Our work is anchored in data-backed strategic rigour and not personal opinion or gut feeling: T Gangadhar

In a world of discerning consumer interests, brands often find it hard to tap into the mind space of the consumers, let alone build brand love or loyalty. As of late, various marketers have resorted to the use of technologies such as deepfakes, virtual reality, augmented reality etc. to woo their target audiences.

BestMediaInfo.com spoke to T Gangadhar, popularly known as Gangs, who is the Co-Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of Quotient Ventures, about what he thinks of technology moving towards the forefront of advertising - as opposed to storytelling.

He stated, “The importance of storytelling can’t be emphasised enough, because, in today’s scenario, it feels harder to get consumers’ attention than their money. Ultimately, brands need to be interesting to consumers, and technology aids in that pursuit.”

He also opined that the agency business would evolve with technological advancements such as Generative AI. “There is a fear-mongering narrative that tech will eat all the jobs but in the larger scheme of things, this will actually free up time for people to focus on more upstream tasks,” he said.

“We need to see it as an opportunity because there’s a lot that AI and technology can do at a threshold degree of creativity - one need not boil the ocean all the time,” Gangs stated.

Moreover, Gangs also emphasised that in today’s day and age, people should not look at things through the lens of “Human vs Machine” but “Human with Machine” because technology is only as good as the human who is using it – and the onus is still going to be on human intelligence and intuition.

“Tech is here to stay, so let’s not moan about it. Instead, let’s embrace and recognise it for the value it brings in the areas of productivity and efficiency. It’s perfectly possible for the human brain and technology to coexist and complement each other,” he said.

Sharing his transition experience from a media agency to the creative industry, Gangs emphasised that it has been both wonderful and insightful- and seamless in some ways as well- because he was with creative agencies before joining GroupM. 

“The reason I joined Quotient is that I truly believe it’s a rocket ship and that the group’s approach to solving brand problems is quite different from what I have otherwise seen. The work is anchored in data-backed strategic rigour and is not about personal opinion or gut feeling. Given the over availability of data, separating signals from noise is hardcoded into our ways of working,” he added.

Stating that attrition is a complex issue in agency set-ups, Gangs said that there are increasingly more suitors for the same people, and it is ultimately the agency’s culture and the visible work that they do that will be factored in for stemming attrition.

Commenting on the incremental trend of agencies shedding organisational hierarchies in the modern world, he shared the opinion that the structures should be such that they ensure collaboration and fluidity, and should be tailored for what the agency is meant to deliver. 

“There has never been a more important time for building brands because we are seeing a proliferation of start-ups like never before - each with dreams and aspirations of building viable brands and businesses,” he said.

On a concluding note, Gangs mentioned that even though performance marketing or any other lower-funnel activity is necessary, they are not sufficient factors for brand growth because it is only through focused brand-building efforts that one is able to make his/her brand relevant and desirable enough to be able to command a premium and preference.

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