Q] VMLY&R was integrated in India in 2018. Considering that the company doesn’t have a long legacy in the country, how do you plan to take things forward?
While VMLY&R in its current avatar is new, the legacy of all the individual brands have been around for a long time. These are teams that have built capabilities. The Glitch, which is the jewel in our crown, has also been around for a long time. So going forward, we are working on combining our strengths. We plan to grow in scale and build on capabilities, and we are taking all these capabilities and putting them together to create connected brand experiences for the businesses that we work for.
Q] Soon after the agency’s inception in India, some of your campaigns did very well and won you metals at the Cannes Festival. How are you planning to repeat or better the success this year?
The global creative council of VMLY&R is extremely happy with the entries that we have this year, and all the work that has happened over last few months. We are hoping to break last year’s record.
Q] VMLY&R India was recently restructured, how has the agency benefitted from it?
We are now assigning a crew specific to a business solution that the client might require. We have an account management team or even a creative team that is pretty much integrated. Each team has the capabilities to take care of the requirements of the clients.
Another thing that we are trying to re-build through restructuring is diversity. At the agency, we have 57 per cent men and 43 per cent women. But then there is also diversity in terms of the background of the people — their socio-economic background, where have they grown up, their education and exposure. This gives us more inclusivity, and brings diverse ideas. We strive to be a solutions-oriented agency.
Q] Last year, VMLY&R and Geometry joined forces to launch VMLY&R Commerce Encompass, an end-to-end creative commerce company. How has it benefitted you?
VMLY&R Commerce is now a far bigger entity. We are amongst the very few agencies that have offline and online commerce capabilities. Kartik and Shankar (Shinde) come with experience in D2C and in creating market spaces. So, this is the team which can deliver a lot, and is already doing so.
Q] How does VMLY&R differentiate itself from the competition in the market?
We are a very well-connected team that works with very well-connected brands. Consumers may not always look at one part of the puzzle but at the connected experience, and that’s what we provide. Also, the capabilities of our leadership teams are immense. We just have to bring it together, harness it, and take it to another level. Another thing is that our creative teams are not always thinking about campaigns but also about solutions for the client. Lastly, we are also a very connected network at a global level.
