Digital Marketing Mavericks: Why Schbang wants to stay independent and be a trul...
Harshil Karia, Akshay Gurnani, and Sohil Karia discuss their roadmap to take their "India to the world" proposition
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Last Updated: Dec 05, 2022, 16:50 IST6 min
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In 2015, when Harshil Karia announced his exit from independent digital agency, Foxymoron, as the founding partner, everyone in the industry was surprised. Karia moved on to start afresh. He took along Sohil Karia and Akshay Gurnani from Foxymoron and made them his co-partners to create Schbang. Eight years have passed since then, and the building blocks Schbang put in place. And now, with 1,000 employees and 275 clients, the trio wants to stay independent and be a truly Indian agency brand. Not that they haven’t received any buy-out offers from some big entities, though. According to them, the future of agency model is the one without too many layers. Schbang’s focus is on creating a singular and simpler agency brand.
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In conversation with Storyboard18, the trio discussed at length the areas in which the company is investing time, money, and talent.
Discovering new layers of client relationships
Sohil Karia, co-founder and chief of design and Technology, Schbang, has been instrumental in creating the right structure for the agency’s business transformation and tech services. He says that clients today are looking for holistic solutions, which include beyond creative and media duties. “Marketers are looking to reach out to consumers at every touchpoint and not stop at an ad piece. They have wider canvases for their vision. With that, as agencies we have a lot of headroom for growth," he says.Karia believes the advantage of being an independent agency is the speed at which it can deliver. “We are a work-in-progress agency. We perfect things along the way. It’s important to keep this approach because the nature of the business is constantly evolving," he says.
In order to align their approach with new clients, Schbang is working on a refreshed onboarding process. Prospective clients are sent a detailed questionnaire to understand their long-term goals. “Digital is a broad landscape. It is critical to understand clients’ long-term goals using creativity and technology in their marketing plans," he says. Ninety percent of Schbang’s business comes from retainer clients. Karia and his core team unanimously think they are in the business of building brands and not just campaigns. With strong creative strength and now new tech services, Schbang this year opened up a new growth chapter. The agency dipped its foot into international waters.
Fact File
Founding year - 2015Locations - Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and London. Soon to launch a hub in Western Europe.
CXOs - Harshil Karia, founder/ Akshay Gurnani, co-founder and CEO/ Sohil Karia, co-founder and chief of design and technology/ Indraneel Gawde, national head of new business/ Dhvani Jagasia, head of finance and IT/ Mini Nair, head of human resources/ Priyam Dadia, head of media/ Abhimanyu Balasubramanyum, head of Schbang Motion Pictures/ Sushant Vithaldas, head of business, Schbang Bangalore/ Aditya Mehendale, national creative director
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India revenue – Rs 200 Crore
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Total employee count - 1,000
Total number of clients - 275
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Number of clients onboarded this year (so far) - 80