21N78E appoints Virendra Mahendra as national creative director

21N78E Creative Labs is bolstering its creative department. It has appointed Virendra Mahindra to further its creative excellence and innovation across the agency's portfolio of clients. The agency has been actively strengthening its strategic marketing consulting practice and building capabilities that can deliver on its promise of adding business logic to a creative business. It has also been experimenting with AI tools for the past 4 years and believes that mastering them is essential to improve efficiencies and set new benchmarks for creativity.

Viren comes with 23 years of experience in advertising and communication, and a deep understanding of creativity that delivers across different consumer cohorts. In his previous stint with Digital Refresh Networks, he led design language and communication as the national creative director and COO.

Having helmed projects and campaigns for Ponds, Disney, HUL, BMW Motorrad, Kotak Mahindra, Shoppers Stop, Manyavar, Sleep Company, Bajaj, and more; he is a strong proponent of change and an early adopter of technologies to transform the way brands engage with relevant audiences.

Speaking on this, Sudhir Nair, founder and CEO, 21N78E, said, “We are at a juncture where unless we pivot, we will become irrelevant in a few years. It’s not just true for us, it is the reality of the business. We are indexing heavily on our consulting practice and parallelly augmenting our delivery capabilities to create transformative work at scale. Viren comes with a rich experience across categories and most importantly is on the right side of tech which aligns with our long-term plans. Having been integral to many brand journeys, he brings a lot of knowledge to the table.”

Viren added, “As I embark on this journey with 21N78E Creative Labs, I am inspired by the immense potential of creative collaboration. Together, we can transform ideas into unforgettable experiences and turn challenges into opportunities for innovative, connected brands. What appealed to me about this role was the way the agency functions. There is a great deal of emphasis given to what the business outcomes are or should be; and that makes even the creative product equally accountable—which is essential for true satisfaction”.