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Starting off this month, with <keyword id="57704" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shillong">Shillong</keyword>, Only Much Louder’s NH7 <keyword id="142259" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Weekender">weekender</keyword> in its seventh edition, is coming back with a bang! 
 
Since 2010 when the festival started , over 100 artists across diverse music genres have played at the Weekender each year. 
 Business Insider caught up with the buzzing CEO of Only Much Louder, <keyword id="150111" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Vijay-Nair">Vijay Nair</keyword> to find out why weekender is India’s only platform for <keyword id="827435" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="independent-music">independent music</keyword> performances. ‘ When we started <keyword id="326204" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="OML">OML</keyword>, it was all about supporting and managing artists. I think the reason we got so huge has been just Word of mouth. We started with Pune and we have quickly been adding multiple cities since the first Weekender. We have organised 17 NH7 weekenders so far and we don’t intend on stopping anytime soon.’ 
 <keyword id="6357049" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nair">Nair</keyword> thinks that India has so much undiscovered talent that is waiting to be unearthed,’ Our artist lineups are a big mix, from someone like AR <keyword id="11852" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rahman">Rahman</keyword> whom people had never seen live to fresh new faces who are playing their first gig at the fest, we have a great variety.’ 
 
On the lineup in each city, he says,’What works in one city might not work everywhere. We certainly keep the audience in mind before even doing one-day fests. What we have seen that most Indians are open to experimentation; they just don’t like Rock, Metal, Indie or Pop, they are willing to listen to different artists and sample everything, even though they might have their favourites.’ 
 This year, OML disappointed Delhi by skipping the city altogether and Nair was very practical about it,’ The problem is that Delhi kids don’t want to travel; to <keyword id="61537" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dwarka">Dwarka</keyword> or to <keyword id="6356788" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Greater-Noida">Greater Noida</keyword> where we found suitable venues. In Central and south Delhi, we face a lot of issues with Government policies and controlled venues, so we decided to skip it and focus on our two biggest NH7s- Shillong and Pune.’ 
 
While many die-hard Delhi fans might decide to travel north-east to hear their favorite artists live, we decided to give you a glimpse into the colourful musical Mecca that is the Weekender. 
 
Slide and cruise along. 
 
Images credits: NH7 Weekender

EXCLUSIVE: OML founder Vijay Nair talks about NH7 weekender and why the fest is not happening in Delhi this year

<ul><li>The Indian stock markets could open on a negative note on September 20, snapping the upward trend from the previous week. </li><li>Trends on SGX <keyword id="6354813" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nifty" source="Orion">Nifty</keyword> showed a decrease of 113 points, suggesting that Nifty could open in the red amid negative cues in other Asian markets. </li><li>Wipro and <keyword id="2351966" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="interglobe-aviation" source="Orion">InterGlobe Aviation</keyword> could be among the top stocks to watch out for on September 20. </li></ul><cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Wipro" comment="subhead" text="Wipro">Wipro</cmsannotation> Announced setting up a new co-innovation space with Google Cloud. It will be based in Bengaluru and provide support to business customers looking to onboard to the cloud. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="InterGlobe Aviation" comment="subhead" text="InterGlobe Aviation">InterGlobe Aviation</cmsannotation> The government has decided to increase domestic flight capacity to 85 percent from 72.5 percent with immediate effect. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Cadila Healthcare" comment="subhead" text="Cadila Healthcare">Cadila Healthcare</cmsannotation> Received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for Vortioxetine tablets used to treat depression. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Nazara Technologies" comment="subhead" text="Nazara Technologies">Nazara Technologies</cmsannotation> Its subsidiary, Nodwin Gaming, has acquired the gaming business and related IP of OML Entertainment for ₹73 crore. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Bajaj Holdings" comment="subhead" text="Bajaj Holdings">Bajaj Holdings</cmsannotation> Approved a dividend of ₹90 per share, with the record date being September 29, 2021. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Indian Oil" comment="subhead" text="Indian Oil">Indian Oil</cmsannotation> Efforts underway to restart the crude processing unit at its Barauni refinery after an incident on September 16 injured 19 people. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Adani Ports &amp; SEZ" comment="subhead" text="Adani Ports &amp; SEZ">Adani Ports &amp; SEZ</cmsannotation> Has approved the issuance of ₹1,000 crore worth debentures. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Rail Vikas Nigam" comment="subhead" text="Rail Vikas Nigam">Rail Vikas Nigam</cmsannotation> Bagged a ₹1,035 crore contract for the Indore Metro Rail Project. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Zee Entertainment" comment="subhead" text="Zee Entertainment">Zee Entertainment</cmsannotation> US equity giant BlackRock has increased its shareholding in the company to 5.01 percent by picking up over 3 lakh equity shares via the open market. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/vodafone-idea-and-airtel-need-tariff-hikes-agr-moratorium-might-not-be-enough-say-analysts/articleshow/86285450.cms">Vodafone Idea and Airtel need tariff hikes, AGR moratorium might not be enough, say analysts</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/chip-makers-like-nvidia-are-set-to-soar-as-semiconductor-sales-to-reach-544-billion-in-2021-bank-of-america-says/articleshow/86320628.cms">Chip makers like Nvidia are set to soar as semiconductor sales to reach $544 billion in 2021, Bank of America says</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/from-tesla-to-netflix-these-are-the-companies-that-look-set-to-join-the-apos1-trillion-clubapos-in-the-next-5-years/slidelist/86319281.cms">From Tesla to Netflix: These are the companies that look set to join the '$1 trillion club' in the next 5 years</a>

