We've gone from nobody to being somebody: tgthr’s co-founders on bagging Cannes Lions

Winning at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is a dream that even the most established agencies and networks often aspire to reach. This year, however, independent agency tgthr, that's just 10 months old, achieved this coveted milestone. The agency clinched the Cannes Lions Glass for Harpic's ‘Loocator’ campaign in the Change category.

In an industry where recognition often seems reserved for the giants, tgthr's win highlights the power of passion and innovation. Over nine months, they developed Harpic’s Loocator app—a tool designed to address a critical issue: the scarcity of clean public restrooms for women in India. By allowing users to upload, rate, and describe public toilets, this initiative shines a spotlight on an often-overlooked problem and empowers women to find safe and clean facilities.

Aalap Desai, CCO & Co-Founder, and Rahul Vengalil, CEO & Co-Founder of tgthr, share the journey of turning a campaign into a Cannes victory and delve into the core elements behind their success. 

From the initial shock of being shortlisted to the overwhelming joy of winning that led to happy tears, the co-founders take us through the highs and lows of their journey. They discuss how the collaboration with the client was pivotal, the meticulous planning required for such an endeavour, and the impact of the win on tgthr's reputation and future prospects.

Edited Excerpts:

How does it feel to achieve this milestone?

Aalap:

I feel that we are very young; we were only 10 months old when we won a Glass Lion. When we got the shortlist, we were shocked. But I think the work was great, and the client had contributed so much. We had all worked on it as a team, and it showed in the final product.

The feeling of winning a Glass Lion is very different because very few shortlists make it to the final stage, and even fewer win the award. It's a difficult one to crack; very few people actually achieve it. So, we were overwhelmed at first. Then, with the presentation coming up in a week, we had no choice but to get back to reality and present it. When we won, we were speechless. Most of us cried. We are very grateful, and it’s still sinking in. We are overjoyed and it's beautiful.

Can you share the creative process and the inspiration behind Harpic’s ‘Loocator’ campaign?

Aalap:

In India, the way men and women experience the country is very different, especially on basic issues. While we keep fighting for bigger things in life, like equality in the workplace, on a fundamental level, a woman is often not comfortable stepping out of the house because clean and usable restrooms are scarce.

For men, the world is essentially a toilet; we can relieve ourselves anywhere, in every corner, which is how India is. The restrooms are very male-centric; they might lack doors and other basic amenities. This observation highlights a significant problem.

Harpic is a brand that is the flag bearer of sanitization and the use of loos in India. If Harpic doesn't take a step to solve this problem, who will? We discussed this and realized that no other brand comes to mind but Harpic to address this issue. This brilliant observation turned into the idea. The rest of the process was highly collaborative. 

We are lucky to have the client side we had on the 'Loocator' project because everything we needed, we did together. The process was collaborative rather than just presenting an idea and leaving it at that. There are many details, but I think it's one of the most wonderfully satisfying experiences of executing an idea we've ever had.

What role do client relationships play in the development and execution of successful campaigns like those that won at Cannes?

Aalap:

An idea can win if you have an okay collaboration with a client, but an idea wins big when you have a great collaboration with a client. It's as simple as that. It shows in the work and in every step of the process.

If an agency just goes and presents, the determination and actualization of the idea always stays with the agency, then only 50% of the stakeholders are fully committed. When 100% of the people involved are fully committed, it's another level, and that's what ‘Loocator’ was. 

The client and the agency were going full power on it. Without that, I don't think you can ever win big.

Without a great client, I don't think you can win a Silver Lion.

Client relationships affect all of this.

Rahul:

In fact, adding to that, there is the client's belief in the idea. From belief to execution, unless the client is equally invested, we can't achieve the desired scale.

A great idea can remain inside the laptop if it doesn’t have the right PR push, media support, or accurate implementation.

Once the client believes in the idea, is fully invested, and sees its potential scale, that's when it becomes truly collaborative, and consumers start experiencing the brand. That's the key.

From the campaign to a win, the process is equally collaborative. There's so much data to gather, and a lot of back-and-forth happens in creating and presenting the case studies.

The client plays at least a 50% role in all successful campaigns.

The client has to be a big part of it.

How did tgthr manage the financial aspects and fees associated with participating in Cannes Lions?

Rahul: 

Not just Cannes. For us at tgthr, the core belief when we started as an agency was that the work should speak for itself. For the work to be seen by consumers is a function of the media, but for the work to be seen and appreciated by the community—such as clients and other agencies—getting a stage at prestigious awards is important. This is something we always believed in.

Even when initially planning for the next six, nine, or ten months, we had already earmarked certain budgets from a campaign point of view, including creating and submitting case studies. The only surprise was being shortlisted and having to go and present it.

