By A Correspondent
When we interviewed industry leader Saurabh Varma post his unveiling of his new advertising and marketing services company Wondrlab, he told us that he is going to be up to something big soon and that we can expect some big announcements.
We didn’t know what to expect, though in the next few weeks there did come missives of people and account acquisition. Elsewhere in the world, there was a controversy around the Tanishq Ekatvam advertisement and that was pulled down without much of a fuss by the Tata company. The ad in question was created by What’s Your Problem (WYP), which was set up by Amit Akali with brother Praful. WYP has a 60-member team, an office in premium Bandra Kurla Complex area and is one of the buzziest agencies in Indian adland.
So, well, What’s Your Problem is now a fully owned part of the WondrLab network.
WYP may have been around for over five years, but has bagged accolades at Cannes Lions and Clio amongst others. Amit Akali, Founder – MD & CCO at WYP will now be a Co-founder at Wondrlab. Akali comes with nearly 25 years of experience. Before founding WYP, he was National Creative Director at Grey India and part of the Grey Global Creative Council. Meanwhile, Wondrlab reports bagging 25 clients and will have over 100 employees by December 2020, according to a communique.
Said Saurabh Varma, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Wondrlab: “I had the opportunity to watch WYP during a pitch and was incredibly impressed by their thinking, passion and ability to solve clients’ problems in a meaningful way. I decided to connect with Amit and over a few conversations realised that we had the same purpose and belief in the kind of work we wanted to do. We both believed in the power of creativity and the future which data and technology can serve us. We both felt that our future is in building our own platforms. It is truly amazing seeing WYPs journey and the incredible job Tejas Mehta, Ruchita Zambre and the entire team has done and the reputation they’ve built for it. I am proud that Amit joins us as a co-founder. I could not have asked for a better partner to help us shape and drive our creative firepower. WYP is our first acquisition and we will continue to curate, partner, launch and acquire as we move forward.”
Said Akali: “What we’ve achieved at WYP has been phenomenal. Today, we are a 60-member team at our new BKC office in Mumbai. The momentum in the last year has been even greater, with us being probably the only agency that’s grown manifold in the lockdown. We’ve been lucky to create some of the most talked-about work in the last few months, be it the iconic Johnnie Walker Travelling Billboard, Tanishq ‘Ekatvam’ or the IPL campaign for Dailyhunt. A big thanks to Praful who helped me start WYP with the other co-founders. To Tejas, who has played a key role in our growth and continues to do so. Along with every past and present employee who’s always looked at WYP as their own family and given it their all. We are thrilled to be a part of Wondrlab. I am excited about the new, even larger, playing field we’re getting. The integration is almost seamless as the vision is identical. In a digital-first era, platformisation and technology are the drivers of customised solutions for brands,” adding: “When I first spoke to Saurabh and the other co-founders Vandana and Rakesh, it was uncanny how we share the same goals, ambitions and ideals. Together we aim to be a technology and creative powerhouse.”
Meanwhile, according to the grapevine, there are a few more acquisitions that Varma & Co and have planned though no more in the creative space. These are likely to be announced in the early first quarter of 2021. It’s surely ‘achche din’ for Varma & Co.
There’s hope for public relations practitioners. ‘Cause the creative and assorted ad agency folk can’t write a copy-pasteable press release. They are after all creative, think with both ends of their brains, and think out-of-the-box.