Zenelyn Afonso and Rukma Prabhudesai speak of their creative marketing agency and services offered by them
Cutting Chai Creatives, is a marketing agency based in Goa, and have their experienced and uber-talented ‘chaiwallas’ to give brands the right kind of marketing boost at a competitive price, so that one’s business always stays on top of its game.
Cutting Chai Creatives is the brain child of Zenelyn Afonso and Rukma Prabhudessai. They have also drafted the help of a close friend who is a design expert, photographer, videographer and 3D visualiser. The agancy was started in January, this year.
Zenelyn is an alumna of Goa Institute of Management (GIM and has more than 3 years of experience in marketing, PR & digital marketing space working with brands such as Grand Hyatt Goa, Numadic, Luxottica and Deltin Group. She is also an internationally certified marketing specialist by Digital Marketer & Google. Besides this, she is an avid writer, actor, musician and a model having walked for fashion shows like Blenders Pride Magical Nights, India Couture Fashion Week, India Beach Fashion Week, etc. She is also a sportswoman and has represented Goa at the national level on multiple occasions.
Another alumna of GIM, Rukma has worked as a creative ideator and copywriter in Experiential Marketing for Lintas Group, Mumbai. She has worked on brands like ITC, Castrol, Ultra Tech and ICICI Lombard. Her premier project to release nationally was the radio jingle that she wrote for ICICI Lombard’s ‘PM Fasal Bima Yojana’. She was also fortunate to be one of the core team members for ITC Aashirvaad’s ‘Daane Daane Mein’ campaign which won Gold at the 7th Global Consumer Engagement Forum and Awards. Besides this, she is also a professional dancer, actor and has also worked as a writer for films.
Zenelyn speaks on how Cutting Chai Creatives happened. “Sometimes you get the best of ideas when you least expect them. Our business idea came to us when my friends and I were sitting in a café, chilling!
While we were chatting about everything under the sun, we randomly realized that we all have a set of unique skills and experiences that can form a creative marketing agency. Rukma is a creative writer, ideator and strategist and I have experience in digital marketing. We thought that with all these skills we had the perfect blend needed to lay the foundation of a full-fledged digital agency. We understood we make a good team and founded Cutting Chai Creatives.”
Zenelyn came up with the name Cutting Chai Creatives, when hanging out with her friends at a café in Panjim. “We had a discussion about Mumbai’s famous cutting chai. Cutting chai is a special tea that you find at tiny tea stalls in every nook and corner of Mumbai. Its specialty is that it’s easy on the pocket, is half a glass but nevertheless is just the right amount and has a strong fusion of flavours to refresh your senses. And that’s exactly what we thought our business was like. We offer brands competitive pricing packages served with just the right blend of quality marketing efforts and strategies to ensure that businesses always stay on top of their game. So undoubtedly, we named our startup, Cutting Chai Creatives.”
Initially they offered core digital marketing services and slowly went on to add more and more co-related services to their portfolio. The services they currently offer include creative ideation, social media marketing, digital marketing, SEO, copywriting, branding & design, web and app design & development, 3D visualization, animation, printing, photography, videography and even ERP solutions. With their latest client, they have also ventured a bit into traditional marketing mediums.
Their target audience is startups and small enterprises who cannot afford to spend large sums on digital marketing, which many reputed agencies in Goa, charge for their marketing services. Hence they decided to target that niche and came up with a lean business model that would enable them to offer competitive pricing packages to small and medium-sized businesses. They started off by working with local brands and have gradually started to serve national and international brands.
Zenelyn mentions that the agency has always received a positive response from their clients which is pretty overwhelming for them. “Out of the many testimonials that we have received, one that has stayed with us mentions that we have the ‘Midas Touch’ of facilitating exponential RoI and decreasing the cost of acquisition of customers.”
Zenelyn and Rukma have a message for their prospective clients. “We are aware of the steep rates that agencies charge for digital marketing. If you are a small business based out of Goa or anywhere in India who wants to avail of digital marketing services at an affordable price, you can give Cutting Chai Creatives a shot. We offer just the right strategies at an affordable price to boost your business.”
Lastly, they conclude with a message for aspiring entrepreneurs. “Always have a curious outlook to know what problems people around you face and how you can use your expertise to solve them in the best way possible. That’s where your business lies”
