Nine Triangles is a boutique digital consulting firm operating with a strategy first route and integrated implementation across all avenues, they develop strategy for digital initiatives & take complete ownership of implementation by means of expertise across the digital landscape. Some of the client’s Nine Triangles has worked with are ICICI Bank, ICICI Lombard, Sharekhan, India Bridal Fashion Week, Treehouse Hotels, Tranzlease to name a few.
Founded by Krishna Jha, a digital strategist who helps companies understand digital content, marketing, and consumer behavior. He is also a mentor to many start-ups helping them to gain greater mileage through well thought out digital plans, he comes from an Advertising background and was an Executive Director with TBWA, India, prior to starting his own venture.
Jha’s contribution has been featured in a case study for ISB and he has been a jury on many prestigious awards in the media and entertainment sector. He is also a regular guest lecturer at MDI, Gurgaon.
Krishna Jha, Founder, Nine Triangles spoke exclusively to Medianews4u about the foundation of Nine Triangles, future plans, and much more.
The idea about starting Nine Triangles, a boutique digital consulting firm operating with a strategy first route, how has the journey been?
By god’s grace, It has been a fantastic journey.
In a market where, barring a handful few players, digital services continue to be commoditized in the name of a 360-degree campaign; we always maintained that Digital is a conduit using which organizations can leverage the potential of the Internet and that, one needs to look at the medium beyond just marketing and hygiene communication placeholders. And to do that end, the strategy has to be guiding principle for all the activities and initiative one plans using the available avenues under digital eco-system. This is where we began our journey to bring strategy first perspective to digital offerings of all kind, scales and complexities.
Initially, we spread the word through our close contacts and we landed our first assignment even before our bank account was operational From thereon, we have seen steady and sustained growth – today, we have offices in Delhi and Mumbai with a prestigious roaster of client and a substantial body of work encompassing entire digital landscape, something that we are proud of.
Has Covid-19 affected the digital platform, what has been the impact of COVID on your business?
In terms of the impact of COVID-19 on the digital eco-system, it has been extremely positive considering that this crisis has driven, fastest-ever digital adoption across all facets of interaction and across all kinds of industries. It has brought about a behavioural shift in consumer in a manner that it would force companies of all size and segment to look at digital beyond a medium of hygiene presence.
However for our business, in the short term – yes there has been a negative impact for both ongoing accounts and new account acquisition owing to slowed down business activities across the board and in some segments it has come to screeching halt with no an immediate sign of complete recovery (hospitality & travel industry a case in the example). Having said so, I am quite optimistic, in the longer run, the crisis would make a positive impact on entire digital eco-system – organizations (such as ours) that has a central role to play in the entire transformation exercise, will have more opportunities than ever.
Do you think brands have changed their communication route and strategy in times of COVID and how are you as a firm responding to it?
I think most forward-looking brands are in the reckoning of the kind of challenges and behavioural change COVID has brought along and the opportunities/challenges it poses for them as an organisation and its offerings and therefore strategy in the wake of it.
For us, we initially advised our clients to sensibly communicate with their audience with ‘we care’, ‘we understand’ and ‘we stand with you’ kind of message. At the same time, we focussed on enabling clients to interact and transact for their ongoing association or new requirements. For some clients, where the business came at a standstill, we use this period for resurrecting their digital presence and initiating digital transformation exercise.
Can you give us an example of a campaign that you recently executed and what were the results?
We cannot share this information given the confidentiality clause.
Which digital tools and media are you familiar with and how have you used them?
Our service offerings cover the entire digital spectrum. The usages of tools and medium totally depend on the strategic framework that we prepare basis clients objective.
During these hard unpredictable times, how are you keeping up the morale of your teams that are working remotely? How are you making sure the mental health of employees is not compromised?
We began working from home even before govt announcement came with regards to lockdown, the idea was to communicate to them in latter and in spirit that more than anything else, we care for their health and safety.
The second thing that we did was to give assurance on job safety of all. Those in the senior position, we took the mantle of keeping the revenues intact by ensuring a steady flow of work.
We are humble and close-knit teams, we work as a family. We care for each other much beyond work and are a go-to person for each other – that takes care of a lot of things.
What is your experience of working from home? How has the team at Nine Triangles adapted to the new normal?
For me in particular, I’ve been habitual of it (as I had one long stint of work from home), so it has not been much of an issue so far. Even for the team, initially, it was fine. But now, it is getting difficult even for me as it is for the team. Apart from the fact that sitting together as team in office has social and emotional aspect of it, working for home has diminished the fine line that existed between work space and home space, sending the work-life balance out of gear. Besides, productivity level has been declining for an obvious factor.
In my opinion, it cannot be a sustainable model in the longer run. The world will need to find a solution to this.
Has COVID 19 accelerated India’s digital reset?
Not too sure of what you mean by reset but one thing is for sure as I stated earlier, COVID 19 has forced unprecedented digital adoption amongst the masses. Also, this adoption has not come merely as an email account creation or one-off interaction, it has brought about significant consumer behavioural change, some of them will become permanent. This would come as a force multiplier for the entire digital eco-system growth within the country.
