Virtue Worldwide’s Hayden Scott, Creative Head (APAC), and Kartick Krishnamurthy, Business Director speak about how the creative agency of Vice Media Group came to India, the clients they work with, and what differentiates them from other network and boutique agencies
Vice Media Group’s creative agency, Virtue launched its operations in India in 2021 as it was the natural segue for the group which is all about ‘playing inside of culture’, as per Kartick Krishnamurthy, Business Director, Virtue Worldwide.
“Because India is a rich and diverse market in terms of its culture, heritage and local nuances, Vice couldn’t get a better business proposition for the group than India which is one of the fastest growing ad-spends markets in the world,” he stated.
He went on to add that while other agencies are busy looking at the Indian market from a “very-India lens”, Virtue Worldwide is looking at it from a “culture- lens” and that’s currently the biggest differentiator for Vice’s creative agency.
On the question of what made him join Virtue Worldwide, Krishnamurthy stated that he actually felt like a ‘refugee’ of the old advertising world walking into a place which is a ‘safe haven’ for creativity and allows one to view communication and advertising in a different way as compared to the rest.
Similarly, Hayden Scott, Creative Head (APAC), Virtue Worldwide, also shared that he himself had been a huge fan of Vice, even before he joined the creative agency and that in fact, when he got to know about Virtue, he at once knew that the agency wouldn’t operate in the same way as a typical one.
In his view, the last one year of Virtue Worldwide in India has been a ‘real eye opener’ in terms of how an agency can say that they’ve been ‘working within culture’ and actually mean and do it in the deepest possible way.
“Because India doesn’t need any other agency, Virtue has come to India as one which is deeply ingrained in the culture and, therefore, what we really do is that we look at things from an entertainment lens rather than a piece of content, unlike other agencies which understand content and marketing,” he said.
He also added that coming from Vice the above is a part of Virtue’s DNA, wherein it is of utmost importance that the creative work is seen as a piece of content and entertainment rather than a ‘skippable’ brand piece.
Scott also pointed out that there is a strong emphasis on ‘cross-pollination’ and therefore Virtue works hand-in-hand with all of the entities under the group, be it Vice News, Refinery29, Pulse Films, Vice Studios, etc.
“We pretty much use the might of the group to make the work better and that’s what separates us from other global networks because we’re extremely integrated in that sense,” he added.
Additionally, Krishnamurthy stated that the creative arm of the media conglomerate is right at the centre of the circle, rather than functioning as a separate vertical of the group. In his opinion, placed at the heart of Vice Media Group, Virtue Worldwide is immersed inside of culture and that is a differentiator for the agency as it is not a ‘gatekeeper of culture’ but is actually inside it.
“We are truly a borderless agency, across geographies and also within our own ecosystem, because we have a cross-pollination not only within our other companies but also across talent that is spread across the globe and that really helps in bringing a bigger and a better and wider perspective to everything that we do,” he added.
Touching upon what Virtue aims to achieve in India, he also stated that the agency is looking forward to getting a fair playing ground for brands inside of ‘culture’ rather than a scenario where brands are scrambling for attention.
“Our vision is to ensure that we bring clients to notice the importance of their brand’s living and breathing culture and therefore the challenge for all of us, collectively, is to make sure that we look at consumers as wanting some degree of relevance from the brands in their lives,” he stated.
Scott also shared the view that India is not just one but many markets in terms of socio-economic classes and different kinds of people in one building, which apparently is difficult to find in any country in Europe or America, for instance, and that’s its beauty.
“It’s an interesting challenge on many levels but what really sets India apart on the global front is that it really allows us to really play on the culture in the deepest possible way and owing to the rich culture and heritage that we have here, it’s possibly the very best place for Virtue,” he opined.
Krishnamurthy also said that when the agency started out in the country in 2021, the team size in India was very small and until the time Scott joined in December 2021 and followed by his own arrival in January 2022, there were only three to four individuals working at the agency as the new kid on the block was still setting its foot. However, today, the agency has grown to a team size of 12 people.
“In terms of the clients, we started off with one brand at Diageo and from there to now we look into the entire scotch portfolio of the brand – including Johnnie Walker, Black & White and Black Dog. Apart from that, we have also worked with Puma and Fastrack Perfumes, amongst others,” he said.
Upon being questioned as to whether it’s just a coincidence that the majority of the work done by Virtue in India for the alco-bev segment, Krishnamurthy clarified that the agency believes that it can help any brand which is interested in staying relevant to the audience and play inside the culture and has therefore begun diversifying into other categories as well.
“It is a matter of time that we move to extend our services to all the brands who believe that the way to go is being non-intrusive and be more inclusive with respect to the consumers,” he added.
On a concluding note, he shared that Virtue’s approach is quite collaborative and not top-down as it believes in collective wisdom over individual brilliance.
