 So today I have a very special guest with me. He is someone who started his career as a television producer and director and has produced over 200 hours of award-winning television series. So in the mid 90s, a chance meeting with Roshan Abbas led him to foray into the experiential marketing space. He led Geometry Encompass as CCO and he was there through major developments. He led the agency through the WPP acquisition and worked with clients like Mercedes-Benz, Pepsi, GSK, among others. He had quit for a while and started his own venture but then returned again as the CEO. We are glad to have with us today Ranjit Raina, the CEO of Geometry Encompass. Hi Ranjit, how have you been holding up? Hi Ms. Bhai, very well I guess. I mean given the situation I think not too bad. Amazing. So firstly we want to understand that how has life changed for agencies like yours supposed to lock down? So I think the single biggest change is in the agency world you're so used to working together, collaborating. The office is a really really important part or used to be a really important part of you know that's where you work, that's where you collaborated with colleagues, came up with ideas, looked at briefs, cracked ideas, planned projects and all of a sudden there was no more office and everything became this virtual space. So I think the single biggest change really is this transition to you know working from home, the new protocols of working, figuring out ways you know to still stay connected with the teams and you know getting used to this you know what we call the new normal now. So when you started off obviously the lockdown took us all by surprise. So what were the initial challenges and if you can just kind of take me through how you adapted to those, how things now? So I think we were a little better prepared because you know being part of a global network you know we were getting information from other countries you know from our offices in China and Korea and they had to go through this work from home the lockdown before we had to. So I think and across the PPP there were a lot of learnings from other parts of the world which were being very quickly shared. So we in fact you know went into remote working a week prior to lockdown was announced so that gave us enough time to ensure that you know the teams you know had access you know to connectivity you know systems could be moved for creative people. So we actually got a little bit lucky that we could ease into the lockdown a little better prepared. You know if you can also kind of take us through any campaign done during lockdown that are very proud of and how did all kind of come together. So I think there have been a bunch of things projects that we've done recently which is really really cool I mean just a few I think it's just a week back we won a Guinness record for Nivea for a virtual event which was really special. For Mondalis we created an entire you know a content piece which was acknowledging the role of you know the retail workforce and how they are contributing to the economy to the system to society even in the midst of the lockdown. So I think there have been a lot of in fact over the last five months there have been a lot of very special projects and special because these briefs came to us in the middle of the lockdown. You know teams were working you know remotely teams are working you know not just across the city now they are working across cities. So they are projects in which we have you know planners and account managers and operations people from you know Delhi and Bombay both collaborating and coming up with solutions. So I think and again like I said just the fact that all of this is happening remotely all of this is happening. You know in a collaboration and yet you know you're all isolated and you know you find ways of coming together working on ideas together crafting those ideas and then you know going to clients and pitching those ideas discussing those ideas. So I think anything that we've been doing this during the past four months is really really special. Nice. So also working in the experiential marketing space if there are any lockdown learnings that you'd like to share any hacks you've learned what you've learned about the sector this point of time during this phase. I think that the biggest learning is that for us in the experiential space, the entire playground just changed and overnight, you know from physical venues, it became virtual venues. So, you know, it could be a webinar, it could be a product launch, it can be an AGM, it can be a conference. Everything had to move online. And, you know, we really have to like everybody else figure out the difference between creating content for a screen or creating an experience, which people interact on a screen. And those were really, you know, the interesting conversations that we had with content creators with our planning team with our creative teams. And, you know, as we figured out what makes for engagement, which is, you know, so disconnected and yet the only way to connect now is through a screen. And so that was really it. And I think the biggest hack or the biggest learning for all of us was that you cannot replicate a real world event and take it online. You know, the virtual world behaves differently, we behave differently in it. And we have to be very conscious of that. And so yeah, I mean, that's the biggest hack. That's amazing. So, also this entire situation has brought in a great deal of people in the way we work. So where do you see the green