Tag: Scarecrow M&C Saatchi

  • Azaad launches first two Originals designed for the rural mindset

    Azaad launches first two Originals designed for the rural mindset

    Mumbai: Beginnen Media’s first consumer-specific entertainment channel, Azaad has announced its Originals content offering exclusively designed for the ‘Rural Mindset’.  The premium Hindi rural entertainment channel will be launching two new shows titled ‘Meri Doli Mere Angana’ and ‘Pavitraa Bharose Ka Safar’, both of which have been created after deeply understanding the rural person through years of periodic syndicated research, said the channel on Tuesday.

    Staying true to the brand proposition of ‘Hamari Mitti Hamara Aasman’, themes have been specially created to attract, engage and connect with this super mass. Starting 14 September, ‘Meri Doli Mere Angana’ will air at 9:00 p.m and ‘Pavitraa Bharose Ka Safar’, at 9: 30 p.m on Azaad as well as on MX Player (digital partner).

    Produced by Jitendra Gupta and Mahesh Tagde from Tell-A-Tale Media, ‘Meri Doli Mere Angana’ portrays the beauty and complexities of relationships in the Bithoor-based Singh family, especially the loving bond between Janki and her father. The show captures Janki’s journey from being an innocent daughter to becoming an experienced daughter-in-law who learns to manage complex situations and relationships in a society that differentiates between the two roles. Astha Abhay plays the lead protagonist Janki. Surendra Pal, Rudrakshi Gupta and Ankit Raizada will be seen in key roles.

    ‘Pavitraa Bharose Ka Safar’ is a family drama set in Meerut. While it is based on the main themes of encouraging women empowerment and battling societal issues, the show also depicts the passionate love story of two diverse personalities. Produced by Santosh Singh, Rochelle Singh, and Pearl Grey from Parth Production, ‘Pavitraa Bharose Ka Safar’ is the story of Pavitraa, the daughter of an underprivileged taxi driver who aspires to complete her education and become self-reliant. She fights against all odds to become a successful entrepreneur who strived to make other women capable of taking care of their families and themselves in all respects. The role of Pavitraa is played by Shaily Priya. The cast also includes Neelu Vaghela, Kumaar Raajput and Sheezan Mohammed.

    Commenting on the Originals launch, Beginnen Media Pvt Ltd (BMPL) managing director, Bharat Kumar Ranga, said, “It’s an industry-first with Azaad making the shift from a creative to a consumer-focused business model. Gaining the trust of our viewers is at the heart of our model as our customer experience is based on deep insights. Our Originals have a rural consumer-centric proposition which places the viewer, rather than the creative at its core.”

    Welcoming the viewers who had joined the launch event live from different villages in North India, he added, “By its sheer size, the rural super mass is clearly emerging as a segment with huge untapped opportunities. Azaad’s philosophy of ‘People Centricity’ reflects the rural DNA that is the Unapologetically Real Indian (U-R-I). We are delighted to present the ‘UnionShip’ with our content creators, Jitendra Gupta, Mahesh Tagde, Santosh Singh, Rochelle Singh, and Pearl Grey who have created our first two originals. The shows are relatable and would inspire the U-R-I mindset to reconcile with rural traditions and values while ushering in a sense of dynamism and growth to meet their aspirations.”

    “Azaad is a first on many levels. There has always been a clear-cut divide between urban and rural India, where rural in spite of being a majority, unfortunately, has always got a hand-me-down treatment in every sphere of life. And that’s what we want to change with our’ rural first’ approach,” commented Beginnen Media, general manager – product, Doris Dey. “At Azaad we truly believe in democratising the entertainment industry by creating content for much-ignored Rural India, as well as creating an ecosystem where equal opportunities are provided to existing and new makers. We are a ‘challenger brand’ determined to create a unique parallel ecosystem within the industry. I am sure that we will set new benchmarks with the unwavering support and participation of all our stakeholders.”

