Zoo Media aims to transform into a marketing technology powerhouse

Zoo Media, the organisation housing FoxyMoron, Pollen, The Rabbit Hole and The Starter Labs under its umbrella, aims to reshape its DNA, shifting from being known as a digital advertising agency to standing out as a marketing technology organisation.

In an exclusive interview with BestMediaInfo.com, Suveer Bajaj, Co-founder, Zoo Media, went on to shed light on Zoo Media’s preparedness to offer integrated services. It follows a "rule of sevens," which means that the organisation aims for 70% of its clients to utilise at least 70% of its services.

He said, “As we enter the pitching season in our industry, where we prepare budgets for the next year, we are making a firm decision to present only integrated pitches. These pitches cover a comprehensive range of services, including social, search, performance, display, influencers, and more. The goal is to provide full-service solutions and minimise any chance for other agencies to encroach on our client relationships. This isn't just about preserving revenue; it's about ensuring accountability.”

Big wins and losses

In 2023, FoxyMoron secured digital mandates from brands like Centerfresh, Goldmedal Electricals, Slow Churn Ice Cream, Star Sports India, Pond’s Men, and Escorts Kubota.

“A big win for us is that we have penetrated the Unilever group once again for the second time,” added Bajaj.

Bajaj also highlighted that FoxyMoron contributes 55% to the overall Zoo Media business.

He told BestMediaInfo.com that this year has been truly remarkable for the agency, mainly because India had the honour of hosting the ICC World Cup. The agency was fortunate enough to secure the mandate for the creative and digital aspects of the ICC Men's World Cup.

“This victory stands out as one of our most significant achievements as a standalone project, given the rarity of the cricket World Cup occurring only once every four years. What makes it even more noteworthy is that India has been selected as the host for the second time in 12 years,” Bajaj said.

“Securing the integrated digital and creative mandate for such a prestigious event was a monumental success for us at TCMP. I consider it one of the standout accomplishments for our teams throughout the year,” he added.

The year's largest sporting event was a significant catalyst for the agency’s growth. It brought in a substantial influx of fresh revenue, mainly project-based, contributing significantly to our overall expansion.

“This noteworthy project played a pivotal role as a growth driver for the current year. We aim to continue this positive trajectory by retaining the ICC WC as a client in the coming year. The anticipation of the 20-over World Cup scheduled for North America in the upcoming year further positions us as a potential growth driver for the future,” he added.

Having won several big accounts in 2023, the collapse of the EdTech industry, an area where the agency was heavily focused, was a setback for it.

“Working with big names like Byjus, Unacademy and Scaler, our EdTech practice was significant. Unfortunately, the entire EdTech sector collapsed like a house of cards, causing a major setback for us. Due to our strong reliance on EdTech, we had to revamp this part of our business completely. This posed a considerable challenge, leading us to reassess our internal resources. Adapting to these changes was one of our most significant client-level challenges,” Bajaj said.

Zoo Media doubles down on performance media practice

Having said that, going forward, Zoo Media will be doubling down on its performance media practice. “We are significantly ramping up our efforts in this area. We have also onboarded a new head of our media business, who joins us with 20 years of experience. We are focusing on a few key areas to enhance our services. One is adapting to changes like Google's move away from third-party cookies. We have been helping many customers improve their understanding and use of their customer data. Not everyone realises how crucial it is to dig into their first-party customer data,” Bajaj said.

Furthermore, he went on to say that this is the reason why they have developed tools, like Customer Data Platforms (CDPs), to make it easier. The agency is also creating big data solutions, connecting data lakes and CDPs with CRM systems for more efficient operations.

Zoo Media was the first organisation to launch Gen AI-powered campaign in India

Bajaj said, “We were the pioneers in India to gain developer access to OpenAI, making us the first OpenAI developers in the country. In February of this year, we executed India's inaugural Gen AI-powered digital marketing campaign for Wrangler Jeans.”

“The #RIPYourEx campaign featured a unique twist for Valentine's Day. While others focused on love and relationships, we introduced a breakup bot. People could chat with Wrangler's bot, sharing reasons for relationship issues with their partners. Wrangler responded with humorous and creative breakup suggestions. This online initiative mirrored an offline concept by the Wrangler store team. Customers who brought their old jeans to the store tore them in front of the storekeeper and received a 50% discount on their next pair of Wrangler Jeans,” he added.

He explained that while creating that campaign, it gained global attention with numerous case studies and awards. Being the first Gen AI campaign from India, the agency initially focused on fun marketing. However, they soon realised that Gen AI has more potential than just marketing. Nowadays, everyone uses it for marketing, and the novelty has faded.

“We have built a proprietary Gen AI-powered productivity tool to enhance efficiency and productivity. Now available for licencing and purchase, agencies can boost their workflow with this cutting-edge solution,” Bajaj said.

The new collaborative marcom AI tool is the GPT-powered solution to fuel, supplement and accelerate the creative processes and workflow efficiencies. The platform enables people to interact with pre-trained bots seamlessly, upload files to guide the answers they want, and collaborate with others using group chat on one innovative forum, he added.

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