Commerce and martech helped us achieve our growth target: Shamsuddin Jasani of Wunderman Thompson

Wunderman Thompson, one of the leading creative agencies in the country, dates back to almost nine decades. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most revered advertising agencies, it is now heading towards a more integrated approach rather than a pure creative approach. 

Speaking about the long-term vision, Shamsuddin Jasani, CEO, Wunderman Thompson, South Asia said, “We want to be partners with ambitious brands. We want to unlock that ambition for clients through creativity and technology.” 

Accordion to Jasani, both traditional and digital are equally important today as 50% of spends are already on digital. “Consumers are going agnostic so as an agency we are also going agnostic. We want to marry what is best for the consumers and what is best for the clients. We want to be the agency of choice for clients looking for solutions across the entire consumer value chain.” 

Growth in 2022 

As per Jasani, 2022 has been a great year as the agency has scaled its commerce and Martech verticals considerably. “What has helped us in the growth is the agency business, as well as our commerce and Martech businesses. The scale and percentage of growth are much bigger in our commerce and Martech businesses. I feel this is what will help us achieve our ambition.” 

The agency this year has won accounts of brands like Skoda, Edelweiss, Barbeque Nation, Abbott Gutfit, Cavin Kare (HTAM), Dr.Reddy's Labs, Cera etc. They have carried out notable campaigns like HeroXtreme, Nestle Munch and the TOI trust campaign. 

“While we have grown as an agency, our technology side of businesses has also grown substantially. The learning has been that clients want a one-stop solution. They are looking at partners who can give them solutions across the board and don’t want to work with five different agencies,” Jasani stated. 

He added that although the festive season was a bit slow for the industry, they were cushioned against it. “Because our mix has changed slightly from being just an advertising agency towards being more Martech and commerce. That has helped us not to be impacted. Advertising is a huge part of our business but commerce and Martech helped us achieve what we wanted to.”

Creativity vs technology 

Upon being asked if more and more agencies focusing on technology has challenged creativity, Jasani said that it is an interesting time. He said that there is a need to go beyond story-telling and great artwork. 

“The formats and technologies that were existing in the traditional side of the business were set for decades. Hence, your creativity came through great scripts, story-telling or artwork. What needs to change is how we use technology creatively. It’s a big component of what needs to be done on digital as a medium. Every platform is different and every technology is different. How an agency is helping clients leverage the right technology is key. I think it’s an exciting phase for creativity because now there is a whole new dimension that you can unlock rather than being scared about it,” Jasani said on a concluding note.

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