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The `questions' man

Derek O'Brien took the art of quizzing to dizzy heights

Photo: K. Ananthan

QUIZ WHIZ Derek O' Brien

What began as a hobby eventually became a profession but it was not a smooth ride to the top for Derek O'Brien. "Everyone scares you when you want to do something passionately," said the host of The Cadbury Bournvita Quiz Contest and The Brand Equity Quiz.

"Your biggest well-wishers are the ones who scare you the most. `Do it, but don't tell anyone,' they tell you. `Do it as a hobby,' they tell you. But I said, `This is my job.' Quizzing was a whole new world waiting to be discovered." That was back in 1992.

"In school, I was not so good in maths and science. But my mother insisted that I do well in all subjects. In Class 8, I wanted to do communication and in college, I did English," he said. For a year, he was a journalist with Sportsworld, and then took a job as copywriter in the ad agency, Ogilvy and Mather.

"I was in advertising for nine years. I did quizzing as a hobby and I loved it," he recalled. In 1992, he resigned his post as Creative Head of Ogilvy in Kolkata and began a new career in the dining room of his home. For Christmas, Derek designed a card that said he would "Mind his Ps and Qs", which meant he would be involved in publishing and quizzing. He knew he could launch a quiz show only once. "I thought, `Let's do something for a good cause. Don't make money, but do a credible job,'" he said. In 1992, he formed his company, Derek O'Brien and Associates.

"I found that if we could set up a new category, we could be leaders. The category was knowledge. We don't outsource questions. We make knowledge interesting to let people/ brands grow. Separate the brand from the person otherwise you'll become a megalomaniac about what you do," Derek said.

A. A. MICHAEL RAJ

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