R K SWAMY Group launches consulting arm; appoints V V Vijay Gopal as CEO

R K SWAMY Ltd has announced the launch of its new Brand and Marketing Consulting Group, marking a significant expansion into strategic advisory services. The company has appointed V V Vijay Gopal as CEO of the newly launched consulting arm. The leadership team also includes S Narasimhan (Digital), Sagarika Gupta (Insights), and Prasad Kothari (Data Analytics).

The consulting group is set apart by its integrated model, offering brand strategy, digital experience, communications, data analytics, and consumer insights as a cohesive service. The move aims to bridge the growing disconnect many brands face when working with multiple specialized agencies.

“Our clients have taught us a great deal over the last 52 years,” said Srinivasan K Swamy, Executive Group Chairman, R K SWAMY Ltd. “We’ve helped solve many tricky problems, and this consulting initiative is the legacy we want to build on.”

According to V V Vijay Gopal, CEO of the newly formed consulting arm, the initiative addresses a common complaint among clients- the lack of a unified strategic narrative. “Clients often engage creative, digital, and media agencies separately, but no one connects the dots. Our goal is to provide that missing strategic thread,” he said.

The group is designed to be cross-functional, with collaboration at its core—not just within R K SWAMY, but also with external creative and media partners if needed. “This isn’t about replacing existing services,” added Vijay Gopal. “It’s about making them work better together.”

The consulting group will address a wide range of business challenges—from entering new markets and refreshing brand identity to optimizing marketing spend and enhancing portfolio strategy.

“We already have a list of clients and brands who we believe will benefit from this approach,” said Vijay Gopal. “And we’re not forcing ourselves onto them—they’re the ones telling us they need more integrated advice. It’s been in our DNA to say, ‘Don’t advertise just for the sake of it.’ But when we provide genuinely good counsel, clients come back and say they value it.”

“We’re creating defined solution sets to address brand architecture, pricing dilemmas, competitive differentiation, and more,” said Shekar Swamy, Managing Director and Group CEO. “Our guarantee is to dive deep and deliver practical, actionable solutions.”

The consulting arm represents what Vijay Gopal calls “the first step in a broader vision for integrated marketing.” While R K SWAMY already offers creative, media, and analytics services, the next stage is aligning these capabilities to deliver greater effectiveness and efficiency. “Right now, you might have one team working on a 60-second commercial and another buying 10-second slots—without coordination. That disconnect is what we aim to eliminate,” he said.

Another focus area will be transforming raw insights into actionable strategies. “Insights often just sit in a deck. Our job is to translate those into something useful—something that drives decisions,” he added.

While R K SWAMY has long provided strategic input informally as part of its executional services, this marks the first time such advisory work will be structured, priced, and delivered independently.

“We've often found ourselves offering critical strategic thinking for free, while billing only for the deliverables like commercials or research,” Vijay Gopal noted. “But clients have told us that it’s the strategic counsel they value most. So, we’re drawing a line—this will be a dedicated consulting entity, focused purely on advisory.”

“Our long-standing client base gives us a strong starting point,” Vijay Gopal said. “They’ve already asked for more integrated thinking. Now we’re ready to deliver it in a structured and scalable way.”

The consulting vertical will operate as a standalone entity focused solely on strategic guidance, separate from execution or production work. The group plans to leverage its existing base of over 400 clients while opening its doors to new partnerships.

“This is about helping clients make better decisions and aligning their business goals with marketing efforts. And we believe there’s a clear gap in the market for this kind of advisory service,” Vijay Gopal concluded.