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<em><strong>Digital Marketing Mavericks is Storyboard18’s new series featuring some of the best digital-first, future-facing, homegrown and globally-networked agencies that are building brands and businesses fit for the new age.</strong></em>

In early 2020, much before the pandemic turned the world upside down, Interpublic Group’s FCB Group in India reached out to Kinnect, a homegrown digital hot shop, with a collaboration and partnership offer. Chandni Shah, the chief operating officer worked closely with Rohit Ohri who is the chairman and CEO, FCB Group India, and Nitin Karkare, CEO, FCB Ulka to understand what it is like working with a legacy ad agency before committing to anything. Shah tells Storyboard8, unlike other advertising groups, FCB’s global reporting structure is simple. “Both Rohit and Nitin equally invested time and energy to understand us and our culture. They were willing to learn from us too. FCB viewed this as a collaboration of equals. It was their positive mindset that made us say a yes,” she adds. In August 2021, FCB Group India acquired equity stake in Kinnect. Since then the agencies have pitched together, jammed on campaigns, and brought home Lions.

<strong>Navigating the VUCA world</strong>

Rohan Mehta, CEO of Kinnect, believes the partnership with FCB Group came at the right time. Kinnect became a part of a legacy company and filled the missing puzzle when the world was moving online. FCB’s creative power infused with Kinnect's expertise and capabilties on the digital front is helping clients of the group to navigate through the VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) world, says Mehta.

In February 2022, they launched KinnectCX to provide e-commerce and order management solutions, CRM, Loyalty, and first-party data management programs, platform consulting and implementation services, AI and data-led solutions, omnichannel consumer experience journeys, and Web 3.0 solutions.

“The post-Covid world has changed consumer behaviour and has catapulted them into the age of hyper-adoption. Today, while brands focus on the competition, they also have to invest in creating better experiences for their existing customers. Making the right relationships with the customers in the omnichannel world and engaging them with the right communication at the relevant moment and appropriate medium is the need of the hour,” says Mehta. The vertical unites nearly 100 of Kinnect’s creative, media, and technology talent pools across locations and is equipped and skilled at providing meaningful brand interactions throughout the consumer journey.

In 2022, Kinnect also launched a complete state-of-the-art usability testing lab (UI/UX lab) which Mehta claims to be the first of its kind by a digital agency in India. The agency’s in-house capabilities for influencer and talent outreach as well as reputation management and listening are some of the popular services of the agency, indicates Shah.

From a broader lens, Mehta thinks the opportunities for digital agencies are yet to explode. “Right now, not all marketers dial in their digital agencies for business problems. That’s changing. But to be marketers’ primary partners, agencies need to win their confidence even more,” he says.

According to Mehta, though India is a country that is passionate about advertising and has produced cutting-edge work globally and houses the best of the best talent, advertising revenues are smaller in percentage, keeping in mind the general size of our AdEX. “Now, it's time for India to step up on the global advertising map, similar to our IT Industry, where it can become the centre of excellence for global brands to outsource work,” he says.

<strong>Founding year </strong>- 2011

<strong>CXOs</strong> - Rohan Mehta, CEO, Kinnect; Chandni Shah, COO, Kinnect

<strong>Total employee count</strong> - 500 plus 

<strong>Clients</strong> - 175 plus 

<strong>Number of clients on-boarded in 2022</strong> - 45

<strong>Top clients</strong> - Amazon Group, Asian Paints Group, HDFC Bank, Reliance Group, TVS Motors, RPSG Group, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail

<strong>Top campaigns</strong>

<strong>Chatpat | SOS Children's Villages of India</strong>

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<strong>Vigil Aunty | HDFC Bank </strong>

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#HumBanayenge | Google Cloud

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<strong>Combating backlash and embracing accolades</strong>

In 2022, Shah, Mehta, and their teams experienced many emotions. In June 2022, Kinnect made its first Cannes Lions-winning debut. The agency picked up 8 Lions for SOS Children’s Villages of India’s campaign ‘Chatpat’. Shah and Mehta made a dream board during a team retreat a couple of years ago. They ticked off every single box, and winning a Cannes Lion was last on the list. Mehta believes India will become the international centre for the biggest conglomerates and marketers across services where their marketing and advertising solutions are met. “Work in the country matches global standards; the testament to this is India’s performance at Cannes Lions 2022. The big opportunity here is that we no longer depend on our global counterparts to produce outstanding work or for talent since we have all the capabilities within the country to offer world-class solutions in advertising,” he adds.