Wipro, InterGlobe Aviation and other top stocks to watch out for on September 20

On the eve of its<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Six-ways-Youtube-made-a-difference-in-the-last-decade/articleshow/47470329.cms"> YouTube</a> Fan Fest in Mumbai, the video-sharing website made another giant announcement that will make watching videos online all the more fun for its audience. Along with its content partners Only Much Louder (OML), <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/8-best-Indian-web-only-series-of-2015/articleshow/50268799.cms">The Viral Fever </a>(<keyword id="6400882" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="TVF">TVF</keyword>), Culture Machine and Qyuki, <keyword id="10879" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="YouTube">YouTube</keyword> is all set to launch four new original properties. 

	This further proves the growth of the Indian YouTube creator community which engages millions of people every day and the fact that web is the future.
 

	First to see the light of the day will be #LaughterGames in April, which will see nine comedians launch their own web series and will feature a mix of popular and new names such as Kennith Sebastian, East India Comedy and Put Chutney. After that, Culture Machine will be launching a show called Beauty Hunt while TVF will be launching a search for the next generation of web series creators thus utilising the platform of YouTube in a two-fold way.
 Then there’s OML who will return with season 2 of its successful Comedy Hunt in the search for India’s next top comedy act and Qyuki will launch a show called Jammin’ which will feature Youtube music creators alongside popular <keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> composers. 

	According to Satya Raghavan, the Head of Entertainment Content, YouTube India, the reason for this has been the unprecedented content creator revolution that the country has gone through, especially in 2015.
 

	“2015 was a breakout year for the young Youtube content creator industry that has collectively managed to break new ground by amassing millions of subscribers and a loyal fan base who have also in turns ensured that mobile has a major role to play when it came to online video composition. The audience clearly likes watching videos online, especially on YouTube and thus it just seemed like the natural way to go,” he added.
 

	With YouTube itself backing these content creators, one could hope that its breaks open gates for a whole kind of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Pretentious-Movie-Reviews-will-be-back-sooner-thanyou-think-says-comedian-Kanan-Gill/articleshow/51360663.cms">entertainment for Indians online.</a>
 

	Watching videos on Youtube just got all the more fun!

