Mumbai: Founded in 2017, BlackCab Agency Network is more than just a brand strategy, design, digital marketing, and production agency—it's a dynamic network of creative agencies specializing in diverse facets of marketing and technology. Co-founded by Aayush Bansal and Siddhartha Singh, the agency embodies a multidisciplinary, eclectic, and 360° approach tailored to meet the unique needs of clients.
Siddhartha Singh, drives the company forward with smart strategies and effective operations, drawing from his love for sports and deep understanding of athletics. Meanwhile, Aayush Bansal,who is also a TEDx speaker, brings a passion for diverse hiring and meaningful collaborations, advocating innovation and growth in business. Together, they drive BlackCab towards success, delivering value and innovation to both the diverse Indian consumer and fellow founders alike.
Indiantelevision.com caught up with BlackCab Agency Network co-founder-director Aayush Bansal and founder-director Siddhartha Singh to gain insights on the agency incorporating technological innovations into its operations, the recent expansions inlcuidng content production and more…
Edited Excerpts:
On the company incorporating technological innovations into its operations, and the role these advancements play in shaping its trajectory
We are often early adopters of new tech stacks that can aid our operations, including new social listening tools, workflow or collaboration tools such as Notion and Slack, as well as the most recent onset of generative AI. When the AI wave hit, Black Cab chose to adopt instead of avoid it. We brought in several experts to conduct workshops on the use of ChatGPT, Bard (now Gemini), Midjourney, and other such tools for our entire team. We truly believe that leveraging these technologies allows us to be more efficient and focus on what we’re truly good at. It also allows us to maintain a lean and sustainable organizational structure.
On the most successful campaign that BlackCab has executed for a brand, its differentiating aspect, and its alignment with the brand’s objectives, contributing to its overall success
We have executed several campaigns, but most recently, we executed a great campaign for the JW Marriott Hotel in Juhu, Mumbai. This was for the annual New Year’s Eve celebration. The campaign was called The Great Gatsby Affair and was a themed celebration with art-deco inspiration and a throwback to the great parties of the 1920s. The campaign saw us create a lot of visual storytelling content, including a CGI video asset to announce the party and several short format teasers and videos around key locations in the city (views: 42k, likes: 1028, total engagement: 1186). The campaign was a huge success as it helped position the party as one of the most sought-after ones in the city of Mumbai and saw great success in ticket sales.
On the recent expansions of Binary Chai, Radar, and Secret Sauce Studios enhancing BlackCab’s ability to meet the diverse needs of clients in terms of web/app design, AR/VR, and content production, and its contribution to the company’s overall growth strategy
We founded these network agencies keeping in mind the shifting trends in content, brand building, and marketing. In recent times, content consumption on the internet has skewed heavily towards short-form video content with formats such as Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikTok. Secret Sauce Studios has been designed with a mobile-first videography approach, promising specialized acumen in vertically optimised content. With a special focus on F&B, Alcobev, and hospitality, we have picked sectors that will continue to heavily rely on content for brand building. It has paid off, and we see it in the success of the agency, which is now working with the top luxury hospitality, homegrown alcohol, and F&B brands in the country. With the onset of mainstream AR and consumer products such as the Apple Vision Pro, we are confident that brands will begin to leverage this technology in meaningful ways over the next few years. Our network agency model will continue to rely on our innate understanding of market movements and trends and will help us stay at the cutting edge of brand consultancy, making us ideal partners for brands with diverse needs.
On the specific types of content production that BlackCab specialises in through its expansions into Secret Sauce Studios
As mentioned above, Secret Sauce Studios is a vertical content production agency with specialized acumen in food, beverage, and product content. Co-founded by Alok Verma, a five-time winner of FBAI’s Best Food Stylist Award, we have the capabilities to handhold brands in creating F&B content, including luxury five-star hotels, leading Alcove brands, D2C food, and consumer brands, amongst many others.
On your aspirations for the future of Black Cab, both in terms of growth within the Indian market and potentially expanding internationally
We are very bullish on the Indian market, both from an internal perspective and as a key country for Western markets to outsource to. Over the past two years, we have already started operations in the national capital of New Delhi and are looking at opening another regional office very soon. We truly believe that India has all the right ingredients to help famed national and international brands further their brand-building aspirations on digital platforms, and we will continue to explore markets nationally as well as in the Gulf countries, the UK, and the Americas.
