Digital Agencies
TheSmallBigIdea thinks big
MUMBAI: In advertising the Big Idea comes from a small insight. That was the inspiration behind former Reliance Big executive Harikrishnan Pillai and Ex-Times Network's Manish Solanki naming their agency soon after they quit their jobs. Six years down the line, their full-service digital agency,TheSmallBigIdea (TSBI), has grown to a team of 84 professionals, having served clients such as Star Sports,&TV, Colors, Zee Bioskope, Seychelles Tourism, IDFC Bank, HDFC Life, Asian Paints, Chennaiyin FC, and Big Magic. Recently,the agency created headlines for winning the social media mandate for movies like Love Aaj kal and Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhan.
For Pillai, it has been a dream journey from 2014, when he started the TheSmallBigIdea as a self-funded venture, by imbibing his experience from the Zee network and Reliance Broadcast Network.
His fruitful stints at Zee and Reliance helped him a lot. Talking about his past experience, he said: “If we have hunger and perseverance they gave us the opportunity. It is probably the biggest legacy that I have carried into my team. As I have said, most of our team is home-grown, all trained internally with strong ethos. The team at TheSmallBigIdea is creatively strong. They are leading the team as if they themselves are the entrepreneurs. The second lesson learnt has been a focus on delivery. A great idea without impeccable execution is nothing. So, while we are idea-driven, we are extremely focused on executions, delivery, and measurement.”
While brands in the media and entertainment category contribute 60 per cent of its business, TheSmallBigIdea has a stronghold and focus in tourism, education, e-commerce and BFSI. Then around 15-18 months ago, it ventured into movies. “Movies happened last year with Badhaai Ho. Then we did Bala, Good Newzz, Dream Girl, and so on. Our primary focus is on sustainability and growth. What is going to give us sustainability is the large clientele that we have; our focus has been to provide services to them so that they can stick around us. The other most important factor is growth. When you look at sustainability you also look at growth,” said Pillai.
Largely based out of Mumbai, it has reps in Bangalore, Delhi, Punjab and Chennai.
The agency also has a sprinkling of media-only clients for whom it does the planning and buying like: Seychelles Tourism, Bahrain Tourism, Welingkar Institute and Dalmia College. Realising the potential in going local, TheSmallBigIdea launched TSBI Bharat as it saw the need to reach out to the next 100 million people who are going to come online. It's not just about language translation but studying how regional markets behave, how they consume internet and the role of neo-social apps in their ecosystem.
“We want to understand their sentiments, what kind of content they want to consume, etc. It is about addressing a larger ecosystem rather than addressing one particular language,” says Pillai.
TheSmallBigIdea is expecting a lot of growth coming from TSBI Bharat. It is pushing brands to create content in regional languages using neo-social apps. “We are also focusing on TSBI studios, which is the production division at TheSmallBigIdea to create more short-format content, podcasts and ad films. Our analytics tool ACE allows business to derive actionable insight through a thorough evaluation of social and enterprise data,”he added.
The agency, is looking at hiring more people to reach the 100-mark. Going forward, TheSmallBigIdea envisages a brighter future. “What works for us are the insights and the content,” says Pillai confidently. “Not only our ideation team but our service team is very strong and that is reflected by the fact that 80 percent of our clients renew contract on Y-o-Y basis. What is not working for us is the reputation of being a media and entertainment company, which is not true. Like I have said we get only 60 percent of revenue from media and entertainment. This perception I would like to change.” he concludes.
Now that’s what sounds like a sound idea. A big sound idea.
BENGALURU: For years, creative teams have learned to live with ambiguity. Vague comments, last-minute changes, feedback that arrives without context, clarity, or conviction. It became part of the job – something teams worked around rather than getting it solved.
But as we head into 2026, that tolerance is wearing thin.
Creative work today moves faster, scales wider, and involves more stakeholders than before. Teams are producing more content across more formats, often with distributed collaborators and tighter timelines. In this environment, guesswork is no longer a harmless inconvenience. It’s a cost – to time, to budgets, and to creative mindspace.
