Strengthening Vendor Networks and HR Strategy in India’s Creative Marketing

Abstract

India’s creative marketing and production sector is rapidly evolving due to digital transformation, rising brand storytelling demand, and growing investment in content-driven marketing. In this competitive ecosystem, vendor reliability, cost efficiency, and technology-enabled workflows play a critical role in ensuring project success. This case examines Pancake Studios, a Bangalore-based creative agency, and the operational, vendor management, and HR coordination challenges encountered during the internship. Despite securing clients such as Ola, Unacademy, CRED, and Allen, the company faced significant hurdles including last-minute vendor dropouts, limited HR networks, inconsistent project costing, and high dependency on freelancers. Operational overload and slow adoption of AI-based tools further increased project timelines and financial risk. Through structured solutions such as centralized vendor databases, backup vendor pools, AI-enabled editing workflows, tiered pricing models, and talent retention initiatives, Pancake Studios strengthened its creative delivery ecosystem. The case underscores the significance of vendor governance, technology adoption, and HR–operations alignment in ensuring sustainability and competitive advantage for creative startups.