    Azaad’s brand proposition, Hamari Mitti Hamara Aasman, was developed in partnership with Scarecrow M&C Saatchi Ltd. The idea was arrived at through an extensive consumer study of the rural person by Future Brands. The unique proposition spells out rural dreams and aspirations and wears the rural pride. Both the brand film and the brand anthem are devised and created by Azaad’s internal on-air promotions team. The brand film takes a closer look at the U-R-I’s mindset to reveal the pride they take in their roots, culture, and belief systems. Music director Santosh Nair and singer, Divya Kumar rendered the brand anthem.

  • ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel onboards Scarecrow M&C Saatchi for customer communication

    ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel onboards Scarecrow M&C Saatchi for customer communication

    NEW DELHI: ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India has roped in Scarecrow M&C Saatchi as the creative agency for its customer communication needs. The brand will be handled by the agency’s Mumbai office. 

    Scarecrow M&C Saatchi founder director Manish Bhatt said, “It is a matter of great satisfaction to have a brand like AM/NS India in the agency’s kitty. As a joint venture company, it offers the best of both the worlds and carries with it a rich and unparalleled legacy.  The brand’s wide range of B2B and B2C offerings, gives us the opportunity to develop a wholistic communication strategy for its customers. And to that extent it is a great challenge as well.”

    Read more stories on Scarecrow M&C Saatchi

    AM/NS India spokesperson said, “We are excited to have Scarecrow M&C Saatchi as our creative partner. It is an exciting partnership and we are looking forward to working with their team.” 

    AM/NS India is a joint venture between ArcelorMittal, one of the world’s leading steel and mining companies, with a presence in 60 countries and an industrial footprint in 18 countries and Nippon Steel Corporation, Japan’s largest steel producer. It is the leading integrated flat carbon steel producer in India, with an achievable capacity of around 8.5 million tonnes per annum and a full diversified range of flat steel products, including value-added steel, and have significant capacity to produce iron ore pellets.  

  • Scarecrow M&C Saatchi Appoints Vijay Assudani as creative director

    Scarecrow M&C Saatchi Appoints Vijay Assudani as creative director

    NEW DELHI: In a move to strengthen its creative team, Scarecrow M&C Saatchi recently appointed Vijay Assudani as creative director. 

    Prior to this he worked with Lowe Lintas and before that, he was in Leo Burnett Orchard. Vijay has worked on brands like ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, Videocon d2h, DNA, Religare, UltraTech Cement, Zee, Reliance Digital, Colors TV, among others. This is Vijay’s second stint with Scarecrow.

    Scarecrow M&C Saatchi founder and director Raghu Bhat said, “What he brings to the table is a combination of great command over creative writing, and some very sharp insightful thinking. His film for ICICI Prudential Life Insurance featuring a disease-afflicted football coach is beautifully crafted and I look forward to more great work from him.”

    Scarecrow M&C Saatchi founder and director Manish Bhatt said, “Scarecrow has been a breeding ground for some hungry talent looking to make their mark in advertising, Vijay is a part of that group. We have had a mutually rewarding relationship before and this time also we are betting on doing some great creative work together.”

    Assudani said, “Raghu and Manish are known to develop creative leaders, irrespective of their background. In advertising, or in any other in any other job for that matter, what matters is the equity that you share with your seniors, and I have can proudly say that I share very positive vibes with them.”
     

  • Scarecrow M&C Saatchi creates an ‘Atmanirbhar’ film of an Untold Love Story.

    Scarecrow M&C Saatchi creates an ‘Atmanirbhar’ film of an Untold Love Story.

    New Delhi: The stories of Shirin-Farhaad, Laila-Majnu, Romeo-Juliet, Rose-Jack have been immortalised. Yet there is one love story that happens in every balcony of India since years, that has been unrecognised and untold.