The real problem isn’t feedback, it’s how it’s given
Most creative professionals you see today will tell you they’re not against feedback. In fact, they rely on it. Good feedback sharpens ideas, strengthens execution, and pushes work forward. The problem is ‘unclear’ feedback. When someone says “this doesn’t feel right” without context, they aren’t just revising – they’re basically decoding. They’re guessing what the problem might be, trying different directions, and burning time in the process. Multiply that by a few stakeholders and a few rounds, and suddenly days disappear.
In 2026, when teams are expected to deliver faster without compromising quality, interpretation is a luxury most can’t afford.
Scale has changed rverything
Creative projects used to be smaller and simpler. A designer, a manager, maybe one client contact. Feedback loops were short, even if they weren’t perfect.
Today, the same project might involve internal marketing teams, agencies, freelancers, brand reviewers, and regional teams. Everyone has a say. Everyone leaves comments. And often, those comments don’t agree. More people reviewing work means alignment matters more than ever. Clear feedback isn’t just about being nice to creative teams, it’s about keeping projects moving when complexity increases.
Guesswork quietly wears teams down
One of the less talked-about impacts of unclear feedback is what it does to people.
When feedback is vague or contradictory, creatives second-guess their decisions. They hesitate. They overwork. They keep extra time buffers “just in case.” Over time, confidence drops. Ownership fades. Work becomes safer, not stronger. Creative energy gets spent on managing uncertainty instead of pushing ideas forward. And in an industry already grappling with burnout, unclear feedback adds unnecessary mental load.
Actionable feedback is a shared skill
Clear feedback doesn’t mean controlling creative decisions or dictating every detail. It means being specific enough that someone knows what to do next.
Actionable feedback answers three basic questions:
What exactly needs attention?
Why does it matter?
What outcome are we aiming for?
This applies whether you’re reviewing a video frame, a design layout, or a copy draft. The clearer the feedback, the fewer follow-ups it creates. In 2026, teams that treat feedback as a skill and not an afterthought, will move faster with less friction.
Tools shape behaviour (whether we admit it or not)
The way feedback is delivered is often dictated by the tools teams use. Comments buried in long email threads, messages split across chat apps, or notes detached from the actual work all contribute to confusion.
When feedback lives outside the work, context often gets lost. When it’s disconnected from versions and timelines, decisions get questioned. When it’s scattered, accountability disappears. More teams are starting to realise that feedback problems aren’t just communication issues, they’re workflow issues. How work moves between people matters just as much as the work itself.
From Opinions To Alignment
One of the biggest shifts happening in creative teams is a move away from purely opinion-driven feedback. Instead of “I like this” or “I don’t,” teams are asking better questions:
● Does this meet the brief?
● Does this solve the problem?
● Does this align with the goal?
This change reduces unnecessary back-and-forth and helps feedback feel less personal and more productive. It also makes decisions easier to explain and defend. As creative work becomes more strategic, feedback has to support that shift.
2026 Is About Fewer Loops, Not Faster Loops
There’s a misconception that speed means moving through feedback cycles faster. In reality, the most creative teams aren’t just accelerating loops, they’re reducing them. Clear, actionable feedback upfront leads to fewer revisions later. Clear approval stages prevent last-minute surprises. Clear decisions stop work from circling endlessly.
In 2026, efficiency won’t come from working harder or longer. It will come from designing workflows that respect creative time and attention.
Ending guesswork is a mindset change
Ultimately, ending creative guesswork isn’t just about better tools or processes. It’s about mindset. It’s about recognising that clarity is an act of respect – for the work, for the people doing it, for the time invested and for the mindspace used. It’s about moving from “figure it out” to “here’s what we’re aiming for.”
Creative teams that embrace this shift will find themselves not only delivering faster, but also enjoying the process more. And in an industry built on imagination, that might be the most valuable outcome of all.
