Adfactors PR recognised as one of the top consultancy firms of the decade by Provoke Media

The firm is one of the best managed in Asia, with a particular focus on a formal professional development process that has been a key factor in helping it stay ahead of market trends.

Mumbai: The 2020 Asia-Pacific PR Agencies of the Decade is the result of an exhaustive annual research process involving thousands of submissions and meetings with the best PR firms across the region.

The only two American firms on this exhaustive list were Ogilvy and Weber Shandwick, which stood first and second followed by Adfactors. Adfactors is India’s largest firm that is also one of the youngest among the Top 10 firms and probably the only firm among the Top 10 which is still Indian owned.

Madan Bahal’s Adfactors began the decade as one of the leaders in the Indian public relations market, with a team of more than 250 professionals in a dozen main offices across the sub-continent and fees of around $11 million. Its reputation was built primarily on its expertise in high-stakes corporate and financial communications, which made it a preferred partner for many of the US and UK agencies handling global financial transactions with an Indian component, and its burgeoning capabilities in crisis management.

The decade saw impressive growth, and it ended last year with fee income of more than $35 million, enough to hold on to its place among the world’s 70 largest PR firms, supporting a trio of the biggest names in the market (Tata Group, Mahindra Group, Godrej Group) as well as a host of multinationals. It also saw Adfactors diversify its business considerably: most notably, moving beyond the corporate arena to add expertise in digital and social media, and in areas such as corporate social responsibility and purpose. Those capabilities have helped the firm establish itself as a leader on the awards circuit, picking up 32 SABRE nominations last year (winning four of them) and cracking the top 10 in our Global Creative Index.

But the Adfactors story is not just one of exceptional growth and surprising creativity. The firm is one of the best managed in Asia, with a particular focus on a formal professional development process that has been a key factor in helping it stay ahead of market trends. As a result, it has won Agency of the Year awards not only in India, or even in Asia, but also at the global level: it was our Global Financial Consultancy of the Year in 2015 and our Global Corporate Agency of the Year in 2016.