WATConsult is what success looks like on the road less travelled

“I hope they (industry) look at WATConsult and see an agency that still brings the enthusiasm of child to the business of digital but has the wisdom of an experienced wise man,” says Rajiv Dingra of WATConsult which is celebrating its 12th anniversary in the industry today – an industry which itself is probably of the same age.
WATBlog was one of the leading blogs in India that gained popularity in 2006 and it made a leap in 2007 to start a new journey as social media firm with Rediff as their first client. Back in 2007, brands and various marketing agencies focused on a different kind of online marketing, and social media platforms were rarely seen as a ground for marketing activities. Who knew the future of marketing was hiding in there?

Today WATConsult is not only one of the leading but is one of the best social media and digital marketing firm in India. With powerful digital campaigns like #PowerlessQueen, Kidsnotforsale, Saffola Beat the Crave, #Unplanned and more, WATConsult has won more than 50 awards, out of which about 30 are from international platforms.
Team COTW reached out to Rajiv Dingra, Founder and CEO, WATConsult to understand his journey so far and the plans for the upcoming year.

1. How do you look at your 12-year long journey and how the industry during this phase has evolved?

It’s been a long journey! 2007 seems like a lifetime ago and digital media was very different then. Facebook was in its initial stage in India and was available to just ‘.edu email’ IDs or you had to be invited to it. YouTube was just a year old and Orkut was more popular than Facebook in India. So yes, it was a lifetime ago.

The industry has evolved and changed so much since then. There was barely an industry to talk of in 2007. I remember we were pioneers when it came to offering social media services. Today space is very different, digital is a priority for CMO’s while in those days you wouldn’t even get to meet the CMO.

2. Out of all the campaigns by your consultancy which one is closer to your heart and why?

Well we are most proud about the #PowerlessQueen campaign because it has won us accolades across the globe. It really put us on the global map when it came to our work and also WATConsult became the first Indian digital agency to win in so many prestigious global award shows.

To list a few it has won a Grand Prix and a Gold in Prague International Advertising awards, it was Shortlisted in Cannes Lion 2018, won a bronze each in Clio Awards New York, Lisbon International Advertising Awards and 2 Bronze metals in London International Awards. It won two golds in Epica Awards, A Crystal in AdStars Seoul and 1 Silver and 2 Bronze in Spikes Asia Awards, 2 Bronze in Tangrams APAC and 1 Gold and 1 Bronze in Smarties APAC.

3. Some experts (Forbes blog) say that millennials want to be associated with the brands who go an extra mile to contribute to the society. What is your take on it and do you leverage this sentiment in you campaigns?

We believe that ‘brands with a purpose’ do much better than brands that only focus on its product attributes. Now, one can fit that purpose to be associated with a social cause or not that’s an option, but we do believe the purpose goes a long way in connecting the brand to the consumer, than product attributes.

We have leveraged this in several of our ongoing campaigns be it, #FlauntToFeed campaign that we did for Godrej Appliances or the Muskaan Campaign done for Himalaya or the most recent #KidsNotForSale campaign done for Snapdeal in association with Save The Children NGO.

4. What, according to you, are the key elements of a good campaign? Idea, technology, or what?

Nothing is above the idea itself and technology might be a medium to achieve that idea but nothing can be above it. Also most people believe for an idea to be a big idea, it has to be complicated. In fact on the contrary it has to be really simple. So simple that when someone watches it, they should think why didn’t I think of this?

5. With quite a number of awards in your hand already, what are your expectations for 2019?

2019 is a big year for us when it comes to Global awards. We will be participating across global awards like Adfest, Shortys and Oneshow as well as Cannes Lion 2019 which is a big one. We were shortlisted in 2018 in Cannes Lion but didn’t end up winning. We would really want to change that and win a metal at Cannes Lion 2019 and that would help us raise the bar even further. We are working very hard to make this dream of winning at Cannes Lion a reality.

Beyond awards I foresee WATConsult taking the next leap of growth in 2019. It’s a year that looks like an inflection point when digital goes mainstream and we hope to be a big part of that change.

6. How would you like the industry to look at or remember you and WATConsult?

I am not going anywhere so I hope they don’t have to remember me. I am just 33 years old so I have at least 20 years before people think about how to look at or remember me :).

In short I am just getting started. But I hope they look at WATConsult and see an agency that still brings the enthusiasm of child to the business of digital but has the wisdom of an experienced wise man. I hope they see an agency that has always looked to punch above its weight and one that has challenged norms, done path breaking work and outperformed its more experienced competitors not just in India but at Global platforms too.