Mumbai: Wife, the full-service creative agency that collaborates and works with companies and brands such as RPG, Facebook and Instagram, Quora India, Bytedance, L&T, Network18, Times Group and more is hitting the 5-year milestone this month. Unlike other companies who usually reminisce past accolades and achievements at such a milestone, Wife on the other hand is all set to begin a campaign that is all about the agency and client dynamic.
In an open letter Neha Mewawalla, Co-Founder at Wife, sheds light on how both parties, whether the client or the agency, are essentially working towards a unified goal of building and elevating the brand above all else. This mutual understanding is what ultimately facilitates those pivotal discussions that dictate the brand’s journey going forward. She also highlights that this mutual respect and camaraderie are some of the key reasons Wife, as an agency, has been able to grow and reach their latest milestone.
However, this campaign is meant to delve deeper into the infamous client and agency power dynamic. The subject matter stresses how there often exists a situation between agencies and clients where one side may leverage more power over the other. This, however, goes both ways and is not exclusive to what might sound like just clients calling all the shots. Agencies can and do have the upper hand in many situations. Be it creative differences, work culture, or even something as simple as a clear divide between client and agency efforts, in the end, one side leaves the exercise with a bad taste in the mouth if not both. Having said that, what may come across as questionable and maybe even a set of eyebrow-raising practices to the common observer, is what has crept into the industry culture as the ‘new normal.’
Drawing parallels with the collective gender equality movement, Wife intends to beat this system too with absolute yet uncomfortable honesty. This is exactly where the agency will be taking the charge to rally with their Agency equals Client campaign just before the 15th of August, which also happens to be the same date as their 5th anniversary. The agency will go live with a microsite on 15th August that will give a platform for agencies and clients to put forward their opinions and discuss their experiences from the past thereby understanding the dynamics and also suggesting best practices on both sides.
Expanding on the initiative, Neha Mewawalla, Co-Founder at Wife, said “For us, Agency Equals Client is a simple statement that encapsulates layers and layers of complex, problematic, arduous, and intricate ordeals that this celebrated (yet notorious) romance has endured. The consequences of it are even more notoriously infamous and much has been spoken about. But a solution hasn’t been spoken about at all or much, even if, and Agency Equals Client is that simple solution that we hope encapsulates layers and layers of redressal to enable this Power Couple to make it work for the long haul, to build and grow brands as they grow old together and live happily ever after.”
Adding to that, Ankur Chaturvedi, Co-Founder at Wife, asserted “With this campaign, we look forward to changing the already present detriments that hamper effective collaboration. Streamlining the flow of thought and leveraging an equal voice only strengthens the exercises and campaigns a brand executes as part of its communication strategy. All of which ultimately will create an even better professional work environment for everyone in the industry.”
