The art of teamwork has been at the core of leveraging growth for us: Siddharth S Pande

Adgully has been turning the spotlight on the entrepreneurs who fought against all odds to bring their dreams to fruition in our special series – START-UP STARS. We at Adgully wholeheartedly support the ‘Vocal for Local’ movement and have been featuring numerous local/ homegrown businesses, brands, and Apps in the country launched in the last few years.

Feed The Wolf (f.k.a Film Ok Please) is a creative advisor and content creator for all things entertainment to position and guide the marketing creative for film, TV, and streaming entertainment launches. Bringing together a culture and community of highly talented creative people who love film, music, and advertising, Feed The Wolf is a one-stop destination for visual promotions, graphics, packaging, motion posters, post-production, and film song edits. Established in 2021, the 360-degree creative agency with a mix of next-generation creative strategists has already worked on some Bollywood blockbusters such as ‘Brahmastra’, ‘Drishyam 2’, ‘Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar’, and some breakthrough content on streaming platforms, which include ‘Shershaah’, ‘Love Hostel’, ‘Gehraiyaan’, ‘Looop Lapeta’, ‘Class’, ‘Kota Factory – Season 2’, among others.

In this interaction with Adgully, Siddharth S Pande, Founder, Feed The Wolf, speaks about the inception of his company, the core business proposition, holding on to the short attention spans of consumers, collaborating with the finest team, and more.

Please take us through your journey as an entrepreneur. What motivated you to establish Feed The Wolf?

In 2019, after quitting our previous work, we decided to start our own journey with the birth of Feed The Wolf (f.k.a Film Ok Please). Being an industry expert in the Visual Promotions space, I had already done about 400-500 films in a career span of almost 2 decades. Mamta (Bahirvani) being from a marketing background along with a past stint in the directorial, writing, and photography space, seemed like a perfect team to begin this journey.

We both were always passionate about films and storytelling. With a collective vision to establish a creative agency with cutting-edge content, with its heart in innovation, was something we always wanted to do.

Also, the evolution and growth of the creative ecosystem with the advent of the OTTs in the fabric of the Indian entertainment industry was an exciting time to explore the depths of this ground-breaking change that was to come. And thus, began the journey of Feed The Wolf with a computer on our dining table!

What was the need of Feed the Wolf via a consumer’s perspective? What is the core business proposition?

The growing reach of Indian content on a global platform was an important shift and an opportunity to innovate and renew the way content is viewed on a global scale. Since trailers/ teasers/ 3D posters are the first visual communication for any content, the way they were cut and packaged – trailers in particular – had to be reinvented keeping in mind that this was not just being viewed by Indians and the Indian diaspora, but by people from across the world with a very different cultural perspective of India.

To convince that our content is engaging and intriguing is challenging from the tide of content being produced worldwide. Even though this is an exciting time to create content with so many platforms to showcase, it can be tough to stand out in the clutter.

Having said that, our competition today is not just the Indian market, but also the ever-growing international market. For us as an agency, it is important that we constantly innovate and create out-of-the-box content for our clients and consumers.

What have been your key learnings so far? How do you see the Feed The Wolf ecosystem progressing in 2023?

We constantly strive to make our trailers more engaging for consumers. The modern consumer today is slow to listen, and faster to flip the channel. To garner their attention is a constant challenge and it is essential we create visual content which is intriguing from the word go.

Today, trailers are shorter than they used to be a few years ago owing to the shorter attention span of consumers, who are constantly bombarded with a tsunami of trailers. To be slick, concise, and gripping is essential for a great consumer experience.

Going forward, we see ourselves tapping into the international market and taking our expertise and experience in creating digital content, design, production, and VFX with an aim to persistently transform and expand our reach on a global scale.

How is digital helping you further your business?

Being a B2B company, digital definitely helps us get more visibility from clients (Production houses/ Studios). It’s a great platform to showcase our work. However, the audience feedback helps us understand the pulse better. It’s important to know how our work is received so that we can constantly learn and improve in future projects.

How did you identify your TG? Did you carry out any feasibility study prior to starting your business?

Our target audience is split into two verticals – one is production houses and businesses, through which we gain revenue and their requirements vary basis the type of content that we are working on.

As for the audience that watches short-form content – such as trailers and teasers – it is always about telling a story in a short span that grips them and makes them watch the film/ series that it represents. It is very important to ensure the story you tell is not just entertaining but leaves a little bit of suspense so that viewers then tune in to watch the content.

What were the challenges that you faced in your start-up journey and how did you overcome them?

Establishing ourselves in a highly competitive market was definitely a challenge. Every business has a learning curve and it’s important we learn from our failures and build a system and strategy to constantly evolve.

We gradually increased our team, making sure we have the best technicians in the trailer industry. Collaborating with the finest was a game-changer for us.

The art of teamwork by understanding the recipe of peak performance and the heart of teamwork by bringing people who love what they do with purpose has been at the core of leveraging growth and moving us to the next level.

What would be your message for budding entrepreneurs?

Great opportunities often come from taking risks. Constantly striving to do be better each day and being fearless helps you take risks. And there may be success and failure. However, failure is not always a bad thing. It’s important to take it in your stride and learn from every experience to build a solid foundation.

Additionally, collaborating with a great team can be magical with remarkable results. A team that shares the same vision is a beautiful culmination for exploring your full potential.

There is never a wrong time to do the right thing. Small steps lead to big things. Take the first step and be the builder of the future you desire.