KUALA LUMPUR: The first time FCB Kuala Lumpur chief executive officer T. Renganathan experienced the feel of the advertising world was when he was just 14 and he knew then, he would make a career out of it.
At 14, his job was to monitor newspaper advertisements and handle general clerical duties after school hours at a mid-sized local agency, called Associated Publicity (AP).
After completing Form Six, Renganathan joined IACT (then known as Joint Education Committee) as a pioneer student to qualify as an advertising professional.
“There was no Eureka moment when I decided to join the advertising industry full-time,” he said, adding that his early experience and lessons learned from the masters of the industry was the tipping point.
When he returned to AP, the agency was sold to Compton and was reborn as AP Compton.
That was 36 years ago. Since then, the agency has been bought, sold, merged, realigned and redefined until its current incarnation as FCB Kuala Lumpur.
“I’m not sure if I can claim to be the longest serving ad man in the industry, but I can definitely confirm that I have worked in the same organisation for the longest term,” he said.
Despite the many changes that have transformed the advertising business in the past four decades, Renganathan believes that creativity is only effective if it helps a client’s brand grow in stature and sales.
He is currently a council member in the 4As and acknowledges that there’s a dearth of talent in the ad industry.
One of the 4As’ priorities is to invest a substantial percentage of its funds in training programmes, organising workshops and seminars, and visiting colleges and universities to entice young talent to join the industry.