As the teams were soaking in the success and churning out winning work. In August, when the agency released a campaign titled ‘Vigil Aunty’ for HDFC Bank, a certain section of the creative world thought the campaign was plagiarised from author and artist Appupen's character that was created in 2016. HDFC Bank’s campaign featuring Anuradha (Anu) Menon, a comedian who is well-known for playing the character of Lola Kutty on Channel V in the early 2000s, is a long-term initiative on safe banking. 

The agency never spoke publicly about it. However, Mehta clears the air and tells Storyboard18 what happened exactly.   

He explains, “It is possible for two people to start from two different places but arrive at the same place. The nomenclature of the character was a mere coincidence. The agency and brand both understand this. The characterisation, the traits, and the purpose of Vigil Aunty were markedly different, and hence we decided not to engage in the conversation.” He further adds, “Agencies and client partners should decide if they want to stand by the work created and their morals or justify their stance. Each approach depends on the conversation and the campaign.”

Kinnect has grown significantly in stature, brand and business over the past two years, now the agency is creating a new dream board for 2023.
 



Digital Marketing Mavericks: How Kinnect is connecting the dots for brands in the VUCA world

<em><strong>Digital Marketing Mavericks is Storyboard18’s new series featuring some of the best digital-first, future-facing, homegrown and globally networked agencies that are building brands and businesses fit for the new age.</strong></em>

Digitas, which is owned by French network advertising company Publicis Groupe, calls itself ‘the connected marketing agency.’ Digitas forayed into the Indian market in 2008. Since then, the agency has been silently working with brands that are looking for more than creative and media solutions. In India, Digitas India has two units. One is focused on Indian clients and the other is a global delivery centre on technology services. 

Unny Radhakrishnan, a seasoned digital marketing expert, joined Digitas India as chief executive officer in 2020. It was a year when companies around the globe were nervous about doing business in a socially distanced world. However, Radhakrishnan, observes though things were tough, marketers understood the need for digital business transformation more than ever before. “Digital agencies like us have a lot more to offer. Clients have understood that over the last couple of years. The fact that digital marketing is just not about drawing communication pieces are being accepted by brands. In real life, consumers are looking for end-to-end experiences from brands,” explains Radhakrishnan.

Sonia Khurana the chief operating officer of the agency has similar views. She tells Storyboard18, “Digital is a heavy-duty word. There are so many aspects to it. We look at matters from different funnels. For instance, we are looking at creating solutions around how content can drive commerce. There is a huge opportunity to bring the two together.” Abraham Varughese, who joined the agency earlier this year as the chief creative officer, believes consumers are looking for meaningful conversations and experiences. The role of an agency is therefore to get better at offering specialised services. For this, the trio is constantly looking at upskilling their talent pool and getting professionals that bring in new dimensions to their work. 

<strong>Fact File </strong>

<strong>Founding year</strong> - Publicis launched Digitas in India in 2006. It merged LBi & Digitas into a single entity in 2013.

<strong>List of CXOs </strong>- Unny Radhakrishnan, Sonia Khurana, Abraham Varughese, Abhishek Chaturvedi, Mohammedullah Shaikh, Paresh Maru, Saurabh Aggarwal, Ranjan Singh

<strong>Total employee count </strong>- 470 plus

<strong>Total number of clients </strong>- 50 plus

<strong>Clients onboarded this year:</strong> Okaya, MGH, Celio, Marvel Realtors, Duolingo, Godrej HIT, Embassy Group, Olive, Disney Delights by Keventer, Matter Motorworks, Kinetic Green, Syngenta, MyTrident.com 

 
<strong>Top campaigns </strong>

<strong>boAt – The Unheard Break</strong>

On June 21, 2022, for World Music Day Digitas India and audio-wearable brand boAt bought all peak time ad space on the music streaming app Gaana, so no one could run an ad, not even boAt. Instead, the brand gifted free users (almost everyone) with The Unheard Break - hours of uninterrupted music without the expected commercial breaks. The campaign got extended for two more hours from the scheduled time because of the response it was getting on social media.  

