``There are not too many campaigns around for quite sometime...and the need of the hour is to remain extremely focussed with whatever little you are doing,'' remarks Vibha Desai, vice president of Ogilvy and Mather that recently did a series of print campaigns to highlight the travellers' cheque of American Express, the world's largest and financial services company that is also the leading issuer of travellers' cheques around the world.

Industry analysts say more than 70 per cent of the bigtime players have slashed their budgets. And barring companies like Coke and Pepsi and newcomers like Hyundai, there are not too many with deep pockets. ``The industry already lost more than 40 per cent of its business,'' says a senior advertising source.

According to Desai, increasedservice tax has caused more tension in the already depressed market conditions, thereby forcing both agencies and clients undergo a complete change in their thinking process. As a result, a whole lot of agencies are trying to reinforce and reposition brands which seemed absolutely generic for decades in India. ``What happens is that people tend to forget things which are too common to their are many products which are not advertised. As a result, a large number of clients are trying to take a relook at their old portfolio.''

Interestingly, an IMRB research showed American Express travellers cheques as the most well-known brand, ostensibly because of its acceptability at more than 52,000-commission free locations around the globe. ``But then, many also wanted to be updated on the cheques acceptability in remote locations and emergency situations,'' adds Rajan Bhat, Area Director (South Asia), Amex Travellers' Cheques.

Agrees Ajay Gupta, advertising veteran and strategic marketing consultant. He feelsrecession was primarily because the recent budget has not given any filip to the consumer good industry. ``And this is the reason for a whole lot of companies to look at their bottomlines and giving a large number of freebies to sell their products. But that's not the way to handle things. Perhaps this is the best time to build your brand so that you reap its benefits when the markets look up.''

Observers agree with such contentions. Early this month, Rediffusion Dentsu Young and Rubicam Brand Communications, one of the largest agencies in the country, launched its brand asset valuator, which will be exclusive to its clients and help them with brand science management. The agency, which handles as many as 457 Indian brands, has already employed trained foreign professionals from Singapore, Australia and the United States to handle this new brand science tool in the communication business.

And the need of the hour is precisely that. Find means and ways to do extremely focussed brand valuation for theclients. Last week, McCann Erickson India and Enterprise Nexus Equity joined hands to form InterMedia, an equal ratio partnership for media buying in India. The new venture hopes to rake an estimated business worth Rs 350 crore, which will definitely put the joint venture in the top league of the country's media buying houses.

Analysts feel the move is primarily to pre-empt the entry of MindShare, the world's largest media buying house that is a part of the $ 8 billion VVPP Plc conglomerate. Besides, forces such as inflation and ever increasing proliferation of media forms have increased pressure on media spending.

And with both the agencies having fairly large presence in the cities of Mumbai and New Delhi and fortunately enough, do not handle any rival brands. As a results, the new venture is likely to make the optimum use of media skills and communication science, analysts feel.

Agrees S. Ghosh, Senior Vice President and Regional Director (South & East), Sistas Saatchi and Saatchi: ``Look at the waywe have handled the Shah Rukh Khan campaign for Hyundai's new car Santro that will be launched soon in India.

The idea was to find a person who cuts across all barriers and is acceptable to millions in the country. You need to be focussed, extremely focussed in today's situation. Otherwise, not many will be interested in watching a brand endorsed by a filmstar.'' As a result - unlike routine brand endorsements - the commercials takes the unusual path of showing Hyundai officials seeking the filmstar's help in promoting their vehicle, thereby sending a message of warmth and tradition that is much associated with the nation's psyche.

Similar sentiments are echoed by Sandip Khanna, Client Servicing Director of RK swamy BBDO, who feels that in any depressed market conditions, the best thing to do is to advise clients to take a relook at their brands. The agency recently repositioned the Luxor brand, one of the oldest in the country and a market leader in the writing instruments segments. ``We realised thatdespite having a range that vary from as low as Re 1 to Rs 600, the Luxor brand was not strong on its positioning, especially at a time when a host of international brands like Parker were flooding the market.

And the need to reposition the Luxor brand was more because it has a joint venture with Parker - a brand that has a global image.''

Agrees D.K. Jain, chairman and president of Luxor Writing Instruments Private Limited: ``We have been the market leader for more than two decades but we still felt that there was the need for this campaign because many tend to forget domestic brands in the face of a host of multinational brands which are now present in India.''

Observers feel that that the trend is not just happening with Indian brands but also with a host of multinational brands. Sports footwear and apparel giant Reebok recently launched a campaign that was primarily to reposition its brands, which is fighting for increased shelve space with rivals like Adidas and Nike in the Rs 140 crore market.``The idea is to make people aware that the brand is not just for the top-end segment. Its for anyone who is fitness conscious,'' adds Siddharth Verma, Executive Vice President (Distribution), Reebok. According to Varma, the American multinational - in an attempt to to spread its dragnet - has also started sponsoring weekly Otto Peltzer races in Indian cities, an event that has helped Reebok spread tremendous brand awareness among the participants.

And keeping in tune with the market conditions, Reebok's latest campaign - Enjoy The Game - from the stable of Chaitra Leo Burnett talks of the simplifying process. A process many want to experience in today's jetset life that's also full of stress. The campaign also take a dig at ads from rival Nike which highlights the multi-million dollar line .. Just Do it. For Reebok, the mood is now to have fun while playing. Pray why? Because only then you portray a widened base. A brand that is not just for the top players. A brand that is for the masses.