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CHENNAI, Feb. 18

EVEN the best creative product is founded on deep insight and a basic knowledge about brands and consumers — and much of this knowledge lies untapped within the advertising agency. In order to better tap and utilise this expertise, Ogilvy & Mather India recently launched `Ogyani,' a portal that is a one-stop shop for all knowledge needs.

`Ogyani,' which was launched last month across all O&M divisions and offices in India, is a virtual space where the staff can post and find documents, presentations and creative work, and also interact with people who have expertise (`gyanis') in particular consumer segments or product categories. The portal comprises discussion boards, insight locators, photo and creative libraries, cartoon contests and quizzes.

"The resistance to share is inherent in a competitive environment, but we're doing two things — rewarding sharing, and allowing the person who puts things up to view a list of people who have viewed his/her contribution," said Mr Kunal Sinha, Vice-President, Ogilvy Discovery, who spearheaded the project along with Ms Madhukar Sabnavis, Country Head, Discovery, and Ms Kalpana Rao, Talent Director.

The portal captures knowledge in various forms — Web links, book reviews and lists, even random views on a campaign or a presentation; a panel of senior people evaluates the contributions. A recognition system has also been installed, by which contributors earn points, which can be exchanged for gifts, and quarterly and annual awards. "We've found that not too many have a problem in sharing — especially the youngsters who are just dying for their work to be noticed by a larger community, one that is beyond their immediate teams," Mr Sinha said. Ogilvy Worldwide has a "somewhat similar" portal called Truffles, he said.

Most knowledge on Ogyani is organised by the categories `Needs, Wants and Desires', and by consumer segments; a Toolkit section allows employees to look up methodologies for consumer and brand insight, and understand the environment and the marketplace. Each of the O&M divisions has posted its credentials, key people and client lists, while the Information Cell, which tracks various sectors and monitors advertising, feeds in the latest market information. The portal is based on the Lotus Notes platform and is designed by Nexstep Infotech.

Since its launch, nearly 30 per cent of O&M staff have registered, and over 600 contributions have been received, Mr Sinha said. "(It suggests) a fair deal of enthusiasm — it is only a matter of time that the rewards of sharing knowledge will be evident to all," he said. The portal is a way of creating "communities of visible knowledge workers," he added.

Initial feedback indicates that the portal has cut down on information search in the agency, Mr Sinha said. In terms of locating expertise, people are still getting used to the idea, and the `gyani' matches are likely to be low till at least 60-70 per cent of the staff have registered, he added.

"We're measuring hits and contributions to see if our objectives to maximise the knowledge potential are being met," Mr Sinha said.

"But at a more fundamental level, we want to see if the standards of work improve, especially in the area of thinking."

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