That was unexpected, but other than that, there’s always a plan for which campaigns will go to which award shows and what kind of case studies we need to make. We don't believe that once it's done, it's done. We have to keep doing it every time, every year. While we are still letting the recent success sink in, the reality is we are only as good as our last campaign. That’s the nature of the industry. We will always be planning to get noticed on the right platforms.

As a young ad agency, how do you think this win will impact tgthr in terms of attracting new business and clients?

Rahul:

This win actually puts us on the map in India. We were already getting business and receiving inquiries, but this win truly elevates our status. Clients are appreciating the work we have done, and our agency colleagues are recognising it as well. This win will also to some extent help us to get more entries in different clientele as well.

As a previously small agency, we now have a certain expectation from clients and businesses. They see that we can deliver exceptional work.

We've gone from being nobody to being somebody. This is a change I've already noticed in the last two weeks since the win.

There’s a momentum we've built over the last couple of weeks, and I’m sure we will carry that forward in the coming days. We know business will come. We are here for the long run, so over the next 3-5 years, we expect steady growth. There is a certain momentum and conversation happening right now, signalling possible progress.

Will winning a Silver Lion at Cannes change the way you approach new projects or campaigns?  

Rahul: 

Not every campaign is made to win at Cannes Lions. If I were to explain this using three buckets, in the top funnel, you reach out to more people. I still need those 30-second jingles and 20-second non-skippable ads. These are very important for businesses, so we will keep doing them.

However, we believe that going forward, the moat for any established business will be brand love. Unless you build brand consideration, you won’t be able to compete as media becomes more expensive. So, brand love is crucial. Certain brand love projects will be those award-winning ones.

For us, nothing changes. We are very clear that we need to have a mix of both types of projects. Doing only award-winning work is not something we will be going after. We still want to have a full range of campaigns for our clients.

Do you anticipate any changes in tgthr’s rate cards or pricing structure?

Rahul:

As a young agency, we believe we are a boutique. We offer a premium service, but that doesn’t mean we will be an exorbitant agency to work with. We want to work with clients who understand and appreciate the thinking process behind our campaigns.

As long as we are working with partners who value the effort and time we put into each campaign and see equitable results for their brand and business, we are happy to collaborate. This doesn’t mean we will suddenly have a 2x or 3x jump in our rate card. That doesn’t make sense.

At the end of the day, we need more clients and partners to work with. We are looking at a 5-year, 10-year, and 15-year journey.

Aalap:

Adding to that, it's important to note that not every campaign wins a Cannes Lion. At tgthr,  we do the same work, we don't look at it as a brief which will win a Cannes. We approach every brief with the same passion and commitment. It's the same team, doing the same kind of work, regardless of whether the campaign wins an award. Some campaigns win Cannes, some don’t.

There’s no reason why we should charge more just because we won at Cannes, as we were always putting in the same level of effort.

Looking at the broader industry, what trends or shifts have you noticed in the types of campaigns that are winning at Cannes Lions?

Aalap:

Since last year, I've noticed a trend in our industry. Most of the creatives have done it, including myself, we have started case studies with "In India," followed by highlighting a problem in India. I believe the decreasing number of metals these types of prompts are receiving is because what we were selling is no longer effective. There is an overexposure of India, and international juries now have ample information about the country.

The ‘In India we have this problem’ statement has now gone into a black hole. 

Having been on the jury, you see 300 cases, and all the cases from India start with, ‘In India, we have this problem,’ and that’s not selling anymore. India is recognized as a global entity, especially after the wins we had two or three years back. To then position ourselves as a deprived community with solutions to this deprivation no longer resonates.

A lot of people might disagree, but I feel that India is now recognized as a global player. 

We can't pretend to be smaller players to win an award, and the jury is calling this out. That’s why the number of medals is decreasing; we're overdoing it. 

There comes a time when we need to pivot in terms of our case studies and ideas. 

Rahul:

One of the headlines I read among the Cannes stories said that people are looking for happiness. Heinz was one of the campaigns that won a Lion. It's not just about winning, but the campaign was genuinely brilliant, full of happiness.

Cannes Lions also gives you an opportunity to look at global work. Any observations and lessons that you picked up viewing global work from an Indian lens?

Aalap:

Globally, the scale that international markets achieve has always been larger because their markets are significantly bigger, often ten times our size. As a result, they naturally have more extensive reach. However, India is definitely losing out on scale compared to global standards. It's not just about the market size or revenue; it's about how many places you can have a conversation about the idea and how much time you invest in keeping that conversation alive.

In India, we often treat campaigns as isolated events—running a campaign for a set period, like from July 21st to the end of the month, and then moving on to the next campaign. In contrast, global markets focus on sustaining the conversation. They might spend money on a campaign for four months and continue to engage with the audience for six months or more. They keep this process iterative, leading to much larger-scale achievements. India still needs to adopt this approach.