    Presenting a film that stays faithful to PM Modi’s clarion call for being ‘Atmanirbhar’ and also for the country’s spirit of staying safe. A film about THE UNTOLD LOVE STORY – CHAI & BARSAAT.

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    The intertwining of rains and a warm cup of tea is an integral and unmissable part of the Indian landscape. We cannot think of one without the other. So, as a part of self-expression and a passion, Scarecrow M&C Saatchi decided to bring this romance to the forefront this monsoon season. 

    Adhering to the spirit of ‘Atmanirbhar’, we created the entire film from scratch, in-house, literally. Right from ideation, scripting, direction, shooting, sound recording, sound engineering and post-production, everything has been done in the houses of the team.

    The narration-based film beautifully captures the emotions of Chai and Barsaat, from the viewpoint of the shy Chai and her restlessness to meet the love of her life who appears once every year for 4 months. Chai shares her angst of waiting, the joy of hearing the arrival of her beloved and celebrating romantic moments with Barsaat.

    Nidhi Bisht, the powerhouse behind the hit Bollywood film Dream Girl (2019) and also famous for her roles in Bisht, Please!, Kanika, Bachelors by TVF, voiced the character of a blushing Chai who reminisces about her love, Barsaat. 

    The official Launch Poster of the film features a captivating oil-painting done by the award-winning Mexico-born artist, Paul Bond, who is a maestro of blending surrealism with realistic atmospheres.

    Manish Bhatt, Founder Director, Scarecrow M&C Saatchi, said “Chai & Barsaat is an eternal love story that everyone cherishes but few recognise. We found the opportunity to capture it for everyone to see and appreciate. And since the entire film was created entirely in-house, it gave us a firsthand opportunity to understand, celebrate and share this untold, novel love story.”

  • Scarecrow M&C Saatchi’s Raghu Bhatt and his passion for travelling

    Scarecrow M&C Saatchi’s Raghu Bhatt and his passion for travelling

    NEW DELHI: Weekends are fun but as the weekdays have been turned into weekends for the last three months, it has become a routine. Lockdown locked us in our homes and gave time to spend with family. In the last three months, there have been no outing with friends or no late-night dinners. People are now trying new things and binge-watching series apart from working at home. In today’s chat, Indiantelevision.com got candid with Scarecrow M&C Saatchi founder Raghu Bhatt to know about what keeps him going during the lockdown time, his favourite shows and more.

    During the lockdown, how are you keeping yourself optimistic?

    The kind of person I am, staying optimistic doesn't require any special effort like seeing Art of Living videos or reading 'Think Positive' FB posts put up by my friends with such unfailing regularity. Apart from work, I always had hobbies that kept me engaged. So, I have not felt the need to pick up a new hobby. I am a voracious reader of Indian and Roman history. I follow the stock markets & football. I look after the garden. I am curious to know what kind of content ranks on Google. 

    Tell us about your favourite coffee moment.

    I drink chai. So, I'll replace this with a tea story. I like to have tea with tulsi and lemon-grass in the morning. One day, it was raining heavily. So, I told my younger kid to take a pair of scissors, cut a small lemongrass stalk growing in the garden and put it in the teapot. Somehow the tea was lacking in flavour that day. Later I realised that I was having tulsi and bamboo leaf tea!   

    What are you binge-watching on OTT?

    I miss travelling. I see shows that help me see new places. Shows like Restaurants on the Edge that feature a mountain restaurant in Slovenia or Ekant on Amazon Prime Video that feature places that I want to visit but can't, like Asirgarh or Datia or Tranquebar. 

    Whenever the lockdown gets over, where do you want to go for a vacation?

    When I read a book, I feel like travelling to the place where it happened. Just finished the book "The Conqueror" by Aditya Iyengar based on the life of Rajendra Chola. So right now, have a raging desire to visit his capital, Gangaikonda Cholapuram in Tamil Nadu.