<strong>Results:</strong>

2 million plus unique listeners across the country

22 million plus songs streamed

19% increase in listening time (compared to weekly average)

<strong>Nissan Booking Engine</strong>

Digitas India identified that a car buying process includes 28 touchpoints. The pandemic saw a lot of these moving to digital. As the digital experience partner of Nissan, the agency’s challenge was to provide the purchase journey experience in a digital environment with the end goal of driving test drives and bookings. Digitas India created a booking platform using the UX process. 

The booking engine gives customers a start-to-finish solution – from exchanging their existing car; applying and availing online finance options (along with document submission); calculating and comparing EMIs, and tracking the estimated delivery date of the vehicle. 

<strong>Results:</strong> During the launch of the brand’s SUV Magnite, 12% of the audience reached, and booked the vehicle on the booking platform. Over 8000 bookings have happened online on this platform to date. 

<strong>MP Birla Cement </strong>

For a leading cement manufacturer, Digitas India designed and currently run an industry-first CRM program called Armaan Nirmaan. The program was designed with the goal of driving influence for the brand and capturing secondary sales from masons, dealers, retailers and contractors.  It’s also a digitized sales ordering process to track and capture revenue, and that is integrated with larger enterprise systems. It gives a multi-lingual experience to connect better with the audiences.

<strong>Results: </strong> Several lakh contractors, masons, retailers, contractors, and others have downloaded and enrolled in the program from across 547 cities that belong to the remotest districts of India. In addition, the app has enabled the brand to track crores of revenue including revenue from offline sources. 

<strong>Enriching the talent pool </strong>

Radhakrishnan opines talent is linked to the culture of an organisation. “Improving the work culture is a constant work-in-progress effort. We are looking at building a team on high empathy and function.” He says that he wants his teams to always remain curious.  Radhakrishnan works closely with the learning and devolvement team to identify value-added courses for his teams. A yearly learning calendar is mapped out. The agency also conducts a survey to take employees’ suggestions on these areas. Marcel, Publicis Groupe’s AI platform, which is designed to help employees connect and learn better also has a repository of courses that are open to everyone in the company to enroll for.

Varughese, who is constantly speaking to creative professionals, observes it’s challenging to keep the interest of entry-level talent. “They do have good sparks but it’s like the problem of having plenty. Today, there are so many opportunities out there that their focus gets shifted easily. It’s challenging for the agency business but from a macro level it's interesting times for people who are just starting off.” On the other hand, he says the mid-level talent are the enthusiastic lot at the moment in the industry. They are ready to learn and unlearn quickly. These upskilling courses are therefore widely taken at Digitas by mid-level executives. 

<strong>What really marketers want?</strong>

Not so long-ago Radhakrishnan asked a bunch of CMOs from his personal network what they want from agencies today. He shares with Storyboard18 some of the notes he picked up from the dipstick. “Marketers by and large understand the complexities of modern-day business. Some even are humble to admit that they still work in silos and agency partners are simplifying things for them,” he adds.

Khurana agrees with Radhakrishnan. She says, while some clients know what they exactly want from their agency partners, there are many who come with ambiguous briefs. This happens during pitches too. “The way to deal with these marketers is through various rounds of conversations. Sometimes they may not know that agencies can come up with more than communication and media strategies. The corridor conversations most of the time turn into developmental work in our case because marketers understand that we bring a lot across the table,” she adds.

At a time when marketers are eyeing web 3.0 and the metaverse as new shiny objects, Varughese, Khurana, and Radhakrishnan are just keeping their eyes and ears to the ground. They are observing the space. Varughese explains why. “Brands like to follow trends. Honestly, there is nothing wrong with it. However, there is so much platform and web technology to be explored.” Brands can deep dive into these opportunities before chasing newer buzzwords, he concludes. 
 



