HASHTAG ORANGE ELEVATES GAURANG MENON TO STEER WESTERN GROWTH AND CREATIVE AMBITIONS

Marketing agency Hashtag Orange has promoted Gaurang Menon to Managing Partner & Creative Head – West, tasking him with accelerating growth from Mumbai. After rebuilding the office to deliver 40% year-on-year growth and expanding integrated capabilities, Menon now leads the agency’s next phase of creative and commercial expansion.

In a decisive move signalling its ambitions for the western market, marketing agency Hashtag Orange has promoted Gaurang Menon to Managing Partner & Creative Head – West. The expanded mandate sees Menon continuing to lead the Mumbai operations while taking on broader responsibility for growth, expansion and creative effectiveness across the region.

The appointment marks both a personal milestone for Menon and a strategic inflection point for the agency. Having rejoined Hashtag Orange in 2024 as Regional & Creative Head – Mumbai, after previously serving as Creative Chief until 2022, Menon returned with a clear brief: rebuild, re-energise and reposition the Mumbai office as a growth engine for the business. In just over a year, the results have been tangible.

Under his leadership, the Mumbai office has been built from the ground up, delivering 40 per cent year-on-year growth. The operation has onboarded marquee clients, expanded its integrated capabilities, and strengthened its reputation as a hub where strategy, creativity and performance marketing operate in sync rather than in silos. The growth figure is not merely a financial marker; it reflects a recalibration of culture, processes and ambition.

For an industry that has often been characterised by fragmentation — creative separated from media, strategy divorced from performance — Hashtag Orange’s western push is built on integration. Menon has been central to that effort. The Mumbai team today works across strategy, creative, production, media and performance, ensuring campaigns are conceived with measurable impact in mind from the outset. It is a model designed to deliver not just brand salience but business outcomes.

“This role feels like a natural next step in my journey with Hashtag Orange,” Menon said, reflecting on his appointment. “I’m excited to lead the Mumbai office into its next phase of growth by expanding our rockstar team, and building work that integrates strategy, creativity, and technology to deliver real business impact.”

The emphasis on technology is telling. As brands navigate an ecosystem increasingly shaped by automation, artificial intelligence and data-driven targeting, agencies are under pressure to evolve. Menon’s brief as Managing Partner & Creative Head – West is not simply to produce award-winning work, but to ensure that creativity is fuelled by insight and amplified by performance-driven precision.

Colleagues describe Menon’s leadership style as hands-on and collaborative. During his earlier tenure as Creative Chief until 2022, he was instrumental in shaping the agency’s creative identity. His return in 2024 was seen internally as both a homecoming and a reset. At the time, the Mumbai office required renewed momentum; today, it stands as one of the agency’s most dynamic centres.

Building an office “from the ground up” is no small feat in a competitive market such as Mumbai, where multinational networks, boutique creative shops and digital specialists jostle for attention. Recruitment, client acquisition, culture-building and capability expansion had to happen concurrently. The fact that the office has achieved 40 per cent year-on-year growth suggests that the strategy has resonated.

Industry observers note that the west region — with Mumbai at its core — remains one of India’s most significant advertising markets. Brands across finance, entertainment, consumer goods and emerging digital sectors anchor their marketing operations there. For Hashtag Orange, strengthening its western footprint is both commercially essential and symbolically important.

Menon’s dual title — Managing Partner and Creative Head – West — reflects the evolving nature of agency leadership. The traditional divide between business management and creative direction is increasingly blurred. Creative leaders are expected to understand revenue targets, operational efficiency and long-term scalability, just as managing partners must appreciate the nuance and craft of storytelling. Menon’s career trajectory suggests he is comfortable straddling both domains.

His immediate priorities include expanding the team and deepening specialisms within the integrated offering. The reference to a “rockstar team” signals an intent to attract high-calibre talent across disciplines, from strategic planners and copywriters to media analysts and performance marketers. In a talent market where skilled professionals are highly sought after, culture and vision often prove as compelling as compensation.

Equally significant is the focus on creative effectiveness. In recent years, clients have demanded clearer proof of return on investment. Campaign metrics are scrutinised with unprecedented rigour, and agencies are judged as much on outcomes as on originality. By explicitly tying his mandate to creative effectiveness, Menon acknowledges this shift.

The Mumbai office’s growth has also been driven by onboarding marquee clients. While specific account wins have not been publicly detailed, the term typically denotes brands with significant budgets and reputational weight. Such accounts not only bolster revenue but elevate an agency’s standing within the industry, creating a virtuous cycle of visibility and opportunity.

For Hashtag Orange, the western expansion aligns with a broader ambition to be recognised as an integrated marketing partner rather than a narrowly defined creative shop. The agency’s model brings together strategy, creative, production, media and performance under one roof, enabling campaigns that travel seamlessly from concept to execution to optimisation.

Menon’s return in 2024 appears, in hindsight, to have been a calculated step in that journey. Having previously served as Creative Chief until 2022, he possessed institutional knowledge and cultural affinity. That familiarity likely accelerated the rebuilding process, allowing him to focus on growth rather than orientation.

As he steps into his new role, the challenge will be sustaining momentum while scaling responsibly. Rapid growth can strain systems and dilute culture if not carefully managed. Balancing ambition with discipline will be key. Yet the early indicators suggest that the foundation laid over the past year is robust.

In a market where agencies are continually redefining themselves amid digital disruption and shifting client expectations, Hashtag Orange’s move signals confidence. By entrusting the western helm to a leader who combines creative pedigree with commercial acumen, the agency is betting that integration, innovation and impact will define its next chapter.

For Menon, the promotion represents more than a title change. It is, as he describes, a natural progression — one rooted in familiarity with the brand and sharpened by renewed purpose. As the Mumbai office enters its next phase, the task is clear: expand, excel and ensure that creativity is not only compelling but consequential.