FCB Six enters India blending 'math and magic' for a notable client roster

FCB Group has announced the launch of its award-winning creative performance capability, FCB Six in Asia through its foray in India. The move comes close to the heels of the agency’s complete acquisition of Kinnect and its rebranding to FCB Kinnect in April 2023. As part of the same strategy to fuel creativity through data and technology, Six adds to its expanding global presence in Brazil, New Zealand, UK, New York, Chicago, Montreal and Toronto.

In India, Six is born out of the data-driven capabilities of Kinnect. An initial team of 115 data specialists, under the leadership of newly appointed chief business officer Ankit Banga and Kinnect CEO Rohan Mehta, will provide a range of services, including digital media buying, performance marketing, SEO, UI/UX development, and online reputation management.

Now, while the brand is new to the market, Mehta tells Campaign, Six has been piloting with its established relationships with existing clients for organic growth. The business plan is to launch with 10 to 15 of Kinnect’s existing portfolio of over 80 clients and uncover untapped opportunities for brands.

“Google, Vistara, Amazon India, Uber, Disney+ Hotstar, Reliance Digital, will be served by Six in different capacities to begin with. But ultimately, the aim is to make the consultancy a standalone global centre of excellence for FCB offices worldwide for clients looking to scale up their businesses nationally or internationally,” adds Mehta.

Why India?

Globally FCB Six is one the fastest growing capabilities within the agency, propelling strong double-digit growth every year since its inception. FCB is excited about its Asia initiation with baby steps in India and tapping into the country’s mobile-first, digital-first culture.

Why India though?

“Why not, India?” chuckles Rohit Ohri, the chairman of FCB Group, India. “Clients are looking to India as a source of growth and future investment. We boast the best-in-class local talent and expertise. We have the measurable solutions that leverage data and technology while still delivering creative excellence.”

“The speed of digital acceleration happening in India is catapulting the rest of the world. It has the largest growing audience that lives in this mobile-first world; our strong creative bench presence coupled with this marriage of math and magic, is going to be exciting,” adds Tina Allan, global partner, data science and connections.

Data-driven digital consultancies are not unique anymore, Six’s differentiator, Allan and Ohri insist will be “talent not tech” and the advertising “marriage of math and magic” in delivering timely results.

“Blending creativity and performance is what most of our competitors are missing out on. A lot of capabilities are very numerically driven, there’s a ton of data out there… but the variable is the creative and the strategy. That’s what I mean, when I say Six marries math and magic together. We come through the lens of the brand, and we have the power of technology and data behind it,” quips Allan.

The road ahead

For the near future, Mehta says goals include establishing the brand's credibility in India through exceptional work that showcases its unique value proposition, is priority. In line with Six’s global performance, Mehta is eyeing a 30-35% revenue growth rate for the first year on the business side and on the operations side, he’s aiming to scale up capabilities such as Salesforce that are currently in incubation stage in India.

But India is a highly competitive market. The Great Reshuffle, the Indian version of the Great Resignation, is still gathering momentum. According to a survey by Alon Plc, attrition rates in 2022 were nearly as high as 21%, the highest since 2003, putting immense pressure on companies for retaining employees. A new entity that hinges on talent as its USP will have an uphill task in these circumstances. Mehta does not shy away from admitting the issue.

“Talent crunch is an industry-wide issue, we are all grappling with it. The key will be to encourage people to want to stay on board. The integrated system at Six ensures a global collaboration at the group level. We are not layered or siloed, and this kind of collaboration brings opportunities of creative and professional growth for talent,” adds Mehta.   

Along with Ankit Banga and Mehta at the helm, the leadership will be supported by Bharatesh Salian, senior VP of marketing science and CX and Dhruv Shah, VP of web strategy and organic search.

(This article first appeared on CampaignAsia.com)