What could be more apt than to speak about independent agencies (indies) in the country on the eve of Independence Day? After all, if there?s one thing that binds together independent agencies in the marketing communications industry and inspires ad professionals to leave their high-profile stable jobs in networks and start from scratch, it is the irrepressible need to have creative freedom and be the master of their destinies. Undeterred by the inherent risks of going alone, these Davids are ready to fight the Goliaths, and come up with breakthrough ideas.
All along, the biggest reason for going independent is, well, the freedom that comes with being independent. To produce good advertising involves a degree of risk taking and challenging the status quo. In big ad networks, there are various pulls and pressures which are at times in variance with the creative goals and many a time, it is the pocketbook which prevails over the final creative product. Setting up their own agencies allows ad professionals to break free from hierarchical structures and concentrate on realising their dreams. As Naresh Gupta, managing partner of independent agency, Bang In The Middle says, ?You live by your convictions. This makes you far more responsive and prescient. The decision making is faster, the response time quicker.? Again, most of the profits made by the local office of an ad network is repatriated to the head office, and that can lead to heartburn. In an independent agency, you get to reap the monetary benefits.
Being on you own also gives you freedom to make your own mistakes, say professionals. Raghu Bhat, co-founder of independent agency Scarecrow Communications says, ?There is a lot of fear in most organisations. The fear of making a mistake, the fear of being victimised, the fear of losing out on a promotion. Fear is the greatest inhibitor of human potential. Scarecrow?s biggest advantage is that it?s a genuinely fearless organisation. By creating a non-political merit-based system, we give people the space and freedom to be themselves.?
Another big reason is the lip service paid to new media by most network agencies. Independent professionals want to do much more with digital media. Kartik Iyer, co-founder, Happy Creative Services, says that in 2007 the media landscape was going through a huge transformation. Social media was just kicking in and it was clear traditional advertising itself would become limiting. ?We knew content was the future and we had ideas. So we just created a place where we could bring alive every idea we had, without it necessarily having to be advertising. In the end we just wanted to have fun and be happy,? he says.
Scarecrow?s Bhat (which has announced around four account wins in the last few months), defines the journey so far as a backpack trip. ?There is more uncertainty but also more fun.? According to him, the first two years have taught Scarecrow a lot about financial management, people management, relationship management and life. ?Every year you survive adds layers to your confidence. You realise that the agenda is not just to do creative work but to build a organisation, where creativity is nurtured, empowered and celebrated. It?s not the same thing,? he says.
Last year, BrandWagon did a special supplement (It?s My Way, May 3, 2011) on the many independent advertising agencies in India, including Scarecrow, Taproot, Metal Communications, Salt, Creativeland Asia and Curry Nation, that have hogged the limelight in recent years. The success of these indies have spurred many more men and women from the advertising industry to take the plunge. Recently Vandana Katoch, who had been working at DDB Mudra Group, launched Clayground. Just a few weeks back, Emmanuel Upputuru, who was the national creative director at Publicis India, along with Daniel Upputuru and Anirban Mozumdar announced the launch of ITSA, in association with Concept Communications. Prathap Suthan, and Naresh Gupta who was with Dentsu earlier, launched Bang in the Middle on Labour Day this year. KB Vinod, who has worked with agencies such as Leo Burnett and DDB Mudra group earlier, and Bhupal Ramnathkar, of Umbrella Design, kick-started their new venture, called Company, in February this year.
At the speed with which the number of independents is growing, there?s one question that troubles everyone ? is there enough space for everyone? If past experience is anything to go by, then most independents have survived. Most of the agencies that we had tracked last time are doing good for themselves. While some such as Taproot have continuously challenged bigger network agencies such as JWT by sweeping various awards and by scooping a lot of big projects from under their nose (read Pepsi and Airtel), most others have a steady stream of projects and clients and are operating in their respective spaces. Talking about the future of indies, Bhat of Scarecrow says, ?A few of them will grow large enough to be considered as acquisition targets. The larger agencies will consolidate much before the small ones as their growth pressures are much higher. The smaller agencies may not have huge cash reserves but their overheads are lower and they can scale up much faster.?
Till then, let?s find out more about the dreams that these new independent agencies are weaving.