  • Scarecrow M&C Saatchi wins creative mandate of Reliance Jewels

    Scarecrow M&C Saatchi wins creative mandate of Reliance Jewels

    MUMBAI: After a multi-agency pitch, Scarecrow M&C Saatchi was awarded the creative mandate for Reliance Jewels, Reliance Industries’ flagship jewellery brand.

    The brand has a national presence with 110+ Standalone Stores and 120+ Shop In Shop Stores across India.

    Scarecrow M&C Saatchi founder director Manish Bhatt said, "With the Reliance Group strengthening and growing its retail presence significantly, playing the role of a creative partner for its jewellery vertical is a very nice opportunity for Scarecrow. 

    We are all geared up to create some path-breaking communication for the brand over the due course of time. We hope our work adds to the much-needed dazzle to the jewellery category.”

    A spokesperson from Reliance Jewels added, “We are excited to welcome Scarecrow M&C Saatchi as our creative partner and look forward to working closely with their enthusiastic and talented team to action our creative agenda going forward. The jewellery industry is set to bring in disruption just like other fashion and lifestyle categories and with that it becomes imperative for a brand like Reliance Jewels to bring in game-changing communication and creative strategy.”

  • Scarecrow M&C Saatchi creates a trilogy of digital films for Wagh Bakri Tea

    Scarecrow M&C Saatchi creates a trilogy of digital films for Wagh Bakri Tea

    MUMBAI: Scarecrow M&C Saatchi continues to add value to its relationship with Wagh Bakri Tea and creates an inspiring and memorable digital film trilogy comprising of a heart-warming film for Mother’s Day, an adrenaline-pumping film for Frontline Sales Team and culminating it with a Positivi-tea filled film for International Tea Day.

    Though it is yet to be recognised as the national drink of India, tea has played an important role in adding warmth within families in the 60+ days of lockdown in India. Along with the client, the agency felt that it was time to bring tea to the forefront.

    The first film, released for Mother’s Day is a soulful narration that pays an ode to mothers across the nation – the mothers whose lovingly prepared tea has kept families together for years and has also served as an antidote to beat the lockdown blues. 
    See it here: https://youtu.be/v_aJP5EuN18

    In these tough times of lockdown, it was a Herculean task for Wagh Bakri to ensure that their tea reached stores across the nation. This is the time when the Frontline Sales team rose to the occasion. In the absence of transport, they carried Tea Packs on their shoulders, scooters and even their own cars. Our second film salutes the Wagh Bakri Frontline Warriors who, like a brave marching army, didn’t turn their back in the fight against the virus or the lockdown. The use of chest-thumping beats, powerful voice and smart use of on-ground images of Frontline Sales Warriors makes for an intense viewing experience
    See it here: https://youtu.be/_7lb01Um6GI

    The third film of the trilogy celebrates the International Tea Day (21stMay) in a unique style. This future-looking film looks at life with a cup half-full attitude that is teeming with hope, intentions and #PositiviTea. It celebrates a future where life, work, school, shopping, socialising and even hugging will be back in vogue. The film uses multiple visual techniques like double exposure, illustration, kinetic typography along with an inspiring narration to drive home the dynamism of PositiviTea.
    See it here: https://youtu.be/u-LRgWtljlk

    Manish Bhatt, Founder Director, Scarecrow M&C Saatchi added “The lockdown has also unlocked opportunities to create impactful creative communication using innovative approaches that work around the production crunch. I am glad that our client Wagh Bakri Tea gave us this opportunity to cut the clutter.”

    CREDITS

    Client: Wagh Bakri Tea Group

    Agency: Scarecrow M&C Saatchi

    Creative Team:

    Manish Bhatt

    Raghu Bhat

    Kapil Tammal

    Mustafa Kapasi

    Sakhi Shah

    Antara Shinde

    Yamini Gujaran

    Shristi Lahiri

    In-house Editing by:

    Kapil Tammal

    Sakhi Shah

    Lalit Sakurkar

    Sound & Narration:

    Music: Vaibhav Panch

    Narration: Tarun

    Account Management Team:

    Mangesh Mulajkar

    Wayne Oliver

    Saras Bajaj

    Client Team:

    Shri Parag Desai

    Yogesh Shinde

    Megha Sule

  • Kyoorius Launches ‘The Shortlist’

    Kyoorius Launches ‘The Shortlist’

    MUMBAI: Make informed investment decisions that maximise your award efforts. Let your work be audited in The Shortlist by a world-class jury before entering international award shows.

