Felicity Fellows, TED global ambassador, co-founder and chief strategy officer, Stan Group, and founder Stan Paris, which has offices in Paris, Copenhagen, Stuttgart, and Berlin, was among the speakers at the first edition of Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity’s ‘See It Be It’ India event.

Speaking with Manifest on the sidelines of the event about India's advertising landscape, Fellows had a special world of praise when it comes the energy and optimism of the country.

"The first time I came to India was almost a decade ago to host a TEDx anchor programme in partnership with Infosys. We were on its Mysuru campus and brought together civic leaders, technologists, and changemakers – people who are TEDx organisers in their teams. We had 600-700 organisers from across the country, and that’s where I learned about the energy and optimism of the country in a way that I hadn’t seen before," she said.

Stan is currently exploring options of expanding to India, revealed Fellows, and explained why the market could be a potentially big one for the agency.

"It’s the world’s largest youth market and is mobile-first when it comes to technology. There is extraordinary potential in the country, and here at SIBI India event, I have met so many incredible women and men who I believe are creating incredible work, and I’m excited to learn more and to spend more time here because I’m such a ‘Stan of India’," she said.

"We have been in conversation all week and have had many discussions with creative leaders to try and understand the market. It’s about understanding whether there is a place for our methodology and what we believe in. We want to create super fans around brands, institutions, and people. We want to see how we can participate in this market, given that we are a fast-growing global creative company," she said.

Independent agencies

Stan's operating model includes 'two decentralised hubs', with a global operating system, which is its 'backbone and spine' that gives the agency a global perspective and local fluency. 

Fellows believes that independent agencies are the way forward given the changes in the advertising landscape.

"Any big conglomerate’s days are pretty much done. There are shifts and systems that are toppling and falling. Right now, it’s a great time to be a young, boutique agency and go with it. As long as one finds purpose and strengths and focuses on that, it will work out," she said.

Given the advertising industry having its naysayers, Fellows agrees that expansion at this time might not be the right decision, but is still looking at India and the Middle East to expand to because 'she loves a challenge'.

This conversation first appeared in our December issue. Click here to buy the copy and unlock the whole conversation.