Small Sharks… Big Bites
By Ashish Pratap Singh Independent small agencies - be they creative, media or digital – have suddenly come into their own. Armed with little more than Determination, stellar ideas and attitude, they are elbowing for Room at the top. Should network bigwigs take stock or is the pie Big enough for everyone? In a world where rules are set by the behemoth network groups and observed by the entire industry, a new breed of media agencies are increasingly making their presence felt. Their USP: fresh ideas, out-of-the-box thinking and a killer attitude. This combo has struck gold with marketers, as the agencies bag more and more big accounts and deliver on the brand promise. The trend is on the upswing and its graph will not see a dip anytime soon, feels Dr Lipika Jain, visiting faculty for Marketing at Symbiosis Institute of Business Management. “More and more talents will set up their own shops. The next phase in evolution will be bigger networks taking over independent agencies as they will feel the pinch of shortage of talent,” she adds. Most importantly, clients too prefer independent agencies that offer value addition and a client-centric focus. Says Vipul Mathur, country head, marketing, Lee, “Agencies attracted good talent in the past. If the talent decides to split ways with the network, then companies will move with them because a network is not defined by its campaigns but by the people who created those campaigns.” According to Jignesh Shah, vice president, Paras Pharmaceuticals, “Talent used to be attracted to the agencies. But that is not the case anymore. Really good people are starting their own shops.” Marketers also look at independent agencies for their creative and digital needs, attracted by the personalized attention that they get. Says Shah, “It’s a common notion that agencies seek attention, but actually the opposite is true. It is clients who want to get undivided attention and whoever gives them that, along with more than expected results, comes on board.” Sanjay Ramakrishnan, Vice President-Marketing, myntra.com, says the layers of management that are symbolic of a network agency are not part of an independent agency. “As a result, decision-making is superfast, which works in our favour,” he explains. Myntra.com has been a client of the agency Happy Creative, and loves the personal touch in their dealings due to relatively fewer clients as compared to a global network. “It helps as the onus is not lost,” Ramakrishnan adds. Mathur states that the excitement and passion to prove that they are no less than any established agency is almost infectious. “A smaller agency is like family as we can see that they go out of their skin to deliver,” he says. Moreover, as Anik Banerjee, marketing head, Cycle Group, says, “Smaller shops concentrate on what the clients want rather than just gloating about what they can do.” The biggest asset of the newer crop of independent agencies is, of course, their talent. They know for a fact that it is the people they hire who will put the company on the agency map. But what exactly spurs people to go ahead and start a small agency? Says Manish Bhatt, founder director, Scarecrow, “The reason we started this agency was to do things differently. That can only be done when we have a team of people with radical thinking and chart a way to bring it to fruition.” Sukumar Menon of the agency Black Swan Life too agrees that if an independent agency gets its combination of people right, then it has won half the game already. Therefore, new creative agencies do pose a threat to the established networks as all it takes is a bright idea to click with a client of any size. However, media agencies will always have a segmented market. According to Bharat Rajamani, Senior Manager, Ernst & Young, “A small media agency probably will not target advertisers with significant spends.” Interestingly, some new shops do not have apprehensions about becoming part of a bigger agency network in due course. Viral Pandya of Out of the Box says, “We might tie up with agencies that have the same mindset as ours. In fact, we have identified a few networks that share our vision. So there is a possibility that we might be part of a bigger network.” Most new agencies still chase better payouts and run the risk of getting trapped. Gopi Menon, co-founder and CEO, Melon Media, Crayons Communications Group, observes that a better price is in the efficiency space while it must be in the effectiveness space. For that, any agency should think like an entrepreneur but function like a professional. “It is true that any media initiative has to function like a catalyst to build the business as well as build the brand. It’s not about quantifiable deliverables but about receptivity and engagement in a media plan. Any media agency that understands this behavioural economics will be a winner,” Menon states. There are small agencies galore that are doing well. Here, we round up nine of the game-changing ones and ask them about their USP, their placing, accounts they have and their vision for the future. Apart from these nine, there are other major players like Scarecrow, Taproot India and Creative Land Asia that stand out in the domain. OUT OF THE BOX When Viral Pandya started Out of the Box more than six years ago, he was very clear about the course the company would take. Having previously worked with heavyweights like Saatchi & Saatchi and Mudra, Pandya knew