With over 16 years of work experience in the media industry in leadership roles, Dnyanada Chaudhari’s experience spans strategic planning, buying and media management, new business and P&L.
Having worked in agencies like Lodestar and ZenithOptimedia earlier, her client experience spans across companies like ICICI Prudential, Marico and Unilever.
During her stint at Madison, she has successfully set up the Media AoR for Cadbury/Mondelez in India. Effective Jan 2013, she has been elevated to lead Madison Media units in Mumbai.
What has been your experience as a woman in the media business?
Over the last 16 years, I have had the privilege of working with many talented professionals and the best of companies who have believed in diversity. My personal experience has been wonderful and I have had the opportunity to be in coveted leadership roles in marketing as well as media agencies.
Women are wired to think and behave uniquely and will approach a situation differently from a man. However, it’s not about your gender or the approach you follow that is being judged. What matters en fin is about being a good professional, with the right attitude to business who is able to deliver outcomes.
How conducive is the environment for women to thrive in the media industry today?
The media agency business is very exciting and dynamic. In fact, there has never been a better time to be in media than now! It is also extremely demanding, so you truly need to be passionate about the job to be able to succeed. We have a significant proportion of women in leadership positions at Madison. We have many talented women professionals at Madison with young children who have been able to contribute significantly to work as well as manage a work life balance.
Women today want a lot more from life and they want it all. I would say these women have been very successful at balancing work and life since they are very focussed, great at multi-tasking and exhibit exceptional time management skills.
What television shows do you like to watch?
I am a light television viewer. I don’t watch shows where larger chunk of advertising money like GECs go but I do watch travel shows. I cherry pick what I want to watch.
What kind of movies are you fond of?
I watch all kinds of Bollywood and Hollywood movies. I prefer watching movies to television.
What do you do in your spare time?
I am a globetrotter, I love travelling. As I am an avid movie buff, I watch movies in my spare time. I also like to cook and meditate.
What advice would you give to the young girls entering the business of media today?
Don’t be shy or worry about being judged. Speak your mind and believe that your point of view will contribute significantly. At work, you are judged by outcomes as well as your attitude to business. Obsess about bringing great work to life, spread positive energies, be confident, love your job, be yourself… and welcome to the madness!
How do you see media evolve in the next 5 years?
So far, our efforts as an industry have been primarily on how consumers are interacting with entertainment and media and in recent times on how consumers are adapting to technology. In the future, technology will continue to be the powerful force that reshapes the way organisations operate internally and connect with consumers.
What is uncertain, however, is the speed of technological innovation and the level of customisation. What is certain is that bandwidth will get bigger, devices will become more powerful as they will become even more multi functional.
Access to large data and opportunities to hyper personalise will be immense. There could be opportunities of shifting gear from sponsoring entertainment to sponsoring technology that changes lives. There will also be blurring of lines between advertising and content.
Due to convergence, mere media placements will not be the solution. Content will have a powerful role. We will have to look for the right metrics to measure interplay between media as there will be blurring of lines between television, tablets and mobiles. While measurement metrics and accountability will be continuing themes, current measurement currencies will have to be reinvented with changing times.
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