MUMBAI: Customers are pulling the horse by the reins today. Brands are no longer deciding how, when and where they wanted to “interact” with consumers. Customers can easily reject you with the “skip” button if the storytelling isn’t interesting. But how can you possibly keep churning out interesting stuff constantly? This is where a content studio comes into play. They can give a spin to the brand’s traditional communication and make it rather interesting, engaging and efficient in driving more ROI (return on investment).

Consumers today want appealing and exciting stories. A brand that engages the audience with story driven content ultimately wins brand loyalty. Today, content studios have become the new shiny object that brands are chasing to create compelling stories and content.

Content studios often solve the problem that internal marketing teams face on how to produce volumes of content at the speed and scale they need it.

Former Viacom18 executives Gaurav Lulla along Pavneet Gakhal have launched their own content studio after moving away from the company. Loose Cannons Content Studio is a boutique content studio that specialises in content creation for media hubs and brands.

The studio has a catalogue of content IPs across limited fiction series and non-fiction show formats which are currently being pitched to all and sundry.

The studio operates in two diverse universes, wherein it partners with various media houses across platforms to enrich their content offering while aiming to solve the imminent communication challenge facing brands to engage audiences beyond awareness scores.

Indiantelevision.com caught up with the co-founder CEO Gaurav Lulla to discuss his new innings as an entrepreneur, the content studio, challenges and more.

You had a successful inning at Viacom18. Why did you decide on leaving that and launching a content studio?

While we were at Viacom18, Pavneet and I realised that we were doing a certain kind of content. I come from a digital marketing and content background and she comes from a music and talent management background. We both wanted to explore our boundaries. In the last seven years that we’ve spent in the media industry, we have worked with around 350 brands and over 900 content creators in different capacities (writers, directors, actors). Pavneet and I understood perfectly what media hubs and brands will need from a content standpoint and what does the artist ecosystem need to bring it together and then deliver that to the media hubs.

You and Pavneet have been colleagues at Viacom18. How did you guys start the conversation about launching your own venture?

I joined Viacom18 in 2011. Pavneet and I have been very close friends for my entire duration at Viacom18. The point where we both decided that we needed to do this was when we were discussing what is it that we want to be known for and what legacy will we leave the world with. We wanted to be known as storytellers and people who said endearing stories. Most people think that storytellers want to eventually make a movie but we don’t restrict ourselves. We believe some of the strongest stories are also said in 2 mins, 30 seconds and now thanks to Insta-Stories even 10s.

What does having a content studio in India even mean?

The word content studio is fairly abused in India because people don’t understand what it actually does. If we compare it to an international ecosystem, a content studio becomes an intermediary between an array of creators and a media entity/brand that wants to commission content. We want to serve that purpose as we go along.

So what is exactly the difference between an in-house content studio and a content studio? How different is a content studio?

The existence of an in-house content studio starts from the brand’s communication and it is an inside-out approach to content whereas we have an outside-in approach. When you’re so close to a brand, you live and breathe the brand you and you often don’t see it in its entirety and end up missing out on how the world sees it. If you take the brand story and marry it with a human insight you might be able to reach out to a larger audience and create a greater consideration for your brand.

What potential do you see in this space? Why do brands need a content studio?

Every brand today has the desire to do content marketing and their media and digital agencies are working with them. But, what they are missing out today is a story development that brings the brand out alive and that’s where we come into the picture.

What we have been noticing lately is that a lot of agencies now have their own in-content studio. While you say that you don't want to compete with them, how will it work out in that case?

The agencies in content studio engine internally whereas we will operate from the outside. The agency’s in-house content studio comes from the brand’s perspective because they are guarding the brand’s mandate…

Won’t you be competing with agencies then?

We are happy to work with every agency out there to bring the story out of a brand. We are not here to replace anybody or to make someone feel redundant. The field of communication has changed drastically in the last five years. What needs to change the most is the existence of content storytellers and that’s where a content studio comes into the picture. We constantly keep curating a collection of stories at our end and if they fit a brand, we bring it to life for them. We are also open to create a whole new one for brands.

So you’re saying that this is the right time to launch a content studio in India?

There was no better time for us to do it than right now! A lot of people that have been doing it for some time now have at some point pivoted into something else because there wasn’t much opportunity in the field. But I think that we are walking into the golden age of content in India with over 35 OTTS.

What you’re saying is that you will always be a content studio and will not divert your business as other players have?

I always say, “Never say never”. As a startup, we are very nimble and realistic about what we want to do. Today, the lines are blurring between content creators, YouTube channels, multi channel network and platforms. No matter what we do, content will always be at the heart of it.

It’s been close to a month now since you donned the entrepreneurial hat. How has it been so far?

It has honestly been very encouraging so far. We are already creating some interesting content with TVF (The Viral Fever). We are also talking to Arre, Viacom18, digital agencies, talent management companies, music labels, PR agencies as well as brands for some interesting content initiatives.

You have been a part of the content ecosystem even before it actually kicked off in India. You have seen it evolve over the years. What is your view on the current content ecosystem?

I think it will explode in a way we cannot fathom. I have been doing branded content before it was called branded content and before the term content marketing came into existence. In the process of its growth, firstly, we as an ecosystem need to do away with is templatisation of content as it is easy. We have a tendency to templatise success. Typically, a boy’s struggle in engineering college is a successful template for a YouTube video. Secondly, we also need to define roles of every entity that’s a part of the content journey. Thirdly, we need to create an incubator for the storytelling talent. We have done that very well with startups wherein if there is a new startup, an incubator comes in and grows the idea by taking an equity in the business. I think the same thing should apply in talent. It also happens in Bollywood in acting talent where we see them getting on board and being groomed but we don’t see that happening to directors and writers.

What’s the team size of Loose Cannons Content Studio?

We are currently a team of five people operating out of our living rooms. We have few young talented people who help in conceptualisation of ideas and pitching process. We also have two people who help us in the production. So far, we have already tied up with eight production houses. We have a bank of 15 completed scripts and seven other that are in the process of getting developed which we are looking at commissioning right now.

Do you see any competition from other content producers in the market or you see them as an ally?

I don’t think that we have any competition as much as we have opportunities to collaborate with. We love the fact that we are like a Swiss knife that fits into any iota of missing that our clients may have. A talent agency today may miss a content creator, and we are right there for them. Technically, if they get somebody else to make content for them, then they are competitive but then they are not anymore because they are collaborating with us. Similar is the case for an OTT player and production houses, where they make content and so do we, and we are competitors but the moment they look at us thinking we can make content for them, we are not the competition anymore.