I did nothing spectacular,” says Harbinder Singh, general manager, marketing, Eldeco, of his career strategy. “I just followed the basic tenets of life–sincerity, hard work and being open to learning and that’s what helped me at each stage of my career,” says Singh whose transition from being a creative director with various advertising agencies to a marketing head with a real estate company has raised many eyebrows.
It is a complete role reversal for Singh, a trained graphic designer from Panjab University. “I am now a client for the ad agencies where I used to work,” he says. And it was not an overnight changeover.
Son of an engineer, Singh had to work extra hard to prove his offbeat choice of vocation. Having won several painting awards in school, Singh was inclined towards taking up a professional course that would help him work on his creativity. In 1980 this was considered foolhardy. “But my parents supported me,” he says.
In 1985, after completing the course, he moved to Delhi to look for a job. A chance meeting with a magazine editor opened the doors to the print media. Singh joined as a graphic designer for a monthly salary of Rs 1,400. “They were not the best of times to be in Delhi for a Sikh,” recounts Singh as he had a tough time finding accommodation.
In a way it worked in his favour as he spent almost all his waking hours in office—learning and improving his skills. “The magazine had some of the best people heading the design team and I made the most of it,” says Singh who always wanted to be part of an ad agency.
A year later Singh walked into ad agency Leo Burnett’s Delhi office to look for a job and walked out with an offer letter. Even though Singh started as a visualiser, quite a junior post, for Rs 4,000 a month, he was soon helping out with bigger projects.
Within three years, Singh was independently handling projects. It was during this stint that he realised the importance of direct interaction with clients. “The communication gap between the client and the creative team would lead to a lot of wasted effort,” says Singh. He decided to accompany the client servicing teams on their presentations. His seniors’ support was an advantage.
The itch to prove his mettle in a bigger agency pushed him to move to Hindustan Thompson Associates (now part of J Walter Thompson) in 1990. The next six years proved very fruitful as he was part of an industry that was experimenting, evolving and competing on a global scale. All along Singh, who was now an associate creative director, continued to assist the marketing team in preparing the sales pitch. Singh’s next move happened in 1996. Joining Mudra’s boutique agency Interact Vision as creative director for Rs 5 lakh a year was once again a planned move.
For the first time Singh was in complete command. “I was responsible for the creatives and was part of the management team too,” he says. His ability to convince clients and lead the presentation was recognised. In 2000, the urge to work for a bigger agency with more demanding clients resurfaced and he switched to RK Swamy-BBDO as creative director for Rs 7 lakh a year. “The quality of both the team and clients was far superior to other places and I had to push myself extra hard to meet the expectations,” says Singh of the challenges he faced.
Even the most meticulous falter sometime and so it happened with Singh. The pragmatic professional took an emotional decision and moved back to Interact Vision for Rs 9 lakh a year in 2003. The challenge was missing and Singh realised he no longer had to push himself. “It was all so routine,” he says. Not the one to rue his fate he took on the role of client servicing more seriously and began to work on building the business. “It was critical for my professional growth,” he says Singh. It also added to his growing list of friends.
It was one such client-turnedfriend, the chief executive of realty firm Eldeco, who offered Singh a chance to work with him on building the company’s brand and develop its marketing strategy. He didn’t think twice. But Singh knew what exactly he could do and what he wanted to do. “I definitely did not want to create ads for the company but I could manage the advertising for them,” says Singh, who joined Eldeco as general manager, business promotion.
Singh’s role has been expanding since then. From managing projects that involve interacting with architects and construction professionals to timing the market and developing the brand, Singh is now in the thick of real estate business. “The challenges and learning are back,” he adds as he checks some of the promotion material sent by the ad agency. The ad man is history; the new avatar is one who wants to build a marketing career.
