BHX ChatBox | The Client's side of things with Arjun Vaidyanath
Meeting Arjun- a digital marketer and an Agency Analyst who crossed paths with BHX when he was getting out of managing brands, taking a break and looking out for new perspectives. Read below to see how Arjun found his imagination away from corporate communication to a place that was intimate and real and never exhausting:
1. Define your BeachHouse experience as a short story.
The shortest story I can iterate here would be something like ‘confused guy looking for multiple things and trying to contextualize the meaning of life through creativity’ *chuckles*. For me, BHX was that turnaround in life. Meeting people who are in the same profession or otherwise and the plethora of things they are involved in helps understand why people think and how they make it actionable. There is a constant friction between ideas in a space like this and that helped me develop various forms of artistic ingenuity.
2. Why was it important for you to apply for BHX? What was it that you were looking for?
The primary objective was to understand and materialize my creativity and get a direction. In simple terms it’s like rethinking what I usually think and in that process visualize the many perspectives I could embody. I was also trying to get closer to my passions that were dormant for quite some time- getting back to writing, finishing a comic book I was struggling with, being able to play with expressions. Getting the juices flowing both personally and professionally was essentially what I was looking for and it’s safe to say the same has been achieved. I see what I need to do next and time stands to be the only enemy here.
3. What did you find?
Quite a lot, actually! It was marvelous to see the kind of creative expressions people possessed. One such example was this person who would look at everyday objects- mushrooms to tables and turn them into art. Another one would take experiences around everyday things and make a short poem or stuff of artistic value. It was being able to get in touch with sense of wonderment around our simple, sensorial everyday reality. Talking to Kush about ways in which I could get back to my writing again- a new clarity and a new plan. These things are all growing out of conversations. It’s not just about looking at things in different ways, but how can they drive their perceptions to inspiration
4. How would you describe your tribe?
My tribe was extremely fun! It was this mix of craziness, madness and so much learning. Nobody intended n the learning- it just instrumentally fit into the way of things. There were some people operating on matching frequencies and altogether, it was like the group had known each other since forever.
5. Mention your possibilities of growth and scope after BHX?
I am now back writing- a blog for myself, the omic I previously mentioned. I am helping a couple of friend Writing becomes easier, the flow is natural and it does not need effort. Acquiring the faculty of effortless writing that makes a lot of sense to me. It’s a great defining moment in my journey and the scope beyond this is endless.
6. Being on the client side of things, how do you maintain a relationship with the agency?
Agencies are a source, a sort of a lifeline for me. Something that gives me hope that my brands are doing well, my agencies don't just exist, they push me onwards to work further and invest time and effort into them. It pushes me to parallel think- extremely important to what I do and how I do it. It’s almost like saying they are my extended brain and my extended arm and my extended everything. And when I say agencies, it’s more often than not, a couple of people who make things possible for a certain brand or a product. People do come and go in and things do change but it’s about finding that sweet spot of comfort with your agency because that rapport helps you survive even when nothing else is working!
7. Mention some difficulties you deal with being a client and how do you tackle them?
Ah, one of the biggest difficulties is that while relationships are important, they require extended work. When I say something is my extended brain, it needs to substantiate what my brand is and what I need to convey.
Finding that understanding that lacks between both the parties, crystallizing the perspectives on where we want to go as a brand. That helps two parties to work much coherently, in that, I feel having that futuristic perspective is important. If we are not looking forward, the brand might falter. It has to be an organic process- there’s no working around it.
8. How do you bridge professional and personal writing in terms of your time balance?
I can’t speak so much for everyone else but I have a little realization I like sticking to- Professional writing can only take me so far. I love being creative, I love exploring expression. And while I tried meandering similar values and liberalisation through my professional work, I have come to conclude that it will always be incomplete. At some point, it will always be dependent on what the brand wants, or how does one convey what’s required- which won’t ever feel complete for my own self. The need of the hour is dependent and therefore limiting and hence not enough. But it makes the choice easier between what I want to do and what I have to do. It’s not keeping my mind off things but overarching what I really want to be doing. It’s like having a larger goal-one extends to the other, give all to one and the other is dead.
Signing off on a pleasant note from Arjun- When we are wearing a professional hat, we usually circle around people who are wearing the same ones. As such, the problems, creative process and mind mapping all walk similar paths. When one comes across experiences like BHX , it enriches the process of elaborating perspectives. You broaden your insight levels, meeting and picking brains of people who you might have previously worked with but never interacted in course of your work hierarchy. It’s essential and so far, almost redemptive.