that the biggest investment Out of the Box would make was in talent. “It is a people’s business we are in and except for two of us, none of my team members have agency experience. But they are extremely committed,” he says. The thrill of doing something on his own and not be stifled by the system were the thoughts behind branching out. “But the biggest driver was to prove that a creative agency independent of a network can stand its own ground,” explains Pandya. He recalls the biggest feather in the company’s cap - a Cannes Lions Gold for Design won in 2011. They had sent only one entry to the competition and that made victory sweeter. “Mother’s Pride School wanted to change their tagline and we helped them do that by means of a brochure,” says Pandya. “We highlighted the activities of mothers with the help of visuals like flowers. The whole creative process took nine months but was totally worth it. The road ahead is exciting as we move into a bigger, swankier office this year.” CREATIVELAND ASIA Its website says: “We’re open to cross-pollination. We’re open to things that do not exist yet. We hate bureaucracy. We do not like complicating things. most of our hard work goes in minimizing complications and obstacles that come in the way of great work.” GUAVA CREATIVE Aiming to deliver the same quality as the heavyweights in the game, but in a much lesser response time, Guava has been getting the attention it craves. “Having worked in big agencies like Ogilvy & TBWA, I felt that while these agencies are great at what they do and they did teach me a lot about dealing with big MNC clients, they do not nurture an entrepreneurial spirit in creative professionals,” says Vikisha Mehta, Business Head. And thus Guava was born. According to Mehta, to gain clients’ respect, convince them that the agency can do justice to their brands and make them see the merit in working with a small outfit have been key focus areas for the recent start-up. The way things are going, Guava looks to attain a 300% growth over its 2010 numbers. “Our aim is to continue towards an annual growth of at least 35-40% in topline from a three-year perspective,” Mehta adds. The company has its work cut out for the next couple of years as they have a very clear vision of deliverables to continue attracting clients. They aim to be recognised as a brand partner and not just another design shop. 22 FEET The biggest driver for the think-tanks behind 22 Feet to branch out on their own was the collective passion for the medium. They saw an opportunity in the way the medium was being misrepresented in terms of creative opportunity. More often than not, according to them, creativity was being offered as a value addition, which probably was the worst way of establishing credibility for the medium. They had years of experience and the advantage of drawing what they wanted to on a white sheet. On being asked what the company is doing differently in terms of brand placement and target group, Vineet Gupta, managing partner, 22 Feet, says, “We are a solution-provider that helps brands understand the impact of technology on consumers. We differentiate on fundamentals and are as much about technology as we are about creativity or media.” More and more marketers are opting for independent players, driven by innovation, says Gupta. “The last innovation that happened in the traditional advertising industry model was when Bill Bernbach introduced the art/copy teams in late 1950. Since then, nothing much has changed,” he adds, hinting that traditional network agencies live in a comfort zone and are averse to learning. “Until a reversal of this happens, there will be independent companies offering solutions to clients that are fresh, innovative and client-centric.” Gupta has seen many ups and downs in his career. One memorable incident was walking into the office to find all the computers containing all their work stolen. Still, the team persisted and had their work flowing in fours hours flat. TAPROOT INDIA Agnello Dias was associated with the TOI account during his stint at Leo Burnett. In 2005, when he moved to JWT, the account moved along with him. Now, TOI has moved to Taproot. HAPPY CREATIVE When Kartik Iyer and Parveen Das, copy & art creative directors at Happy Creative, met at O&M, Bangalore, one thing they shared was a passion to start out on their own. Having worked for companies like Fifth Estate, JWT and Lowe, they at some level always wanted to bring back “the love and respect” to the business. As Iyer puts it, “Our name does the trick because wherever we go and say that we are from Happy, it always forces a smile.” Also, they are not about any specific medium. “We are about ideas that are brought to life with creative solutions specifically conceived for a medium,” says Iyer. Being passionate and religious about their work seems to be the USP of the independent agencies and Happy Creative is no different. “We were young and passionate and would not stop at delivering good work despite a low budget. Soon, we struck the right chord with clients,” Iyer adds. The company is optimistic about its future. But Iyer says if at all there is a threat, it is to retain clients for creative work. “Big agencies will always be there to plan and roll outwork for large clients,” Iyer says. SUNNY SIDE UP Sunny side Up operates out of Hyderabad, where only a handful of media agencies enjoy a large presence. According to Anand Krishnan, founder