MAM
What’s the glue to make clients stick to an agency
VUCA. Millennials. Gen Z. BANI. Digital. Traditional. Phygital. AI-ML. In the jargon-full world of marketing that we live in, clients seek more answers than ever before. It’s just not easy to navigate businesses and brands in these highly complex and connected times. So, I tried putting myself in the shoes of the ‘client’ to go about this.
Outcomes
Yes, I’d like an agency that talks the end result with me – the business outcome. For me not to think of them as an easily replaceable vendor, they need to understand what makes my business tick. And live it. Not in powerpoints, in reality.
My agency got to put their skin in the game. More than the skills and the means, they need to have this mindset that looks beyond a campaign or a launch or a content series. How is every single rupee that my brand is spending, is getting invested back into it. That’s what I’m looking for my agency to be thinking – both creatively and operationally.
And we are talking agreed outcomes here, that are measurable. If that’s the currency my agency has got, chances are, I am not going anywhere else.
Sustainable outcomes
It’s not about cracking something once, or twice, and then putting it aside. Outcomes are only as good as how long their impact lasts. When the agency is linked deeply with my business, they can’t take their foot off the pedal, just as my business can’t.
Now that takes something. It won’t come by asking or waiting for a brief. It will come by investing in my business, by acting like my extended team, and by continuously playing the role of a partner. Again, not as lip service, in reality. Actively tell me, guide me, challenge me in decisions of consumer segmenting, media spends, creative strategies, tech interventions, digital efficiencies, resource optimisation and the like.
For my business to grow, they need to play a part in every critical discussion that touches my business. As that will directly impact the outcome. So, the longer my agency keeps achieving the outcomes, the longer I stay with them. It’s that simple.
Mutually rewarding outcomes
One-sided relationships rarely last. So, if the agency is joined with my business at the hip, it has to work for both. And it should work both ways. Such that the commercial model mirrors my business performance, as long as it’s based on agreed outcomes. It can’t be just about getting their retainers, but adding value in the real sense. So I can truly see them as partners.
Which brings ‘chemistry’ into the equation. Mostly, I see people talk output. It’s transactional. It’s short-sighted. An idea, a campaign, a media deal, an influencer package… these are all means to an end, not the end by themselves. There needs to be this DNA match with my agency people.
If the people at my agency are someone I can relate to, exchange thoughts and ideas openly with, and know are operating with an ‘us’ mindset instead of selling their services, why would I want to talk to anyone else!
The article has been authored by IdeateLab chief creative officer Raman R.S. Minhas.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
