What Crayons Advertising does

Crayons Advertising Limited (doing business as 'The Crayons Network') is a privately held, founder-owned independent advertising agency founded in 1986 by Kunal Lalani and headquartered in New Delhi. The firm operates as a full-service, integrated creative agency offering six core service lines — strategy, creative, digital, media, events and out-of-home (OOH) — delivered through three wholly-owned sub-brands: Coeus Creative Lab (creative specialization), All White OOH (out-of-home) and Omni (integrated marketing). It serves enterprise clients across ten or more verticals including aviation (Air India), insurance (LIC), banking (Bank of Baroda), oil & energy (Indian Oil), real estate (Adani Realty), tiles (Kajaria, Kajaria Ply), FMCG (Cornitos, Figo India), healthcare (Clove Dental), electronics retail (Croma) and construction materials (APL Apollo), and has executed government-side campaigns including Swach Bharat and work for the Indian Army, Air Force and Navy.

The firm generates revenue through professional services on a project-based, retainer and media-commission basis, selling primarily through direct enterprise sales and competitive multi-agency pitches rather than self-serve channels. Go-to-market is B2B field sales targeting CMOs and brand heads at large Indian corporates, with senior leadership personally involved in new client acquisition. Operationally, the agency is distributed across nine regional offices in India — Delhi (HQ), Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Lucknow and four additional locations — giving it a regional language and cultural coverage footprint that is central to its value proposition. Distribution is enabled through an ecosystem of media-platform partnerships (Google Partner, Amazon SPN, Meta Business Partner, Disney Hotstar, YouTube, Spotify, JioSaavn, Times Internet, LinkedIn, Gaana) on which the agency plans and buys inventory for clients.

The company is profitably bootstrapped with no disclosed funding events, no external institutional shareholders and no M&A history; ownership and senior leadership positions are concentrated in the Lalani family (Kunal Lalani as Founder & Chairman; Ashraye Lalani as Director, Growth & Technology; Vimi Lalani as Non-Executive Director responsible for creative direction). Operating leadership includes CSO Samir Datar (30-year veteran of JWT, Cheil, Grey and Hakuhodo), Executive Director Ranjan Bargotra (35+ years in brand development and election campaigns) and a bench of VPs and branch directors across regions. The agency cites 65+ industry awards in the last three years and a 225-person headcount as its primary non-financial scale signals.

Name

Crayons Advertising

Legal name

Crayons Advertising Limited

Website

https://crayonad.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Crayons Advertising (Crayons Network) is a New Delhi-based, founder-owned independent advertising agency founded in 1986, offering strategy, creative, digital, media, events and OOH services to enterprise Indian brands across ten-plus verticals through nine regional offices and a 225-person team.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Advertising Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418), Media Buying Agencies (541830), Other Services Related to Advertising (541890)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Direct Marketing, CRM & Lifecycle (Email, SMS, Loyalty) (BPAFAAAJ)

Keywords

• Advertising agency services
• Creative advertising campaigns
• Media planning buying
• Integrated marketing solutions
• Out-of-home advertising

Headquarters

HQ city

New Delhi

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Advertising Services Revenue: Full-service advertising agency generating revenue through integrated creative solutions, digital campaigns, media planning and buying, events, and out-of-home advertising services. Revenue is generated through project-based fees, retainer agreements, and media commission on ad placements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Crayons Advertising is a full-service, integrated creative advertising agency that delivers end-to-end advertising campaigns spanning strategy, creative, digital, media, events, and out-of-home (OOH) execution. The agency serves enterprise clients across India through 9 offices and a 225-person team, generating revenue via project-based fees, retainer agreements, and media commissions. It operates through sub-brands Coeus Creative Lab, All White OOH, and Omni, and partners with platforms such as Google, Meta, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Spotify to distribute client campaigns across digital, video, audio, and out-of-home media.

