BBDO Lanka’s rising star

•  To Mauritius she went – for lessons in life and advertising
  
   

Chanithi Gunasekera, Senior Account Director at BBDO Lanka, who has been with the organisation since its inception in August 2011, embarked on a novel challenge last year when she took off to Mauritius to single-handedly front the Mauritius operation of BBDO Lanka, the only Sri Lankan advertising agency with branch operations in the country.

Chanithi began her advertising career at Minds FCB before moving on to Phoenix Ogilvy and BBDO Swara before she became a part of the BBDO Lanka family. She has handled brands such as Fonterra, GlaxoSmithKline, Hemas, and now handles MCB (Mauritius Commercial Bank) and Edendale – the marketing and distribution representative of Fonterra Brands in Mauritius – for BBDO Lanka.

Chanithi – or Channa as she is known to her friends – spoke to Daily FT when she flew back to Sri Lanka on a brief holiday.

Off to another isle

It’s been seven months since Channa packed her bags and left on a jet plane to another isle in the Indian Ocean but adjusting to a new country has not been too hard for the cheerful young woman. In fact, as those she works with in Mauritius and those who’ve been to visit will testify, she’s the go-to person if you want to know where to have a drink in Quatre Bornes where she is based at.

By dint of hard work and perseverance, Channa has come a long way in a short period of time since she began her journey into the world of advertising in 2003. “When I walked in, it looked a lot like school – people were smiling and laughing and seemed to be having a good time,” says Channa of her first experience at Minds FCB. So she said ‘yes’ and the dynamic young woman has felt at home in advertising ever since.

And her hard work and can-do attitude has obviously paid off. At the age of 32, she has been presented with the opportunity to direct a global assignment, a rare break in the Lankan advertising industry. “It’s an opportunity of a lifetime and I grabbed it with both hands. I am delighted beyond imagination to have gotten this opportunity, and especially as a woman, to have my capabilities recognised and not be patronised,” commented Channa vigorously.

She’s also been working all her life, never having taken a break in between jobs – “I’d leave one agency on a Friday and start the next Monday at a different agency,” she said, laughing.

This work ethic has continued to be part and parcel of how she operates. In fact, as soon as she landed in Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport in Port Louis at 6.30 p.m., she was given the full tour of her new life, so much so that she didn’t even get the chance to call her mom – with whom she has a very close relationship – to let her know of her safe arrival.

“I was driven straight to the apartment, given a tour, then handed the car keys and then I was being directed and I was driving and I was shown how to get to the office and the supermarket and everywhere else I needed to know,” Channa recollected with a smile. However, she was quick to add that the experience was altogether a positive one. “I am glad that I had to adapt immediately, it helped a lot with the process of integration.”

To Mauritius she will go

In June 2012, she embarked to Mauritius on a fresh challenge after BBDO Lanka successfully handled the Olympics project for MCB. Her only hesitation lay in having to take care of herself, having lived the life of a pampered child thus far.

“It was tough,” she admitted of her learning experience. “I mean in theory, everyone knows how to cook but doing it is another thing altogether. I didn’t even realise that you have to take the garbage out of the bin in the house and to a collection point until I came here, because at home you didn’t really have to worry about things like that.”

She continued, “I didn’t realise vegetables perish – I thought it would last in the refrigerator for as long as it took me to decided to eat it.” But, she added, “I wanted to live that life and I knew that I wouldn’t get to do that in Sri Lanka.”

So now she lives on her own in her own apartment, managing everything on her own and truly living her life. She loves it so much that she wouldn’t want it any other way – she’s even got herself a book on Mauritian cooking. What’s more, she has added to her repertoire of being a fun, lively, extrovert a more homely facet – that of maker of an excellent cup of tea.

Truly exciting work

BBDO Lanka has done a lot of exciting work in Mauritius according to Channa, work that gets talked about. Stated Channa: “Once, when I stopped by a fuel station to pump petrol for my car, the attendant, when he figured out that I handled MCB’s advertising, repeated to me word for word a nearly one-hundred word radio spot we had done for MCB’s Disney promotion, and it was amazing – the feeling. ‘You did this?’ he said to me.”

Like the many Mauritians who “discover[ed] magic everywhere” with their MCB cards, Channa has discovered magic in Mauritius and at MCB. Mauritius Commercial Bank which was founded in 1838 is the oldest and largest banking institution in Mauritius. It is also the oldest banking institution south of the Sahara.

“MCB is a true pioneer in the banking sector in Mauritius, introducing wholly new concepts that are also effective at providing the best solutions to their clientele. It is very modern in its thinking and is always aspiring to do more,” explained Channa. “They are true marketers and it is very exciting to be a part of that process.”

So how does the one-woman advertising operation work? Creative ideas are generated in Sri Lanka with most of the time production taking place here as well, before the final product is sent off to Mauritius. Channa concluded, “It goes to prove that ideas are universal, that they will work if interesting and stem from the right insight.”

Like Lankans, with a French twist

Though not everyone may agree, Channa is emphatic that most Mauritians look quite a lot like Sri Lankans. Mauritians are a diverse group of people ranging from those of Indian (Indo Mauritian), Chinese (Sino Mauritian), French (Franco Mauritian) and African (Creole) descent.

“It’s amazing how they coexist, everyone is clearly Mauritian whatever their ethnicity. I think it is the language that unites them. For instance, the Hindus will go to kovils and pray in French,” she explained.

Mauritians are also about kissing added Channa – on the cheeks that is – and they will always greet you even if you just bump into them on the street. They also have no qualms quizzing you about your personal life and promising to ‘find a nice Mauritian boy for you’, ensuring that Channa does not miss any of her aunties always on the lookout for her marriage prospects.

However the best thing about the little isle, for Channa at least, is the availability of ‘hello pandas’, little Japanese biscuits with creamy chocolate filling. “I wish we had them when we were children,” she pronounced fondly. “We’d have had such affectionate memories of it.”

And she’s already found a Sri Lankan connection in Mauritius during one of her many exploratory jaunts around the island (that included a rum making and sampling tour): a marble plaque in Sinhala script in tribute to Ehelepola Maha Adikaram, who was exiled to Mauritius and passed away there on 5 April 1829.

But Channa was quick to note that she doesn’t really feel homesick. “I am still enjoying it very much. I think it’s because the people are very friendly and they look like Sri Lankans so much that you don’t really feel the absence of the warmth that is Sri Lanka.”