and partner at the company, it would take at least five years for an independent agency to start optimising on their work with respect to media. Sunny Side Up is doing just that. The founder partners started to believe that the very ideas an agency must take pride in were not really the first in the list of priorities. “This is when you start having doubts,” adds Krishnan. After starting Sunny Side Up, Krishnan and his band always remembered not to approach a problem from an advertising/communication/ clientservicing perspective. “Walk in and listen to the business problem of the client and ask as many questions, simply because we haven’t been called for the meeting to do a 30-second ad. Secondly, don’t treat your profession as a job. The minute you start empathising with a client, you have taken the first step to understanding his or her problem. Then use communication and design-based tools to solve them,” Krishnan states. “The advantage here is that independent agencies will be more responsive to the changing environment than network agencies. In digital for example, a lot of the breakthrough work is being done by independent agencies around the world.” CUT THE CRAP When the chairman of the Alchemist Group asked Jagdish Acharya to start his own agency with Alchemist as its first client, Cut the Crap (or CTC in the media circles) was born. Acharya vowed to do things differently. From running a virtual office to handling brands that were not looking for mainstream communication ideas, CTC has walked the untrodden path. There are lessons that he has learnt. “Going independent is not about how big a client you have, but the kind of work you can showcase. That’s what will get you your next client,” says Acharya. “Today, there are separate agencies for creative, media, digital, OOH, social media, activations, mobile phone, etc. While big network agencies fiercely protect their turfs, each of them is but a network of niche agencies.” The industry is getting to realise the new dynamics of how the game is being played. Clients are looking at a player as a big and fresh agency, not big and niche. With a Rs 15-30 crore billing, the road ahead looks bright for Cut the Crap. “I am waiting for my next big idea,” claims Acharya. Whenever he gets time, Acharya also scripts movies. Once when a filmmaker asked him his agency’s name, Acharya replied, “Cut the crap.” The film-maker apologised and said it did not matter! BLACK SWAN LIFE The company traces its creative roots to Enterprise and Saatchi, where founder Sukumar Menon learnt the craft under Mohammad Khan and Ramesh Ramanathan respectively. “I understood that ultimately any place is what you make of it under Balki, honed the skill of quick thinking under Ryan Menezes, and enjoyed the freedom under Pops. Only after being dependent on so many stalwarts did I choose to be independent,” says Menon. On why more and more creative people are going independent, Menon says that earlier, the management guys were the client interface. “Since there is a huge dearth of quality management resources due to various reasons, creative chaps have emerged from their chappals, worn new clothes and honed their interpersonal skills to interact with clients. The clients love it,” he adds. “Each client has a single-point contact in the agency.” Menon maintains that their initial and biggest investment was on people, and will continue to be on people. “We work towards what we think is qualitative, rather than standards set by others,” he says. Perhaps this is why they never enter any competition for awards or recognition. No one knows better than the creator when they have a winner. SAINTS AND WARRIORS Frustrated with multiple agendas and politicking of big agencies, Pushpinder Singh, co-founder of the company, had only dreamt of a little oasis of his own. However, a few months into Saints and Warriors, he realised the huge demand/supply gap for quality thinking and creative execution. “We also sensed we could complete and outdo the best,” he says. “Every big pitch we won, from Pantaloons to Skoda, further confirmed that.” But in a rush of independent agencies, it is imperative to differentiate from the competition. “Big agency prowess combined with the nimbleness and flexibility of an entrepreneurial set-up has been our calling card,” Singh adds. On whether the pie is big enough for big networks as well as small agencies, Singh says the rate at which the pie is growing, it can accommodate many more players. “But what is a little alarming is the spoiling of the market by startups and one-or-two-man shops who can’t think beyond the next meal,” he adds. He also mentions that once the dust settles, not too many new agencies will be standing on their feet. A majority would never evolve from being shops where people worked with their own hands, he says. PARTNERS When Rajeev Manchanda did his postgraduation in physics, he probably did not think that he would start a creative agency one day. However, since 2001, Partners has partnered with many notable brands like Maruti Suzuki, Tata Indicomm and others. It is also associated with the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation. Says Manchanda, “Our biggest asset is our team of 30, with expertise in their respective fields.” Headquartered in Chandigarh and with an office in Delhi, Partners looks all set to go ahead. Feedback: ashish@exchange4media.com
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