	 
	 
	(Image credits: indiatimes)

Know why you’re going to be spending a lot more time on Youtube from April

<ul><li>As the restrictions on the AlcoBev category grew stronger, there was an upsurge in music associations</li><li>Bacardí was among one of the first brands to marry music into its marketing strategy and in the last 20 years, the way it has used music has also evolved</li><li>The last song released under <keyword id="8065961" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bacardi-House-Party-Sessions">Bacardi House Party Sessions</keyword> was Sage by Ritviz, which gained a lot of love from millennials and we asked <keyword id="7306339" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Anshuman-Goenka">Anshuman Goenka</keyword> how much it helped the brand</li></ul> Bacardí India has leveraged music since its inception in India, forming a strong brand identity for its rum portfolio. The brand’s journey from the beginning of <keyword id="20541" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="bacardi-blast">Bacardi Blast</keyword> in the early 2000s to <keyword id="497469" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="NH7-Weekender">NH7 Weekender</keyword>, to <a href="https://youtu.be/qnAo7OgHfi8" data-type="tilCustomLink">Bacardí House Party Sessions</a> (BHPS) proves how music was the anchor to its growth, as if its inseparable from its brand identity. In the last four to five years, as the restrictions on the AlcoBev category grew stronger, there was an upsurge in music associations. However, Bacardí was among one of the first brands to marry music into its marketing strategy and in the last 20 years, the way it has used music has also evolved. Anshuman Goenka, Head of Marketing, Bacardí India shared how music has helped <keyword id="15277" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="bacardi">Bacardi</keyword> maintain a strong brand recall, surf through the restrictions on alcobev brands in our country, and how it has pushed the brand to come up with innovative solutions every time. Out of all their properties, Goenka holds Bacardí NH7 Weekender closest to his heart. As he feels nostalgic for the golden days and excited for their on-going campaign called ‘<a href="https://youtu.be/uL-aOQD2CQQ" data-type="tilCustomLink">Do What Moves You</a>,’ we are bringing to you some excerpts from our interview: Q. Can you walk me through Bacardí's music journey? Which musical property do you place close to your heart? In its 20 odd years in India, Bacardí has gone from being famous for hosting parties way beyond it’s time like the Bacardí Blast campaign and that one early jingle “Be what you wanna be”, to associating with iconic music festivals and content creators. In 1999, when we launched the Bacardí Blast campaign, we literally took the concept of nightclubs out in the open, pioneering the idea of open-air music experiences. For the last couple of years, we have used every platform possible to give our artists a bigger and better stage to create the music that moves them and showcases their talent. Continuing to work with music, we realized that there seemed to be no platform where music-lovers could just spend a few days in the company of what they enjoyed the most. That is when the brand along with OML created Bacardí NH7 Weekender to bring the best of music - independent artists, local and international to perform to the cheering crowds in India, a few days of pure music bliss. This platform helped us create several new relationships with the indie scene and we slowly came to understand the gaps these talented artists face leading to the culmination of Bacardí House Party Sessions, an avenue for independent artists to create, develop and promote their music with the benefit of every resource possible and mentorship. Yet, of all of our properties, the one that remains closest to our hearts, will have to be Bacardí NH7 Weekender. We take immense pride in having built one of the most anticipated music festivals in the Indian calendar, or better yet, one of the happiest music festivals. This year, we’re celebrating a decade of Bacardí NH7 Weekender, one of the first, large scale music festivals India had ever seen. When we see the online excitement leading up to the Weekender, the crowds lining up to enter and audiences singing along to indie artists, it’s worth far more than any measurable outcome. Q. Bacardí was one of the first few brands in our country to leverage music as a marketing strategy. Tell me how has this played out – how has using music benefited the brand so far? From Bacardí Blast