How a small agency from Kochi is winning big on the national stage

27 years ago, three of Mudra’s brightest young stars got together to start their own shop - two of them, Raju and Muthu started the office in Kochi and the third, the late Sajan Abraham, started the Chennai office. They named their agency ‘Maitri’ - the sanskrit word for friend. That’s what they set out to do - be a friend and companion to their clients and their employees. What started as a tiny, bootstrapped three-man firm has now grown into arguably South India’s largest independent full-service agency, with offices in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Bengaluru, with offices in Maldives and Seychelles as well.

So how did this small agency with headquarters in Kochi manage to get brands like Mathrubhumi, Muthoot Finance, Netflix, AVT, Krafton, Disney+Hotstar, Asianet, Wipro and Saffola on their roster?

Walk into any award-winning network agency in Mumbai, Delhi or Bengaluru and you’re bound to spot a large number of Malayalees. There’s no doubt that the state has produced some of the brightest minds in the business. What Maitri did was provide a space where these bright minds could come together to create something great.

The magic mix was simple, but not easy - deeply rooted local insights brought alive with international-standard craftsmanship.

As more businesses began looking for localized creative solutions, they found Maitri to be the perfect partner. Years of experience in the South markets gave them a level of insight into the people that other agencies would find hard to match, which they translated into creative campaigns that matched national standards - all at a fraction of the cost that brands previously had to bear. People want to be spoken to in their own language, they want to be seen and heard in an authentic manner. Where bigger agencies viewed the southern states from an outside-in perspective, Maitri’s work was inside-out, honouring the people it spoke to.

The creative craftsmanship that sets them apart in the south Indian context comes from many of the staff having honed their skills at international agencies before bringing those skills home, along with their network of talented directors, artists and producers.

Maitri’s strength comes from its relationships - whether its clients, employees or vendors, all of them have long track records. Most of their clients have been with them for over 20 years, and they have the lowest employee churn rate in an industry that is notorious for quick jumps. In the words of Raju Menon, MD

“The clients trust us because we are extremely invested in their business. Even if brand managers change, Maitri is always there. That stability has allowed us to keep our people happy as well. We believe that when everyone is happy, business will happen.”

“In 2025, we’re hoping to land a few more national accounts, attract even more bright minds to work with us and start entering our work at international award shows as well. Fingers crossed.”

• Francis Thomas, Group Creative Director

Maitri is somewhat of an anomaly in the advertising business - but that’s perhaps the reason why it’s doing so well. In the last three years alone, Maitri has won Kerala’s only Grand Prix at the Abby awards, the IMA agency of the year award three times, Adgully’s agency of the year 2024 and a huge winning streak at every other south award show.