THE PEOPLE
NIRVIK SINGH, CHAIRMAN & CEO, APAC, GREY GROUP
JISHNU SEN, PRESIDENT & CEO, GREY GROUP INDIA
MALVIKA MEHRA, SENIOR VICE-PRESIDENT AND NATIONAL CREATIVE DIRECTOR, GREY INDIA
AMIT AKALI, SENIOR VICE-PRESIDENT AND NATIONAL CREATIVE DIRECTOR, GREY INDIA
DHEERAJ SINHA, CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER, SOUTH AND SOUTH EAST ASIA
SUDHIR NAIR, SENIOR VP AND HEAD OF DIGITAL
THE STORY
Trikaya, an India-based advertising agency, was founded in 1977 by Ravi Gupta with just four employees. It tied up with Grey International in 1988. The agency was then called Trikaya Grey and was apparently one of the top agencies of India in the early ’90s. Some of the widely acclaimed creative campaigns of Trikaya Grey are Thums Up, Mauritius Tourism, Arvind Mills, Gujarat Ambuja, Ruff and Tuff jeans & Dunlop Spectrawide. The agency, under the late Ravi Gupta’s leadership, introduced advertising for new product categories like moulded luggage (Aristocrat) and fire extinguishers (Ceasefire).
In 2001, Grey brought a majority stake in the company and from then on the agency is called Grey India. At that time Nirvik Singh, the then MD of Grey Worldwide (India) led not only the agency, but also the transition process. During his tenure, Grey India’s campaigns include India Shining, Incredible India, Orbit White and Ambuja Cement.
WPP plc is the parent company of the Grey Global Group, a global advertising and marketing agency under which Grey India falls. The Grey Global Group’s integrated communications offering includes advertising, direct marketing, public relations, public affairs, brand development, customer relationship management, sales promotion and interactive marketing.
THE PHILOSOPHY
Grey India has adopted the ‘Famously Effective’ tagline of Grey Global Group. They believe that their agency is a combination of both ‘famous’ and ‘effective’ and this reflected from the campaigns that they create. “There is no point doing great work if it isn’t effective and if your client is not laughing his way to the bank” says a video on the agency’s website, explaining its philosophy.
This reflects its record of creating effective award-winning advertising. Its strategic focus uses the term ‘Long Ideas’ (as opposed to ‘Big Ideas’) to emphasize the longevity of their branding and client relationships.
THE REACH
Grey India has an employee strength of approximately 300. It has offices in five major Indian cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai.
THE FUN
Grey believes that employees should work hard and play hard too. Every office has a day called ‘Light Grey’, which is like a tele-match. Games are played all day.
THE BRANDS
• GREY RETAIL • GREY ADVERTISING • GREY ACTIVATION • GRET DIGITAL • GREY BRAND ACCELERATION: PLANNING
THE CLIENTS
• RELIANCE • ITC • P&G • GSK • DELL • VOLKSWAGEN • ALLIANZ • FERRERO • HONDA • ADOBE • STAR GROUP • INDIAN OIL • INFOSYS AND OTHERS
THE NEW ADDITIONS
• DELL • STAR GROUP • SPICEJET • MUTHOOT • HONDA (DIO) • NETWORK 18 • GATEWAY IT SOLUTIONS (24*7 BOOKING) • PIGEON • STOVEKRAFT
RECENT BIG CAMPAIGNS
KILLER GREEN FOLD (WATER SAVER JEANS) FOR KILLER JEANS ACHYUT PALAV, CALLIGRAPHER CAMPAIGN; BUSINESS CARD
THE ESSENCE, ACCORDING TO JISHNU SEN
Q] What is the USP of Team Grey India?
The USP of our organization is that we believe in ideas that win. That has always been our motto and when I say ‘ideas that win’ I am talking about making our brands win in the marketplace. We swear by our slogan ‘Famously effective’ and inherent in that is what we believe -- that our work and our brand should be both famous and effective.
Q] How does the road ahead look like? What are the new frontiers the agency is looking at?
All other agencies are playing catch-up on Digital. We have already got a very strong digital organization. A new frontier would be the world of shopper marketing. Something that I and our clients are very interested in. We have taken some small steps already and within three or four months, we will have alliances and people in place which will make this a very strong offering from us.
Q] What is the one word or phrase that sums up Grey India?
At the risk of being repetitive it has to be ‘Famously Effective’