    It’s no secret that the advertising, media and digital agency businesses are challenged with pressure on margins, forced by increased competition. In this environment, agency management is searching for areas in which costs can be cut without compromising on the quality of their output.

    It’s this simple understanding of what the agency is going through that has provoked Kyoorius to launch ‘The Shortlist’, an initiative that helps agencies manage costs in the area of awards entries.

    Rajesh Kejriwal, co-founder & CEO, Kyoorius, comments, “Our continuous dialogue with the marketing communications fraternity is the reason behind The Shortlist. Awards are expensive investments – the reasons for entering an award show are many. As the economic climate in which agencies operate gets tougher, wiser decisions have to be made to ensure better ROI. The Shortlist provides valuable feedback and validates what eventually can or should be entered into awards shows.”

    Every entry to The Shortlist will be evaluated by a world-class jury comprising international and Indian judges, as has been the case with every Kyoorius award, such as the Kyoorius Creative Awards, the Kyoorius Design Awards, the Times of India Power of Print Awards, the STAR Re-Imagine Awards, etc.

    “The Shortlist is the truth told by some of the best creative minds in the world,” says Josy Paul, chairman and chief creative officer, BBDO India. “It’s not just about awards but a honest and objective assessment of where our ideas stand in the larger global scheme. Think of it as the qualification round for the creative world cup. Winning is the byproduct.”

    “Kyoorius seems to have hit on a super pragmatic idea for today’s cash-strapped times for agencies,” comments Amer Jaleel, group chief creative officer and chairman, MullenLowe Lintas Group. “All of us rue the fact that there are too many awards these days but to take that insight and come up with a pre-awards idea, takes a special talent. To me this idea sounds as big as The Gunn Report which aggregated points for agencies post awards. This one is pre and it can be used as a predictive tool so agencies can focus on where to invest their increasingly hard-earned revenue.”

    “I believe The Shortlist is a great idea that I wish existed a decade ago,” says Sidharth Rao, co-founder and CEO, Dentsu Webchutney. “All agencies will agree that there is huge wastage of time, resources and money when it comes to selection of entries to awards that we all aspire to win. A high quality jury will help the industry optimise its budgets, resources and expectations.”

    “It is much needed insightful initiative by Kyoorius,” says Manish Bhatt, founder director, Scarecrow M&C Saatchi. “In the 1990s, legends like Neil French and David Droga used to help award aspirants personally in Ogilvy and Publicis (respectively) to shortlist and curate award-worthy ideas from our international wish-list. New age agencies and young aspirants of today's era need such world-standard mentorship to shortlist their dhobi-list of potential entries especially in this financially challenged phase of our industry. What better than a dynamic platform like The Shortlist to take a step in this direction and help the industry meaningfully.”

    “This is an idea that CCOs and CFOs will love,” says Bobby Pawar, chairman and chief creative officer of Havas Group India. “It’s so on the nose, so obviously brilliant that I wonder that no one (including me) thought of it before. In far too many cases the approach to entering awards was ‘spray and pray’.  The Shortlist can effectively put a bullet to the head of the long-shot and ‘no shot’ entries. There is the added advantage of being able to tell teams who won’t quit whining, ‘If your work can’t make The Shortlist, it has a snowball’s chance in hell of making it anywhere.”

