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Tag: IdeateLabs

  • Storytelling in the multiscreen age

    Storytelling in the multiscreen age

    Oh, storytelling. So much has changed and then, nothing has.

    As someone who started wearing more hats (at times unwittingly) than just the creative type over time, it’s fascinating to see how the graph of storytelling is evolving.

    Mobiles. Tablets. Smart TVs. Normal TVs (my parents have one). Laptops. Desktops. How do inches of screens influence the millions spent on storytelling? Let’s look at the different ‘kirdaars’ in the story of storytelling.

    The story makers: Thou shalt be versatile.

    Cos the audience is as diverse as it is cohorted. And the same person consumes different stories on different screens at different times in a day. One of the critical questions to ask besides others, is where will this story appear? And then nuance it to that screen(s).

    The legendary 30-seconder is now 15. Or 6. The ‘long’ 60-seconder is now longer at 3 minutes. It obviously needs a different skill and craft, to do justice to both. And then there is the timing aspect – with moment marketing growing by the moment. There are new storytelling formats available, in varying degrees of maturity. Themed games – which we’ve explored with a lot of success to tell brand stories. AR/VR, metaverse, web series, branded content, blogs… the canvas just keeps getting longer & wider with each screen.

    And why should stories happen in isolation? In a multiscreen, non-linear age, why not have more of ‘fluid’ stories. Brands have done it (Volvo’s The Greatest Interception Ever, Burger King + Google Home, Coinbase QR), and it adds to the creative play in a never-before manner.

    The story bearers: Thou shalt be collaborative.

    The ‘role’ of media, social media, broadcasters and distributors in the story-world is on the rise. And for a reason. As technology and algorithms are dictating (even predicting) more and more of what works and what doesn’t, the magic of media & creative ‘jugalbandi’ is needed more than ever before.

    The good old days of jamming together are back. And we need lots more of it. A small new feature of a platform, a tweak in the algo, a new platform altogether… all these can spark a story, or elevate a story. Stories have/can become interactive using multiple senses, turning audience into co-creators.

    Innovations are only as good as their use cases. And a story is only as good as how it is told. The story-carriers are and will continue to have a voice in not only telling, but also shaping the story.

    The story owners: Thou shalt be open.

    It’s difficult to create a good story. It’s more difficult to create a story that exceeds expectations. And it’s impossible to create something that goes viral every time.

    Brands and clients who understand this, are the true BFF of storytelling. The origin point of the story resides with them (the need), as does the protagonist (the brand), as does the ownership (the monies). Having and setting clear expectations from a story is a great starting point. However small, define the outcomes. So that the story makers and bearers know what buttons the story must press.

    And then, what works on one screen will most likely not work equally well on another. Understand the nuances with partners, prioritize the screen(s) and channel resources accordingly. In the BANI world, it is tough to have a straight-line Brief. So, be open to experimentation and failures. Cos you’re never too far from a blockbuster story.

    The story consumers: Thou shalt be spoilt.

    Enough said.

    The article has been authored by IdeateLabs chief creative officer Raman R.S. Minhas.

  • IdeateLabs creates the Gallery of Unconditional Comfort for Nilkamal on National Pet Day

    IdeateLabs creates the Gallery of Unconditional Comfort for Nilkamal on National Pet Day

    Mumbai: How does India’s favourite furniture brand have a point of view on furniture damage? That too damage in its cutest form? IdeateLabs, one of India’s leading digital solutions providers, have the answer.

    The brand — Nilkamal Furniture. The occasion — National Pet Day. The idea – #TheGalleryOfUnconditionalComfort.

    Stemming from the observation of pet parents, the campaign celebrates every cat & dog’s scratchy & toothy relationship with indoor furniture. At the heart of the idea is the fact that no matter how much damage our furry little friends do to our furniture, we ultimately accept it with a wry smile and a shake of the head.

    But what if, it were showcased as a piece of art!