to Bacardí NH7 Weekender, music is truly entrenched in Bacardí’s DNA and we understand that building equity takes years of both consistent interest and investment, and seeing real impact requires long-term assessment. When we look at the benefits from campaigns such as Bacardí House Party Sessions, we see the rise in brand uplift scores and based on our brand surveys, over 80% of Bacardí NH7 Weekender attendees have a strong brand recall and resonate with the fact that Bacardí stands for great musical experiences. The increase in engagement that we’ve been garnering on digital platforms, the artist’s familiarity across regions and sheer audience love at BNH7 Weekender, where these songs are sung along within a week of their release, are a testament to our efforts and investments. Q. Do you think music has been a great alternative for AlcoBev brands in India? How do you see the category using it now v/s when you began? In the last 5-6 years, there has been a surge of AlcoBev brands in India associating with music. Music knows no boundaries and increasingly, brands are starting to latch on to this emerging trend because it allows them to communicate to a wider target audience. This began in the late 2000s with the outbreak of several sponsored music festivals and events cropping up across the region. However, brands have long moved beyond mere sponsorships and are now engaging with the community by curating meaningful experiences. Workshops, panel discussions and intimate house gigs are a few of the prominent mediums that brands have employed. Some have even gone further to facilitate long-term collaborations directly with artists building creative brand narratives through these artists’ voices. For Bacardí itself, music was never just a tool, but a means for us to give back to our audiences. Our approach has consistently been to engage and uplift the music community and our consumers, leading up to our most recent and focused campaign BHPS. It is a platform that identifies artists with a unique sound, followed by a dedicated team that works with them right from production to marketing. From our experience, right from Bacardí Blast and Bacardí NH7 Weekender, to Bacardí House Party Sessions, we have realised that music opens avenues for brands to own a space and host global platforms that resonate with consumers over a long time. Q. Do you think Bacardí was able to create a niche by focusing specifically on independent music? While we’re not the only brand to work with independent musicians, with Bacardí House Party Sessions, we are unique in the way that we help artists scale their careers. We work only with emerging artists year on year, giving them the right exposure and opportunity, allowing them to break through in a much shorter time frame. We identify artists who we feel have a unique sound, followed by a dedicated team that works with them to create, curate and promote their music. We also give them an opportunity to work with and learn from the best in the industry. This year, we had mentors like Amit Trivedi, Benny Dayal and Mohini Dey on board, who help the artists craft their music better. Bacardí supports the artist from the moment the music is penned, to the point where people sing along to their songs, from the production of their music to the promotion of the videos we helped create. This approach has helped us create a niche not only within independent music but also as an enabler of a community that requires resources, recognition and mentorship. That’s where we feel that we have bridged the gaps just nudging the undeniable talent that already exists in our country. Q. How are these associations being leveraged digitally, considering the restrictions placed on alcohol marketing in India? India is a challenging market, one that encourages us to find innovative and interesting ways to connect with our consumers. Bacardí functions on a unique content-creator model wherein we work with artists like comedians, dancers and musicians, and allow them to curate their content while keeping our brand ethos in mind, which is ‘Do what moves you’. This encourages the artists to do their thing, without fear of interference from the brand. Digitally, this approach works well with audiences who identify with our campaigns much more, when the artist is the hero of the story. It ensures that our content is original and more relevant, especially for millennial viewers. BHPS itself has taken off entirely through a digital approach lately. A combination of both mediums (digital and on-ground) is what we believe will really sustain our work.

