From Copywriter to Founder – Crafting Catchphrase’s Creative Journey
Anisha Ralhan’s transition from being a copywriter at prestigious ad agencies in India and Singapore to founding Catchphrase Pte. Ltd. was a journey marked by invaluable lessons and personal growth. Her time at these agencies taught her the intricacies of running a content writing business more effectively than any MBA program could.
In the fast-paced world of advertising, Anisha honed her skills in client presentations, despite being naturally introverted. She credits her ability to command a room to the influence of articulate creative directors, particularly Andy Greenaway, former Executive Creative Director of Dentsu Singapore. Greenaway’s inclusive brainstorming sessions, which involved everyone from junior employees to senior leaders, not only fostered team building but also boosted Anisha’s confidence.
Anisha emphasises the importance of “people skills” in advertising, drawing from Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s line in Fleabag, “people are all we’ve got.” Her experiences taught her that collaboration and communication are crucial in the industry. The high-pressure environment of ad agencies also instilled resilience in her, as she learned to handle constant scrutiny and feedback, maintaining her self-belief amid frequent rejections and criticisms.
Her agency background made her acutely aware of the importance of good design, to the extent that she’s often obsessing over her brand’s visual language. Additionally, Anisha’s firsthand experience with the toxic practices in the industry, such as unpaid pitch work, shaped her approach to business. She ensures fair compensation for her subcontractors and charges clients for trial work, avoiding the pitfalls that often lead to creative burnout.
Aside from branding and marketing work, Anisha writes short stories and creative essays that have been published in over a dozen of anthologies and literary journals, including: The Best Asian Short Stories 2022, The Quarterly Literary Review Singapore and Missed Connections: an anthology of micro fiction.
Overall, Anisha’s journey through the advertising world equipped her with the confidence, resilience, and ethical principles that underpin her success at Catchphrase.
Crafting Authentic Brand Voices– Anisha Ralhan’s Creative Process
Anisha Ralhan’s creative process at Catchphrase Pte. Ltd. is meticulous and client-centred, ensuring each brand’s voice is authentically represented. Recognizing that many brands struggle with identifying or maintaining a consistent tone of voice, Anisha begins by conducting in-depth interviews with the marketing heads or founders to understand the brand persona.
A key part of her process is a ‘brand archetype’ workshop, which helps define the brand’s identity, purpose, aspirations, preferences, and role models. This fun and insightful exercise lays the foundation for understanding the brand’s essence.
The next critical step involves identifying the specific needs of the brand’s customers and aligning them with the brand’s unique selling propositions (USPs). Anisha emphasises that the intersection of customer needs and brand capabilities is where creative ideas are born, making this step crucial for achieving marketing objectives.
Inspiration for Anisha can come from anywhere – a humorous quote on a t-shirt, an old episode of Friends, or simply observing the world with a childlike curiosity. She also studies award-winning campaigns to benchmark her work, learning from what has been said about similar products and avoiding past mistakes.
When facing creative blocks, Anisha finds it helpful to take a break and engage in unrelated activities, trusting that her subconscious will continue working on the next groundbreaking idea. This approach ensures that her creativity remains fresh and effective, delivering standout solutions for her clients.
Crafting Stories in Silver – Anisha Ralhan’s Journey with Roohmi Jewellery
Building the Roohmi jewellery brand from scratch has been a blend of excitement and challenges for Anisha Ralhan. Creating a newborn brand demands extensive time and experimentation, much more than working with an established brand. Anisha’s role spans from establishing the brand persona and voice to identifying the target audience and designing social media posts, often doubling as the brand’s designer.
With Roohmi operating exclusively on Instagram, Anisha keeps pace with ever-changing trends and evolving tools. She and Priya, Roohmi’s founder, prioritise maintaining a consistent aesthetic language for the brand. Rather than blindly following popular trends, they focus on building a strong brand foundation that aligns with Roohmi’s values. For instance, they leverage the cultural nostalgia experienced by the Indian community in Singapore, which sometimes means resisting the latest trends to stay true to their brand identity.
