Scarecrow turns 5; celebrates anniversary digitally

The idea behind the special celebration was to make it participative and interactive. In 2015 the agency plans to make brands penetrate deeper and go wider

Sarmistha Neogy | Mumbai | February 10, 2015

Scarecrow Communications turned 5 yesterday – and it celebrated the special day in a unique manner. The agency conducted a digital poll among its Delhi and Mumbai employees asking them to vote for things they cherish the most about Scarecrow – from campaigns to initiatives to even ex-colleagues!

Commenting on this special celebration, Manish Bhatt, Founder & Director, Scarecrow Communications, said, "Normally all Scarecrow events are inclusive, like last year we had 'The Aam Admi Party' where we felicitated the unsung heroes in advertising. The problem this year was that we didn't have the time to put all things in place and arrange a large-scale event. Also, at the same time, we didn't want to miss out on the celebrations. So we resorted to the digital platform and conducted 10 poll questions which were then divided into two. The answers to the first five questions are already out and we have shared it with everyone. The second set of poll answers was to be unveiled on the special cake that was to be cut in the evening. The idea was to make it participative and engaging as our belief is that before experimenting with others, we should experiment among ourselves."

(L-R) Scarecrow founders - Vivek Suchanti, Raghu Bhat, Joy Sengupta and Manish Bhat

The results of the 'Top 5 Films' category are: 'Rishton ki Garmahat' campaign from Wagh Bakri Tea Group, 'Dog: A film for a cause' for Eye bank Association of India, 'Sapnon ki Udaan' campaign for &pictures, 'Mrs Pinto' for Anchor Panasonic, and 'Riot' for Quikr.

The 'Top 5 Radio Spots' are: 'Pinkesh' and 'Servant' for NITCO, 'Housewife' for Zee Khana Khazana, 'Dhobi' and 'Sharib Hashmi' for Anchor Panasonic.

The 'Top 5 Unconventional Ideas' are: 'Song 1,50,000 Lyricists' for Reveal Yourself campaign for B'lue, Danone, 'Sachin Fan' and 'Open Letter to Match Fixers' for Quikr, 'Reverse Bang Bang Dare to Hritik Roshan' for BedBathMore.com and 'No Tie Day' for Only Vimal.

The 'Top 5 Out-of-the-Box Initiatives' were: 'Aam Aadmi Party', 'iPOPS', 'Folk Studio', 'Mock-A-ROCK SHOW' and M.O.M (Method of Madness).

And, the list of Top 5 ex-Scarecrowites: was headed by Diana Dsouza; #2: Vijay Vasala & Benny Thomas; #3: Pervin Bhesania; #4: Khadija Attarwala; and #5: Ankita Ray and Ankit Dembla.

Summing up the five years of the agency in a few sentences is a tough job, but Bhatt pointed out a few advantages which they had in their journey. “Firstly, we started just after the recession and, therefore, we were aware and had seen all the bad things taking place as senior people in other agencies. Secondly, we studied agencies like Taproot and Creativeland Asia and it helped us to come into the market all prepared. Thirdly, it is a nice game between opportunity and talent and the art lies in balancing both. Fourthly, it has been a smooth ride for us – 45 brands, two offices and our phone lines never stop ringing with new business enquiries. We never had to go out in the market and search for business, we have been lucky,” Bhatt said.

The agency's success mantra is that 'Never look back, opportunity can come in from anywhere, so always stay grounded to solve the problem'. The DNA of the organisation is people, so it believes in investing in people, with the aim of providing equal opportunity to everyone, without any hierarchy. “It gives me great pleasure when people ask me or Raghu Bhat 'Oh, when did you join Scarecrow?' It is then that we realise that the organisation's name has become a brand by itself, which is much bigger than our personal names. Also, there are many bricks which have laid the foundation to our organisation, so it is not that if one brand goes, the entire structure will fall. There are many brands, from medium to large size, and one big brand which keep us going,” pointed out Bhatt.

Kushagra Rai Nigam, Group Account Manager, Scarecrow Delhi, who has been with the agency for the last three years, was ecstatic when we called him. “I have been nominated for a few poll categories and I have been flown down to the Mumbai office especially for the cake cutting and the after party celebrations. I joined Scarecrow just after finishing my PG Diploma in Advertising and Marketing from Xavier's Institute of Communications. This is the place which has made me more responsible, groomed me over the years and it always pushes forth young talent in the industry. The best thing about this place is that there is no hierarchy and you are allowed to work independently.”

Sharing his 2015 plans, Bhatt highlighted, “We will concentrate more on the penetration of brands. Secondly, brands also have to go wider, which means we should experiment further to tackle new media innovations. Thirdly, we have to concentrate more on e-commerce businesses because that is the future. Finally, we will continue to focus on radio which is one of our core strength areas.”

Happy birthday, Team Scarecrow!

Info@bestmediainfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com