    Created as a UGC activation, the campaign was announced through a series of digital assets such as behind-the-scenes footage of these cute fur babies creating their furniture art. Nilkamal is inviting audience to share photos of their pet(s) and the furniture they have used as a canvas, using Instagram’s trending Add Yours feature. On National Pet Day, all the entries will be converted to a digital film to reveal #TheGalleryOfUnconditionalComfort, filled with endless meows & bow wows.

     

    Commenting on the campaign, IdeateLabs chief creative officer Raman R.S. Minhas said, “The moment the team came up with this idea, we knew we had to do it. The beauty of the idea is that it’s so real. Having been a pet parent myself, the initial disappointment of getting your table or sofa scratched soon turns into a smile, and eventually a memory to treasure. That emotion is what we are capturing and celebrating in the #TheGalleryofUnconditionalComfort!”

    As they say, you can’t spell furniture without fur. Share away and make your furry friend a part of The Gallery of Unconditional Comfort. 

  • IdeateLabs ropes in Dr. Bhaskar Das as new chairperson

    IdeateLabs ropes in Dr. Bhaskar Das as new chairperson

    Mumbai: Digital-first marketing solutions provider IdeateLabs has announced that Dr. Bhaskar Das has joined the company as chairman. He will be mentoring the senior leadership team in augmenting the company’s offerings across data, content, and community solutions.

    IdeateLabs works across a body of clients, offering turnkey digital transformation solutions that enable brands to embrace the ever-evolving business environment. The company said that it operates as a preferred partner for brands, taking up the responsibility of impacting business outcomes using web 3.0 technologies and direct-to-consumer conversations for the brands.

    IdeateLabs MD Amit Tripathi said, “IdeateLabs is enhancing capabilities across functions to build the most comprehensive solutions stack for the brands we work with. In order to navigate the challenges that such growth brings, it was imperative to bring an experienced eye to guide the company’s journey toward becoming a true marketing partner. Having known Dr. Das for more than a decade, we are absolutely delighted at his acceptance of working with the company to build the company’s vision as we diversify solutions with a customer first digital transformation strategy.”

    Das added, “I am glad to have joined hands with this rapidly growing organisation. The company is committed to bringing innovative solutions for building brand conversations and is at par with the current market trends, especially in the world of metaverse and web 3.0 trends. I look forward to working cohesively with the senior management to sketch growth strategies for the group’s expansion in the Indian and international markets.”

    Das is a well-known professional in the marketing and advertising industry. He has been associated with The Times of India (BCCL) as president and board member for over three decades; Zee Media as the group CEO; and Republic TV as the group president. Prior to joining IdeateLabs, Das was associated with Unica Token as director of content creation.

  • IdeateLabs to raise $5 million for next leg of data-centric growth

    IdeateLabs to raise $5 million for next leg of data-centric growth

    NEW DELHI: Sure there were a few hiccups, but if there’s one industry that benefited from the Covid-2019 lockdown, it is digital marketing. With even the most conventional players tapping into the digital space, not just for communications but also for primary-level sales, the industry witnessed a great inflow of business, and as mentioned time-and-again, made progress amounting to what it would have otherwise done in the next four-five years. 

    Now, powering ahead on the back of this good fortune, IdeateLabs – a leading independent digital-first creative agency – is embarking on an extensive expansion plan: growing its business overseas and, most importantly, investing in deep data technologies to better help clients. 

    Managing director Amit Tripathi shared, “Covid has been a very good period for us. Of course, we struggled, cash disappeared for a while but in the larger picture, digital opportunities came up in the forefront. We acquired a number of clients during the lockdown period and are helping a number of new entrants in the digital space to scale up their businesses. We are helping a boutique brand scale up their online presence, supporting the endeavour of a multi-brand FMCG outlet to set up their own e-commerce platform etc.”

    In 2020, IdeateLabs secured the mandate for a number of clients including Hafele, TATA Tele Business Services, UTI Mutual Fund, TransUnion CIBIL, IDC, Jalesh Cruises, among others. 