Digital Marketing Mavericks: Publicis Groupe’s Digitas India looks at marketing from a fresh lens

<em><strong>Digital Marketing Mavericks is Storyboard18’s new series featuring some of the best digital-first, future-facing, homegrown and globally-networked agencies that are building brands and businesses fit for the new age.
 </strong></em>

In 2008, four 19-year-olds, Pratik Gupta, Suveer Bajaj, Harshil Karia and Paritosh Ajmera, decided to cancel their long-planned Goa trip to set up a business. With Rs 64,000 in hand, the four launched a company called FoxyMoron. To kick-start their venture, they started printing graphics on T-shirts and slowly moved to advertising on social media, which most brands at that time thought could be done for free. A lot has happened since then. Two founders, Karia and Ajmera, moved on. The agency was rumoured to be almost acquired by a global advertising network. However, Gupta and Bajaj stayed behind and created an independent advertising network with a focus on hyper-specialisation.

<strong>Behind the making of Zoo Media</strong>

In 2015, Gupta tells Storyboard18, every digital marketing agency wanted to become a 360-degree solution provider. It was a time when digital marketing was picking up steam and there was an influx of talent and brands’ interest to capture the online landscape. Gupta recalls how FoxyMoron executed an influencer campaign for a personal care brand on Facebook, much before creators became a marketing buzzword. In the next couple of years, FoxyMoron fine-tuned things—from garnering a good talent pool to even having all services that clients were looking for under one roof. The catalyst for this change was a pitch eight years after FoxyMoron was set up.

An OTT platform called for a pitch in 2016. The brand was looking for an agency that could help them crack all things video. FoxyMoron lost that pitch. Gupta explains why: “We don’t lose too many pitches. We lost this particular pitch not because we weren’t creative enough for the brand. We just didn’t have a video team that was the best in the business. We then realised that if we want to stand out in the business we have to be the best.” That’s how Gupta and Bajaj got the idea to build an independent, specialised network.

<strong>A network with depth</strong>

In 2020, Gupta and Bajaj launched Zoo Media with a hyper-focused strategy. In just two years, the network has come a long way. Along with FoxyMoron, Zoo Media became the umbrella entity for 10 other owned, acquired, or partnered agency brands—the digital transformation consulting agency DoyenOink; influencer, creator and talent agency Pollen; video content solutions agency The Rabbit Hole; creative technology agency Phosphene;  full-funnel D2C-focused digital marketing agency The Starter Labs; digital media publishing platform Mammoth Media; tech products and services agency Noesis.Tech; offline to online to offline (O2O2O) experiential services agency XP&D, sporting and e-sporting experiential services agency TCM Platform; and its Web.3.0 services platform Metaform.

In 2022, the network set foot on global soil with two international offices. The first was in New York in partnership with DAWN. DAWN is a portfolio of 15-plus independent, specialist marketing services agencies with a focus on centralised data science, advanced analytics and econometric measurement. The collective includes renowned agencies like Barkley, Crossmedia, Definition 6, Co: Collective and Rethink, among others. The second office was in Dubai, where it launched its flagship brand, FoxyMoron.

“One agency can’t be good at everything. We understood that a few years after being in the business. Honestly, it would have been difficult to survive if we were just another 360 digital service provider. Now, our intent is to build brands and collaborate with them together as a network. We are finally a horizontally and vertically integrated company,” says Gupta.

<strong>Fact File</strong>

<strong>Founding Year</strong> – 2020

<strong>Founders</strong> - Pratik Gupta and Suveer Bajaj

<strong>Companies acquired/partnered/JV</strong>

The Starter Labs (Acquired in 2022; Founding Year – 2016)

Noesis.Tech (Announced partnership in 2022; Founding Year – 2010)

TCM Platform (JV Year – 2022; Founding Year – 1993)

XP&D (Announced partnership in 2022; Founding Year – 2019)

Noesis.Tech (Announced partnership in 2022; Founding Year – 2010)

<strong>In-house specialised agencies</strong>

FoxyMoron (2008)

Phosphene (2016)

