Triad Advertising started small - the result of a coincidence of events, not a lengthy business plan.

Triad’s Joint Managing Directors Dilith Jayaweera and Varuni Amunugama Fernando were contemporaries, adversaries and good friends at the Faculty of Law of the University of Colombo. They understood that there was a vacuum in the local advertising industry which, despite being lawyers with no marketing qualification or significant experience, they could successfully challenge. Believing as ardently as they -did ardently in the Sri Lankan Spirit and Sri Lankan capability, they decided that their agency would not just be any agency, but a 100% Sri Lankan agency.

Launched on 11 March 1993 with a team of just three working out of Varuni’s home, Triad laboured for its work – creatively solving issues related to their lack of basic facilities, production infrastructure and media clout. Over the nextfew years, Triad grew, slowly and steadily, moving from Deanstone Place to Glenn Aber Place to Sumner Place to Claessen Place and finally to Gregory’s Road, where they now operate from as a team of ninety.

Along the way, Triad’s short history is littered with extraordinary relationships with their clients and brands, whose fortunes have blossomed as have those of Triad. As a 100% Sri Lankan agency, Triad’s faith in ‘100% Sri Lankan brands’ was understandably strong and the agency undertook to grow and nurture local brands.

Triad began its strategy of backward integration by launching its first subsidiary company – a print press named Printage. This was followed in quick succession by subsidiaries such as Imageline for pre-press work, Emagewise for Annual Reports, Hammer Workshop for outdoor work and Taprobane Studio, an in-house photography studio, hRadtalk to handle PR work and Triad Total for BTL work. Another subsidiary PowerHouse, a production house now operates Triad TV and Triad FM. It was a step into territory previously uncharted by any advertising agency and Triad quickly became a company with capabilities far beyond the scope of what was generally known as an integrated communications agency at the time.

Triad made its first major impact on the local advertising industry when it bagged 6 awards, including 3 Golds at the industry acclaimed Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing Awards (known as SLIM Awards) in 2004. Triad’s position as the local agency that best understood the local consumer was established beyond any further doubt when Triad swept the boards at SLIM 2005, winning 21 awards, including the Best TV Commercial of the Year.

In 2006, more accolades were on the cards. At the newly launched industry ad awards – Chillies – Triad lived the dream. A dream dreamt nearly fifteen years before by two people who believed that Sri Lanka can! A simple ambient idea for Rainco umbrellas not only won the most coveted award of the show for Triad but also demonstrated the best of Sri Lankan creativity at the highest standard. The award haul included a number of metals, placing the agency firmly in the top slot of the industry. Not willing to give up its No.1 position, the Triad team worked tirelessly over the following year to come up tops once again by winning the only double Gold at Chillies 2007. Chillies 2008 was the Hat Trick year for the agency. With a “never say never” attitude, the agency rallied around to chase an ambitious target to become the No.1 agency again. The Triad Team won the only Gold awarded at the show to take its No.1 slot for the third consecutive year.