How Keeping Music at the Heart of Bacardi’s Identity Helped it Create Strong Brand Recall

<ul><li>Over the years, the advertising industry has normalised in-human working hours. Last week, the advertising industry lost a young gem due to cardiac arrest, which was induced by <keyword id="32784" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="work-stress">work stress</keyword>.</li><li>We speak to a few young copywriters to find out how stressful the job is, why does the problem exist and what kind of policies we need to execute to change the situation around. </li><li>We also spoke to a few agencies that have managed to create a healthy workplace and addressed examples of overworked and stressed employees at work. </li></ul>Last week, the advertising industry lost a young professional due to cardiac arrest, which was induced by stress. We were all left aghast to hear that she was only in her 40s. Many CEOs and Creative Directors sent their heart-felt condolences to her family members and to the agency she worked with. But did they make any concrete changes to make sure this is not repeated or did it start a much-needed conversation on how toxic advertising culture can get? This unfortunate incident has taken us back to the same problem/question that keeps popping up every year but it is never addressed. Will the stress level in the advertising industry ever subside and can copywriters ever dream of having a work-life balance? Over the years, the advertising industry has normalised inhuman working hours. In 2017, Tadashi Ishii, CEO, DAN Japan, had to resign after the suicide of an overworked junior employee. It did raise some questions back then but the topic was brushed under the carpet as always. This time, in India, we have lost another life to advertising's work stress. It is time we realise the severity of this problem and start talking about it. <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Text"><cdata><![CDATA[]]></cdata></div> Nikhil Narayanan, Creative Director at Ogilvy, took to LinkedIn to share this angst against people who take their job too seriously. He wrote, “I am no expert on other industries, but advertising is one that has normalised inhuman working hours. People flaunt dark circles caused by a lack of sleep like a badge of honour. When you leave work at 6 in the evening, you are asked whether you are taking half a day off. Jokingly. "If you aren't willing to work 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, you aren't cut for this, dude," some say with condescension. Well, sc*w that.” With work from home, the stress levels, tough deadlines, demanding clients and high pressure have all quadrupled. The person who does have the ‘audacity’ to prioritise a personal task over work, is frowned upon. People boast about how many hours they work, depth of dark circles under their eyes and for treating work like their life-time partner. There is a series called Thinkistaan written by N Padmakumar, who has spent 17 years of his life in the ad industry, that aims to talk about the <keyword id="2312133" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Toxic-work-culture">toxic work culture</keyword> that the advertising industry has built over the years. I reached out to a few of the top agencies of our country including DAN, GroupM, OML, The Glitch, Leo Burnett and all of them denied to comment. Agencies that did agree to speak to me told me all is well now. They do offer flexible working hours to their employees. But ground reality is not the same. I spoke to junior copywriters from the same agencies and they painted a different picture altogether. They said that they are overworked, constantly in-between calls and do not have the time for their families even if they sit right next to each other. They eat their meals as they work and even have to keep their personal life aside on the weekends. So why do we still continue to pressurize our employees and deny them their dues? Young copywriters and art directors told me it all boils down to the notion that you cannot say no to your client. Clients are treated like God in our industry. Agencies, on the other hand, are often treated like the client’s extended family, who can be cut out if one thing goes wrong because there are too many fish in the sea who would even agree to do the work at a lesser price. A young copywriter at a digital agency, Yesha Shah, describes the toxicity in the industry saying, “Working in an ad agency is like getting back with your toxic ex-boyfriend. You know that it is so toxic but you just can’t let it go.” She resigned last week due to the ever-increasing workload. Many creative people have resigned over the years and never looked back. They have decided to settle for a 9 to 5 job instead and kept their passion aside for peace of mind. People who do survive in the industry have to accept the fact that they cannot have a life apart from work. Shah has never kept her phone on silent and attended calls even at 3 am due to a false sense of emergency created by her clients about a mundane task. She has nightmares about getting fired by the client, she lives and breathes work. She says that she feels guilty for taking an off when she is unwell. She also tried to discuss it with her HR representatives and Client Managers, who did understand her problem but let it slide by saying, “This is how it is. We cannot say no.” “A colleague of mine once worked from 10 am to 7 am and that is the benchmark they have set for us now. I once left at 11 pm on a Friday night because I was done with my work and the entire team paused and frowned -- like I did something wrong. We are expected to stay until 4 am on a Friday night. Now, I don’t even have the time to eat food. I have roti, kapda, makaan but not the time to enjoy these basic rights I deserve. Eating food is a privilege here. I used to love writing but if I continue working like this, I will be dead when in my 30s,” shared Shah. Shah is 22 and has reached her burn out level already. She is going to leave the advertising industry and is reconsidering her life goals completely now. Another intern with an integrated agency spoke to us on the