5 Minutes with… Neville Medhora
In his 25-year career, ADK’s recently appointed chief transformation officer Neville Medhora has had substantial stints with ADK Rage, Y&R, Saatchi & Saatchi, TBWA, and JWT. Over that time, he has worked with diverse and successful brands and spearheaded vital digital initiatives for clients.
Previously the head of ADK Rage Communications' India and EMEA, Neville is now focused on reimagining the network agency through integrating product offerings and pursuing better digital adoption between country and business units in an increasingly hybrid world.
When not overseeing multidisciplinary teams of digital specialists for customers like Citibank, Jones Lang LaSalle, Royal Sundaram, and Tata Motors. Neville works on his motorbike – his other obsession.
To reflect on it all, he sat down with LBB’s Tom Loudon.
LBB> Can you tell us more about your new role as chief transformation officer for ADK Global and what it entails?
Neville> Increasingly, clients across the region are looking at partners who have a strong consumer understanding and are also able to communicate across touchpoints seamlessly, be it traditional (TV, radio, OOH, events), digital (web, apps, social, search) or deeper tech like e-commerce and automation.
It is a testament to its vision and market readiness that ADK Global recognised this need and has made these services available across our network. A fully integrated business is just a turn of the tap away.
My role accelerates ADK Global's transformation by integrating our business offerings and solutions across regions into the current single-window communication package clients are looking for.
LBB> What are your key goals and objectives in accelerating ADK Global's digital transformation across regions and clients?
Neville> There are three fundamental objectives we will try to achieve:
- Set and implement a clear and compelling transformation strategy by working closely with offices in the region.
- Champion the use of integrated services.
- Help accelerate a cultural change in how we approach our client’s businesses.
LBB> How do you plan to integrate ADK's business offerings and solutions into a single-window delivery for clients?
Neville> The strength of the ADK Global network is the existence of complementary services across our markets. Our leaders in these markets are keen to export or import those services. For example, the Indian team has solid digital expertise, which groups in Vietnam and Thailand find very useful. Singapore has a strong media team which the Indian market now has access to and implements across performance marketing clients. Taiwan has superior creative credentials, which give us a cutting edge with global brands. The list is endless, and so are the possibilities. Ultimately, it is about identifying opportunities and leveraging existing services to integrate across the network.
LBB> Could you elaborate on the two fronts you mentioned: creativity backed by consumer insights, strategic vision, and seamless execution across mainstream and digital platforms?
Neville> This is the crux of integration. Today, traditional agencies are vital in consumer insights and creativity but need a more strategic focus that consultancies deliver. Digital agencies, on the other hand, are essential in implementing ‘digital ideas’ but flounder with technical implementation at times and tend to ignore more traditional avenues. Similarly, tech companies focus more on platforms and performance than creativity and design. Ultimately, the handshakes between these companies are less firm than having one company in the driving seat. This is the holy grail all agencies are chasing, the one-stop shop.
LBB> What excites you the most about taking on this new challenge?
Neville> I mentioned earlier that this is the holy grail for communication agencies. Every agency would love to be able to deliver this, and most agencies are likely to have a “One Team” philosophy tucked away in their vision statements. What makes this hard to implement is the operational challenge of offering it as an organic offering within the network and finding regional leaders with the vision and humility to cooperate with other offices and teams. ADK Global ticks off these two boxes competently, and the message from the leadership team is well understood and appreciated down the line. Leaders from different disciplines are keen to empower this shift.
LBB> How do you plan to leverage your extensive experience in design, branding, UI/UX, web technology, search marketing, and social media in your new position?
Neville> Before this role, I was ADK Rage’s head for India and EMEA. Before that, I worked across mainline agencies like Saatchi, TBWA, and Y&R.
I have seen both worlds and how difficult integration services are. I have also observed the opportunities and upsides of integration. My perspectives will help ADK Global understand the obstacles and options better. Having expertise across traditional and digital allows me to walk the talk.
This digital expertise extends to the ADK Rage teams working across markets with local groups to identify transformation opportunities.
Undoubtedly, having a dual perspective and teams to back up both sets of services is critical to our transformation.
LBB> Can you share any specific examples of notable optimisations or digital initiatives you have led in your previous role at ADK Rage?
Neville> There are many, but I like to showcase the Tata Motors “Photo Ok Please” project for its simplicity. Our client gave us a brief to focus on marginalised truck drivers in India who do not occupy an excellent societal position.
Tata already does a lot for them, including insurance, education for their children, better working conditions, workshops etc. Still, the question we wanted to answer is how to create public-facing activities that celebrate them vividly. We did extensive Xploring (an ADK Rage tool) sessions with the truckers and found vital consumer insights into their lives.
- The drivers were traversing the length and breadth of the country, seeing places that ordinary people only dreamt of
- They celebrated these by taking fantastic pictures of the locales on their smartphones and sharing them via WhatsApp with friends and families.
Out of this was born an engagement program where we asked the drivers to register and share their pictures with Tata Motors’ 4-million-strong audience on social media. Prizes and public recognition made this an excellent engagement for the drivers. Tata Motors achieved not only engagement scale but also showcased the creative side of drivers to the public, thereby changing perceptions. This activity integrated on-ground events, POS, EDMs, videos, WhatsApp, database management, social media, and campaigns, winning over 20 awards across categories. It was truly a seamless communication piece.
LBB> Finally, how do you plan to drive innovation and reimagine the business within the organisation?
Neville> This cannot be done alone. It can only be done with the support of regional CEOs and clients. For this to work, the line managers need to believe they can add value to their clients and transform silos into broader engagements. Alignment and internal transformation are essential from understanding what integration means from both ends of the spectrum to identifying and thus allocating resources where they are needed, to CEOs and regional leaders with the vision and courage to buy into and support this, and most importantly, the managers who believe that transformation starts with them and who will take their network’s backing and run with it locally.
