Which Digital Agency Controls Which Brand?

Afaqs! has introduced Brand Search, a pay-per-search service that provides insights into which digital agency manages each brand.

Sreekant Khandekar, the co-founder and CEO of afaqs!, explains the reasoning behind Brand Search, "With digital becoming the largest medium in India, the number of brands and agencies, both, have exploded. There are hundreds of digital agencies, big and small, managing the spends of thousands of brands, ranging from the national to the regional and even local ones."

In 2024, he adds, over Rs 50,000 crore was spent on digital advertising in India. "Which agencies control the purse strings to these enormous spends? Anyone whose business is brands would want to know that," says Khandekar.

Khandekar shares that the idea for Brand Search stemmed from observing the afaqs! sales, editorial, and events teams facing challenges in identifying the digital agencies associated with specific brands. "So we thought, wouldn't it be great to create a public database which links brands to the agencies that handle them? Imagine how much time it will save everyone."

Brand Search is designed for executives from marketing firms, agencies, online publishers, procurement teams, startups, and ad tech companies. The pricing for Brand Search is pay-per-search and budget-friendly, starting at just Rs 100 per search, with various pack options available. "Our research showed that executives in the marketing, advertising and media space have widely varying needs for a service like Brand Search," explains Khandekar.

"While one person may need to make a handful of searches in a year, another in business development may decide to make several hundred of them. That's why we have avoided a one-size-fits-all subscription. Pay-per-search is the simplest and most cost-effective option from a customer point of view," he added.

Further, Khandekar mentions that new brands are being added to Brand Search every day and promises that many new features will be introduced in the coming months. "Our hope is that this will be a daily tool for people in the business," he says.