 creative zone. I have another special guest today. It should be Alora, the digital head of creative strategy at what concept. I should be happy if you've been holding up. I'm good. How are you? All good. So we wanted to kind of chat with you on some of the campaigns you put together during lockdown and all that. So firstly I want to start by asking you that how has lockdown changed life for like digital agencies? Oh wow. So much like in more ways than one. I personally feel you know digital agencies are made of people, creative people, all kinds of people and when life changes at a personal level, at a mass level, I think it affects the whole process. You know it's changed the lives of the consumers or the brand managers that we deal with. So yeah, but on a more relatable note, I think the creative culture isn't the same anymore. I kind of miss it. The creative thought process isn't the same anymore. The brainstorms aren't the same anymore. But having said that, it's not bad. It's just different. So yeah, I think it's different. We're ready for the challenge and I think we're kind of acing it now. So yeah. So how have clients responded to the situation? Clients are a mixed bag, I would say. I've personally seen clients who want stuff to be done right here, right now, because the opportunity is there. And then there are certain clients who just sort of held back and they've decided to wait out the pandemic and see what happens next or what life brings tomorrow. But I think overall, because brands have allowed some really nice campaigns to happen, so I would say they're pretty active. But I'm not personally seeing the usual suspects in the market. You don't see the usual suspects sort of putting in the kind of media efforts or advertising efforts on digital anymore. I think creatively, we're still trying to address the same questions as brands, as agencies. What can we do or how can we adapt to the new consumer? I think that's the job and that's where the brands efforts are. So modern world, is you can kind of like pick us through the campaign that you did, I mean lockdown and how did it all come together? Wow, they've been a lot of campaigns that have been done, you know, sort of throughout the lockdown. Something that happened recently was for Pigeon India, the baby care brand, and rather the mother care brand as well, wherein we sort of capitalized on the breastfeeding week, you know, for nursing moms. It was actually the second leg of the campaign, something that started in 2019. So interestingly, you know, it's a very sensitive sort of situation when you're talking to young moms or nursing moms or, you know, new moms rather, and to have to address the psyche of somebody who's, you know, going through the process is very different. So with that in the back of our heads, with the form, with the, I would say, the challenges that lockdown had thrown at us, we kind of put together a whole campaign just to sort of glorify and, you know, give a virtual salute to the spirit of motherhood. And the idea was to treat it with absolute respect, sensitivity, honesty, and take like a tangible stand. The attitude, I would say, to the brief, you know, when it all came together from the get go was to reinforce the fact that, you know, breastfeeding is an emotionally as well as a physically challenging task for moms. And it can be uneasy, it can be uncomfortable, it can be exhausting. So it had to be set out loud. But at the same time, we couldn't take away from the joy that moms feel, you know, watching their baby grow and knowing that they are responsible for the nutrition and that growth. So we kind of put it all together into sort of a social experiment that was conducted over a video call. Three different mothers, three different psyches, a very spontaneous sort of a video call, which was experimented, which is probably to me the most, you know, sort of intelligent part of the campaign, because it was all engineered within the foundations of the lockdown, right? And we're talking shoots here, we're talking, you know, coordination here, etc. So all of that was sort of thought true. Very realistic, very believable, clean on the aesthetics, very, very relatable, because, you know, everybody had switched to video calls anyway, by the time this went live. So it was a very subtle sort of clear campaign, in my opinion, where the brand pretty much said that it stands by nursing moms. And so should the people around her, because that's all she needs. She needs support. It's not like it's a bad thing to do, but it's just taxing and maybe we need to be there. So to me, it was one of the most, I would say, pleasant sort of clean campaigns that happened during topic and it during one of the topical occasions here. Super. So, you know, times have certainly been trying and digital agencies anyway, have been accustomed to like being on their toes and thriving as it's a constant in the profession. So how are you managing to keep going and pulling off everything that's kind of going on? You know, it may just sound like I'm ranting, but oh my God, I miss the