Utopeia launched; guns for perfection

Poised as a 'retro agency', Utopeia promises to bring back the good old days of advertising.

How long did it take you to decrypt the word in the image? It spells the name of a newly launched agency. It also spells good news for marketers suffering from insomnia, courtesy their brand problems.

Christened Utopeia (each image in the photograph stands for one letter in the word 'Utopeia') this newly launched agency promises to offer end-to-end marketing solutions ranging from mainline advertising, brand consultancy and consumer research to product design, retail marketing, experiential branding and digital solutions.

In a world of fragmentation where there are 'specialist agencies' mushrooming every day, Utopeia will attempt to offer all brand marketing solutions under one roof, something that seems possible only in an ideal world. That explains the choice of name -- Utopeia. A media agency that will partner these efforts is also in place.

The team

The managing partners at the helm include Sudarshan Banerjee (former director, business development, DDB Mudra Group and executive vice-president and head, DDB Mudra Ahmedabad); Mitali Srivastava (former associate vice-president, strategy and planning, DDB Mudra); Ayan Chakraborty (former chief growth officer, Percept/H); Sean Colaco (of Creatively Active Communications or CAC fame); Krishna Padhye (former senior creative director, DDB Mudra); and Krishnaraj Bhat (former associate vice-president, DDB Mudra Group, Ahmedabad).

The current staff strength is 17, set to rise to 22 by next month. Each member will be a designated 'brand chaperone' in the days ahead.

Clients on board include brands such as The Times of India, Axis Bank, Peri Peri, Nutrela and SSJ Furniture, to name a few.

The concept

With senior level agency folk quitting their jobs to launch their own creative outfits by the dozen, afaqs! wonders what makes Utopeia different.

For starters, the team rejects the oft-used labels 'boutique creative agency', 'creative hot-shop' and 'start-up'; rather, the preferred term is 'brand marketing consultancy'. "We are a large network starting out. We have a five year business plan in place. Very soon you'll hear of our expansion plans," enthuses an optimistic Banerjee.

Besides being a good conversation starter, the modified spelling of the word 'utopia' has a story behind it. The 'e' in the name is symbolic of the team's desire to return to the basics of advertising. How so? "Notice how the modified spelling includes all the vowels of the English alphabet. Our name itself is testament to the fact that we will always stay true to the basics, something brands often lose sight of," he explains.

Moreover, positioned as a 'retro agency', the group harbours the idealistic, utopian desire to take the ad industry back to the good ol' days. 'Bring back the love' is being used as the catchphrase that captures this philosophy. This love refers to the relationship between brands and consumers, love for this industry, love for employees within an agency and love between clients and agencies.

Which era does Utopeia wish to rewind to? "Well, the early days of advertising in general," explains Srivastava, "It's more like taking the best from every decade." And sure enough, the agency's office at Kalina, Mumbai, has a '50s room', a '60s room' and 'a 70s room', not to mention the gramophone perched between the three or ads and other relics from the yesteryears that adorn the walls and desks.

The plan

The team has identified some need gaps in the ad-marketing industry that it plans to bridge in the days ahead. "I won't reveal all the gaps as that would leave me with nothing for my credentials presentation," jokes Banerjee, but nonetheless shares a few things that will both, reflect in the kind of work the agency produces and will also help differentiate Utopeia in the agency market.

Firstly, on the people front, Utopeia will have a very flat structure. It will nurture, what the agency calls, a 'democratic culture', wherein young and old alike will have equal say. Agency decisions will be voting-based. "There are no 'employees' and no one will report to anyone, regardless of whether they're one year old or 20 years old in the ad industry," says Srivastava. Does that mean there's a profit sharing model in place? Apparently, yes.

Secondly, unlike the traditional agency structure, Utopeia will have no departmental segregation such as a 'planning department, a 'creative department' and a 'client servicing department'. Shaking their respective comfort zones, the members will work towards becoming well-rounded 'brand specialists' or 'marketing specialists' regardless of the role they held in their previous agencies.

"'Do you understand brands?' or 'Can you solve marketing problems?' are the kind of questions we will ask our team members. Our strategy is to tell the CEO or CMO concerned what keeps him/her awake at night," Banerjee offers.

Thirdly, laser focused on marketing effectiveness and increasing clients' market share, the team subscribes to the notion that not all marketing problems are solved by mainstream advertising. Chakraborty explains, "In today's ever-evolving world, consumers are no longer going to get convinced just by a TV or print ad. Traditional ad and communication agencies are probably too large to keep up with the pace at which consumers, their media consumption habits and interactive touch-points are changing. Brands are thus being under-served in several pockets, say, for instance, training and development of people representing brands at the retail level."

The agency will also look at 'sensorial branding' seriously. "Most brands today only use audio-visual communication. What about tapping into the other senses, like the sense of smell for instance?" questions Chakraborty.

And lastly, Utopeia will deviate from the compulsion of having a creative brief as the inevitable starting point. "We are business solution providers,"

the team reiterates.

The team is keen to work with clients in the premium-luxury space, bottom-of-pyramid, rural brands and new category players. "It's a leap of faith," says Srivastava, summing up the part excited, part confident, part anxious sentiment that usually accompanies agency launches.