Latest news with #SaatchiPropagate
Mint
07-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Ad agencies want to do it all. But the ultimate loser is the brand
Mumbai: In Indian advertising today, there's one common pitch: We do it Media. Martech. Influencers. AI. Commerce. If there's a funnel, every agency wants to own it, end-to-end. But here's the problem: the more agencies chase dashboards and data layers, the more indistinguishable they become. And amid this convergence chaos, the oldest question in the business is being ignored: Who's thinking about the brand? 'Everyone wants to solve the full funnel, but the real moat is still in brand thinking," said Paritosh Srivastava, chief executive officer (CEO) of Saatchi & Saatchi, BBH India and Saatchi Propagate. 'Creative shops are now offering media, media agencies are hiring content teams, and consultants are peddling brand strategy. But if everyone does everything, who's standing for something?" Srivastava adds that while Publicis Groupe's Power of One model helps agencies deliver integrated solutions, the danger lies in sameness. 'At some point, clients will ask what your real superpower is. You have to be famous for something." Dheeraj Sinha, group CEO, FCB India and South Asia, 'It's no longer about just being a service provider. We're now in the business of business outcomes." Under his leadership, FCB has merged its creative, digital, and performance units into a single platform, building AI-driven content and full-funnel services. 'But amidst all this, our job remains to keep brands culturally rooted. That can't be captured by CTRs (click-through rates) alone." Sinha is also quick to point out the value of integration, when done right. 'The creative idea is still the nucleus. If media and performance are not orbiting that, we risk becoming mechanical executors rather than cultural creators." S. Subramanyeswar (Subbu), group CEO-India and chief strategy officer-APAC at MullenLowe Group, is taking a different tack: creating proprietary knowledge products like 'State of States' and pushing for what he calls "ecosystemised thinking". 'Too many agencies today speak in acronyms and tools, but where is the soul?" he asked. 'We're not just glueing services together. We're productizing ideas. And at the heart of it is cultural intelligence. Without that, you're just delivering media, not meaning." That cultural intelligence, Subbu said, is becoming a rare commodity in a hyper-programmatic world. 'Even clients are asking: Who's bringing me that human lens?" Marketers aren't blind to the shift. But they're also worried that creative ambition is being replaced by templatised efficiency. 'We deliberately pivoted from a functional, product-first pitch to emotional storytelling," said Ravi Chawla, managing director and CEO of Gulf Oil Lubricants India, in a recent interaction. 'Whether it's through cricket, retail or digital, the aim was to build resonance, not just impressions. The agencies that got us there understood grassroots insight, not just full-funnel fluency." For Inderpreet Singh, head-marketing at Birla Opus Paints, this tension is sharper. The brand is a late entrant in a commoditised category, and its IPL investment needed to punch above weight. 'We constantly debate ROI (return on investment) versus memorability. If your agency only talks numbers, they're missing the point. Our mandate is to create memory structures. That comes from insight and consistency, not algorithmic success." He added, 'We want to be a brand people remember, not just one they saw during a sale. That takes more than reach. It takes relevance." That push and pull is being felt on platforms, too. Sana Shaikh, director at Flipkart Ads, sees both sides. 'The line between brand and performance is vanishing. Today, creative storytelling has to happen inside a cart, inside a scroll, inside a second," she said. 'We're giving agencies and brands tools to build relevance at speed. But that also means traditional agencies need to unlearn a lot." But even as platforms reshape the playing field, some argue the bigger threat comes from inside the agencies themselves. 'There's a creative stagnation setting in," one independent agency founder said, speaking anonymously. 'You see the same templates, the same performance playbooks, the same KPIs (key performance indicators). If every agency looks like the other, where's the edge?" Some clients are starting to notice. A senior marketer at a consumer tech firm added, 'We're pushing our agencies to stop being reactive. Everyone's optimising. No one's imagining. It's hurting differentiation." Legacy agencies are trying. But the real challenge may not be transformation, but restraint. Not chasing every revenue stream, but knowing what to protect. 'The market is moving towards efficiency, but let's not forget the irrational power of stories," said Shubhranshu Singh, chief marketing officer (CMO) of Tata Motors Commercial Vehicles and a board member of the Effie Lions Foundation. 'You can measure short-term impact. But long-term brand value? That takes trust, culture and belief." Dheeraj Sinha puts it bluntly: 'If you're not building long-term IP (intellectual property), you're just renting attention." India may have had a big year at Cannes Lions 2025, with 32 awards and culturally sharp campaigns. But ask agency leaders and CMOs alike, and the unease is clear: creativity is at risk of being crowded out by commerce.