condition of anonymity. He told us about a pitch he and his team worked on for a month. The client (a digital wallet app) created a false sense of urgency at first and kept postponing the meeting later. When he did set a date to meet with the agency, he sat through the presentation for five minutes and walked off mid-way. Jay Morzaria, Creative Partner, Atom commented on Narayan’s post talking about a similar problem he faced. He said, “It's also a lot to do with boundaries which many ad agencies have failed to set with their clients. In a bid to 'maintain relationships', we have turned ourselves into slaves. Till now, out of all the 'urgent' jobs I have done, most of them eventually got cancelled or delayed.” Where does the buck stop? “How do we change this toxic culture? Need to plan work better, stand up to clients and learn to say NO. When we succumb to survival fear, we open ourselves up to exploitation,” said Hamsini Shivkumar, Leapfrog Strategy Consulting. A lot of agencies have introduced HR policies that allow employees to consult an in-house counselor for free, take an off on Monday once in a month or stamp in on a time-sheet that alerts the HR representative when they overwork. But are these policies religiously followed? A seasoned Creative Director, Nazim Ahmed (name changed to maintain anonymity) who has nearly 15 years of advertising experience and is currently working at one of the top <keyword id="1015861" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="advertising-agencies">advertising agencies</keyword> of our country, also said that agencies do offer the right HR policies but the ground-reality is quite different. “There are no boundaries at work or fixed timings. In advertising, you walk in at 10:30 am but there's no fixed time to leave. Before COVID, signing off from office meant you’re done for the day. But when at home, you cannot leave for the day. Now, because we are working from home, all hours are working hours. To address stress-related concerns, our HR started an activity called townhall where employees were allowed to raise their concerns but the entire team is on the call. You cannot really discuss your issues in front of the entire agency so people chose to speak about smaller issues. The biggest reason behind all this workload is that agencies can only do so much and clients are very demanding. At the end of the day, if you don’t deliver, the client will tell you they have other options available. During this lockdown, we have done a lot of work under this false sense of urgency created by clients and a lot of that work never saw the light of the day. They call it off, not even having the decency to inform us at times. Work stress has always existed in the industry but the problem has magnified now. The boundaries are completely blurred,” said Ahmed. In case an employee does muster the courage to say no and breaks the chain, he/she is either fired or someone else in the team is assigned the task. The pressure is passed from one person to another but there is no end to it. Learning from a few examples We spoke to a few agencies that have managed to find basic solutions to ease the workload. MediaCom has taken a few measures to reduce burnout and stress amongst its employees. Navin Khemka, CEO, MediaCom South Asia said, “We are encouraging employees to take leaves, emphasizing on the importance to give rest to ourselves, reduce our stress, be resilient and ensure our mental well-being. This is an agenda which is being accentuated in all our leadership calls and town halls. We have, in fact, highlighted employees who have not taken a single leave in the entire year, and reported them to their respective managers, to encourage employees to take breaks and avoid burnouts. Khemka also lets his employees take a week off after a hectic schedule. He said, “This was implemented with the team members being given time off on a rotation basis. This has been very well appreciated by both teams and clients. We have also spoken to our employees to go back to their hometowns and WFH. This also ensures that they get quality time at home and are not staying all alone in a big city. They have been told that they will be given at least 2 weeks’ notice before we reopen offices.” Gozoop was ranked on No. 20 amongst India’s top 50 Great Mid-Size Workplaces in 2019 by a publication. Its Chief Happiness Officer, Bansi Raja, told us a few problems they decided to address to create a healthy workplace. She said, “Life in the advertising industry is as stressful as someone working in the stock market or even the telecom industry. Instead of focusing on reducing the stress, let’s shift our lens to providing a strong work culture and helping build resilience within your team. Enabling constructive feedback conversations, having each other’s back through tough times, leading with compassion and empathy balanced with tough love, pushing back unnecessary deadlines, being real, and extending professional help around mental breakdowns are ways to build a culture that stands strong in the face of adversities and strengthens your team from within. When you truly care for your team as your own, you’ll know exactly what will make them thrive. So focus within and build a culture that you wished you had in your early years. That’s the only way we’ll build a future that we’re proud of.” Sudish Balan, Chief Business Officer, Tonic Worldwide also said dealing with <keyword id="32785" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="work-pressure">work pressure</keyword> is never easy but it’s worse when you don’t get support for dealing with it. Talking about a few policies they introduced to address problems related to work stress, Balan said, “The HR team at Tonic sends out frequent communication to our clients on the working hour policy that we have. Sometimes it’s to express our gratitude to the clients in helping us ensure the work hours are maintained. As soon as lockdown was announced and working from home became the mode of operation, we initiated a Timesheet system. The sole purpose of the timesheet is to track overworking teammates. We have a Red Flag algorithm incorporated in