It’s the new kid on the block. And within the first month of its operation, the agency has picked up the creative mandate for three prestigious brands under the Kolkata-based Emami bouquet.
It was on a crisp November morning last year, when Priti Nair, founder director of Curry-Nation told Nagessh Pannaswami, then head of BBDO Mumbai and now founder director and partner in Nair’s new agency about her desires of floating an independent ad agency. ?My immediate reaction was ‘yes absolutely’?, recalls Pannaswami, who thinks it is the right career path for Nair who has spent over 20 years in the Indian advertising industry. Nair, who was last working with BBH as its managing partner-creative, quit the agency last year.
?The idea of doing something on your own terms always hangs around your head when you are working. I felt it was the right time. Moreover, the industry has changed quite a bit. I seriously started thinking about it since last year, especially because there is a lot of encouragement from the industry. About 10-15 years ago people started breaking away to start their own set-up, but the trend stopped after a while. But in the last one and half years that trend has come back. And a number of my contemporaries have started their own agencies and it looks like there is a lot of potential in the market now,? says Nair.
Curry-Nation is looking at rolling out the ad campaigns for Emami’s Fast Relief, Hairlife and Lalima brands soon. ?There was no pitch?, says Nair. ?Clients are happier with smaller set-ups so there is a lot of scope these days. I have worked with Emami when I was in Grey and they have shown immense confidence in us by giving us these three brands.? The incumbent agencies were JWT’s second agency Fortune Communications and Kolkata-based ad agency DPS Advertising that handled Fast Relief.
In the ad world, Nair is considered quite a fire brand herself. She started her journey in advertising in 1990 and has worked with agencies such as Leo Burnett, Lowe Lintas, Grey Worldwide and BBH. It was during her stint with Lowe Lintas that she delivered some of her most memorable campaigns for clients including Surf Excel, Greenply, Greenlam, Axe and the most celebrated Balbir Pasha AIDS awareness campaign. ?This is what gave me the confidence to quit BBDO and join hands with Priti,? says Pannaswami, who worked with Nair for six years at Lowe Lintas. Pannaswami has worked with agencies such as Interact-Vision, Clarion Advertising Services, Altitude which is one of McCann Worldgroup’s key division, McCann Erickson and BBDO.
?We have a strategy in place. We have decided to work mainly with Indian companies, not that we do not want to work with multinationals. But there is a rich mine of Indian companies which we can tap into. Secondly, gone are the days when agencies ceased to exist without FMCG, auto or telecom clients. Today, there is immense scope to grow the business in sectors like infrastructure, health and wellness, education, etc. We also want to pick up accounts from smaller markets and tier-two cities,? explains Pannaswami.
Industry sources disclose that the initial investment to launch Curry-Nation has been to the tune of Rs 3 crore.
Says Pannaswami, ?I can’t disclose how much we have spent. But I am confident that we will break even in the first 12 months itself and we will start getting the return on investment within the first 24 months.?