By Agnello Dias, Co-founder, TapRoot India

In my view, the one big idea that can transform the advertising agency business in India would be to bring on a uniform fee structure. Currently the agencies work on various payment models and that has led to a situation where agencies are reduced to being seen as a service provider instead of a partner in building brands. The various compensation models, be it a retainer fee or a commission fee, also have no uniformity and change to meet the needs of the clients and the agencies. In this situation, the worst thing to happen is that we now fail to estimate the exact value of our industry, which has become impossible. With no real valuation available the industry has also lost out on its chance to emerge as a contributor in the value chain where advertising comes only much later.

Hence, a uniform fee structure is the need of the hour for the advertising fraternity. This will help in advertising getting its due which otherwise is being relegated to the background when it comes to clients, and seen as a quick solution provider, which should not happen. Once a fee structure is in place, it would be a positive step towards bringing back advertising to the main realm in a marketing strategy.