Saints And Warriors has opened its second agency in the country, this time in Delhi. Called Yang, it will be headed by Sanjay Sharma and Anil Verma. Previously with Hanmer MSL as chief operating officer, Sharma has over 20 years of experience in the communication industry. He has also held senior positions with Ambience Publicis and Mudra. Verma was with Mudra as executive creative director (North & East) in his last stint, and has also worked with agencies O&M, Rediffusion DY&R, TBWA, Everest and Contract in his career of more than 12 years.
Commenting on the development, Pushpinder Singh, chairman and copywriter at Saints and Warriors, said, “Starting a second agency in Delhi was something that’s been on the anvil for some time, but I was extremely reluctant to go ahead with it without the right people who have held leadership roles in the past. Fortunately, both Sanjay and Anil have led offices, and also have stakes in the business." Asked about why the agency has a different name, he said, "In the past 8-9 months, conflict has been rampant for us, and we've been finding entry points barred for us with other clients because of people we're working with currently. Hence, to balance out conflict, the agency will have a different name but will operate under the Saints And Warriors umbrella."
Responding to a query on whether the philosophies of both agencies will stay the same, Singh said, "Our core philosophy will always be to do great creative work based on a common-sense strategy. The philosophy will also be guided by the fact that the Delhi market is very dissimilar to the Mumbai market. It's booming but brutal. Few agencies there are able to command status as a partner."
Sharma said there was a three-pronged reason to set up Yang. "First, unlike in Mumbai, there are very few start-ups in Delhi, while the market for advertising is as big and growing faster. So there is a gap in the market we can fill. Second, in terms of solutions, clients in Delhi get a raw deal because the creative, servicing and senior management sit out of Mumbai. Third, clients are getting fed up with the large format agency as they don't get the required attention from the senior management. So we don't plan to take on too many clients so our clients can get maximum attention and inputs from the seniormost people," he said.
On his plans for the agency, Verma said, "By starting an agency as an entrepreneur, you can work on your own terms and conditions, and in this case, I want to infuse certain values and culture at Yang, and nurture good people there. My way of looking ahead in terms of the work we want to do is different: today the brand and the consumer are the heroes; as an agency, we're just a way to communicate. We want to understand the client's problems and offer a big creative solution to them for that problem, rather than force a film on them."
The size of the team will be of 8-10 people to begin with, with back end support from the Mumbai office of Saints And Warriors. Regarding the accounts at Yang, Singh said they were in talks to sign on clients at the moment.
