GREY Group India: Commitment, Consistency & Great Captaincy

GREY group India did see its fair share of upheavals in the past two years, only to emerge a victor from this tumultuous time. The agency carefully navigated through the initial uncertainties and picked up the pace to cover solid ground in 2021, cementing itself firmly in the current year as well. 

Anusha Shetty, Chairman and Group CEO, GREY group India recalls how a bunch of industries that the agency dealt with were in dire straits, such as retail and travel, due to the pandemic. GREY, however, worked with them hand-in-glove and stood tall by its partners at all times. Digital, for Shetty, played up for most brands in a big way, helping migrate focus and create demand. The agency also optimised its ad spends and took the temporary slump as an opportunity to lean into areas that needed to be ramped up. She mentions, “From consulting to simple marketplace strategies to D2C strategies to LIVE commerce, we gave our clients the clarity and partnership they needed to prevail through this phase.”

When asked about the perennial digital v/s mainline media debate and whether digital took precedence during this time, she marks, “The consumer has gone digital and so it's obvious to see more initiatives and campaigns in digital. This, however, does mean there is no ‘mainline’ media interest. In fact, we have seen many of our clients take this time to revisit their thinking on their brand. 

For us, the question is not about digital v/s mainline media. It’s about the right strategy and plan for a brand. It’s about smarter creative ideas that disrupt existing consumer behaviour.”

Sandipan Bhattacharrya, Managing Director and Chief Creative Officer, GREY group India, on the other hand, juxtaposes the last two years with the Stockholm Syndrome. From hating the feeling of being held hostage by this virus, to praying it ends soon, to accepting and adapting, and eventually realising that this pandemic has undeniably and irrevocably influenced the ways of working, probably for the better. “In early 2020, we had started the journey of making our strategic and creative product truly integrated - offering both big campaign thinking and light-footed digital agility. It was a huge task blending different creative skillsets across teams and offices and I think remote working unshackled us in some ways! Pardon the cliché, but geography became history and that was liberating. Our levels of collaboration across cities and disciplines were unprecedented and we started tapping into this new reserve to deliver some of our strongest ideas, biggest campaign launches and new business wins,” he expresses. 

Bhattacharrya also witnessed creativity as a business multiplier and the transformational power of ideas. Commenting on GREY’s long-standing relationships with its partners, he asserts, “I’ve realised that a client’s belief and trust is the greatest asset for a creative company in the way that it motivates us. The last couple of years has probably brought many agencies and clients closer with shared challenges and fears. That said, we’ve also forged some wonderful relationships with new clients and look forward to further strengthening those.”

Evolving For The Better

Being the captain of the ship and having been associated with WPP for the past four years, Shetty highlights some of the key decisions that helped position Grey as a powerful integrated agency today. For her, the first year was all about getting ready and focusing on the ‘learning and development' aspect of operations. “As an extension of this, we moved teams to train on the job. We didn’t want our clients to face any challenge during the learning phase, so we mirrored teams. This means on an integrated account, there used to be two teams – a mainline team and a digital team,” she adds. 

However, the second year saw the beginning of real integration. “The mirroring was slowly removed and a single team started to manage both mainline and digital. Mentors were aligned for support. This means we started to have a team that thinks like a mainline agency and executes like a digital agency. Capabilities and skills started to blend. Of course, the transformation happened one team at a time,” she explains.

In its third year currently, the agency is witnessing a transformative impact. Each of its team members speaks with a certain clarity across the diverse media landscape.

When asked about her future plans, Shetty envisions pushing the scope and influence of brands in popular culture. “When we say ‘Famously Effective’, what it means is that brands in today’s age need to leverage creativity to be a part of popular culture, that’s what makes a brand reap disproportionate returns. As the media landscape becomes increasingly more diverse, our strategic and creative push to provide our clients with ‘Clarity in Diversity’ is the way forward,” she emphasises.