1/4yourstory.in/2010/05/arvind-agarwal-founder-and-ceo-of-aicl/

Search Yourstory.in

POPULAR POSTS

YourStory.in’s

TechSparks 2012 TECH30

Companies – 30 Best

Emerging Tech Startups

from India

Shailendra Singh Takes

Away Honours Before the

Tech 30 Companies at

TechSparks Grand Finale

Startups Fighting the Hiring Conundrum

Arvind Agarwal, Founder and CEO of AICL.

Team YS | May 5, 2010 4:26 am

Arvind Agrawal, Founder and CEO of AICL, has

worked for over six years with more than 120

companies to give shape to and execute their

communication strategies. A Chartered Accountant

and Company Secretary, he has moved from being

an amateur journalist with one of India’s oldest

English dailies, to CFO with a steel fabrication company, into this field.

He is the runner-up of the British Council Young Communications Entrepreneur Award 2009.To read

more about the Young Creative Entrepreneur Award click here. To follow British Council Young

Creative Entrepreneur Award on Facebook click here.

He was conferred the Promising Business Communicator of the Year by the Association of Business

Communicators of India (ABCI) at the recently held 49th ABCI Annual Awards in Mumbai. The award

was presented to him by his Excellency Governor of Maharashtra Shri K. Sankaranarayanan and

Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India, Dr. Subir Gokarn. ABCI is India’s premier body of

communication professionals from amongst the largest companies in India and is in existence since

1956.

He marries understanding of mass communications on the one hand and the dynamics of various

businesses, on the other. Today, he is one of India’s most experienced campaigners and strategists in

investor communications. At AICL, he wears many hats – chief strategist, principal copywriter, paper

selector, proofreader and itinerant communication evangelist.

Arvind regularly speaks at industry forums on the relevance of Investor

Communication and enjoys interacting with B-School students on entrepreneurship

and its charms and pitfalls.

How would you define corporate communication?

Simple. Anything that helps establish an emotive connect between the entity

communicating and the target stakeholder group. It is NOT to be defined with reference to any

particular medium. The medium is incidental. The message is key. And the connect a critical

determinant of efficacy.

What does AICL do?

Atherstone Investor Communications Limited (AICL) is

a full-service communications consultancy working

closely with organisations to communicate with diverse

stakeholder groups. AICL is a leading provider of

consultancy services to Indian corporates for reporting

communication products such as Annual Reports and Interim Reporting solutions. In line with its focus,

AICL deploys domain knowledge, financial expertise, investment insights and communication skills.

AICL is one among very few consultancies to offer this value proposition in India.

AICL has expanded its product suite to encompass stakeholders other than investors and prospective

investors. Therefore, AICL is also setting up an internal and sustainability communication practice. We

also have a practice that addresses the segment of corporate-biographies. AICL delivers solutions over

a diverse array of media – print, interactive, web and audio-visual, to help clients sustain goodwill and

stakeholder loyalty. Having said that, almost 80 per cent of our revenue today comes from Corporate

Reporting solutions such as Annual Reports.

AICL has a 25-member team working out of two locations, Mumbai and Kolkata for more than 70 clients

in diverse industries across India.

Home Pages YS TV Jobs Events TechSparks CloudStory.in StudentStory.in

News Tech Mobile Cloud Creative Non-tech Social & Green Funding & Deals Expert Talk EduStars

Yourstory.in Log In Sign Up VisitGo to CloudStory.in » | Follow YourStory.in on »

Login or Signup

enter mobile number Subscribe

Stay tuned to the latest Startup news on-

the-go through regular SMS,

Subscribe now!

2/4yourstory.in/2010/05/arvind-agarwal-founder-and-ceo-of-aicl/

Gurgaon Based

ShopClues Launches An

Online Sunday Flea

Market!

7 Dark Secrets of

Entrepreneurs – Revealed

LATEST ON YOURSTORY PAGES

Gungroo

KLOUDPaD

Landmark IT Solutions

Dentzz

docpeers

Samor Enterprise

SHARE YOUR STARTUP STORY

Follow Follow @yourstorydotin@yourstorydotin

SUBSCRIBE / CONNECT

Subscribe to our e-mail newsletter to receive

updates.

