By: Yohan P Chawla
Himanshu Arya started Grapes Digital in 2009 as Grapes Software as a technology driven agency. In 2014 Grapes became a full-fledged Digital Agency.
An MBA from IMT Ghaziabad, Himanshu always had the entrepreneurial zest to create his own venture. He has been a wealth manager with reputed banks such as Kotak Mahindra and Citi Bank.
In this conversation,Arya discussed about the technological innovation Grapes has been doing for its clients like Maruti Nexa and Manforce Condoms. Their future plans and a lot more.
Edited Excerpts.
I really would like you to share an introduction of Grapes Digital, in your own words. What led to the inception of the agency?
Grapes Digital is a full-fledged digital marketing agency for all digital needs, right from strategy to execution, whether it is technology or social media or digital media planning, buying or influencer marketing, we provide a gamut of services.
Our motto is to create relevant, engaging and interactive digital content and experiences that captivate users. I started the agency in 2009 as Grapes Software and from being a technology-driven agency in 2009 to a digital-first agency in 2013-14, we now aim at helping brands embrace creative, technological and digital media evolution and revolutionize all aspects of their business as per the need of the digital age.
Being a Banker I was always of the opinion in creating ROI for our clients and what better than digital as a platform to do that!
Over the last 10 years, the agency has expanded to a team strength of 150 people, with offices in Delhi and Mumbai.
What have been your key learning’s in the digital business?
There have been many learnings. Some important ones being first,always keep an eye on consumer insight before ideating on the campaign.
Second, never go for cliché and find new ways to innovate.
And third, finally complete the journey for users from awareness to sales.
What are the challenges in the current digital ecosystem? How does Grapes overcome them?
Unlike offline media a lot of clients still think digital for the last mile of the consumer journey that is sales and want to know that with every activity. Like I said, we had to make our clients understand that digital is used for driving awareness and brand consideration or love and not just sales.
Also, the biggest challenge is that client thinks if its digital it can be done overnight. We have to explain time and again that good work takes time and that digital is an organic process.
Which are your most popular works and something you are exceptionally proud of? A list of all your top clients please… and the new account wins too.
Our most popular work has been across Maruti Suzuki Nexa and Manforce Condoms. With both our clients we have been able to bag multiple awards in the last two years. We have done multiple campaigns as country first and industry first.
Some of the few examples are using Google Home to create the first industry bot during Maruti Auto Expo. Using IOT to connect twitter and confetti blast machine during Ignis launch; this has been listed as the best launch of the car in twitter global case study. We also used Google Tilt Brush to convey the story of Ignis to users.
On Manforce, we innovated with Twitter auto responder during IPL taking sex talk one step ahead in the country. Here we asked users to not only be open about having sex but also clear about how you would want it through cricket. Apart from the above we also created campaigns around non filming your intimate moments with #ShutThePhoneUp.
With our new account wins we are really looking forward to build campaigns for Bajaj Finserv, Logitech, Maxxis, Akash Digital, Joyand others.
What’s the way forward? Where do you see Grapes in the next 3 years, 5 years and 10 years?
In the next 3 years, I look forward to opening Grapes Digital in the top 3-4 metropolitan cities in India, doing more innovative work for my clients.
In next 5 years, I look forward to establishing Grapes as one of the top digital agencies of India and bring international metals back. Probably be present in 2-3 international locations as well.
In next 10 years,we are looking forward to expanding globally and be present across 5-6 countries and 15-20 locations.
