AD Agencies
Revolutionising marketing: Where data takes the lead in a digital age
Mumbai: Agency 09 was launched in 2013, a Bandra-born agency with operations in India, UAE and Australia. They formed a culture of creative thinkers, to build brand experiences that people love. AGENCY09 catalysed the scaling of businesses globally with ideas for content, technology, design, and data. While the best is yet to come, they continue #SimplifyingTheWeb. AGENCY09, celebrated its 10-year anniversary on 9 September 2023. With a steadfast commitment to growth, the agency aims to strategically expand its international presence, further solidifying its global footprint.
Founded by Tushar Khakhar, supported by Bipeen Nadgauda, and later joined by Gautam Anand, the agency is now a strong team of 85 with its new central office at Turner Road, Bandra.
Over the years, AGENCY09 has transformed from being a digital advertising agency to an integrated marketing agency. In 2016, they expanded the tech team delivering projects globally, namely ERPs, multi-website CMSes, modern UI/UX, and e-commerce. They have dedicated departments for Brand, Design, and Production.
Today, AGENCY09 consults brands and organisations to grow and foray into a borderless economy. They scale businesses with ideas for Technology, Content, Design, and Data. The agency is currently working with notable brands like Tata Motors, Aditya Birla Capital, Reliance General Insurance, Bits Pilani, Ryan Group of Institutions, Lokmat Media, Godrej L’Affaire, Jupiter Hospital, Mahindra Solarize, iGCB (Intellect Design), Parag Milk Foods, Senvion, Chinese Wok, Würth Car-Haus, Groupsoft and BARC, to name a few.
Known for being a people-first organization, AGENCY09 deeply believes in bringing positive change through creative communication and technology.
Indiantelevision.com in an email interaction with AGENCY09 founder Tushar Khakhar, co-founder Bipeen Nadgauda, and co-founder Gautam Anand spoke the decade-long journey, their expansion globally and much more.
Edited Excerpts:
On reaching the milestone of 10 years
Tushar Khakhar: It is an amazing milestone that validates so many facets of our journey. It took time to set the base for building our very own creative ecosystem, and it just feels that everything that leads us in that direction has just begun.
Bipeen Nadgauda: These were probably the fastest 10 years of my life. There is so much to build and we are gearing up for more milestones.
Gautam Anand: It is a rewarding feeling. It just gives us the assurance that we have been able to build a business that is sustainable in the industry while having some fun along the way.
On the challenges in this decade-long journey
We embarked on this journey from the ground up, with a key objective of maintaining our independence. Our primary focus was to build a strong, long-term team. It was important to build an environment that ensured everyone was comfortable enough to practice free thinking. Experiencing everything, from cracking a local client to a national one and now working on international projects, has been a great learning experience for us.
On some of the key milestones achieved
During this journey, we have celebrated significant milestones that reflect our growth and progress. It all began with a humble dining table setup, which eventually evolved into a 400 sq. ft. office space. As we continued to expand, we transitioned to an 1800 sq. ft. office at Hill Road, Bandra, and later moved into our current 4500 sq. ft. office on Turner Road, Bandra. In addition to our domestic success, we made a mark on the international stage by establishing operations in Dubai. We didn’t stop there; we ventured into diverse domains, including Insta Holidays, academyzeronine, Octarine Organics, and A09Store. Our dedicated team has grown to a size of 85 members, with an impressive 20% of our members having dedicated more than 5 years to the organization. These milestones are a testament to our commitment to growth and innovation.
On your USP in this crowded milieu of marketing agencies
Amidst the bustling landscape of marketing agencies, especially now that we have transitioned from being a digital agency, our unique selling proposition lies in our data-centric approach. We make efforts to understand the client business line in more depth to be able to provide a scalable strategy and quantifiable results. We help grow businesses with ideas for Content, Tech, Design, and Data. Today, we are able to provide marketing solutions ranging from building a brand, to mainline and digital communication. Along with this, we have catered to some global clients with customized technology-based solutions. All under one roof.
On the agency’s growth in these 10 years and its strength then and now
Over the course of our decade-long journey, AGENCY09 has experienced remarkable growth. We initiated this journey as just three individuals, and since then, have expanded into a team of over 85 professionals. One of our key strengths then and now lies in our in-house teams, each headed by individuals with specific expertise in areas such as content creation, production, media management, technology, and SEO & ORM. However, the most enduring and essential strength throughout this journey has been our people and the collective effort they bring to the table. It is the collaborative spirit and dedication of our team that has consistently propelled us forward in our endeavors.
On the experience gained in expanding globally
Our expansion into global markets has provided us with a valuable learning experience. We have noticed that the requirements from international markets tend to be more evolved and the service quality expected is higher. Services such as Paid Media, SEO, and Website + E-commerce setup are easier wins as compared to services that require a more localized and customized approach.
On the brands associated and can you share some recent work
We have had the privilege of working with a diverse array of prominent brands, including TATA Motors, Reliance General Insurance, Wurth India, Godrej Laffaire, Mahindra Solarize, Aditya Birla Capital, Aditya Birla Finance, BITS Pilani, Ryan Group of Schools, Senvion, Jupiter Hospital, Nahar Group, BARC India, Movado Group, and many others.
On trends, what was it then and what are you seeing today both in India and globally, and the changes in the digital landscape in recent years
Back then, we were navigating the rise of digital marketing, focusing on integrating online strategies with traditional marketing methods. Social media was becoming a game-changer for brand engagement. Today, the landscape has shifted entirely to a digital-first approach. We are also witnessing a strong push for sustainability and ethical practices. Globally, a focus on diverse cultural audiences, immersive technologies, and the impact of voice search and smart devices is shaping the future of marketing.
The digital landscape has rapidly evolved, placing greater emphasis on personalized, mobile-first strategies, and real-time engagement via social media. Emerging technologies like AI, AR, and voice search have reshaped marketing approaches, allowing for more targeted and data-driven campaigns to resonate with tech-savvy audiences.
On the growth and vision for the agency in the next three years
In the next three years, our agency aims to further solidify its global presence, focusing on innovative technological integrations and sustainable practices. As our management steers the growth of our diverse ventures, senior leaders are set to spearhead key departments, fostering team expansion and fortification.
AD Agencies
Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