What differentiates AICL? What makes your company unique?

We are one of India’s ONLY companies in the realm of corporate self expression. What this means is

that we help companies sell themselves as opposed to advertising which helps to sell

products/services. The other critical differentiator is our focus on high quality content, delivered

through a combination of finance professionals and editorial expertise. I believe that the focus of

communication will increasingly be the quality of the message rather than the package in which it is

presented. We also have a strong focus on helping the Medium and Small sized Indian corporates

reach out to a broad spectrum of stakeholders, investors in particular, in a manner that did not pinch

their pockets too much and yet delivered a world-class solution. Our principal objective is therefore, to

ensure that Indian companies stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their global peers in not just HOW they

do business, but also in the way that they speak about it. Our work also contributes to ensuring that the

valuation rationale of our clients gets communicated to the right audiences, and thereby it directly in

creation of shareholder wealth.

What is your client profile like. Who are your principal clients?

We have served large companies such as Hindustan Unilever, Reliance ADAG, Punjab National Bank,

Axis Bank and Jammu & Kashmir Bank to name a few. Our portfolio of clients in the mid-cap space is

significant. These include Shriram Transport, Simplex Infrastructure, J.K. Cement, Zee TV, HSIL,

CRISIL, Motilal Oswal, UTV, Balaji Telefilms, Indiabulls and many others. Among emerging companies,

we serve the VISA Group, Tilaknagar Industries, Vinati Organics, Sunil Hitech, Shri Ashtavinayak

among others. Essentially our client portfolio is spread across a good mix of listed and unlisted, small

and large, in a wide variety of sectors. We serve clients from Kashmir to Chennai, and from Jaipur to

Kolkata. We also have a few international clients from places such as Indonesia and Zambia!

Are companies realizing the importance of communications?

Yes, we see a paradigm change and companies are realizing that “talking” to the investors and other

stakeholders is very important, more so because the overall awareness of these communities is

progressively increasing. It is important for corporate voice to be heard and differentiated, proactive

communication is therefore not a luxury, but an imperative. I am pleasantly surprised at some of the

enquiries we receive from relatively unknown companies, expressing a desire to be noticed and

counted through communication at the organisational level. However, there is still a significant room for

more and more companies to access communication services and we are working on expanding the

scope of our nascent industry. I also feel that over time, the Government will be a large customer as

they need to communicate at an enterprise level with many stakeholders.

How do you see communications emerging as a career stream?

If you look at the numbers, they are mindboggling. We have approximately 8000 listed or to be listed

companies in India – that’s TWICE the number of companies on the FTSE. Not more than five per cent

of these companies are presently accessing any communication or advertising services. It is a HIGHLY

underpenetrated sector and more and more companies are today instituting corporate communications

as a full-time function. Therefore, lucrative opportunities lie on BOTH sides of the table. However, there

is dearth of both awareness and formal education on the subject. I feel we need a specialized

communication strategy stream to be introduced in curriculum across many colleges and B-schools as

it is an important career stream of the future.

How was your experience taking part in YCE and being chosen as the Young

Communications Entrepreneur Runner Up in 2009?

Honestly, I did not know about YCE until a friend suggested a nomination. Filling up the nomination

questionnaire was an insightful exercise, because I was addressing important issues that helped me

think more clearly about our business model and crystallize our value proposition. The positive

feedback from the judges and the award itself, served as an additional validation of our vision and its

relevance in the Indian context. This was a confidence booster.

The visit to the UK was an eye opener because of the highly organised nature of this industry there. I

met with quite a few peers and also senior consultants who had been in the business for more than two

decades. It afforded me an interesting take on strategy, and how we could further sharpen our

offerings and consequently, client relevance.

I have also been to the Netherlands on an invitation from the Dutch Design Organisatoin, as part of a

delegation hosted by the Dutch government, with a view to foster a communication partnership between

the two countries. I got a chance to meet, interact and share thoughts with studios across design

disciplines. Among other things, I realised the number of awards that existed and how they added

important feathers in any studio’s cap.