the time sheet to track based on the number of hours. The Team lead is held responsible if the flag is raised. Our HR team monitors this system closely on a real time basis and takes actions on a weekly basis. As a creative person myself, I consider myself as a lamp which can burn brighter if I spend more time switched off than when I am switched On. It’s the same logic we have for our people at Tonic 'Switch OFF so that you can Switch ON and be awesome.'” BBH &amp; Publicis Worldwide India has also introduced mental wellness programs for its employees. Subhash Kamath CEO, BBH &amp; Publicis Worldwide, India said, "Working from home, though it cuts down travel time etc, brings its own stress and problems. A lot of people have felt that the lines between working hours and personal time have started to blur, and they feel they’re putting in more work time at odd hours as well. Plus, people living alone can feel isolated and anxious, having to do everything in the house while coping with work. As a group, we’re acutely aware of this and we’ve always maintained that people safety and health come first. So, a number of initiatives have been introduced for the benefit of our employees. We’ve tied up with a professional organisation, which has many years of experience in this. It gives our employees and their dependents free access to trained, independent counsellors who can help deal with personal or professional issues. The areas of counselling not only include mental wellbeing but also physical wellness and nutrition. And all if it is done in complete privacy. And the Employee Assistance Programme Hotline is available 24x7. In addition, we’re encouraging all team leaders to be in regular touch with their teams. And every now and then we all meet online informally, as well as continuing with cultural activities like music jams, guest speakers etc.” Famous Innovation’s Creative Director, Ketan Sudhir Kadam, says he has been privileged to find an agency that allows him to maintain a balance between personal and professional life. “I accepted an offer letter from Famous Innovations and just a day after the lockdown announcement was made. To be very honest, I was worried about how I would blend in a new agency without even meeting anyone in person before, except Raj Kamble whom I met at a few industry events before joining. Since my joining, I did not find any kind of work pressure and it is just because of the culture we have here. The situation is new to everyone, we all have to work together and make it better for anyone who is affected by the pandemic. I believe, we all should, without hesitating, take a break whenever we feel that the work has reached a point where it isn’t keeping us happy but causing stress. At Famous, we have breakthrough sessions where we play housie, charades, or listen to international award-winning creatives, every Friday to just forget about work, connect with each other, and enjoy a day without worries. I hope agencies find ways like these to keep their employees motivated during this tough phase. Because at the end of the day, our work is a reflection of us. And if we don't feel great, the work won't be as great,” shared Kadam. Nazim Ahmed (name changed) said it isn’t just agencies that need to put their foot down if their client pressurises. The whole industry has to come together to flag off toxic clients. He explained, “We're at gunpoint from the client’s side. The industry should take a collective stand and refuse to be treated this way. They will say they will move on to the next agency but that shouldn’t happen. The next agency should put their foot down and say we heard you treated your previous agency poorly and we don’t want to be on your side. It should be a chain reaction. Just like the credit card industry, we should blacklist clients that exploit agencies for pitches - they call 100 agencies and take the best ideas to the agency that charges the least. No agency should participate in those pitches. We need to stand together, everyone is fighting for survival after all.” Ogilvy’s Narayan reminded in his LinkedIn post that the advertising industry doesn’t save lives. Its job is to sell products, which can wait. He wrote, "The thing is, advertising isn't as important as people in the industry make it out to be. We are not out there curing bloody cancer. At best, we are trying to convince people to choose a fancier hospital through messages that often create false hope. That's about it. We might be needed, but we aren't indispensable. We might be creative, but we are not artists. We might be necessary, but we are not that important. So slow down. It's just a job. Treat it like that.” Update: The DDB Mudra Group reached out to us and spoke to us about the issue and the responsibility that agencies play in addressing it as well as coming up with effective solutions. Aditya Kanthy, CEO &amp; MD, DDB Mudra Group said, “The first step is to acknowledge that stress, burn-out and work-life balance is a problem and has been for some time. It is simply not acceptable to say that this is how things are and we should just live with it. We also have to understand that it is a complex problem and there isn’t a silver bullet to solve it. While, we have put in place policies which help our employees cope better, such as the Employee Assistance Program which provides free mental health counselling for all our people; compulsory leave to help them switch off; and tools like Asana and Sunday Trackers to help manage and safeguard their time; but we know that policies can only do so much. We get the outcomes we want when everyone involved makes a serious effort to change. This includes a push from our side in building a culture of empathy and transparency that empowers our employees to voice their issues, ask tough questions of us and assert their life choices beyond work. It also includes bringing our clients into the conversations, setting boundaries and building partnerships with mutual respect for each other’s time. We’ve got to hold hands on this one and make it better one step at a time - every moment, every day.”

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