e4m Video Story:  ‘Traditional agency model won’t survive forever, so we changed the model with Curativity’

Rome was not built in a day and so wasn’t ‘Curativity’, the idea took several years to simmer and bring to a boil. For the then Lintas Group heads Amer Jaleel and Virat Tandon, the ‘Kaam Waapsi’ platform created for reconnecting migrant workers with new job opportunities during Covid, along with a portal created for bringing on board some freelancers during a hiring freeze at the agency; unknowingly laid the foundation for Curativity. Their new venture connected independent advertising talent with brands to create bespoke teams in an organized fashion to solve varied marketing problems.

Even then, marketplaces for remote freelancers like Israel-based-Fiverr did exist, but the idea here was to create an offering with top quality professionals in India, with each individually having a strong equity in the market, and not simply focus on quantity and creating large pools of talent. However, trying out something new comes with its own set of challenges, by Amer’s own admission, “Initially, to make people understand this model was an issue, but whenever we got an audience with the client, he/she would be amazed at how no one had thought of such a model in Indian advertising before.”

In 2026, three years after they launched Curativity their growth engine is whirring; from making a women centric ad for Zee to a much talked about film for Axis Bank and more recently winning a highly contested creative pitch for Gulf Oil Lubricants. 

Neeta Nair, Editor of IMPACT Magazine, in conversation with Amer Jaleel, Co-Founder and Chairman of Curativity with his newly elevated leadership team Aarti Srinivasan, Chief Creative Officer and Anand Krishna, Chief Growth Officer, on why this is the advertising model for the future and why despite Amer and Virat’s proven track record, clients want to see them do it again with Curativity.

Excerpts:

There is one common factor between all the top four leaders at Curativity, you all have roots in Lintas. Is that the base criteria for recruitment? 

Amer: No, it's not the base criteria. But are there any better people out there? 

We have heard of marketplaces for goods, but a marketplace for top talent in India is a relatively new concept. Three years down the line how successful has the model been for Curativity?

Amer: We sat at the top of the advertising industry back in Lintas and realised that the traditional agency model is outdated and difficult to scale once you reach a Rs 100cr threshold due to intense market fragmentation and the limitations of a service-based structure. The traditional agency model has lasted for decades, but it won’t survive forever, so we changed the model. We created a platform-based foundation that leverages a curated network of 300+ independent specialists. By matching specific talent to specific brand needs rather than relying on a rigid in-house staff, we’ve bypassed scaling hurdles and successfully secured both new and existing business.

Naysayers say that agencies are no more extensions of brand marketing teams, the relationships don’t last long enough. Is the Curativity model tailored for such short-term associations, how would you compare with a network agency on that front? 

Aarti: Curativity is tailored for both. We have 20-people strong brand solutions wing where we become custodians of the brand bringing in the old school thinking with new age work. At the same time, we have the marketplace model that creates bespoke teams to deal with all aspects of a client’s problem. We also make sure they are not working with competing brands. The advantage I have is I could add as many people to my foundation building core team by curating specialists from my freelance pool as and when the situation demands it. 

Was the brand solutions wing added because at the end of the day novel systems like the marketplace model was not enough and a traditional agency set up making videos is still what most clients want? 

Amer: We are a brand services and marketing services ecosystem. We will say, without any embarrassment or in fact with a lot of enthusiasm that we will pivot to whatever is needed in this market.

Anand: For example, we have also launched our own tool, Cracker AI, a marketing AI platform. It's curated for the marketing function, right from idea to implementation and not a universal LLM model. As marketing evolves, we would too.

We have seen so many decorated advertising giants branch out to start their own agencies, but not all have been successful. Would you say getting an audience with marketers was difficult despite your stature Amer, considering there is an abundance of agencies today?

Amer: After leading a big organisation like Lintas for so many years, it is normal to believe that it's my natural right that if I step off this, gaddi and go somewhere, people will welcome me. Yes, there will be people who do welcome you and an equal number of people who don’t. They want you to prove yourself all over again. While that happened, I have to say that our calling card has always been curation. It always got the ear of a client who felt-- oh, these guys have been part of the traditional world but they are bringing something new. Whenever we explain the model to them- --separate teams for all kinds of work--- we see an immediate spark in their eyes. That worked in our favour and has opened some doors for us. Initially, to make people understand this model was difficult, but we are fortunately past that stage right now.

Aarti: In most agencies there are 4-5 people who work on all categories of brands, here we can give you experts in every category- FMCG, Fashion etc-- say specialists who have spent 15-20 years in beauty alone to come and work on your brand. That’s a big difference.

How do you maintain longevity if the client seeks it even under the marketplace model, considering we are talking about bespoke teams created for a short duration who are free to leave at the end of the project?

Amer: That can happen in the agency model too. But we curate not just for talent or specialization, we also curate for chemistry. Those people go through a rigorous process where most of them are personally vetted by me. From my past experience I can say, agencies are always on the backfoot because they have created a similar line of talent throughout the years. As soon as the client asks for something different, they don’t know what to do. That’s where our curation model truly helps, all kinds of expertise can be tapped, it is all available outside through our marketplace model. And we take full ownership of the task assigned.

Is there a strong cost advantage for brands in using the marketplace model keeping in mind that there are no agency overheads? And what kind of clients are you targeting here? 

Anand: Yes, the model offers a significant cost advantage. By eliminating traditional agency layers and overheads, clients pay directly for the talent working on their project. Deliverables are milestone-based and clearly documented, ensuring measurable results. Unlike basic freelancer marketplaces, Curativity owns the final output. If a specialist drops out, the platform ensures seamless replacement and project completion. We can provide everything from fractional CMOs to set marketing foundations up to full-scale execution. We are targeting start-ups and SMEs who may not have the kind of money to work with big agencies 

Amer, you have often raised your voice against ‘extra kadak’ inspirations, alleging that clients and agencies haven’t given credit to the real people/ agencies behind the idea. From the Motilal Oswal campaign to the more recent Wagh Bakri ad made by FCB, which you claimed was an idea similar to the one Curativity pitched to the client. Is it easy to be fearless at a network agency, vs. a green horned independent agency. Could the courage backfire on future relationships and possible revenue?

Amer: I’ve never cared for industry chatter. I focus on idea ownership because it is the lifeblood of our craft. I have individually only had a problem with ideas being stolen.  Somebody can make the most money off your ideas, doesn't matter, but you can't take away the ownership of the idea. If you have come to me and if I have created an idea, you better credit me with it. Because of the position that I held at Lintas, I was heard in the past, now I am more recognized as a person or as a voice that actually represents ideas and the ownership of ideas, despite the fact that I am not the chairperson of some big company. People come up to me and talk about such representation and I will do more of it in future.

And yet were you going soft when you added that line ‘Let’s call it an Ittefaq’ at the end of your post accusing them of lifting the idea? 

Amer: When you speak to people in the marketing world, you need to speak in a language and tone that will resonate with them and not appear to be yelling on top of your voice. I wanted it to have some wit so that people could smile at the devilishness of whoever is doing it. Intention was not really to be mellow. 

What brands are you currently working with?

Anand: We handle the B2B and B2C business for Gulf Oil Lubricants. Some of the other brands we are working with include Prohance from Sun Pharma, Tata Soulfull, Axis Bank, Zee India, Nuqi Wealth, Theobroma, ITC Foods, AllCargo Group, TimesPro. We have also worked with Air India, Too Yumm, Starbucks et al.