Changing Tree, aka CT, began with a simple idea – to help brands grow, and change with times, as all brands should. Bangalore, the nation’s startup, is filled with up and coming brands that need guidance in this direction. And that’s how Changing Tree began – to help startups grow, to nurture their very roots and to help their marketing branch out in many avenues, so that they can stand tall and strong.
Though our decision to work purely with start-ups was a firm one, we couldn’t resist signing with some of the big guns on project basis. These included names like Kurl-on, Flipkart, YLG, Kores among many. Pretty soon, every one of them converted into retainers.
At the heart of it, we are a Digital Marketing Agency. Our typical services include digital and communication strategy, SEO, SEM, handling social media pages, content and design, online reputation management etc. Though we specialize in digital marketing, for startups, our range of services also expands to identity development, internal branding, website development, launch campaign and more.
One of the largest projects we are working on, in terms of numbers and creative adaptation, is with Kurl-on. As of 2019, the Indian mattress industry is standing at 10,000 crore INR – a number which is only expected to multiply in years. In the last decade alone, several big and small names have mushroomed up with little to no variation in the categories. Kurl-on, in identity, has always been known as India’s largest selling mattress. They gave us a brief wherein we had to highlight Kurl-on’s biggest market share in the mattress industry in a fresh, creative manner. We solved this with a 360o campaign called The Mattress of India. Based on their sales figures, we realized that every minute 5 Indian homes buy a Kurl-on. With strategic communication and placement, we created a compelling narrative across multiple mediums. For e.g., on a prominent Bangalore traffic signal that lasts for about 60 seconds, our messaging was ‘By the time you cross the signal, 5 homes would have bought a Kurl-on.’ The campaign was well-received with a lot of mentions across digital platforms.
Changing Tree had really started as an afterthought. Though I always loved Mad Men and knew that at some point in my life, I would start an agency, it wasn’t in the charts for me immediately. In 2015, I was offered the role of Marketing Head in a reputed clothing line in Dubai, and I had my bags packed. But at my farewell party, I heard some moving speeches. It was the conviction of others that made me give up on the opportunity and set out to start my own agency the very next day.
This was going to be a journey of growth and change – both for me and the people who got on board. We’d grow together, branch out in many ways, but with strong roots and values. The name, Changing Tree, thus seemed apt. Since then, there have been many successes and many learning’s, but there has been no looking back.
In the startup world, it is important for all key players to be heavily involved to ensure the success of the brand. The only way to make sure of this is by example. The team heads and I are constantly looking over the creative, revisiting campaign strategies, sitting in on brand reviews and offering recommendations on what can help the brand grow. Quality is something we place heavy emphasis on. We continuously refine our processes to maintain a high QoS. Not only have our clients appreciated this, it’s one of the primary reasons that have retained the relationship over the years.
For us, CT is also Creativity + Technology. If we were strong just technically, we’d succeed in getting impressions but not making an impression. If we had only creative strength, we would just be sitting with a bunch of amazing designs and content, but nobody to view them. It’s taken us time, but I believe that we now have a perfectly balanced team with strengths in multiple areas that gives our client the communication and the reach that they need to succeed. It’s not spoken enough of in many agencies, but I think that we owe a huge part of our success to our Account Management teams. Inside the agency, they are pretty much our clients – they have a clear vision and know the pulse of the brand inside out. So, we know that we always have the tonality on mark.
We have selected clients that we share a vision with – the cornerstone of which is our belief in the power of digital marketing. Digital Marketing has grown so much so that brands can be built purely on the basis of an effective digital marketing strategy. When it comes to startups, cost-effectiveness and reach play a pivotal role in building the brand, and digital brings in both. What’s more, it offers measurable results, with which we are constantly able to evaluate and plan for the next campaign.
Though our clientele extends across many industries – Fashion & Lifestyle, Healthcare, F&B, Finance & Insurance, Personal Care, Hospitality, Sporting Technology, Retail and more – the fundamentals are still the same.
Research – Analyze – Execute – Evaluate – Alter and continue the cycle.
We are young blood in a young and trendy industry, and we take chances. But that doesn’t mean we compromise on our bottom-line. In the past 4 years, we have doubled our client acquisition every year. The company started in 2015 in a small garage in Bangalore. Today, not only have we expanded in terms of size and numbers, we have also seen a 120% increase in revenue, and clients in Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Jodhpur, Bahrain, Malaysia and more.
Our dream is to grow strong in the untapped Asian markets and revolutionize them with what we call “the CT effect.”
Digital marketing is a marathon and not a race. You need to have a strong team that you can trust and who is in for the long game. The beauty of our field is that it allows us to take risks, both in terms of creativity and strategy, and view the results almost immediately. It’s also extremely dynamic and you never know what’s going to be the next trend. So my advice to those starting off – invest in people and research, collaborate, gain different perspectives and grow constantly.
For more details: https://www.changingtree.co.in/
very good article