Published on: May 22, 2026
To mark the 80th anniversary of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), industry veteran Ramesh Narayan reflects on a defining era of leadership, landmark agreements, and the evolution of the association into an inclusive force for the industry.
I was invited to be the Vice President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) by Arun Nanda. The very next year I was elected as President. It was a time when the giants of the industry sat around the table and discussed matters of common interest. All the large Agencies were represented by their leaders, making this a very formidable collective.
The first challenge came with the newly formed Indian Broadcasters Federation offering the AAAI an agreement which was drafted on the lines of the agreement Agencies had with the INS. Most people thought it was alright since we had gotten used to the terms of the agreement with the INS. But Srinivasan Swamy thought otherwise and when he explained his rationale to me I just had to agree with him. So he not just drafted an Agreement positioning AAAI as equal partners with the Broadcasters but along with that helped getting the Broadcasters to see our point of view. The signing of that Agreement was a landmark moment for the AAAI.
Meanwhile we had our hands full with the matter of tainted viewership numbers and with many members suffering with long overdue bills. The former was sorted out with mutual discussions with those concerned at a high level and I seriously applied myself to the latter. The invaluable help of the INS and the IBF helped me resolve some rather large and prickly cases for our member Agencies.
I am very glad that apart from media agencies, the AAAI has gracefully evolved and is being very inclusive by lowering the entry barriers for smaller agencies as well as digital agencies. Their presence as members will be mutually beneficial.
Whether it was forming a working committee with the INS to regularly meet and ensure that no arbitrary action is taken against Agencies or helping develop creative talent or making efforts to position Communication as a force for good I have always had the complete cooperation of the all the leaders of the AAAI. And accepting their coveted Lifetime Achievement Award was a humbling experience.
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