about Rs 3.5 lakh, a whopping difference by a person who had = no=20 background in advertising.

=93Inspired by this, I thought if I = could do=20 this for myself, I could do the same for other brands, too,=94 he = smiles. In fact,=20 now the agency consists of a team of 50 people and none of them hail = from=20 advertising.

In 1998-99, he set up 3D Media Solutions, which = created=20 floor graphics for brands in supermarkets. =93I was looking for a yet = untapped=20 medium. I thought of billboards, print, TV =96 they were all crammed. = The only=20 place left was floors!=94 he says.

Back then, a challenge for = the company=20 was getting a brand to accept floor space advertising because no one = wanted=20 their brand name and logo on a floor with people walking over it. But = the=20 company managed to get the floor cleaner brand, Domex, on board since it = made=20 complete sense for it as the brand was used on floors, = anyway.

Another=20 challenge, Manik says, was that a decade ago, there weren=92t any = =91big=92=20 superstores, but smaller ones like KD=92s Lo Price or Dedhia=92s, which = are now=20 considered mom-and-pop stores after the arrival of Spencer=92s and Food=20 Bazaar.

The company also started offering window graphics, table = top=20 graphics and 3D hoarding creatives. The company was re-christened = Encyclomedia=20 Networks in 2005 and started with some good work for Apollo Tyres and = HUL=92s=20 shampoo, Clinic.

Manik shares that the office automation = products=20 company is still running and doing well, but he is not hands-on there. = Looking=20 back, he says that if he didn=92t get into creative, he could have done = much=20 better for that company. He says, =93It paid the bills, but I wasn=92t = satisfied=20 creatively =96 after all, that was a trade.=94

Manik also calls = himself a=20 =91college dropout=92 since he attended the BBA Program at New Hampshire = College,=20 USA for four years, but did not finish the last semester. =93I did not = think a=20 college degree added any value to what I had set out to do because I = knew that I=20 would be an entrepreneur and could never do a regular 9 to 5 job,=94 he = says.=20 Well, the way we look at it, if he was doing a boring 9 to 5 job, the = world=20 would be a less creative place!

Beat the=20 slowdown, realize your entrepreneurial dream
You can SMS ETPI with = your name=20 and email address to 58888, email us on etideas@indiatimes.com or visit http://www.afaqslinux.com/cgi-bin/re.html?c=3Det&u=3D= http://www.ideas.economictimes.com=20

=A9 2009 afaqs!

2 Comments

From Bassam = Hassan=97 Fri 20=20 Feb 2009 09:48:21 PM Day after day i had belive by your = creativity and=20 i'm sure your hard working will make your name and your company among=20 stars.
regards, wishing to you all the best and success.

From Murali = Raman=97 Wed 18=20 Feb 2009 10:22:46 PM Out of the Box, wacko, lateral...all term = that=20 paradoxiccaly enuf, typify Mukesh!
More power to you Mr. = Manik!
It's been=20 a pleasure working with you!

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