With Rs 250 cr revenues, Q1 2022 was a profitable quarter for WeWork: Megha Agarwal

Hybrid work operations and flexible workplaces have become a norm in the post-pandemic world. Since its inception in 2017, leading office space provider, WeWork, has been spearheading the concept of flexible workspaces. It has been the driving force behind the future of work, with more than 5 million sq ft of assets acquired in 40 locations, across Mumbai, Pune, NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad.

WeWork India recently launched its brand film, ‘Great Inspires Great’, with a lead film which is followed by three product-focused films. It brings out the fact why WeWork is considered as an ideal workspace offering a blend of world-class physical infrastructure and an opportunity to be part of something greater than oneself at the meeting point of excellence and distinctiveness, for businesses of all sizes. WeWork provides the opportunity to exist in a global community, helping people to connect with thousands of like-minded individuals, as well as enterprises allowing them to grow and develop in a thriving environment where they can discover and bring out the greatest version of themselves. The age of the new normal demands us to no longer settle for the good, with businesses needing to dream and work towards achieving their great.

The brand film also showcases some of the key products of WeWork which involves Custom Build Offices, Conference Rooms, Private Offices, Hot desk and many others. It highlights how WeWork India is helping to accelerate the growth of individuals as well as greatness of enterprises, by providing a cohesive and well-rounded space, catering to everyone’s needs from a solopreneur to a start-up, an MNC or a Fortune 500. The video puts an emphasis on how flexible workspaces offer a personalized experience, to various types of professionals with unique needs through its customized and innovative offerings. The video delves deeper into the fact that WeWork India is the home to a community of diverse set of people from visionaries to innovators to go-getters, turning it into a space where people, meet, engage and inspire each other to achieve greater heights of success. The film gives out a message of hope, inspiration and individuality, co-inciding effortlessly with the values of WeWork.

In conversation with Adgully, Megha Agarwal, Head of Marketing, WeWork India, speaks at length about the growth journey of WeWork, the concept of flexible workspaces in India, the core thought behind the latest brand film, and more.

What is the story of Great Inspires Great? What is the concept behind it?

Great Inspires Great is a culmination of all things. Things that WeWork as a brand really stands for. And when we started thinking about what our next campaign idea should be as a team, we went back and looked at everything that makes WeWork what WeWork is. It’s the community, the members, the employees, and the core values of inclusivity, diversity, which makes us very unique in this larger flexible industry that we are present in today. And therefore, the whole campaign tries to showcase the ever evolving workspace requirements in the post pandemic era. And it also puts out very clearly through this campaign, that this workspace brand is for everybody, be it a startup, or a large MNC or a Fortune 500 company. It is the place that actually unlocks the hidden greatness that is there in everybody and therefore it is placed as an enabler, inspiring you to unlock your next great.

What are the marketing activities undertaken to promote the campaign?

It is a large 360 degree campaign. For us, it is a series of four films actually. It starts with the campaign film which has gone live across all social handles. And it will be supported by a string of every other piece, be it outdoor, be it OTT, TV. It basically encompasses all the critical media channels that we will need to amplify the campaign, supported by a very strong social strategy. Digital first is what we are as a brand. Because we target multiple consumer segments, from a startup to a MNC, a Fortune 500. We basically cater to multiple consumer cohort. And therefore digital is the most efficient and the most relevant way of reaching our consumers. Because it is a large campaign, we have added multiple layers to ensure that we reach more than 70% of our TG universe.

Has the pandemic reinvented WeWork’s branding strategy?

Actually it fueled the category for us. So, I think while the pandemic was a very difficult time for a lot of industries over the world. This particular industry in itself got a big shake up, in some sense, after pandemic as large companies started re-evaluating workplace requirements and the business model for workspace. According to reports, 15% CAGR is expected over the next five years on this industry, which means at the end of five years, this particular industry will double in size. That’s the kind of impact that the pandemic has got on the industry in itself and WeWork been one of the largest players in this space, I think the onus is on us to keep building this brand in such a way that whoever you are, be it a startup or a Fortune 500 company, when you think of your next flex partner, you basically think of WeWork. So, the campaign is an attempt to build that brand love, build that top of mind and ensure that we are sitting right up there in people’s minds as the most preferred flexible space partner, in their journey to expand, grow and unlock their great.

Does WeWork have any brand ambassador?