Product overview

Crayons Advertising is a full-service creative advertising agency offering an integrated suite of services including Strategy, Creative, Digital, Media, Events, and Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising. The agency operates through three sub-brands: Coeus Creative Lab (creative specialization), All White OOH (out-of-home advertising specialist), and Omni (integrated marketing). The company was established in 1986 and maintains 9 offices across India, positioning itself as India's largest independent creative agency.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Coeus Creative Lab: Creative services entity within the Crayons network.
• All White OOH
• Omni

Products and services

• Strategy Services Strategic thinking services serving as the foundation of all Crayons work, with human-centric focus on solutions that go beyond conventions, media, and formats. Targeted at enterprise marketing clients.
• Creative Services Creative production services for advertising campaigns, recognized with more than 65 awards in the last 3 years. Serves enterprise clients seeking integrated brand campaigns.
• Digital Services Digital technology services for advertising and marketing campaigns, leveraging digital channels and tech-integrated execution for enterprise clients.
• Media Services Media planning and placement services focusing on optimal ad placement and positioning across channels for enterprise brand campaigns.
• Events Services Event marketing and management services that create impactful brand experiences for enterprise clients.
• OOH (Out of Home) Services Out-of-home advertising services focusing on location-based media placement for enterprise brand campaigns across India.
• Coeus Creative Lab Wholly-owned creative laboratory entity within the Crayons Network offering specialized creative solutions.
• All White OOH Wholly-owned out-of-home advertising specialist entity operating under the Crayons Network.
• Omni Wholly-owned integrated marketing services entity operating under the Crayons Network.

Quantifiable outcome

• 65+ awards in last 3 years

Named customers12 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Disney HotstarminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partner for advertising and content distribution across Disney Hotstar streaming platform
• YouTubeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partner for video advertising and content distribution
• GoogleminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia and advertising partner for digital campaigns
• Facebook/MetaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMeta Business Partner for social media advertising
• SpotifyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partner for audio advertising
• GaanaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partner for music streaming advertising
• JioSaavnminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partner for audio streaming advertising
• Times InternetminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partner for digital advertising across Times Internet properties
• LinkedInminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partner for professional network advertising
• Coeus Creative LabminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of Crayons Network - integrated creative lab network
• All White OOHminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of Crayons Network - out-of-home advertising specialist
• OmniminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of Crayons Network - integrated marketing specialist

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Lowe Lintas India: One of India's largest full-service independent-rooted creative agencies, offering strategy, creative, digital, and media services to enterprise clients across categories. Direct competitor to Crayons for marquee Indian brand accounts such as Hindustan Unilever, Flipkart, and ITC.
• Ogilvy India: India arm of WPP's Ogilvy network, one of the country's largest full-service creative agencies serving enterprise clients across FMCG, technology, and consumer durables. Competes head-to-head with Crayons for major Indian brand accounts and is the most-resourced global network operator in the Indian market.
• McCann Worldgroup India: IPG-owned full-service creative agency with a strong India presence, serving enterprise clients across categories including automotive, FMCG, and government. Directly comparable in service mix and client-targeting to Crayons, and a frequent rival in multi-agency pitches.
• Leo Burnett India: Publicis-owned full-service agency in India offering creative, digital, and media services to enterprise clients. Directly comparable to Crayons in service breadth, target client profile, and pitch competition for Indian brand mandates.
• JWT India / VMLY&R India: WPP-owned full-service creative agency in India with deep enterprise relationships across FMCG, banking, and consumer goods. Closely comparable to Crayons on service offering, client target, and pitch-style competition; WPP backing provides scale advantages Crayons lacks.
• Taproot India (Dentsu Creative): India-based creative-led agency within the Dentsu network, originally independent. Direct comparable on creative-led positioning, Indian-rooted identity, and pursuit of marquee brand work; a strong peer for creative awards and brand-campaign competition.
• FCB India / FCB Ulka: IPG-owned full-service agency in India with roots in the local Ulka agency, serving enterprise clients across FMCG, healthcare, and consumer brands. Comparable to Crayons on integrated services, marquee-client focus, and competitive pitching for Indian brand mandates.
• Hakuhodo Percept India: India joint venture of Hakuhodo (Japan) and Percept, offering creative, digital, and media services. Direct peer given Crayons' CSO Samir Datar's prior tenure at Hakuhodo, indicating overlapping client-targeting and talent market.

Broad incumbents

• Dentsu India: India arm of global network Dentsu International, offering integrated creative, media, and digital services at scale. Broad incumbent that overlaps with Crayons on enterprise clients but brings significantly larger media-buying scale and global network reach.
• Publicis India: India arm of Publicis Groupe, offering integrated creative, media, and digital services to enterprise clients at global-network scale. Broad incumbent that overlaps with Crayons on creative services and enterprise clients but with substantially larger resources and data/tech capabilities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/TheCrayonsNetwork
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/crayons-advertising-ltd-
• Instagraminstagram.com/crayonsnetwork
• Xx.com/crayons_adv

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Crayons Advertising