From Inspiration to Impact: Navigating Two Decades in Advertising, Design, and Entertainment – A Journey of Strategy, Innovation, and Human-Centric Creativity
CXOToday has engaged in an exclusive interview with Yousuf Rangoonwala, Entrepreneur, Strategist, Entertainment, 19yrs India & APAC, Kakkoii Entertainment Pvt. Ltd
- What inspired you to enter the fields of advertising, design, and entertainment, and how has your journey evolved over the years?
I was initially drawn to the world of advertising, in 2003, after coming across an outstanding campaign titled Nike Tag. As a teenager, I thought of becoming an automobile engineer or a newsreader. But I wasn’t academically proficient at all science subjects in school, and the horror stories I heard about missing work-life balance in the world of TV news, led me toward advertising and made me think “I want to think like this. How do they do this?” I also wanted to explore my creativity and storytelling skills. Being the president of AIESEC Kolkata in 2003 and participating actively in college events, made me discover my ability for leading teams.
Over nearly two decades now, my journey has evolved a lot. I began my path as an intern. I spent the first 2.5yrs of my career as a freelance copywriter and a project manager. I used to write strategy documents then too. So, I quickly shifted into strategy for advertising and design, and personal branding now. I am a career strategist. I’ve been related with TVC shoots and entertainment brands throughout my endeavours yet, so entering the industry when I began my own startup, wasn’t very unnerving.
- Could you share the key principles and innovative approaches that have made your work stand out in the industry?
A very important aspect I practice, and one which has made my work appealing and effective is that strategy is bravery, strategy is decision-making and strategy is forecasting. You cant create memorable campaigns, and build brands or narratives, if you’re going to be cautious and behave like a consultant. You have to do. You have to make decisions for clients, or make recommendations with conviction. You’re an expert. They expect you to display your skills. Stand with the work, and for the brand. Nothing or no one in the room is more important.
Another vital element visible in my work is I look at every business or marketing problem, as a human problem first. This changes a lot of critical tenets. You start looking at people as human beings who are beautiful and nuanced creatures influenced by psychology and culture and many other factors, and not just consumers who are ‘targets’ for extraction of money, in exchange for a product.
I also committed time and effort to thoroughness and interestingness in research. I avoided jargon and complicated language because they are the shelter for those who don’t know what they are doing. Simplicity is sophistication, and it’s hard, if you don’t practice it. But you can get to it, through cultivated instinct, which is yet another lesson I learnt and used, for my work. Another reason my work displayed sharpness is my focus on conceptual thinking, and removing unnecessary technicalities. Get to the point, and stay away from linearity. That’s how interestingness arises.
A few other criteria I kept in mind while producing my work was no fear of failure, no lust for fame and no greed. And yes, I was always open to work with creative people. Frankly, I don’t know what strategists are doing in this industry, if they don’t want to work with creative teams. The last factor I’d like to cite behind the success of my work is “strategy is the ability to think and do, not read”. Being academic or esoteric, in an attempt to be pseudo-intellectual rather than being intelligent and contributing to the work, is a waste of everyone’s time; it leads to poor narratives.
- In the context of Kakkoii Strategy, Communication, Design, and Entertainment, could you elaborate on a project or collaboration that challenged traditional methods and resulted in a creative, successful outcome? What lessons can be drawn from this experience in terms of pushing boundaries and achieving exceptional results?
Certainly. A fascinating project and one we are proud of, is our engagement with the admirable Civic Studios – a startup inspired by Participant Media, and one that’s focused on improving the understanding of democracy, amidst young Indians through Hindi-first and humour-first content. The challenge was to make the notion of civics in real life, funny and interesting.
We conducted elaborate research that an advertising or design agency, usually doesn’t. It was captivating. We spoke with political scholars and journalists, stand-up comedians, professors of civics, middle class youth in metros and tier 1-3 cities of India, and owners of influencer marketing companies, resulting in the creation of the ‘Pocket Change’ channel on YouTube and Instagram. This project showed the importance of identifying unconventional sources for insights, pushing creative boundaries, and using humour to express complex subjects in an attractive and simple way. It established the advantage of strategic clarity and making research not only informative but and valuable for a brand too.
- Tell us about some of your most notable collaborations and the impact they have had on the brands you’ve worked with.
In the past 3.5yrs, we’ve worked with more than 40 brands and organisations which have revenues of 2 crores to 15,000 crores, and personal brands of high stature. We are very proud of the work we’ve created for Tipsy Tiger, BeYou by Britannia, Bewakoof.com, 7Rivers by AbInbev, Niva Bupa Insurance, Save The Children, Cityflo, Mainland China, Narayana Health, Filo Edutech, Manthan International School, Dainik Bhaskar, Learnaut, Alankari Sarees and many others.
A brand with whom our relationship and work I would like to play a spotlight on, is BeYou. It is Britannia’s first protein and energy bar, and we’ve been partners in introducing and now building it, from its birth. Despite being a digital-only brand within a colossal entity like Britannia, our strategic and creative work has attracted the management’s attention, due to the sharpness and bravery our clients and we demonstrated in it. BeYou is an impressive example of clarity, conviction and an eagle-like focus on the brand’s narrative.
I’d also like to speak of the brand purpose and design initiative we produced for Manthan International School in Hyderabad. It’s one of our most loved exercises. Each stage of it, was a joy – the depth and variety of research we completed, the strategic shift we introduced within education in India from ‘outcome’ to ‘outlook’ and the expression of Manthan’s focus on authenticity for each child. All of it led to the marvellous new brand identity we made, which is India’s first flexible logo system. Latheesh Lakshman, a former colleague of mine and a commissioned artist of the Kochi Biennale, guided the design endeavour, for us.
We are one of India’s few personal branding agencies, with its own proprietary strategic method for this task.
- What advice do you have for aspiring professionals in the fields of advertising and entertainment?
Plenty. I’ll start by recommending, cultivate your instinct to be interesting, and not just right. This is a business of interestingness. Observe people, life, and your surroundings. Next, identify the best in the industry, and aim to work with them as much as possible, early in your career, so your learning can be quicker.
I also suggest, look at your career in stages of 4 or 5yrs each, focusing on learning, then building brands, understanding how to be a leader, and eventually, becoming an entrepreneur. Stay committed and loyal to organizations.
Expect a company to treat you humanely, and demonstrate those values towards the company too; don’t think of it as ‘just a job’ and leave, when it’s your turn. Please be humble and confident, not entitled. Lastly, never forget that you have to always keep learning and don’t behave like a ‘know-it-all’. Be fresh with your thinking, and be brave.
