Geeteara Safiya Choudhury spent a large part of her student life writing for different newspapers printed in Calcutta, Karachi, and Dhaka, including The Bangladesh Observer and “She Magazine” in Karachi.
She worked for one of the leading advertising agencies of Dhaka, Interspan (now Interspeed Marketing Solutions Ltd), before being motivated by her clients to establish her own advertising agency Adcomm on July 4, 1974.
She has also served as the Adviser to the Ministries of Industries, Jute & Textile, Social Welfare, and Women & Children Affairs under the Caretaker Government in 2007.
Could you describe your journey transitioning from the world of literature and journalism to that of advertising and business?
I studied English Literature at the behest of my father. But he soon realized that I was not enjoying it, and got me an unpaid job at the Pakistan Observer (later the Bangladesh Observer). I started writing for the children’s page, the women’s page, and the film page. After my marriage, I had to move to Pakistan (then West Pakistan) with my husband, where I started working for She Magazine. During this time I did some freelance copywriting for advertising agencies as well.
When my husband got transferred back to Bangladesh (then East Pakistan), I was offered a job at Interspan as a copywriter. There, within a very short span of time, I got promoted to the position of General Manager, and later Executive Vice President. After I left that job, I was encouraged by my former clients to start my own ad agency. Although, I was afraid of doing it at first, my family members, especially my husband, ultimately convinced me to do it.What challenges did you have to face when you first started Adcomm? How did you overcome these challenges?
In the beginning, I decided to do it all by myself. The Sangbadpatra Parishad told me that I would have to get a 50,000 tk bank guarantee. I did not have that much money, and did not want to take the money from somebody else. I went to six banks, and they all refused because they required collateral. Then I went to Uttara Bank, and they finally agreed to help me out on the condition that I would get them letters from two clients stating that whatever payment they would make to me would be deposited in an account that I would have to open in their bank.
I told my clients and they agreed. I also put 10,000 taka that I had saved up until that point in the bank account. Once I opened the agency, four of my ex-colleagues approached me and told me that they wanted to work with me, although there was no guarantee of a regular salary. My husband had an office back then, where I rented a tiny room that could only accommodate 5 people at a time. We could not even afford a fan, which was good in a way since it forced us to visit clients’ offices and look for work. Since most ads were in print at that time, people would often ask if I would be able to stay up late at night working as a woman. As a mother, would I be able to stay away from my child and work?
I had to prove my determination and win clients two times over because I was a woman and a beginner.Why do you think firms prefer to use third party advertising agencies for their ad campaigns over their in-house marketing teams?
In-house marketers tend to have tunnel vision, but we are experienced with handling multiple clients from multiple fields. This experience gives us a wider range of knowledge that we can use for other fields.
We are also doing market research and talking with consumers, therefore we are not prejudiced. A firm’s own employees always assume their brand to be the greatest, but we can objectively judge their potential.What changes have you noticed in consumer behavior in Bangladesh throughout your time in the industry?
Consumers today are more aware and educated. They understand what is good and what is bad. They are skeptical, and have learned to weigh the pros and cons of buying a product.
Price is certainly still a factor, but quality is now an even bigger factor.What kind of advertisements do you think Bangladesh is ready for? Are taboo subjects acceptable?
We are ready to discuss taboo subjects, but we have to be able to explain it to the audience more effectively. The language must be tailored to the type of customer the message is meant for.
Using the wrong approach may result in the consumers either not understanding what is being said, or even worse, getting the wrong idea.
We must create an ad campaign while keeping our current traditions and customs in mind. We must understand our customers and how they think, even if it is challenging to obtain such information.Where do you think the industry should particularly improve to become competitive on a global scale?
We have caught up with international standards to a great extent and because we know our own country better, we can produce better ads than many of the multinational advertising agencies in Bangladesh. By shaping the advertisements for the Bangladeshi audience we can make sure that they are able to relate to those ads.Can you describe one of your most iconic advertising campaigns that you are most proud of?
There are many! I was once working for a multinational client who made shampoos. Back then, people in Bangladesh were not aware of the fact that there were specific shampoos available for specific types of hair. The client informed me that their shampoos were not being sold in the market, despite the shampoo being of very high quality (it went through 27 steps of quality control). It was not possible to describe all 27 steps in a TV advertisement, so I opted for newspaper ones. When I approached my clients with the idea, they initially refused citing an increase in costs as the reason. But then they asked if I could guarantee that this campaign would allow them to sell 250 bottles (as opposed to just 25 bottles they were selling at the time). I confidently said yes!
They then told me that if this failed, they would sack me. In the end, this campaign helped them to achieve a 275% growth. As a token of appreciation, they gifted Adcomm a TV and VCR set that we could not afford at that time. It encouraged me even more and made me feel more interested in my client’s job.Would you like to offer any advice to newcomers to the advertising industry?
You have to be ready to give not just 100%, but if possible 2000% of your attention to it.