    “The Shortlist will ensure nothing but quality and pure creativity,” says Santosh Padhi, co-founder and chief creative officer, Taproot Dentsu. “The Shortlist to me is like the Ranji Trophy format which ultimately helps the Indian team, it’s a good platform to focus country first, which we have always played on the backfoot. Another advantage is most of the time when we enter the work it’s finished and released so the bullet is already fired, in this case one can send semi-finished ideas too and if the feedback is well defined, well directed and if implemented accordingly this can make a great difference to the final product”.

    The Shortlist has been set up in partnership with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, and with the support of The One Club For Creativity, organisers of the prestigious One Show and the ADC Awards.

    "The Shortlist is a highly useful new resource that will greatly assist creative directors as they determine their awards show entries,” says Kevin Swanepoel, CEO, The One Club for Creativity.  “The decision to enter a piece of work to an award show must be well thought-through, and The One Club has worked closely with Kyoorius to develop this platform to help agencies make that determination.  The Shortlist utilises a robust evaluation process, designed specifically to provide an actionable audit.  At the end of the process, creative directors will have greater confidence in then submitting their 'shortlisted' work to The One Show global awards."

    Details on the call for entries, categories, submission guide and jury to be revealed soon at theshortlist.kyoorius.com

    The evaluation of entries to The Shortlist will be announced in February 2019.

    Since 2006, has been at the forefront of connecting the creative community in India through programmes that inform, inspire and stimulate. An initiative of Transasia Fine Papers, Kyoorius is a not-for-profit organisation that celebrates all aspects of creative communication and marketing. Through events, regular publications and other initiatives, Kyoorius is committed to galvanising creativity in India and inspiring future innovators.

  • FunFoods launches new ad with Sonali Bendre

    FunFoods launches new ad with Sonali Bendre

    MUMBAI: FunFoods by Dr. Oetker has launched a marketing campaign for its innovative new range of Zer0Fat Dressings with brand ambassador Sonali Bendre and upcoming actor Amyra Dastur.  

    The 360-degree campaign will introduce viewers to the new range and inform them about the various usages through digital, print, OOH, point-of-sale and TV.

    Dr. Oetker India managing director and CEO Oliver Mirza says, “As a leader in western sauces & spreads category, it is our endeavour to constantly innovate and offer consumers convenient ways to create yummy food. The new range of dressings delivers exactly that with an added benefit of being Zer0Fat. We are excited to launch a marketing campaign to grow the dressings category, which motivates consumers to enjoy delicious food, guilt-free. We are confident that the campaign will attract new users into the category and become a catalyst to realise FunFoods’ vision of Rs 500 crore by 2020.”

    The new range of Zer0Fat Dressings was launched earlier this month through a unique influencer campaign on social media where Bollywood divas and celebrity chefs shared their first interaction with the product. The campaign has already reached over 7 million viewers.

    The new product range and the campaign have been conceptualised basis an in-depth consumer research, keeping in mind the key barriers such as high fat and calorie content, limited use in salads and affordability. The campaign suitably addresses these concerns, by highlighting key product attributes of Zer0Fat, low on calories and value for money. The omission of the word ‘salad’ from ‘dressings’ is deliberate, with an intent to showcase versatility of the product and to convey to the consumers that the product is not just for salads, but much more!

    Dr. Oetker India vice president for marketing Devarshy R Ganguly adds, “We are excited to launch a 360 degree marketing campaign which attempts to connect and engage with consumers across multiple touch points like digital, TV, print, OOH and point-of-sale. The campaign is led by a new TV spot that attempts to hook consumers by showcasing lightness and taste through a playful story between Sonali and her on screen sis-in-law Amyra.”

    Speaking on the concept of the TVC, Scarecrow M&C Saatchi founder director Raghu Bhat mentions, “As consumers are constantly evolving and looking for culinary adventures, it becomes important for brands to engage with them and offer innovative ways to enjoy delicious food. With this insight, FunFoods by Dr. Oetker has come up with a fantastic new range of Zer0Fat Dressings and we are happy work with them in creating a new brand campaign. We have taken key successful elements from our earlier campaigns for mayonnaise and extended it to this new campaign. It is high on appetite appeal, chemistry and also has a memorable visual idea which invites consumers to pick up the product from shelves and inspires them to add magic to everyday food.”