    Tripathi stated that they also utilised this time in thinking beyond their existing capabilities and further promoting their data-centric platform Icogz.com, a one-of-a-kind tool that unifies digital accounts to provide real-time data and insights. They are planning to raise $5 million in an ongoing funding round and are already in advanced-level talks with a number of sponsors across the globe. 

    “We realised a grey-space in the market with the growing number of data sources and the amount of information that we have in store. There is no one turning this data into intelligence. So, we embarked on this journey a few years ago and created a comprehensive CRM system that gets everything from your marketing spends, to your leads and strategies, on a single platform. We built this entire product and acquired clients across India, Middle East, and the north African region,” Tripathi elaborated. 

    He added that so far the product development and platform building for Icogz.com has been done with their internal investments. With the new funding, Tripathi is looking forward to expanding and extending the creative and data services across the globe.

    Focus will remain on team-building; exclusively for Icogz.com, he is planning to expand his team size by a 100 per cent in the next few months. These hirings will happen in India, the UK, and GCC regions. 

    “We are looking forward to hiring a number of data-scientists in our Indian offices. These, however, will be geo-agnostic positions and we might be having brilliant minds from across the globe working for us here. We will also be beefing up our offices in the UK with fresh, dynamic talent,” he shared. 

    Tripathi also addressed the need for creating more skilled talent in India, especially when it comes to data sciences and, in fact, shared that IdeateLabs had been planning to launch a training program for interested individuals earlier this year. “That took a backseat because of the pandemic and we are not planning to take this ahead, at least until next year. However, that is a part of the long-term plan, to skill more talent. We have had internal sessions within our offices ever since and that will continue to happen.”

    Apart from that, IdeateLabs is also partnering with a number of smaller businesses in the UK, UAE, and other GCC countries. “We are on the lines for announcing some mergers and partnerships with companies across these markets and will be announcing some of them in the next six months,” he revealed.

    Going ahead, Tripathi’s mission is to create a conical pyramid of services that IdeateLabs and Icogz.com will offer, with data at the bottom of it and communications at the top. 

    “You cannot move forward without data but eventually communication is what culminates it all. Obviously, we will be relying on more data, marrying company data with marketing data and consolidating it all in creative communications that have the power to start discussions,” he shared. 

    On being asked about the rising concerns around data privacy and governments across the globe planning to limit the access to customer’s private data, Tripathi said he is not bothered by the ramifications of it. 

    “We are not going to create any additional data. If you talk about various digital platforms, they all have a certain side of data with them; one of them might be telling a customer’s location, other her name and age, etc. But there is one form of data that always remains with the brand, which is the data from their own stores. We will always have access to that. So, we will be utilising the on-ground data, retail data, and product sales data to deliver the best possible solutions,” he concluded.

  • IdeateLabs promotes Porus Jose as CCO

    IdeateLabs promotes Porus Jose as CCO

    MUMBAI: IdeateLabs has recently appointed two senior creative directors to their team – Sajid Dadarkar and Ashwini Vyas. Among their various other responsibilities, the duo will be instrumental in charting a creative strategic roadmap for the agency and transforming the communication approach for its accounts.

    The duo would be reporting to Porus Jose, who has been promoted to the role of CCO for the agency. Jose has been with IdeateLabs for more than 4 years and has driven creative practice with a team of more than 110 people reporting into him.

    Both Dadarkar and Vyas come with close to 15 years of experience each, in leading creative teams in some of the top advertising agencies. The innovative concepts, ideas and impact of the campaigns that they’ve worked on bear testimonials. Some of these campaigns were widely recognized across the Advertising & Marketing sectors.

    Porus Jose said: “Experimentation is the cornerstone of great creative work. It’s one of the beliefs that Ash and Sajid share. The freshness of their thinking and their approach towards work will not only go a long way in bolstering the brands we work with, but will also bring cohesiveness in the team and boost the spirit. It is also an exhilarating time for the agency with a whole host of new initiatives and client wins. I am excited to be leading this team as we go marching into the digital-first future.”