The tagline Anisha crafted for Roohmi, “Stories with Silver and Soul,” reflects their commitment to storytelling. Each post tells a story, whether about a specific motif or the origin of the jewellery, ensuring that their content remains meaningful and engaging without succumbing to fleeting trends. This approach allows Roohmi to stay relevant and top-of-mind for their consumers while maintaining authenticity and depth.
Anisha Ralhan’s Transformative Projects with Parul Mehra and PALETTE
Anisha Ralhan’s work on two distinctive projects – a coffee table book for Parul Mehra and the website for PALETTE puzzle brand – highlights her versatility and dedication to capturing the essence of her clients’ visions.
Parul Mehra, a prominent contemporary abstract artist in Singapore, aimed to commemorate her decade-long career with a coffee table book cum memoir. After a disappointing experience with a previous team, Parul nearly abandoned the project until she discovered Catchphrase through a friend. With a background in Art History from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Anisha’s expertise in visual arts made her an ideal choice.
Parul’s brief was clear: create a book that authentically represents her art and life. Despite a tight deadline of three months, Anisha and her team embraced the challenge. Over ten weeks, they meticulously structured, wrote, designed, and edited the book. Anisha spent a month interviewing Parul, delving into her artistic process, inspirations, and experiences.
The result was “Unmasking the Spiritual Self: An Exploration of Parul Mehta’s Abstract Expressions,” featuring essays, a detailed interview, and over 250 artworks. Organized into seven stages of achieving spirituality, the book includes poems by Parul’s musician husband. Launched at the National Library building to a packed audience, the book has since been featured in prestigious art magazines worldwide and is available in leading art galleries and museums in India, Singapore, and the UK. Following its success, Parul plans to reprint 100 copies this year.
Paris Zhao, the founder of PALETTE, approached Catchphrase after an unsatisfactory experience with a previous writer. Her request was to create an engaging copy for her website, starting with a brand narrative that reflects the meditative and joyful experience of assembling art puzzles. The brand’s unique selling proposition is “puzzles that double up as artworks.”
Paris emphasised that the copy should evoke joy and nostalgia, mirroring the product’s essence. Anisha adopted a poetic and playful tone, crafting a narrative that brings the brand’s personality to life. This approach highlights Catchphrase’s strength in identifying a brand’s tone of voice and creating messages filled with personality and emotion.
Notable Achievements of Catchphrase Pte. Ltd.
Anisha of Catchphrase has garnered multiple prestigious awards even before launching Catchphrase, including those from Kyoorius and The Abby Awards. Among their numerous achievements over the years, several stand out as particularly cherished milestones for founder Anisha Ralhan.
In the latter half of 2023, Catchphrase ventured into the niche area of financial writing, quickly mastering this complex field. They secured clients such as Airwallex and UOB Kay Hian, establishing a reputation for producing high-quality, insightful financial content.
In 2024, Catchphrase collaborated with boutique ad agencies in Singapore, including Mercury Creative. Winning new pitches, they produced impressive work for Japanese hair care brands Lucido L and Gatsby. Catchphrase’s role in developing striking brand campaigns for these clients has been a source of immense pride for Anisha and her team.
One of the standout projects was the creation of the coffee table book cum memoir, “Unmasking the Spiritual Self: An Exploration of Parul Mehta’s Abstract Expressions.” This project, which involved extensive interviews and a tight deadline, showcased Anisha’s dedication and creativity, resulting in a celebrated book that is now featured in prestigious art magazines and available in leading galleries and museums.
Another significant achievement was the development of the Roohmi silver jewellery brand. From establishing the brand persona to designing social media content, Anisha’s holistic approach helped Roohmi carve out a unique space in the market, focusing on cultural nostalgia and authentic storytelling.
Catchphrase also successfully completed a website project for US-based psychiatrist Dr. Sonia Juneja. This project involved creating engaging and informative content that accurately represented Dr. Juneja’s expertise and approach, further highlighting Catchphrase’s versatility and commitment to excellence.
Recently, Catchphrase was awarded a fun social media campaign for Zeiss Group, one of the biggest names in vision and optical healthcare. This new venture adds another feather to their cap, showcasing their ability to handle high-profile clients and deliver creative, impactful campaigns.
These achievements underscore the diverse capabilities of Catchphrase Pte. Ltd. and reflect Anisha Ralhan’s passion for creating compelling and authentic narratives across various industries.