shoots of opportunity for the space and for the agency world? Maybe the positives that come out of this way of working. So I think, you know, a couple of positives. So there is no discounting the fact that this is a very difficult time. But I think what has happened is that the concept of working remotely and collaborating remotely is has really caught on because I mean, just imagine we are all in a forced digital boot camp. And all of us have had to learn to do things differently. What that has done is that I think that in some ways it has bought the agency a lot closer because people are talking to people and, you know, geography doesn't really matter anymore. So you could be in Delhi or Bombay. And it really doesn't matter. And you're, you know, talking to teams. A lot of that is happening. I'm seeing that across across the network really across the regions. So we are part of a pack, you know, a lot more conversations are happening across the region now, a lot more conversations are happening globally because all of a sudden the barriers that we had in our mind with the traditional world of geography, no really exists. All you need is to figure out a time and a place to meet. And, you know, you're all in the same place now. So I think I think that is one of the biggest learnings and one of the biggest advantages which will really change everything that we do. I also feel that, you know, in the time to come we will see the emergence of hybrid experiential events. We will see a lot more people who did not maybe consider experiential now gravitate towards it because there are different ways of doing it. You know, the virtual experience opens, you know, door to multiple possibilities for, you know, brands, you know, big and small. So I think I think, you know, as we move into the future, we will have, there will be some learnings and takeaways which will give us an advantage, you know, going forward. Right. So what are also like the larger execution challenges that I can ask you of this way of working? The biggest execution challenge really is, you know, there are restrictions on movement, there are restrictions. So while we're doing projects that involve shoots, you know, working around those. So what was, you know, what you took for granted is you can't anymore. It requires a lot more planning. So if you're, you know, going to do a shoot, you know, you go, you have to find the space, you have to sanitize it, you have to make sure that, you know, social distancing is maintained. People are comfortable to come to that place to be able to shoot. So just the physical restrictions because even if you're creating a virtual event, it has to be created in the real world by real people who need to work together. And I think those restrictions make things a little more challenging and you have to, you know, there are more things that you have to be aware of as you do it, you know, but you learn and you work around the challenges. Right. So although speaking about clients, how have clients responded to the situation? Do you now see them kind of like, you know, spend they wanting to spend wanting to have a conversation, or are they still tightening their purse strings? What's the general mood like now, as opposed to when they started off in March? So I think between, between March and now, while we still don't have complete visibility of, you know, when this thing will come under control, when things will start returning to normal. But I think between March and now, I think for all of us, not just clients, all of us, there is a sense of understanding that, you know, things have changed. And they will continue to change. And, you know, the future is certainly not what we were all expecting it to be. I think across the board, everybody is going to be a much more financially responsible. So every, you know, rupees spent has to be spent judiciously. So, you know, brands, even, you know, their consumers, everybody's in the same boat, everybody is in this, you know, grappling with the same issues really. Definitely, I see brands reaching out needing to connect with consumers. And it's just how they do it, you know, when they do it, how they are deployed, because there are certain restrictions on that, on how you can get out. But it's very clear that things are going to stay the way they are for a while. So we will have to work around these challenges and think of, you know, innovation, think of ways to connect, because this is our reality for some time now. That's it. So lastly, I just want you to give out a message to brands and agencies on how do you think, you know, they should create work that cuts through the clutter rather than being it. I think some things that have not changed is the only way you can do that cut through the clutter with only way you reach and engage with people is, you know, when you do things differently, when you do them in a way that they matter to people. So I think that really hasn't changed. Great creative is still at the heart of, you know, all engagement that creative has to be driven by insight, you know, so that it's relevant and it resonates with people. So, you know, that hasn't changed. So you could be in the real world or the virtual world. You always have to come up with a great creative solution that is, you know, rooted in insight, which will help you reach out and connect with a person. And so, you know. Perfect. Thank you so much for your time, Ranjeet. It was amazing chatting with you. Stay safe, stay connected. Thanks. Thanks. Thanks, Missva. Thanks so much.