The Rabbit Hole (2017)

Pollen (2019)

DoyenOink Consulting (2020)

<strong>In-house publishing company</strong>

Mammoth Media (2020)

<strong>Global footprint</strong>

Zoo Media USA - DAWN (Announced partnership in 2022; Founding Year – 2019)

Zoo MENA - FoxyMoron (Entered in 2022)

<strong>Total employee count</strong> – 600 plus

<strong>Total number of clients </strong>– 150-plus (across network)

<strong>Number of clients added this year (so far)</strong> – 50

<strong>Top clients</strong> - Netflix, YouTube Shorts, P&G, Aha, Kingfisher. Western Digital and SanDisk, Kimberly Clark, Hero MotoCorp, TVS IQube, Nykaa

<strong>Locations</strong> - Mumbai, Gurgaon, Bengaluru, New York, Dubai

Top campaigns

<strong>Netflix: AK vs AK by The Rabbit Hole</strong>

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<strong>Zee5 RRR Launch by Pollen</strong>

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<strong>BK | The Greatest Hack</strong>

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<strong>Lessons in building a network</strong>

In 2015, it was rumoured that a global ad network approached FoxyMoron with an acquisition offer. The founders never spoke openly about why the deal didn’t go through. When Storyboad18 asked Gupta about it, he declined to comment on the specifics. “We are happy where we are now. We learnt a lot about building businesses at scale. Over the years we have figured that to change structures and models we need to bring about mindset shifts too,” says Gupta.

In the last few years, Gupta and his teams have observed that while looking for new businesses, there are many clients are often unclear about their bigger goals. Many a time, the conversation stops at a campaign briefing. “Agencies of our scale still need to educate clients to spend a lot of time with us to help them identify their need gaps. Sometimes we get a brand’s website links as briefs and we really don’t know how to get back to them,” laughs Gupta.

He says that everyone in the agency world is in the business of communication. Today, agencies are not just service providers but partners who can do everything—from changing their brand imagery to putting them on the metaverse. There is nothing that an agency network can’t do for brands, concludes Gupta. 

Read more: <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/storyboard18/quantum-brief/digital-marketing-mavericks-the-rise-of-homegrown-independent-ad-agency-networks-in-india-3281.htm">Digital Marketing Mavericks: The rise of homegrown independent ad agency networks in India</a>



Digital Marketing Mavericks: Zoo Media’s big bet on hyper-specialisation

<em><strong>Digital Marketing Mavericks is Storyboard18’s new series featuring some of the best digital-first, future-facing, homegrown and globally-networked agencies that are building brands and businesses fit for the new age.</strong></em>

In 2015, when Harshil Karia announced his exit from independent digital agency, Foxymoron, as the founding partner, everyone in the industry was surprised. Karia moved on to start afresh. He took along Sohil Karia and Akshay Gurnani from Foxymoron and made them his co-partners to create Schbang. Eight years have passed since then, and the building blocks Schbang put in place. And now, with 1,000 employees and 275 clients, the trio wants to stay independent and be a truly Indian agency brand. Not that they haven’t received any buy-out offers from some big entities, though. According to them, the future of agency model is the one without too many layers. Schbang’s focus is on creating a singular and simpler agency brand.

In conversation with Storyboard18, the trio discussed at length the areas in which the company is investing time, money, and talent.

<strong>Discovering new layers of client relationships</strong>

Sohil Karia, co-founder and chief of design and Technology, Schbang, has been instrumental in creating the right structure for the agency’s business transformation and tech services. He says that clients today are looking for holistic solutions, which include beyond creative and media duties. “Marketers are looking to reach out to consumers at every touchpoint and not stop at an ad piece. They have wider canvases for their vision. With that, as agencies we have a lot of headroom for growth,” he says.

Karia believes the advantage of being an independent agency is the speed at which it can deliver. “We are a work-in-progress agency. We perfect things along the way. It’s important to keep this approach because the nature of the business is constantly evolving,” he says.

