Exclusive | Verma & Khazanchi of Enormous, unplugged...!

Among numerous advertisements over the last five to ten years, one cannot overlook the ‘jingalala’ effect that Tata Sky’s TV commercial created. The minds behind the creation of this masterpiece of advertisement, Ajay Verma and Ashish Khaznachi have now joined hands to give birth to their entrepreneurial outfit a creative agency - Enormous.
Enormous, is part of the Concept Group with Vivek Suchanti as the group's Chairman and Managing Director. While Khazanchi and Verma both will be Managing Partners. The group also includes other agencies of the likes of Scarecrow Communications, 11 Brand Works, Brandnomics, ITSA Brand Innovations along with other dedicated public relations and media outfits.

Adgully caught up with the duo to know more about their new venture and more.

Ashish Khazanchi’s last assignment was as the Chairman and National Creative Director, Publicis Ambience; while Ajay Verma was Chief Growth Officer, DraftFCB Ulka. Having worked on various popular assignments, the two, come with illustrious experience in the industry. Speaking about what prompted them both to take the entrepreneurial plunge, Verma said, “Having been here for so long, we have seen the industry grow; it was very different ten years ago and will different five years from now. We need to understand that with growing platforms to reach the consumers, consumer engagement is a priority for alongside the idea that we want the consumers to own the brand! With my experience in digital and Ashish’s experience in creatively devising messages, I believe that it’s a good amalgamation”. Khazanchi on the other side, said, “Today the ways of connecting and communicating with people have changed. Hence we need to speak to the consumers in different manner. We need to work with newer ideas and create interaction that goes beyond traditional formats”. Both Verma and Khazanchi hold a belief that brands need newer ways of not just communicating but forming talk-worthy connections.

Though 'Enormous' is just about a month old, sharing their insights about the kind of offerings in terms of services presented to the clients, Verma said, “Since we are a full service agency, we do not want to stick to one specific model of service or solution offerings. We will not do just ‘digital’ or just ‘social’. Our aim is to provide solutions in the internet space as a whole. It is about both, clients engagement and that we help sell better!”

Shedding some light on the kind of initial investments that have been involved in the making of 'Enormous' and when do they see a cash break-even coming, Verma stated, “Honestly, we do not want a breakeven before one-and-half to two years! We will invest it all back into Enormous as it’s a high investment game, especially on the skills level. Yes, it is important to get big and noticed, but it’s more important to get bigger and better! We are not worried about breakeven, because we do not want to compromise on the quality we aim to offer”. Khazanchi, denying stating any numbers said, “Keeping the numbers aside, Enormous is all about intellectual capital coming together where all are substantially involved”.

Being a part of larger umbrella now, Concept Communications has its pros and cons. Speaking about the kind of value the duo thinks this will bring to ‘Enormous', Verma said, “Being associated with Concept, automatically gives us the desired reach. Also, with the kind of media intelligence they posses which is at our disposal, it makes it easy for enormous to grow thus making it a good and productive collaboration”. Singing a similar tune, Khazanchi also said, “Concept as an entity has huge interest in PR and digital which ours a symbiotic relationship. With the pool of talent available, the ideation, strategy and the implementation can all be done complimenting each other’s strengths and weaknesses”.

The current financial environment is a little turbulent. In a scenario where larger global agencies are acquiring smaller outfits, while stating their thoughts on how do they see themselves - an emerging agency to stand and survive, Verma said, “Yes the financial markets are a tricky, but there is enough business in the country. Also, the clients and willing to pay and delivering to the clients demands is our promise. We aim at creating value and not mere selling.”  Khazanchi firmly stated that it is a tricky time for mid-size agencies and not emerging ones! “IF we see, some of the best works have come either from the very large agencies or the small one. So the markets of the emerging agencies are very well present and fruitful”.

Ajay Verma, is an MBA with 20 years in advertising and has held leadership roles in agencies like DraftFCB Ulka, Rediffusion Y&R, Contract & Percept H and led successful brands like Amul, CEAT, Colgate, HSBC, Tata Sky, Tata Corporate, rediff.com, Tata Motors, Godrej, IOCL, Penzoil, Cadbury etc.

Ashish Khazanchi, also an MBA with 20 years in advertising, he is an industry veteran. He created Jingalala, launched DNA, took Park Avenue deodorant from a 50 cr. to a 250 cr. brand, and has done memorable work on countless brands. He has been rated one of the ‘Top Twenty Creative People’ by Brand Equity and ‘The Creative People To Watch Out For’ by DNA.

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