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Beyond Building
Brands ....
By Priya Tuli
There’s more to life than a high-powered career and raising a
family. “Do what you enjoy doing, then you do it well,” says
Shalini Gopalan-Menon.
Self-assured and vibrant, Shalini Gopalan-Menon, President
Director of Interact Carison Marketing Group, arrived in
Indonesia over 16 years ago and hasn’t looked back since.
Brought up in a sheltered, conservative environment in South
India, she studied Fine Arts, surprising herself and her family
when she was ranked third at the university she was attending.
“It’s not like I was hard-working or clever,” she says with a
disanning smile, “I just got lucky and knew all the right
answers!”
In the days when young women got married right after
university—if not earlier—she joined the advertising agency, J.
Walter Thompson, against her father’s wishes. Advertising was
still considered a somewhat ‘dubious’ profession, and he had
wanted her to take up an ‘honorable’ calling, like teaching.
Five years into her advertising career, she got married and
moved to Indonesia. “I was 24, knew nothing about anything and
neither of us had jobs, as my husband who had been here since
1983 was just setting up his own business. So here I was, a
young bride, in a new country, wiTh a new husband, and a new
household to run. And no support system to fall back on, no
family or friends. But we loved the place and we were happy.”
She soon got a job with Matari, the largest advertising agency
in Jakarta at the time. “I learnt a lot in one year. That you’ve
got to know the language, that these are great people to work
with and get to know. I believe in building long-term
relationships. Some of the people I worked with 16 years ago are
still with me even today,” says Shalini.
In 1991 she left Bates, the ad agency where she headed a group,
to set up a new business: Impact Advertising. But not alone. Ten
colleagues, with whom she had worked for nearly a dozen years,
joined her in her bold move. Impact’s core business was the
Sempati airline account. She also produced the controversial
‘Forestry’ campaign, which went on to win several national and
international awards, including Best Ad in the first ever
readers’ poll conducted by TEMPO magazine! In 1996 she started
Interact and recently went into a joint venture with the
US-based Carlson Marketing Group, world leaders in Relationship
Marketing.
“Professionally, working in Indonesia is very challenging,
completely different from working with multinationals, where
global systems are in place. Here, we work a lot with local
brands, and need to develop branding and positioning of
international standards, that works in a local context. Yes it
is very different from the advertising industry in India, that’s
why I’m here, I enjoy the difference.”
But there’s life beyond creating brands, she says. She
volunteers her professional expertise for social development
programs whenever she can. “People have been helping me all my
life. In my own small way, I’d like to do my bit to help others
too. Which is why I was involved in the “Back to School”
Program after the crisis, and in communication programs for
Yayasan (foundations) that look after orphans and destitute
women.”
Building brands to boost a client’s business is one thing. But
now she’s using her advertising and marketing skills to give
prisoners a new lease on life. We all need something feel-good
to do in our lives, something that really makes a difference.
For Shalini right now, it’s about breaking new ground with
“Island Jewels”, a new line in exclusive, beautifully packaged
home accessories, a brand that grew out of a high-security
prison rehabilitation effort. Prisoners are trained to select,
cut and polish stunning volcanic crystals, which are then used
as colorful decorative accents either on their own, or combined
with other materials to make an exclusive range of products,
from napkin rings to fashion jewelry.
“What I like about this program is that the prisoners are
afforded a chance to learn a skill they can use when they go
free, providing them with a means of livelihood. Twenty-five
percent of what they are paid to produce the crystals goes into
savings for them, so that they have some seed money when they
are released, giving them a chance at a new life.” The fledgling
brand, barely a few months old, has certainly taken wing; stocks
are already sold out, and new product lines are in the offing.
So who or what has had the greatest impact on her? “The three
men who have influenced me the most, are my father, for always
impressing upon us the need to rely on our own judgment. He
taught us by example, and I am grateful to him for the values I
grew up with. My husband, Tiku Menon, for believing in me— right
from the time I couldn’t even operate my own bank account. He
would help me with direction and just say, ‘You can do it’, no
matter what it was. He is my role model. The third is Bob Hasan.
I know that public opinion on him is divided, but I know him
personally, not through the media, which does tend to exaggerate
short-comings. He used to tell me, ‘The key to success is to
enjoy whatever you’re doing and make the most of any opportunity
presented to you’.”
“I live an ordinary life”, Shalini asserts. “I was just
fortunate to have had more than my fair share of work
opportunities with senior Indonesians such as ministers and
business leaders.” The list is long and impressive, to be sure.
The shy young bride who couldn’t handle her own bank account has
metamorphosed into a high-flyer indeed!
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