A woman reaches the top in advertising

by Irangika Range

At a time when only few multinational companies were engaged in the advertising field in Sri Lanka, a young woman started her career as an Account Executive at the (J. Walter Thompsons) JWT in 1989, targeting to create a new dimension of relevance and creativity in communication.

It was the emergence of Neelanie Goonetillake, the present President of JWT. she gained working experience at "TeleCine" for television production and qualifying at the CIM (Chartered Institute of Marketing), she climbed up the ladder step by step achieving her target which was the top in her own career.

Achieving many goals and winning many accolades as a leading advertising agency in Sri Lanka, today it is the pioneer agency in advertising due to its commitment to creative thinking and deep understanding of local and international trends in marketing and communication.

Neelanie said creativity is the driving force of the agency, which has overcome hard issues, which are the norm in the industry. Today the agency is the largest billing agency in Sri Lanka achieving revenue over Rs. 1 billion. It has sustained a 20 percent growth in its business for the last five years.

JWT is a leading supplier providing various marketing communications services including Above The Line advertising (ATL), Below The Line advertising (BTL), out door advertising, event marketing and public relations. Major clients are leading business firms in Sri Lanka such as Unilever, Celtell, Suntel, Cargills, Munchee, CIC, Kraft, SME Milk and HSBC.

JWT is keen on understanding its clients regarding what they initially expect from the company. Improving brands of clients in a very innovative and creative manner have attracted more clients with them and has brought many businesses to the agency.

"We should understand our target consumers as how they consume communication and how they react to the communication when introducing our new brands to the market. Creativity is our forte and it should be there to success each activity in communication. JWT always makes sure, that the company is in the cutting age of understanding what new trends and communication methods in the world are", she said.

She said JWT is the first Ad agency in the world providing 146 years service all over the world. It conducts many world-accepted courses both locally and internationally. She has been fortunate to enhance knowledge and understanding by following these because everybody working for JWT goes through these courses. It is improving thinking patterns in a very creative manner and exchanging new trends in the world.

'When I joined JWT, I found that there is a niche market for advertising in the country. Therefore we were the innovators, which were able to bring creative thinking to the field, and it caused rapid development in the communication field.

Today the agency has more competitiveness than ever before, but it is not a big challenge with the creative talents, correct attitudes and commitment of my team offering quality and creative service to the society. Today the agency has been able to provide employment to 105 bright and creative minds', she said.

Neelanie was a past pupil of Hillwood College and Girl's High School, Kandy. She has responsibility for the successful implementation of many nationwide communication projects through her wide experience. Neelanie expects to set up a new company, which is affiliated, to JWT called "Mindshare" focusing development of media buying aspects in a very creative manner this year.

Mindshare focuses to achieve many successes by attracting media effectively. As a top communication force in the country, JWT has won a number of awards at the SLIM awards ceremony and other related local and foreign competitions. "My parents gave me all the strength to become successful in my life.''

Developing JWT as a superior place of providing exceptional creativeness, she was able to win the SAARC Women's Award for Excellence in advertising in 2002 and the Zonta Woman of Achievement Award in 2004 for the field of communication.