This difference stems from our quarter-based planning, where campaigns are often confined to specific periods. While global teams may also use quarter plans, they often allow campaigns to flow across quarters. It's not just an agency or client issue; it's a collaborative approach between agency and client. This is where we might be losing out on a global scale.

Additionally, global markets have moved beyond merely experimenting with existing technology. While we are still exploring tech, they are applying it in innovative and charming ways. For instance, understanding how technology works and applying it creatively across various contexts, including award-winning campaigns. India is still in the phase of experimenting with technology, while the global contingent has advanced to applying it effectively.

Budget and exposure play a role, but I don't think we are very far behind.

If we are fiddling with the tech, we can very well apply it also.

Looking ahead, what are your plans for tgthr?

Rahul:

The idea behind tgthr has always been to create a space and a platform that delivers exceptional work for our clients, impacting their business while also ensuring that everyone on our team has the opportunity to grow. Our plan is to grow at a comfortable and sustainable pace, ensuring that our growth does not compromise the quality of the services we provide.

We focus on both creative and media solutions, and we are committed to not compromising on the quality of what we deliver—whether it's creative work, media solutions, or the overall service we provide. We are a service company, and as long as our clients are satisfied with what we offer, we sustain.

Our goal is to grow in a sustainable manner. Whether it takes 5 years, 10 years, or 15 years, only time will tell. We are not in a hurry; we have time on our side.

Aalap:

When we started tgthr, it was more of a concept. The biggest asset tgthr has is its culture. Everyone at tgthr is genuinely happy. Having worked in networks all our lives, we’ve created an environment that is clean, non-political, and non-exploitative. Our plan is to defend and preserve this culture as we grow, which is a significant concern for us. People often tell us that being small makes it easier to maintain such an environment, but we are consciously aligned as founding members to ensure this remains our approach.

We are genuinely a happy bunch of people. It might sound idealistic, but if you talk to anyone from tgthr—whether a founding member or a junior—you’ll feel that there is happiness. Our goal is to keep that happiness intact, whether from a work perspective, job security, or pressure. Our fear is that this might be compromised as we grow, which is crucial for us.

A positive culture is fundamental. If the culture is good, people are happy, and success, including awards like Cannes, will follow.

Culture is like fuel for a vehicle; if you have the right fuel, everything runs smoothly.

How do you intend to leverage this win to further the agency’s growth and reputation?

Rahul:

We are only as good as our last campaign. Our effort for any brief will always be consistent, maintaining the same level of dedication in the development of each campaign. We have a benchmark for the quality of work we deliver at tgthr, and our goal is to ensure that this benchmark is maintained as we grow, whether on the creative side, the service side, or the media side.

That said, this recent success will help us open more doors and spark more conversations. For the next three months, our primary focus is to engage in as many conversations as possible—whether with clients, colleagues, agency partners, or others. While these conversations might lead to relationships and business opportunities, our immediate goal is simply to connect and engage.

Aalap: 

In the end, everything requires acknowledgement. A win is a form of acknowledgement for the hard work everyone puts in. Receiving such recognition not only validates our efforts but also motivates us to work even harder.

The biggest impact of this win is the motivation to produce even better work.

We achieved a Glass Lion just 10 months into our journey. Someone commented on one of our posts, noting that such a win can come from a small agency. This recognition is significant for us because it highlights that even as a small, independent agency, we can achieve great things. We know how difficult it is to send entries especially when you're a small agency. It's a different game when you are in any network but when you're independent it's very different.

If it can be achieved by us, it can be achieved by anyone is the best thing that can come out of this.

Lastly, what advice would you give to other young agencies aspiring to make a mark in the advertising industry and participate in global events like Cannes Lions?

Aalap:

It’s difficult, but not impossible. The only way to achieve it is by committing fully. It’s not easy and will be expensive, especially for young agencies with limited budgets and resources. Keeping the hope of winning at Cannes alive in such a challenging environment is tough, but it requires commitment from everyone involved.

I’ve been in teams where the aspiration is to make a global mark, and that’s the right sentiment to express. However, if support and commitment are lacking from the top, it becomes very challenging to achieve those goals. It's easy to say in a conference room, but when it comes to execution, it often falls short. And that’s when the frustration kicks in. 

If you’re going to commit, do it with all your heart. Every level of the organization, from top to bottom, needs to be fully invested. If that level of commitment isn't there, it might be better to wait until next year. Half-hearted efforts will waste time, money, and energy. So, if everyone is ready to commit wholeheartedly, then pursue it; otherwise, it’s better to hold off until you can truly dedicate yourself to the effort.

Rahul:

On the business side, for someone running the business, it's crucial to plan well. This is a serious investment, not only in terms of time and effort but also monetarily. Therefore, planning should be done well in advance and throughout the process.

It's important to keep a close eye on cash flow. Planning is one part, but the hard reality is that you need to ensure the business can survive each month. So, plan it, execute it, and continuously monitor cash flow to manage the financial aspects effectively.