As a brand we are very much about members, community and employees. We believe that we are a very real brand and the ethos of the brand, comes alive when we show real people. In the film we have tried to cover how every person interacts with our brand. We have kept it open and we have different kinds of people interact with the brand, we have LGBTQ, people with disabilities, large member companies and therefore, it’s a great mix of inclusivity and diversity. And that’s what we celebrate. The moment we put a celebrity, the realness that comes in a film like this, will see a little dilution. So, as a brand, we keep it very real and you also see some of our employees actually in the film and that’s how real this film is and close to our hearts.

What is the impact that it aims to make through this film?

It is actually going to be a very large one for us. The reason we did this campaign at this time of the year as people and companies start evaluating their plans for next year expansion, it is going to be very critical that WeWork is right there in their consideration set as they think about how they want to plan the real estate strategy for next year. If its going to be flexible, then it has to be WeWork. That’s why we want to be out there amplifying the brand. We also looked at multiple reports and also met consumers and members who interact with the brand. And one of the top things that came up, between 70-90% depending on the report you look at is that people say that they operate better when they are in a flexible environment. And therefore, it is a very good time for players like WeWork to ensure that we can boost productivity across spectrum, by offering a place which ensures that you are able to collaborate, at the same time, work in silent zones, whatever works with you to deliver productivity. And when you are productive, you unlock your Great and therefore achieve your best potential. Therefore, come to WeWork and unlock greatness in you and your work.

How has the consumer behaviour towards coworking spaces changed over the years in India?

The word flexible used to be like a tick mark exercise in most of the conversations that the companies had with the employees. From there we have actually moved to a space where flexibility is not just a benefit or tick off activity, but it is very significant be it your financial outlay as a company, because the moment you tie up with a flexible workspace provider, you are unlocking a lot of cash flow and are able to build better enterprise for yourself because of that much cashflows available with you and on the other hand, unlocking a huge employee benefit. For example, in a Kantar report, we came to know that 70% of the enterprises believe that the moment flexibility is introduced productivity gets better. 50% of the people we spoke to said that they need quiet zones for productivity, 50% people said that they need collaboration for productivity.

So, flexibility impacts your contribution at work in multiple ways and therefore I don’t think flexibility can just be a tick mark exercise anymore and for companies to actually grow and be relevant, attract the right talent, you will have to have flexibility in your DNA. And that’s where I think for brands like WeWork, it’s a great place to be because that’s our core ethos. As a brand, flexibility is at the core of what we do. Inclusivity, diversity is again at the core and therefore we become a perfect fit for most enterprises. And therefore, it is not surprising that over 60-70% of our portfolio, is enterprise heavy, because we tie up well with many companies and enterprises, for ethos in that sense.

What are the growth plans of WeWork in the coming year?

WeWork is continuosly looking at a couple of things from a growth point of view. Firstly, we aim to build a strong fundamental business, and therefore it is revenue and profitability, both are extremely important to us. In fact, Q1 2022 was one of the first profitable quarters for WeWork, where we clocked Rs 250 crore of revenue and both of these things are extremely important for us, revenue and profitability which go hand in hand. We will not do one over the other and therefore build a fundamentally strong scalable business for the future.

We are a brand keeping close ears to changing trends, consumer needs and, therefore, I would also go one level up and say that if you look at some of the products we have launched in the past one year, they are products that have now scaled up, be it on demand which is a day pass product for consumers, the virtual office product which helps you have a premium office address in 40+ locations or the all access product which basically ensures that you could be a high professional sales person or a consultant and you could be travelling a lot, needing access to multiple buildings. So this gives you a global pass access to multiple buildings of WeWork. And I think some of these products, given all the stuff that happened post pandemic, the whole seven days at work being questioned, these products have rocketed for us, they are in a place where we will ramp them up next year, which also ties back to our campaign strategy where we will have films promoting these specific products.

So, we will have a business as usual film which is a core private office film. We will have an on demand film, which is one of the most successful innovations we have had over the last one year. And we will have a managed office film which basically means that you could be a large enterprise and you need a office space anywhere in India, apart from the six locations that we are present in and WeWork can do it for you. So I think with all of these we want to establish ourselves as a leading hybrid flexible solution provider no matter what you need, no matter what your workplace needs, we have a solution for you and that’s the larger growth ambition that we are going ahead with.

Any new solutions provided by WeWork?

Right now because we launched three to four products, the idea is to scale them up significantly, currently this contribute about less than 10% of our portfolio, because they are new products. We would want to look at scaling them up and building them and then there is an innovation team that works on future products. There is an incubation cell that keeps experimenting and figuring what are the next product ideas that we need to work with.