In India, we have a fairly well oiled machinery to acknowledge advertising excellence but few, almost

V ishal Sweta Hemant Ishaan Nmw

YourStory on Facebook

20,335 people like YourStory.

Like

Facebook social plugin

3/4yourstory.in/2010/05/arvind-agarwal-founder-and-ceo-of-aicl/

LATEST ON YOURSTORY TV POPULAR ON CLOUDSTORY.IN

← IBM RATIONAL DOORS DAY : 6 May

CNBC TV 18 Young Turks Tutorial With Ram Shriram (TX: 5th May ’10) →

Comments

Leave a Reply

Name (required)

Email (w ill not be published) (required)

Website

CAPTCHA Code *

E-mail

STARTUP JOBS

Social Media Executive

Energy Analyst

Senior Energy Analyst

Manager-Business Development

Associate, Business Development

view all »

none that recognize communications as a discipline. Notwithstanding that, I am quite thrilled at the

number of awards we and our work has won at various for a. These continue to serve as inspiration for

us to continue producing high quality, globally benchmarked work.

Latest Articles

About Team YS

View all posts by Team YS →

Gurgaon Based

ShopClues Launches

An Online Sunday

Shailendra Singh

Takes Away Honours

Before the Tech 30

Startups Fighting the

Hiring Conundrum

YourStory.in’s

TechSparks 2012

TECH30 Companies -

Facebook social plugin

CommentPosting as Sreya Ghose (Change)

Add a comment...

Post to Facebook

No comments yet.

Submit CommentSubmit Comment

SubmitSubmit

1 2 3

Annurag lI.tra .. 01.airman. Founder & £d.tor-m·duef,

e~"_ Groo.Jp

7 ENTREPRENEURS TO WATCH OUT FOR First comes thotrght "'en ~niution of that thotrght, into idltu and plans; then translotmation of thosfI plans into lN~ty. The be9nt11f1g, U you will ob$elVll, is If! )'OIN" im~abOil.

Annivertary iltues can I>oIIough on " media _eprenew. My clil!LI.na _ """'er's block II ..... 10 my marke~ friends ' ~t wiItl the e_.o;hanotng con,umer, and no Irellfl ideas to lu", them . Someoo- we a", "" p",.,,,lizll<l by 00' ""'" 'let"", to del.er 8 masterp<~ that e""" • simple one doesn't come easy, I wooder whal I can lIfl8(e wiIrl you In this ~8111_ that Y"" don'l lM'eady know IMPACT has always been 1!I'Ij>8I;:IfuI, be<:8use ~ is !he mouthpiece of the 1>0151 brain. MIl II\8rpesI minds ... !he meoia. "d,"o~sOng , marketing MIl amrnunicaIion world 1dHIy. I shoc.td I>oIII8IIing Ideal !rom 'fOIl'" not the other W8Y round. lending weight to _ I say II our coYer design • <!esigoed not by "I, but by 'fOIl ·the 8W:I desiogonen. p.assionale i<Ie;ol(Q SOd knowledgeablOl "'a<iers. The ""'come Is a lucky iP8CI owner ·Ihe winner'1 prize for the cover design conlest II "" IP8CI21

~ you lOok closely. ~', not ao e.arth· thaklrlg de'ign or B "'1IOMiooaoy piece of art. 11'. Indeed a beautiful representlllion of. simple idea ·8 merilglut thougtrI. The pc .... r of simpliQly caLles 8CrOQ in almost 8\W)1hing th8t I '" tod8y. In 'E d, of big IOIuIionI _ big ldeas, _ often Ignore the WI'Y basic thingl Take IhII """""'0 ent:y _ Cetroellhil year. lor eX8fTlple. 'MIen 8 ~ ca/Ied Tonlinfl po-esented Ihe In$ight 10 h 8(I8O'Ity tIwd con.......". were U"", the pillows !hey """" for • Wi)' long durlllion, the agency did "'" tBlk aboot the heavenly qU81ilies of !he pilowl, bo.:l came up wiltl the simple idea 01 manufacturing pilow. with an expiry date l This simple i<!ea iocreased salel by 3045%.