    The new campaign is an extension of FunFoods’ ‘Food Mein Dalo Magic’ campaign, which encourages consumers to make everyday food magical.

  • Scarecrow enters into 50:50 partnership with M&C Saatchi

    Scarecrow enters into 50:50 partnership with M&C Saatchi

    MUMBAI: Acquisitions and mergers seem to have become a norm in the advertising world. The latest agency to join the bandwagon is Indian advertising agency Scarecrow Communications (Scarecrow), which has now been acquired by international advertising network M&C Saatchi.

    Scarecrow will now become Scarecrow M&C Saatchi, in a 50:50 partnership with M&C Saatchi. When asked about the technology and tools that the company would get access to with this merger, Scarecrow founder Manish Bhatt said that they were still unclear about it but will start the conversation on the same soon.

    The renewed revenue and profit sharing will be on the basis of the new shareholder stake.

    Founded in 1995, M&C Saatchi has today become the world’s largest independent advertising network. Powered by its philosophy brutal simplicity of thought, it comprises 27 agencies in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Australasia and eight specialist companies, which include cutting-edge outfits such ass M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment, M&C Saatchi Mobile and the fast-growing customer engagement agency, LIDA.

    Scarecrow will retain its own identity and will operate with full creative freedom, exactly the way it used to. However, as expected, there will be an integration with global financial processes and compliance practices.

    The eight-year-old Scarecrow was a part of the new wave of independent agencies in India that bloomed about 10 years ago but was able to achieve profitability and scale, in a relatively short period on the strength of its campaigns for Quikr, &pictures, Religare, Baby&Me (Nestle), FunFoods (Dr. Oetker), Kohinoor (McCormick), Haier, DBS, Edelweiss, Danone B’lue, Wagh Bakri, Rasna, Living Foodz, Vivel and Fiama Di Wills (ITC), Only Vimal, DNA, Rupa, Spykar and Hungama.

    Today, it has an extensive roster of brands on AOR (agency on record), including Viacom 18, Capital First, Emami, Future Generali, Zee Learn, Alcon Novartis, SebaMed (USV Pharma), Lactalis, Radio City, VTP, Mahindra, Business Standard, Arthimpact, Anchor, Panasonic and Reliance Capital.

    Scarecrow’s story over the last eight years and what has been achieved reminds M&C Saatchi founder Lord Maurice of the story of M&C Saatchi itself. He says that it’s a story of hard work, determination and dedication.

    Maurice adds, “An individual acting alone or almost single-handedly can make, what seems highly improbable, in fact happen. This is why, to welcome Scarecrow to the federation of like-minded, like-thinking entrepreneurs, that is the M&C Saatchi network, is a most important occasion for the company and for me. I’m sure Scarecrow M&C Saatchi will develop into the jewel in our crown and this is a historic start for a great new partnership.”

    M&C Saatchi worldwide CEO Moray MacLennan says the company’s strategy is to find top talent in key markets and give it the freedom, responsibility and backing to flourish. He adds that it was relatively easy to identify India as a key market but it was challenging to find the right talent.

    Bhatt agrees that international multinational agencies, including Dentsu Aegis Network, WPP, Y&R and Chiel, were looking for acquisitions but the company did not want to associate with multinational corporations. But after meeting Moray MacLennan, David Kershaw and Jeremy Sinclair in London, the team was clear that M&C Saatchi was the perfect partner for Scarecrow. “They have entrepreneurship in their blood. The culture of M&C Saatchi, that sprung from the personalities of the brothers themselves–irreverence, low tolerance for jargon, challenging the established order and the history of many larger-than-life campaigns–are qualities we identify with,” says Bhatt.