In order to align their approach with new clients, Schbang is working on a refreshed onboarding process. Prospective clients are sent a detailed questionnaire to understand their long-term goals. “Digital is a broad landscape. It is critical to understand clients’ long-term goals using creativity and technology in their marketing plans,” he says. Ninety percent of Schbang’s business comes from retainer clients. Karia and his core team unanimously think they are in the business of building brands and not just campaigns. With strong creative strength and now new tech services, Schbang this year opened up a new growth chapter. The agency dipped its foot into international waters.

<strong>Fact File</strong>

<strong>Founding year </strong>- 2015

<strong>Locations </strong>- Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and London. Soon to launch a hub in Western Europe.

<strong>CXOs </strong>- Harshil Karia, founder/ Akshay Gurnani, co-founder and CEO/ Sohil Karia, co-founder and chief of design and technology/ Indraneel Gawde, national head of new business/ Dhvani Jagasia, head of finance and IT/ Mini Nair, head of human resources/ Priyam Dadia, head of media/ Abhimanyu Balasubramnyum, head of Schbang Motion Pictures/ Sushant Vithaldas, head of business, Schbang Bangalore/ Aditya Mehendale, national creative director

<strong>India revenue </strong>– Rs 200 Crore

<strong>Total employee count </strong>- 1,000

<strong>Total number of clients </strong>- 275

<strong>Number of clients onboarded this year (so far) </strong>- 80

<strong>Top work</strong>

<strong>Tata Communications</strong>

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<strong>Cipla</strong>

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<strong>Fevicol</strong>

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<strong>Big bets on global expansion</strong>

Akshay Gurnani, co-founder and CEO of Schbang, thinks while European markets are creatively mature, India has the tech power. That’s why the agency wants to focus on growth marketing in international markets. In September 2022, Schbang expanded to the UK with an office in London. A team of 20 members in India have been designated to work for clients in the UK. Schbang is looking at India as a big delivery centre as it expands globally. The agency has identified its next EU destination and is planning to collaborate with a boutique agency to make their entry.

Gurnani states that the idea is to bring creative, media, and tech together. He also thinks it was the perfect time for global expansion. “We are extremely focused at the moment. We know the areas that can help us scale at home and abroad. It’s our nimbleness that sets us apart from network companies. While we are structured, our work flow is simpler.”

Gurnani also observes that clients everywhere are looking for similar solutions and giving out integrated scope of work to agencies. “We are at a place where we not only have the ability to crack creative, media, and tech briefs, but can also recognise brands’ need gaps. We help brands understand their consumer base deeper and closer,” he adds.

<strong>Setting up a future-ready biz model</strong>

Harshil Karia, founder of Schbang, thinks the future of agencies will not just be to deliver tech-focused work. “It’s a complex world. Clients will need all sorts of advice and solutions. There will be a marketplace for all sorts of work. As agencies, we should be fair and provide them with what they want. It will be like the old world meets the new world. Agencies that will be able to tie all these pieces together will shine,” he explains.

Karia is clear that he doesn’t want to add too many layers to his structure. He wants his agency to be the one that can offer all sorts of services with ease. He is focused on building a single powerful agency brand. In order to do that he and his team are working hard to put in place the best talent pool. He admits that talent is an issue. “It’s ironic that India is the highest talent supply market. Yet, we as an industry keep complaining about not having the best people in the business.”

Through Schbang Academy, the agency plans to fix some of the basic talent issues. “We warm up our new talent and give them the time and space to understand the nature of the work before assigning them work. It’s our responsibility to train the talent pool and upskill them. That’s the only way we can keep them engaged, excited, and slowly solve the talent issues,” he concludes.



Digital Marketing Mavericks: Why Schbang wants to stay independent and be a truly Indian agency brand

<em><strong>Digital Marketing Mavericks is Storyboard18’s new series featuring some of the best digital-first, future-facing homegrown and globally networked agencies that are building brands and businesses fit for a new age.</strong></em>

Ahmed Aftab Naqvi calls his independent marketing agency network Gozoop Group, a “mature startup”. He has learned, unlearned, and rewired a lot of things to find a clear direction to do business over the years. Founded in 2008, Gozoop is one of India’s leading largest independent homegrown global advertising groups. 