    IdeateLabs director Vrutika Dawda said: “Team IdeateLabs has always been the hub of creative professionals. Porus is an integral part of the think tank at IdeateLabs and has contributed immensely to the growth of the agency. Adding Ash and Sajid to the team will up the ante of our creative offerings. The idea is to make them the brand custodians, and inculcate the sense of ownership, accountability and responsibilities in the creative function. They will be the driving force in taking our clients from ‘satisfied’ to ‘delighted’. I’m sure, the team will benefit immensely from this senior leadership, led by Porus”.

    Having worked on a diverse set of brands such as HUL, Lenovo, MRF, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Tata Motors, Vodafone amongst others, Ashwini strives to deliver maximum ROI for the brands with his creative energies. His mantra is to lend the x-factor to all the work his team delivers. Ashwini has the expertise in all those areas that IdeateLabs was looking for.

    Sharing his reasons for joining IdeateLabs, Vyas said, “Over these years, I have been collecting creative experiences at some of the best advertising agencies in India. My aim is to uplift the art and groom my team for award-worthy ideas by providing them accurate direction. I am excited to work with this fun-loving bunch of people in the creative team. I plan to land some award-winning campaigns in the current year and make that a practice”

    Sajid comes with a rich advertising background across agencies, spanning two countries. Having worked with vast and diverse portfolios from chocolates, baby care to automobile and airlines, he comes with a keen insight into the consumer’s mind and the way he/she behaves. He has worked with clients such as Fair & Lovely, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Parle-G, Pepsodent, Standard Chartered Bank, Singapore Airlines, Emirates Airlines, and Nissan, to name a few.

    Dadarkar said, “I’m glad to be a part of the robust team at IdeateLabs. The kind of freedom I see in this Company is something I haven’t seen in many places. I plan to put my myriad experiences in the industry, working on a large spectrum of categories. Also, it will be a great opportunity to put this knowledge to use for the young and coming generations of creative minds”.

  • IdeateLabs wins multiple new businesses accounts

    IdeateLabs wins multiple new businesses accounts

    MUMBAI: IdeateLabs recently won multiple new accounts and is rapidly diversifying its offerings across a full spectrum of services. The recent wins include renowned names like TATA Tele Business Services, UTI Mutual Fund, TransUnion CIBIL, IDC Technologies and Ashwin Sheth Group amongst the prominent names which cater to varied industries such as Telecom, BFSI, Information Solutions and Data Analytics, IT Services, and Real Estate respectively.

    IdeateLabs will be offering these brands a wide range of services, including managing end-to-end digital solutions, communication strategy, performance marketing, lead generation, creative execution, campaign planning, social media management and digital asset mandates.

    The agency is aggressively expanding their foothold in the Indian as well as the international markets and is very excited about the upcoming work, lined up with several top brands.

    IdeateLabs director Vrutika Dawda said, “We are excited to bag mandates for some of the most prominent brands, spread across varied industry domains. We aim to realise the brands’ true potential by ‘building conversations’ – which is also our brand philosophy – between the brands and their customers.”

    Amidst the slowdown due to the Covid2019 pandemic, IdeateLabs continues to manage and service their existing business, even as they forge new business relationships. The agency is expected to report a healthy start of this quarter and is currently seeing rapid growth with the growing focus on digital solutions.

  • IdeateLabs wins 360-degree Marketing mandate for Hafele India

    IdeateLabs wins 360-degree Marketing mandate for Hafele India

    MUMBAI: IdeateLabs, one of India’s largest independent digital-first creative agency has won the complete communication mandate for the luxury brand Hafele India. The win comes after the brand invited several leading agencies for a 360 pitch, facilitated by Landor Consultancy (Part of the WPP Group).

    Hafele’s mandate to IdeateLabs consolidates the responsibility of Creative, Content and Media with one agency. This includes, developing the Marketing Blueprint, Creative Strategy, Brand Architecture, Media Planning & Execution, Reputation Management, Social & Digital Assets, PR, Performance Marketing and Content Creation. Starting with increasing brand awareness and building a strong community of consumers & influencers, the agency intends to take it all the way to showcasing Hafele’s innovations and creating thought leadership for the brand.

