In a traditional market dominated by seasoned, thirty-something-plus agency heads, the co-founders of Duckpeon, Rawan and Zakwan, are outliers. Both are still university students, with Zakwan studying Computer Science and Rawan having switched from Persian Literature at DU to BBA at NSU, they are the oldest people in their entire team. Yet, in just a couple of years, this dynamic duo has become the go-to agency for Bangladesh’s biggest brands, including Banglalink, bKash, Pathao, Skitto, and Unilever.
“Rawan and I go way back. We have been friends since class three,” Zakwan tells me, leaning back in his chair. “We always wanted to own something together.” The casual ease between the two, who share a 14-year friendship forged over school, college, and various failed ventures (including a series of ambitious football tournaments), is quite obvious.
Before Duckpeon became a successful agency, it was an attempt at a pop-culture magazine born during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the magazine fizzled out, the name stuck, taking on a new meaning when they officially launched the agency. “We duck the brand’s problems, and deliver the results. That is Duckpeon.” Rawan explains.
The pivot to an agency was driven by a shared frustration with the status quo. Zakwan, who had been making social media content, and Rawan, who had experience in meme-making and agency work, both noticed a significant generational disconnect.
“When I was working at an agency, I noticed that brands came to make content, but the founders or the team’s average age was so high that they couldn’t connect with the youth,” Rawan observes. With over 50 percent of Bangladesh’s population being young, the young founders saw a massive, unaddressed market.
Their inspiration came from international brands known for their unapologetic, witty online presence, such as Ryanair and Duolingo. “We asked ourselves, why no one is making this type of content (in Bangladesh)?” Rawan recalls. The general consensus they encountered was that the brands aren’t ready yet.
Ignoring the hesitation, they decided to start something small. Their first client was a street side tea-cart called KARAK. “We weren’t even there for a pitch. It was very casual,” Zakwan says. They convinced the owner of the need for a stronger brand identity, offering their services at a very small budget just to secure a starting point.
The real turning point came later with Pathao, one of the nation’s largest ride-sharing and logistics services. Rawan reveals their main selling point, “Pathao TikTok in Bangladesh had 36 followers at the time, and their average views were six, just six. And we were two of them. So, really four.”
They were essentially first years who didn’t even know how to make a proper PowerPoint slide yet, but their pitch was simple but audacious. The entire concept was just to forget the polished, traditional content. They would create authentic, meme-based, skittish short-form videos, basically introducing a new category to the Bangladeshi market. Pathao was understandably skeptical, but they gave the duo a three-month trial anyway.
“On the first video, it blew up,” Zakwan states with clear pride. The organic reach was unprecedented for the brand, leading to a quick contract extension. Two years later, Duckpeon is still Pathao’s retainer agency, proving the longevity of their unconventional strategy.
The core of Duckpeon’s success lies in their definition of out-of-the-box thinking, and that means making content as human as possible. Zakwan points out that their target audience is regular people, like himself. “When people see that they are somehow funny, promoting themselves, people feel more connected. So that’s how we started,” he adds.
Rawan, whose expertise lies in meme culture, explains that the traditional agencies operate on the belief that they have to be idiot-proof and spoon-fed to the audience. Duckpeon rejects this. “Our content advertisement should be done in such a way that the dialogues feel like they are happening in real life.”
It’s about making content so entertaining that the audience willingly consumes it, even if it is an advertisement. The differentiating factor, Zakwan sums up, is “authenticity. We bring authenticity to the table.”
With a new office recently opened, the challenge is maintaining that raw, unconventional edge while growing. Their solution is to hire young, unseasoned talent. “If we bring an experienced person, we won’t get similar output. Young people don’t have to be restrained by their experience,” Rawan argues. “The sky’s the limit.” They value the fresh perspective of those who are just starting out and have no notion of the industry’s “grammar.”
Crucially, they cultivate a culture of open debate, a necessity when dealing with young employees who may have conflicting schedules and commitments. “We all sit at the same table, work together,” says Zakwan, emphasising a flat hierarchy where anyone can pitch an idea for any platform.
Here’s the deal breaker. You cannot say yes to all of their suggestions. Even though they both are relatively young, Rawan fears growing complacent. They want to keep being challenged and learn as they go. So naturally, Zakwan insists that his team must fight for their ideas. “If you are not fighting for the idea, then you don’t believe in your idea,” he asserts.
Five years from now, Rawan and Zakwan want their office filled with awards, but their vision goes far beyond their own company. Having already won a Digital Marketing Award, they are focused on expansion into OVCs, short films, and OTT marketing.
Zakwan’s personal goal is focused squarely on their people. He doesn’t just want Duckpeon to win, he wants the entire team to be the smartest in the industry. “I want that in the next five years, anyone who is leaving Duckpeon will find their own fields where they can be an example,” he shares. The goal is to create a cohort of highly talented young creatives who go on to head up finance, tech, sports, and more, all powered by their experience at Duckpeon.
Rawan, meanwhile, wants to promote marketing as a respected, aspirational career. “We want to make marketing a household thing,” he concludes. He is determined to change the marketing culture from a stiff, traditional field into a cool, aspirational career for the next generation, one where, as Rawan puts it, you can hang out with your colleagues after office.
In Bangladesh, brands are still cautiously testing the waters of short-form, human-centric content, but Duckpeon have definitively reduced the gap between them and the Bangladeshi youth. Their success is a simple, potent final lesson they live by: Growing alone is really hard. If you grow together, it is faster for everyone.