Businesses are looking at agencies to bring fresh thinking and shorten their innovation cycles, says Shouvik Roy of Media.Monks India

Shouvik Roy, who led Goat Brand Labs as chief of brand marketing and will continue to lead brand marketing in a consultative capacity, has been appointed by S4 Capital’s Media.Monks India as a leader to spearhead business transformation. Roy will closely work with Media.Monks India’s managing director, Robert Godinho to steer the organisation into becoming India’s biggest creative tech-led content company.

Storyboard18 caught up with Roy and Godinho in an exclusive interaction where they touched upon the business structure of a digital and marketing agency, Roy’s current responsibilities, mood of the brands or advertisers during the season of IPL and elections, and a lot more.

Edited Excerpts

How has the business structure and functioning of a digital and marketing agency evolved over a period? What are the pros and cons that have come alongside the changes witnessed over the years?

Roy: The digital agency ecosystem has rapidly evolved in the past decade in response to the changing tech and gadget landscape and the change in consumer behaviour. It has offered newer opportunities to all its participants and kept everyone on their toes. Staying relevant has needed agencies to unlearn and relearn at an unprecedented pace.

Even what sometimes starts as a fad, when accepted by a substantial number of consumers, becomes a new pivot for digital storytelling and offers a fresh canvas for all the ecosystem participants.

What is driving business transformation now and in the future? What role do agencies play in this transformation?

Roy: Performance gaps have always been the main stimulus for business transformation. However, today, the speed and turbulence caused by the constant changes around us are forcing most scaled, global organisations to regroup.

Agencies are best equipped to offer an objective outside-in perspective to partner businesses. Businesses are looking at agencies to bring fresh thinking and shorten their innovation cycles.

Where do AI and creative tech sit in this transformation?

Godinho: Immersive experiences combined with data expertise define our industry's future. Data has been much talked about for over a decade now. On the other hand, creative tech is a relatively newer subject of discussion that not too many boardrooms are discussing today.

Creative tech combines Computing, Design, Art, and human behaviour — thus leading to more compelling narratives. This is where the real transformative journey starts. We have just about begun to scratch the surface of AI at an enterprise level. The future is promising and will be exciting for those of us who are willing to be wrong most of the time. Creative Tech and AI are transformative and are the current new narratives to counter the turbulence caused by the constant changes around us.

Building a brand and crafting compelling campaigns takes time and effort. Joining Media.Monks, what are going to be your responsibilities and how are you going to transform the business landscape of Media.Monks?

Roy: Yes, indeed. At Media.Monks I will be working with the team to steer the organisation into becoming India’s biggest creative tech-led content company, one that is driven by big ideas and an even bigger scale of impact in the digital world.

Our industry is all about people — and Media.Monks is blessed with some of the best tech-forward talent in India. The two immediate challenges are building and solidifying the team and working with global and scaled organisations. Agility and evolution will be our only constants. We will lead the future of big-brand storytelling in India.

You have been on the agency side as well as on the client side. How have expectations pertaining to building brands and meeting business targets evolved over a period? How have the learnings on both these sides helped you solidify your understanding pertaining to consumer expectations?

Roy: I think on either side, the challenges have mostly always been on quality, efficiency and impact. Brand building takes time, and takes many minds and many partners to shape. Whichever side you are in — you always know what you are missing and always look for complementary skill sets.

Having worked on D2C brands in the past few years, I have found that some of the best talent in India is fragmented and independent. If one needs to build a digital-first narrative for brands it is almost impossible to find one partner who can cater to the diverse sets of needs.

Consumers haven’t fundamentally changed much — but their behaviours and habits have changed at an unprecedented rate. To keep up — big storytelling has to have many legs led by tech to stand on. Otherwise, one gets missed very easily.

This is the season of IPL and general elections. What is the mood of the brands or advertisers during this period, and what are their expectations from agencies when it comes to crafting campaigns?

Godinho: I think everyone has big expectations from this season — there are more eyeballs to grab and the challenge of building compelling narratives across platforms has been felt by one and all. Agencies are expected to deliver newness and freshness more than ever before.

When it comes to new-age brands and established brands, how different are their expectations when it comes to building brands, crafting campaigns, and helping them meet business expectations?

Roy: New-age brands are more ready to experiment but are also in a bigger hurry. Established brands are also experimenting much more now and are very willing adopters of the new—however, this is done in a planned way throughout the year. They believe in measurability, and the metrics of success and failure are better defined.

How important is India as a market for Media.Monks?

Godinho: India stands as a strategic focal point for Media.Monks, recognising its immense potential as a burgeoning market. With significant investments and expansions witnessed across various industries by global players, India's economic landscape is experiencing remarkable growth. Moreover, the impending elections in the country are poised to further impact market dynamics, presenting both challenges and opportunities for businesses.

The abundance of talent and creative prowess in India, coupled with the nation's expanding economic landscape, Media.Monks is committed to extending its collaborative approach to cater to the unique needs of businesses expanding in India.

By offering tailored solutions and creative expertise, Media.Monks aims to contribute to India's digital evolution, driving innovation and growth for clients across industries.

How important is the strategy of performance marketing for a digital marketing agency and building a brand?

Roy: Performance, growth, and brand marketing have been seen in different buckets. But more and more CMOs have come to realise the strategic importance of perf marketing and how brand marketing can also positively impact ROI on a sustained basis. This is a current and very hot area of debate.

I believe that everything a brand says or does builds or weakens a brand. So, as a CMO, it is critical to be involved in building out the performance marketing strategy for all brands in the portfolio.

How cluttered is the digital marketing space today? And what are the challenges plaguing this arena? How does Media.Monks stand out?

Roy: Certain services in the digital domain that were once niche offerings now occupy the lower end of the digital pyramid. Media.Monks focuses on creative tech-led offerings powered by big ideas/storytelling and immersive experiences that are crafted well.

What are the steps in place to clear the roadblocks?

Godinho: There are excellent plans to nurture and grow the current talent pool at Media.Monks. We are in the process of onboarding some of the best future-ready talent available to us. Media.Monks APAC and global leadership are playing an active role in partnering with us here in India. We remain cautiously optimistic about 2024 and very optimistic about 2025 and beyond.

Read More: Media.Monks India appoints Shouvik Roy to spearhead business transformation