The network has acquired five agencies - Red Digital (2013), iThink (2014), 56 Blue Lights (2016), Hat Media (2018), and Stratton Communications (2021). Naqvi believes an acquisition is a great way to build a fresh resource pool, adding depth to an agency’s business approach and culture. The companies that Gozoop has added to its kitty so far are small and medium-sized firms, which Naqvi thinks need support and space to mature.

“Unlike big agency networks, we don’t have a pre-set template for acquisition. Of course, acquisitions are an easy way to fuel growth. However, we look at it from a different lens,” says Naqvi. One of the important questions that the company asks the founders before signing off is what their personal goals are.

“We are not answerable to multiple stakeholders which is why founders often are comfortable sharing their long-term plans with us. It’s an important practice,” he adds. For instance, Yamini Menon, the founder and director of 56 Blue Lights which Gozoop acquired in 2016, always wanted to expand her horizons in marketing. Today she manages the company’s middle-east operations.

Global advertising networks have a reputation for not being able to retain the founders of the companies they acquire. The reasons are many. But two that pop up often are business complexity and reporting structures.

<strong>Simplifying structures</strong>

Akshay Gurnani, co-founder and CEO of Schbang, tells Storyboard18 that what sets independent ad networks apart is the workflow which is simple. The integrated solutions agency has bucketed its services into three divisions - creative, media, and technology. “Clients want holistic offerings. The agencies that have an integrated scope wins. It’s as simple as that,” says Gurnani. Brands also look at the effectiveness of solutions, he observes, which is where technological solutions come into the picture.

Harshil Karia, the founder of the agency, says the company is aiming to take “India to the world”. The company recently expanded to international shores with new operations in the UK and an office in London. Schbang has an extensive plan ready to go to European markets that are creatively mature but need technological support. “Our focus is simple. We want to create a singular agency brand,” says Karia. This will further simplify agency models of the future, he opines.

<strong>Hyper-specialized services</strong>

Pratik Gupta, co-founder of Zoo Media, has a slightly different take. FoxyMoron, the network’s flagship full-funnel creative and performance digital agency, was founded in 2008. FoxyMoron was one of the first digital agencies in the country that offered influencer marketing solutions before it became the buzzword for marketers.

Over the years, Gupta realised while the agency could offer all possible solutions under one roof, it was important for them to focus on one function and “be the best at it.” That’s why Zoo Media was formed to create hyper-specialised companies within the group. Along with FoxyMoron, Zoo media has a digital transformation consulting agency DoyenOink Consulting; influencer, creator and talent agency, the creative tech agency, Pollen; video content solutions agency, The Rabbit Hole; the creative technology agency, Phosphene; The Starter Labs, a full-funnel D2C and startup digital agency and the tech products and services agency Noesis.Tech.

Gupta says, “We realised if we want to become the best network in the country, we need to have a specialised division that stands out.” Diversification is Zoo Media’s strength. He candidly says, “Global ad networks need to rethink their model. Everyone is fighting for their land. The ad land has limited space. Rather than going after volume, independent companies like ours are focusing on creating the best pieces of work that will leave an impressive mark in the space.”

<strong>Adding processes of a different kind</strong>

Gozoop’s Naqvi says the fundamentals of doing business in the digital marketing space have changed. “Companies like ours are not fixated on tiny shiny objects,” he adds. There are several new processes that companies like Gozoop Group, Schbang, and Zoo Media are putting in place.

For instance, Gozoop sends a detailed questionnaire to brands that reach out to them. “We are not in rush to lock in business. We take our time. We will figure out if both parties are the right fit,” says Naqvi.  

Zoo Media and Schbang have similar processes in place. Founders of all three companies say, 7 out of 10 marketers don’t answer the onboarding questionnaire. But the three, who usually answer, understand what true partnership means. These marketers also know that the future of the agency model is all about creating quality work and the numbers will follow. 

<strong>Watch this space for a more in-depth view of how these new-age agencies work. </strong><em>



Digital Marketing Mavericks: The rise of homegrown independent ad agency networks in India

DIGITAL MARKETING MAVERICKS