Grant’s celebrates 50 years in the ad business

In 1958, a man, who was to be later recognized as the doyen of Sri Lanka’s advertising history, began work on a small dining table at his home. He laid great emphasis on originality. Over the years, the company grew, in size, knowledge and brilliance, reaching incredible heights, producing award-winning work both nationally and internationally, teaming up with the best brands in the country.
In 1993, the company entered into a strategic partnership with McCann-Erickson Worldwide, an international advertising powerhouse. This year, Grant McCann Erickson (GME) celebrates fifty years of original ideas.

The brainchild of Reggie Candappa, GME was established on April 1 as Grant Advertising (Ceylon) Ltd. “Our fist client was Brown & Company,” Chairperson/Managing Director of GME and Candappa’s daughter, Neela Marikkar said at a press conference recently. However, over the years, the GME client portfolio grew from this single client to include some of Sri Lanka’s most respected corporates such as Singer Sri Lanka and high profile public service accounts. “Singer has been with us for 49 years,” Marikkar says, adding that such a strong relationship demonstrates the strong bond between the client and agency.

“Our founder, my father, was a man with great ideas. He was very passionate on original ideas. This is a very significant moment. It is the first time in the country’s history that an ad agency has reached this golden milestone. We had been leading the industry for a long time,” Marikkar said.

“We have expanded over time with billings in excess of Rs. 2 billion and a staff of over 170,” she said, adding that 1300 people have passed through their doors. “The advertising world has changed, here and the world over. The media has also expanded. When the group started there was only one radio station and one newspaper. But today, the choice of media is huge,” she said and added that the advertising and the media industry go hand in hand.

Over the years, GME has expanded its service portfolio, offering integrated support services that are independently run, including market communications corridor, Response Marketing, Grant PR, Sri Lanka’s largest public relations company, media arm Universal McCann AOR and in-house produce company Juice that was launched this month.

As part of its 50th anniversary, GME is launching a special Corporate Social Responsibility project together with the Association of Friends of Prisoners’ Children, which raises funds for children of prison inmates through a scholarship programme. GME will sponsor 50 children of prisoners to ensure they enjoy better opportunities in life through education. A book - a tribute to Candappa, tracing the history of advertising in the past five decades is also on the cards.

There will also be a series of workshops for VIP clients and events with the media and events for staff and their families, Marikkar said. “All agencies give great importance to awards. We love winning, but that is not the be-all or end-all of our work. We love the award winning work we do, but at the same time we love the other work that never win awards. Awards are a by-product of what we do,” said Executive Creative Director of GME, Russel Miranda.