    On acquiring the prestigious account, Vrutika Dawda, Director, IdeateLabs commented, “Hafele India is not just another win. It is the opportunity to draw upon our many talents and employ them in a focused manner for brand Hafele. Building brands is all about building the right conversations. This has been our differentiator and our philosophy. Here’s a great chance for us to build it in a true 360-degree approach. For sure, dynamic story-telling and disruptive formats will play a vital role. We are keen to be a part of Hafele’s business ambitions and explore concepts that will redefine the way a brand communicates.

    Commenting on this partnership, Sanjay Swami, Head – Marketing Services, Hafele India said, “We were looking to partner with an agency who understands the luxury lifestyle industry on one hand, and who has a holistic brand perspective, on the other. Having been partners for a few years on the digital front, IdeateLabs understands our brand and our growth plans in India and South Asia regions. We are entering a phase of dynamic growth and are confident that IdeateLabs is the right partner who can help us get there”.

    Häfele is an international leader in the manufacturing and supply, space for kitchen fitting, furniture fittings and architectural hardware. With a legacy of over 95 years, Hafele India has expanded its product portfolio to Appliances, Lighting, Sanitaryware and Surfaces.

  • IdeateLabs appoints Divya Ajitkumar as business head

    IdeateLabs appoints Divya Ajitkumar as business head

    MUMBAI: IdeateLabs, one of India’s largest independent full-service digital-first creative agencies has roped in Divya Ajitkumar as Business Head. She will be based out of the Mumbai office and will be reporting to the Director, Vrutika Dawda.

    Divya has over a decade of experience in the digital space, having worked in highly organized and evolved markets with exposure to cutting edge technology and access to top tier publishers and clients in geos like NYC and London. Her roles involved collaborating across cross-functional teams like display, performance, search, affiliate and social and her core expertise lies in setting-up processes and solving complex business problems.

    Prior to joining IdeateLabs, she has worked with companies like, WeWork, O&M, iProspect and Starcom MediaVest managing brands like Coca-Cola, Samsung, Avon, Honda and RIM amongst others. Her new responsibilities at IdeateLabs involve building new business as well as growing existing ones, planning, strategizing, managing campaigns, growing P&L, and managing stakeholders.

      IdeateLabs director Vrutika Dawda said, “Divya brings a lot of experience coupled with fresh ideas to the table. Her business values and ideals fit right into the culture and DNA of IdeateLabs. Divya will be playing a crucial role in multiplying businesses and strengthening relationships with existing and new clients along with the stakeholders. We look forward to having her on board, to aggregate and enhance the business.”

    Commenting on her new role, Ajitkumar commented, “At IdeateLabs I have found a role that is both challenging and interesting.  Given the tremendous pressure to succeed in the Indian market, the only way to survive is to stand heads and shoulders over the rest. Where the differentiation between agencies is starting to blur, IdeateLabs has decided not to add to the chorus by being another commodity focused agency. Rather we are investing in products and IPs that drive value for clients through actionable results. Clients today have become just as digitally savvy as the agency. We are at the crux of a defining shift in the marketplace where we are seeing a lot of clients question the value of an agency. What they seek is a partner, a guide, an extension of themselves. Capitalizing on key moments to drive their agenda is critical. Through digital, your opportunity is immense to demonstrate value addition by creating different business models that can help amplify their ROI.”

    IdeateLabs, one of India’s largest independent full-service digital-first creative agencies . It is a fired-up group of professionals from the creative, tech and marketing worlds. While its clientele exceeds 75 well-known Indian and International names, its portfolio spans across varied business verticals. Its clientele includes renowned brands like Hiranandani Communities, Brand Factory, Future Group, HDFC Bank, Magma Finance, Hafele, Kalpataru, Fullerton India, Franklin Templeton Mutual Funds to name a few. IdeateLabs specializes in taking brand challenges and turning them into opportunities that deliver tangible and valuable results. IdeateLabs has its headquarters in Mumbai and satellite offices in Singapore and Dubai.