Mint
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
AI, identity and drama: Why everyone's turning into a character
MUMBAI: First it was dreamy Ghibli-style portraits. Then came Barbie-fied posters. And now, social media feeds are flooded with boxed action figures of everyday professionals, complete with accessories such as coffee mugs, laptops and clever titles like 'Deadline Warrior' or 'Chief Meme Officer'. What began as playful experimentation with AI tools has snowballed into a cultural moment. Consumers aren't just taking selfies anymore but are creating avatars, crafting narratives and in the process, redefining self-branding. And, for marketers, it's a playground filled with promise and pitfalls. 'AI-generated self-portraits are the item numbers of the digital world—flashy and viral, but rarely central to the plot," said Harikrishnan Pillai, chief executive officer and co-founder of TheSmallBigIdea. 'They may not decide the fate of the film, but they sure get the audience's attention." Also read: 'We love big, hard challenges': Nvidia's Richard Kerris on Indian content market Prachi Bali, executive vice president and head of Saatchi Propagate, sees this trend as part of a larger behavioural shift. 'What this shows is how everybody wants to be a creator of some sort. Technology just feeds off this desire, with a layer of novelty and engagement that is active and allows us to parade as self-expression," she said. These visual trends driven by tools such as Midjourney, Canva, DALL·E, Epik AI and Lensa tap into a craving for personalization, fantasy and social relevance. People are turning themselves into animated heroines, retro dolls or workplace-themed action figures. Often, these are less about vanity and more about signalling who we are, or want to be, in a curated digital world. 'Egocentric processing lies at the centre of consumer psychology," said Priya Narayanan, assistant professor of marketing at IIM Kozhikode. 'Such self-representation indicates a desire to be part of a social conversation, to express oneself and to be talked about." Among Gen Z and young professionals, this AI-fuelled self-expression is especially potent. For many, it's not just a toy or a trend, it's a tool to articulate personality and build visibility in a crowded digital space. 'We haven't even seen the tip of the user-generated content strategy iceberg yet," said Bali. 'As tech democratizes expression, we'll see more courage, sharing and participation. And, the brands that invite this 'play' will garner attention, recall and communities the fastest." But this is not just aesthetic experimentation. It's also brand strategy. 'While these trends may appear short-lived, the underlying behaviour, interest in interactivity and instant gratification is here to stay," said Bali. 'Short-lived is the new normal. In a thumb swipe, in 10 minutes, instant is what the narrative is. Multiply that with personalisation and bang! That's the engagement fodder all brands need." Still, agencies are cautious. 'At Saatchi Propagate, strategy defines our action. Trends are fun to chase, but how it adds up matters. The real AI action lies in enabled tech that impacts brand experience," Bali added. Also read: Creative agencies must kill the nostalgia: FCB's Dheeraj Sinha Pillai echoed the need for intentionality. 'Everyone's playing the game, but the ones who understand why and how to show up tend to leave a stronger mark," he said. 'If the trend is interesting, relevant and big enough… we jump on it… shamelessly." The business side of the avatar boom is also raising questions around IP ownership and brand licencing. 'People don't just want to wear a brand or watch a film anymore. They want to live inside that world," said Bhavik Vora, founder of Black White Orange Brands. 'Turning yourself into a Ghibli-style character is a way of saying, 'This story is part of who I am.'" Vora sees the trend as both a risk and an opportunity. 'On one hand, it's amazing free marketing. On the other, if used commercially without permission, it can cross into infringement territory," he said. But if approached smartly, the upside is huge. 'People want to be in the story now. They don't just want a Stranger Things tee. They want to exist in that universe," he said. He cites LEGO Ideas as a model: 'Fans submit concepts. If selected, they become official products. Indian IPs could adopt similar models." In fact, Vora believes we're entering the age of 'reverse licencing." 'Digital creators are building careers through avatars and characters. The next step is formalizing that into co-licenced products and experiences. But both sides must see value in it." 'We've spent years guarding IP. But the Internet, and now AI, has changed the rules. Fans and creators aren't waiting for permission. They're creating. The question is: do we push back, or do we build a system that brings them in?" he added. 'Because the truth is, a story becomes more powerful when more people help tell it." Narayanan agrees that marketers must now learn to separate fads from durable trends. 'Predictive social media intelligence can help. Once that's clear, brands can align their digital moves with core values to ensure authenticity." Even users are finding emotional value in these virtual makeovers. 'I turned myself into a Ghibli character just for fun, but then realized it reflected how I actually wanted to be seen online," said Neha Verma, a Bangalore-based product designer. 'It's not about beauty, it's about fantasy." Also read: The cult of Lollapalooza and the fault lines in India's events infra The avatar trend also signals a deeper cultural shift. In a time when identity is constantly curated online, from bios and playlists to Pinterest boards and story highlights, AI has given people a way to visually manifest their inner narrative. For some, it's playful. For others, it's aspirational. But for everyone, it's intensely personal. Whether these avatars are passing distractions or the future of self-branding, one thing is clear: the consumer is no longer just a buyer, but a builder of worlds. And, in that world, brands don't just have to show up, but they have to play along. Because when everyone's a character, only the most creative narratives stand out.
