The Salt Inc., a new content agency, entered a marketplace characterized by intense competition. While possessing strong production capabilities, it lacked a distinct strategic position to cut through the noise. My challenge was two-fold:
Codify an Identity: Translate the founder's vision of creating more "human" and "conversational" content from an abstract idea into a robust, defensible market identity.
Build a Commercial Engine: Develop the strategic assets required to articulate this new identity, generate high-value leads, and empower the CEO in client conversations.
The primary vehicle for the new narrative was the agency's core pitch deck, architected to lead with philosophy. This approach reframed client meetings from simple capability reviews into strategic discussions about their business challenges, opening doors to multiple budget baskets.
To demonstrate prowess, I launched an ongoing thought-leadership initiative, 'Salty Science'. Distributed as a newsletter, it deconstructed marketing and brand strategies for CXOs. The series effectively established authority, and continues to do so.
Apart from this, my efforts also involved studying and articulating category-based insights. The following is an example of the same, a deck I made for the BFSI industry brands.
Key Outcomes
- Established Clear Market Differentiation
- Created a High-Value Lead Funnel
- Unlocked Broader Market Access
This entire marketing function was executed as a one-person department. The ongoing initiatives were self-conceived, pitched to and approved by management, and implemented across all facets—from strategic ideation and design to content creation and publishing. My role also extended to managing public relations communications and internal enablement, including training the brand solutions team in their client projects.