Clients prioritise agility & fresh perspectives over familiarity: Amar Deep Singh of Interactive Avenues

The first half of 2024 has been exciting for Interactive Avenues. The digital marketing agency has secured industry awards for its work and bagged new clients. It also rapidly deployed new tools and created new AI-centric roles to serve its clients. 

The agency's rapid adoption of technology has cemented long-term client relationships, with some partnerships enduring over a decade. According to Amar Deep Singh, CEO of Interactive Avenues, one of the key reasons for these enduring relationships lies in the agency's ability to help clients achieve much more, with much less.  

In an era where clients increasingly engage agencies on a project basis and retention challenges abound, Singh advises ad agencies to be agile and offer fresh perspectives.

Singh further spoke to us about the agency’s achievements, its insights on the evolving digital marketing industry, and its strategic approach to staying ahead in a competitive market. Additionally, he elaborated on the agency's future goals and keeping up with industry trends.

Edited Excerpts:

How has the first half of 2024 panned out for Interactive Avenues?

2024 has been extremely exciting and eventful so far! We clinched IAMAI’s ‘Digital Agency of the Year’ title for the 11th time and went on to win ‘Network Agency of the Year’ at Digixx Awards, along with a Baby Blue Elephant at Kyoorius Creative Awards.

On the business front, we emerged victorious in several mega pitches and onboarded leading brands like Ather, TTK Healthcare, Macho Hint, RPPL and others. As an organization, we collectively achieved a major landmark by being recognized as a Great Place to Work® (Feb. ’24-’25) for the second consecutive year. Additionally, we’ve kicked off several new L&D and women empowerment initiatives to help each of our employees thrive and grow. 

You founded Interactive Avenues in 2006. This was a time when the digital marketing industry was evolving. Having seen the industry transform and grow, can you share your insights on digital marketing’s evolution and its current state?

From the days when advertising was synonymous with print and TV, the evolution of India’s marketing landscape has been nothing short of phenomenal. Digital has democratized advertising, allowing brands of all sizes to identify, target, and engage audiences online. In addition to the growing penetration of internet, smartphones and social media, the Government of India’s push to improve digital infrastructure is another factor fueling digital ad growth. According to Magna’s recent Global Ad Forecast, digital media grew 14.5% in 2023 and is now forecasted to jump another 16.1% this year.

In response to evolving client needs, over the years we’ve widened our suite of offerings beyond core Digital Media capabilities to include E-Commerce, Social & Influencer Marketing, Creative, Content, ORM, SEO, Tech Development, Data Strategy, Onboarding & Management, Full Funnel Analytics and more. IPG Mediabrands has been the perfect network to help us navigate this era of growth by giving us access to global tools and best practices; access to markets beyond India; and access to global clients.

Given the influence of AI, are there new roles or specific skill sets that Interactive Avenues is incorporating into its workforce to stay ahead of technological advancements and industry trends?

IA has adapted to AI by incorporating new roles like AI specialists and data scientists. We've brought in AI strategists, automation experts and UX designers with specialized experience in developing and using AI-powered tools. Our AI-assisted content creators and creative directors now work alongside other teams to deliver innovative, engaging brand experiences. These changes have enhanced our agency’s ability to leverage AI, boosting efficiency and delivering award-winning solutions for clients like ITC, Prime Video and others. To help our people work more efficiently, we have adopted several new-age tools that automate repetitive tasks and free up bandwidth for more strategic work. These include project management tools which empower our people to organize, track and manage their daily tasks and goals better. 

How is Interactive Avenues currently positioning and marketing itself in the competitive landscape of Advertising and Marketing? What is that X-factor that you want the agency to be known for? What unique qualities or skill sets do you aim for Interactive to be recognised for?

With 800+ specialists, we’re one of the few agencies in India which goes beyond piecemeal offerings to truly deliver the promise of a full-service digital agency. We are obsessed with the customer, fully transparent, and relentlessly efficient. Our X-factor is our ability to help brands achieve much more, with much less – made radically efficient by automation and AI, optimized and measured at every step. We aim to help our clients, partners and communities drive change by eliminating wastage across Media, Supply, Operations, Partnerships and Customer Experience. We strive to be known for our integrated, data & automation driven solutions that empower brands to deliver path-breaking impact and drive conversion – at scale.

Looking at the larger landscape, how do you think the agency structure on an industry level is changing and how should it change to better meet client expectations?

Currently, agencies are evolving towards a more flexible, collaborative model with specialised partnerships and project-based structures. Emphasis on data-driven strategies and seamless integration of traditional and digital services are top priority. 

With AI becoming an integral part of the advertising landscape, agencies are gearing up for widespread AI-powered personalization in marketing initiatives. The focus is on investing in advanced analytics, upskilling teams in AI and ML, and forging partnerships that seamlessly blend today's structural changes with future tech advancements. 

What do you believe is crucial for ensuring client satisfaction and loyalty?

Our philosophy is simple – we are stronger when we learn and grow together. Keeping our clients’ business needs and interests at heart, we innovate, transform, and experiment – fearlessly. Our ability to consistently push boundaries, outperform ourselves and challenge the status quo have helped us develop and maintain long-standing, robust client relationships. In an era when client retention is a major challenge for agencies, many brands have continued to partner with us for over a decade.

When you started working in this industry, you experienced clients staying with one agency for more than a decade. However, that dynamic has shifted, with the average client-agency relationship now lasting three to five years. Why do you think this change has occurred?

The shift from long-term agency relationships to shorter engagements reflects the rapid pace of digital transformation and market evolution. Today's dynamic business environment demands constant innovation and specialized expertise, which agencies must continually prove. Clients now prioritize agility and fresh perspectives over long-standing familiarity. The rise of project-based work and in-house capabilities have also contributed to this trend. This change underscores the need for agencies to constantly evolve, innovate, and demonstrate value in a highly competitive landscape.

What are the short-term and long-term goals that Interactive aims to achieve?

Amidst the rapidly transforming media landscape, our goal is to create key connections that drive brands forward. We focus on unifying the complex nature of a brand’s media, data, audience, analytics, and creative architecture, to realize the true value of its marketing. We trust in the power of raw creativity and data-driven insights to guide our decisions and deliver exceptional business outcomes for clients.

With the festive season approaching, what key marketing trends do you expect to see this year?

Given the ongoing market uncertainties, Indian consumers continue to be cautious with discretionary spending, particularly when it comes to categories like apparel, F&B, automotive, and luxury goods. The festive season will offer advertisers the perfect opportunity to capture audience attention and boost sales through aggressive discounts, product bundling, limited-time offers etc. Keeping the consumer’s end-to-end purchase journey at the core, we will deploy highly nuanced and tailored strategies to help each of our clients maximize business outcomes during this critical time period.