FCB/SIX India eyes 35% growth this year: CBO Ankit Banga

Launched over a week back, FCB/SIX is the newest creative data and CRM agency of the FCB Group in India, which aims to deepen the engagement between the group and its clients whilst allowing the identification of opportunities and providing value to their marketing plans, as per Ankit Banga, Chief Business Officer, FCB/SIX India.

Having tasted success at the global front for years, the pilot of FCB/SIX in India was up and running since March this year, wherein the India team was liaising with its global arm – which resulted in an influx of information pertaining to the best practices, tools and technologies, resources, case studies and references etc. 

“We, as an agency, believe that we need to partner with clients in a deeper way and that’s the reason for which I’ve spent the past quarter just to understand the current clients’ businesses and harness that to grow. This will also help us strengthen our client relationships, as we’ll now be able to add the entire data and performance angle to the FCB Group India’s clients,” he said. 

Banga also said that there are a couple of reasons which led to the launching of FCB/SIX in India now, and they include- the natural course of business expansion for the group and delivering the need of the hour with an incremental focus on data, technology and personalisation at scale.

However, what acted as a catalyst therein, in Banga’s opinion, was the acquisition of erstwhile Kinnect by the group to form FCB Kinnect. Over 120 people from Kinnect’s media and CX team have now become a part of the core team of FCB/SIX India to service clients such as Amazon, RPSG Group, Google, Vistara, Reliance Digital, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, TVS, etc.

“Kinnect always had a media arm, and the media part of Kinnect was what we wanted to leverage on and with FCB/SIX launching in India, we could do so more efficiently,” he added.

He also pointed out that while the media division is mostly commission-driven, the CX division of the agency is 70% on retainers and 30% on project basis for services such as SEO, CRM, ORM, data listening, web design and development and management, etc.

“Our primary goal for this year is to achieve a 35% growth in the top-line numbers for FCB/SIX India. Additionally, we are focused on building core categories within our organisation. Our second major goal is to align globally and establish FCB/SIX India as a true centre for excellence on the global stage,” he pointed out.

In his opinion, two standing out factors for FCB/SIX in India include helping brands deliver personalised experiences in a timeless and timely manner as well as building different specialised arms or units within the agency - which will come together to give a unified service to the clients.

Having spent most of his time on the client side of the ad industry, in companies such as Credilio, dhani, Indiabulls, Meru and Future Group India, to now being the CBO of FCB Group India’s newest agency, Banga stated that because he comes from the marketing background he is well aware of the key areas where agencies lack in today’s day and age, despite having the creative prowess, such as understanding what the clients actually look for.

“Agencies typically adopt a horizontal approach, managing multiple clients and industries across various services. However, senior professionals with client-side experience often delve deeper into the client's funnels. As I join this team, my expertise allows me to establish best practices, provide directional guidance, and develop meaningful strategies that align with our clients' goals,” he said.

Banga also emphasised that collaborating closely with the agency’s clients in a hand-in-glove fashion leads to superior output and by actively participating in their engagement, the agencies can deliver work that surpasses the results of focusing on isolated service areas or solving individual problems. 

“While specialised agencies for performance, branding, e-commerce, etc. have emerged, our aim is to provide a unified solution that integrates various aspects for a comprehensive approach to meet our clients’ needs,” he stated.

Banga also went on to add that in the current times, it is easy to find agencies which specialise in one particular function but there are very few agencies who have been able to integrate the whole lot of services being offered by them when it comes to creatives, media and technology. 

“There is a definite need for such agencies and here at FCB/SIX, it’s that power of ‘&’ which truly amalgamates creativity and technology to create magic for clients amidst all the agency silos,” he highlighted.

Additionally, he also stated that owing to the discerning audiences and their behaviour in terms of consumption as well as the entire defragmentation of digital mediums, it is all the more critical for an agency to be able to decipher the right signals amidst all the noise to deliver contextual and personally relevant content and messaging to the right audiences. 

“By leveraging the power of the right creatives, we can achieve more impactful results and strengthen the brand’s digital presence with a clear purpose,” he added. 

Additionally, he also pointed out that the audience-first, data-based approach - which is a fundamental principle of FCB/SIX in India – will always be in focus and by prioritising the audience in all of agency’s actions across media and customer experience, the agency will be able to deliver impactful work that resonates with its target market. 

He further stated that since commerce is one of the key focus areas for the agency, as most ROI-driven marketers are largely focused on the bottom and mid-level funnels, FCB/SIX is also building a specialised commerce arm which will help cater to brands across 15+ e-commerce platforms - including Flipkart and Amazon for paid and organic optimisation.

“As products and their features become increasingly commoditised, the key to winning over customers lies in delivering exceptional customer experiences. Customer expectations are constantly rising, and by providing outstanding experiences, we can differentiate ourselves in the market. In fact, it is often the brand love moments we create that foster customer retention and loyalty. By going above and beyond, we can forge strong emotional connections with our customers and create lasting relationships based on trust and satisfaction,” he said.

On a concluding note, Banga also emphasised that in the current day and age, marketing for many businesses has changed from being considered a cost function to now emerging as a business function - and that is something more and more brands should realise in the contemporary world. 

Also, as per him, digital is the perfect medium for creating moments that can conclude the whole marketing cycle - right from awareness, to transactions, to repeat purchases, to loyalty, etc. but only if one succeeds in mixing media and creativity in the right manner.

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