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The Indian AdGeek
The Indian AdGeek

The Juice is Worth the Squeeze feat. Shradha Agarwal (Global CEO, GRAPES)

01 February 2026 1:09:40 Vishal Mehra

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About this episode

Episode 18: 

How does a digital-first agency transform into a global integrated brand partner with footprints in London and Dubai? In this episode, Vishal Mehra sits down with Shradha Agarwal, co-founder and Global CEO of Grapes, to deconstruct the blueprint of a modern independent agency.

Shradha pulls back the curtain on why she’s betting on a "modular" agency structure—launching specialised units like IMAGINE (AI Studio) and the Vernac Room rather than folding them into the core. We dive deep into the math of profitability, where Shradha reveals her "salaries + seat cost" rule for retainers and the proprietary SPIC framework (Suspect, Prospect, Intent, Content) that drives their strategy.

Key highlights in this episode:

The Power of No: Why Grapes teaches its BD teams to walk away from the wrong pitches.

The GTM Mandate: Why you should never enter a pitch room without a go-to-market strategy, even if the client didn’t ask for it.

2026 Outlook: The rise of retail media networks and whether the agency's future lies in media buying or data resolution.

Independence in a Merger Era: Shradha’s take on the Omnicom-IPG merger and the pressure on independent shops.

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