( also wiSh to stl8re willi you !he Itori:K of s.e""" of my Meed. __ ."..eneurs In India, who IO.OO'ned Wi)' simple Ideal into 0TIUIti--<riIic b:ei-ene" They did not come up with ptOdL:ds willi huge IIIgorIIhmI or _numbing bo.:_11 ideal; Ihey ju51 """,IOOCI basic 00""'" emotIonl, _ eoe '*eady building "Llpirf!-l. He:-e 8(e!he seven Itnlr~ to wato;h out lor:

Sao,". PasOcha ood my a re the (We unsung heroes domain, CSDireI<.I ood bulinelsel willi a simple logic

oo~.mlt!e Solll Ch ......... upe:ienti81 ma:1<.eling

Enlertainmenl 8(e .. -.

No ~ t.8y, people may "'" r&member u8Cliy _ Y"" did. C)( _t you said. b<l1 ~ wiIj always ,emernbe:' how you made them leel. These antrepo-......... ha"" ma5lered !he en of 0I18kng people leel the besl

HIppy, sed. angoy, excited,;« 'MI, iestMI . Images .. the me:noriH of our past. pre-setlI """ fUture. Sanohep M8IlHhw1li1 has lJIIten lhil IMight 10 turn images Inlo 8 huge bo.:linell, The sim!>Ie idea oIllocl<ing iffi8ges lumed Into ilT18Qtlsbazaa,. com _ a ~any thai lias fB'o'OIutioniled the distlibution mo<!eI 01 digital content

AnoIher OIl<Ils Vivek Bharg8:Vl, who ,ealised earty on that ':he future would be digil8l. and that beIofe every import8m: ~se, • con....- woUd 00 ' 0 !toe 1nterne4 ID i0oi< up lhfI p<Od:OCl of hil dloK:e. He thul b.lnded Communielte2 10 lroee8QII !tie basic .. smo::. 01 curIosily .., InfkHlnc:e de<:IIion-mIIkn among Mu", oetizens. John"Wanr>8mlker h8dI.-nou1ly said. ' know ""'ofmy ed . .. tiSi.'II isWlSled . I jull don', know which hili," Ifflek IoIwd this problem willi 8 simple idea - be !here wilen the world Is i00i<>'11/0:' you, Treating meslllQl!' as the kay 10 eilecIi"" comrnunicatOon II Ar8111nd Agaowal, f""nder 01 Alhersione InveSlC)( Communication. W1ile numberl have always been the OOmain 01 fnancial ",s1ilUlionl, ArB,""" has brought a paoadiijo ll Shift ir1 oommunic:ation by branding not !he prodllCtl. b<l1 the brand itself, IMliIe eveoyone makel a bee r IfI to "*10 Ihe oon_, ............ I8Iks 10 !he people who .. d,redIy atfeaed by ':he btlsi"oesa, and ..no 8duaIy _ .. -On 8OlOCher Iront. even as everyone ,alked IIbotrt shaking up the IfIagIlZine poblilhlng ma:1<.1t! by spedalil/ng ., 8 panlQJlar genfB, Prak"Sh Jotoer1 and Vikas JoIl"'; 0/ MIll(pcsur8lAndpersand let out to creale Simple and meaningful content . TM group tod,y II one of the largest I .... nigllt magazine poblisherl In India. ood out-of·t1>a-box kle.al h ...... led 10 ~ being aequio-ed by lu 1ing European publiSher Gruner+J8Iy. AnotI ... enupo .. oeur, AIjun S ... tlllG/, i0oi< Ihe ~ of I:ien<Iship """ buill d_I<IltI_.o;:om. putting 1IdlI'(1Ii>II d>:I<:i4i In place /0:' ill Ie« all "SfIB. The siLl"'" idea of gi'ling irnportancft 10 auci8I CUsto 'oe<s worted, rather ItI8n reaching out 10 ,';liOO'ls of individuals.

The Ihooght I, 'imple - ~ you look around , 'he'" BfB 1hoosar>cl10f simple an • .....,rs to any PO-Oblern . The need 01 the Iloor Is II> cultivate those Ide.al, May the Ideas lIou~sh, and may _ ideas poropeI':he 7 entrepreneursl