Meet the independent PR firms teaming up to grow in India's tough market

While India's PR industry consolidates, three small independent firms are teaming up instead of competing. Due to limited options to look at invetment by a global network firm or agency Yamini Reddy of Outlier, Nidhi Agarwal of Ebony and Ivory, and Girish Balachandran of On Purpose are sharing clients, HR resources, and even pitching together—proving that collaboration might be the smartest growth strategy for indepndent PR firms in 2026.

Listen in:

Here is an outline of what was discussed:

🎙️ Discussion Summary

On Agency Identity & Value

• Nidhi Agarwal: "What we really do is bring in the big picture thinking without the heaviness of a large network... We are not heavy with our infrastructure and high on our thinking."
• Yamini Reddy: "The outlier... is a content-first company, and we like to say we're companions of our clients."
• Girish Balachandran: "We have decided to stay in the sector that we chose to, despite all its challenges. And instead, we are going to build ourselves into a premium consultancy that focuses on social change."

On Growth and Specialization

• Nidhi Agarwal: "What we are seeing in terms of growth is really a lot of brands looking for deep understanding and expertise... an agency that understands the industry better than us."
• Girish Balachandran: "Scale is no longer the only answer for growth. When you talk about scale, it does not necessarily have to be a headcount scale. It could still be scale in terms of deepening capability."
• Girish Balachandran: "I really feel the answer, the future, is about specialization as a survival and growth strategy, rather than the generalist agency."

On Radical Collaboration

• Girish Balachandran: "Our client base, our expertise, does not really compete. We complement each other, which is where the magic happens."
• Girish Balachandran: "Today, On Purpose's HR team is also managing the HR for Ebony and Ivory... My HR team has Ebony and Ivory as a retainer client."
• Yamini Reddy: "It’s nice as a singular founder to have a support ecosystem that you can lean on."