energy. And it's so difficult to channelize the pent up energy when you're in, you know, when you're at home, that you're alone. So it's, it's kind of, as I said before, you know, it's slightly different. The energy isn't there. The white check isn't right, you know, in a more millennial sort of tone. But, you know, why it had been slightly hard for me personally to find the sense of creative direction that would probably come by being in office, by being around like minded people. We've kind of pulled it through, you know, as a team, as an agency on a personal level, team through, you know, familial responsibilities, household distractions, uninvited chores, and they look kind of delivered on the work that was supposed to be done. When it comes to, I think workflow, I think there is some form of an automated understanding that has sort of come in, you know, between people, understanding each other's routines, each other's productive hours, lazy hours, etc, etc. So I think we work around that with these now intent remains to, you know, still serve the best possible possible creative solutions. And we're at it yet. So, you know, this entire situation has also brought in a great deal of upheaval and the way we work. So where do you see the dreamshoots of opportunity in the way we're working or any kind of positives? Sorry, could you come again? So this entire situation has kind of brought in a great deal of upheaval in the way we work. So where do you see the dreamshoots of opportunity for digital agencies across the digital acceleration and all that, but without the right positives that you see? So, while I think the whole industry was super positive from get go up, and it's not like we weren't heard or we weren't hit. And while that happened, I think I'll probably address that in two ways. Personally, I feel from a creative standpoint, I think experimentation is the best opportunity that has come out. I think it has forced all agencies, all creatives, all, you know, brand managers to sort of, you know, push themselves beyond the comfort of their brand guidelines and, you know, agency protocols and sort of experiment, you know, in the kind of output that you sort of, you know, give. And I think that there is nothing bigger than that as an opportunity. While these are unprecedented times, and I don't understand that, but the only positive, there's only a positive way that I can look at it. So I think it has literally, you know, proved that if you don't try, or if you don't let a creator sort of see a life, you know, it is not going to work. And I think that's something that has come out strongly. I'm seeing that personally as well, you know, sort of brand signing up for things that they wouldn't otherwise. Also, I think in a more, you know, I would say ambitious mindset, I would say that every possible consumer psyche has changed to me, which means age old rules and demographics and psychographics that were sort of considered to engineer campaigns and creatives or for that matter, even media strikes. I think, again, it's different now, you know, it has opened up windows like a zillion opportunities for us to sort of talk about as brands as agency partners. The opportunity I feel is the fact that I think the consumer today is more inward focus than outward focus. I think it's more about who I am, what am I doing, where I will be tomorrow than what I have, what do I need? You know, and I think that goes beyond the current, you know, strength sort of, of giving out PSAs and, you know, being empathetic as brands, I think there is so much that we can address so many consumer truths, you know, right from financial insecurities. And in the face of COVID, in the face of pandemic, I'm saying this, solving impulse shopping behavior, maybe a lot of people had to press a reset button on life. And then, you know, I don't see that happening. So I feel it is, it is a creative chaos. And I think we can really take advantage of it, you know, as creative people as agencies for brands. Yeah. That's amazing. So lastly, what would be your message to brands and to agencies on cutting through the clutter rather than being it? Wow. I think, you know, clutter is a part of what we do. I think a lot of what we do can be constituted for clutter, but then there's always something that shines through. I think that highlights sort of comes in only when you experiment, as I said before, I think the experimentation shouldn't stop at any level of be it a single post, be it a major campaign, be it a campaign for an FMC brand that has been advertising a certain way for the last 10 years, doesn't really matter. I think you will miss 100% of the shots that you don't take, right? I mean, it's the most cliche it's saying and I kind of believe in it, you know, 100%. So yeah, I think I would just my simple message is to experiment and and if you stop doing that, then you might as well be in a clerical job. So yeah, that's, that's pretty much thank you so much for being for your time. It was amazing chatting with you. Thanks for the great insights. Stay safe, stay connected.