From creative to media to digital, advertising agencies across India are perennially talent-hungry. Shortage of skilled persons, high attrition rate and poaching by other agencies always give advertising leaders sleepless nights. Hence, when Dheeraj Sinha, CEO & Chief Strategy Officer, South Asia at Leo Burnett, mentions “getting and retaining talent” as his biggest constraint at present, it did not come as a surprise.

“We hire about 200 people from undergrad colleges, IITs, Ashoka University and other institutions. How to impress them with Leo Burnett values and assimilate them in our culture and philosophy is the biggest challenge for a growing agency like us,” Sinha says.

Who else can pinpoint the problem better than Sinha, who wears multiple hats as the chairman of Leo Burnett India, BBH India, Publicis Business, Publicis Health and Leo Burnett Orchard.

Suggesting a reform in the pay structure of the industry, Sinha says,“Many youngsters leave the organization within a year or two. High time advertising sector offered better pay packages to youngsters, at par with other industries for better retention rate. Business is growing, so we have to also change our mindset. Moreover, we need to give them credit for their hard work that would help to retain them.”

Idea of Creativity

Leo Burnett India was awarded the Creative Agency of the Year at the OneShow Abby Awards 2023.  It also won two Grand Prix and three Specialist Category Agency of the Year awards (Digital Specialist Agency of the Year; Brand Activation and Promotions Specialist Agency of The Year and Branded Content and Entertainment Specialist Agency of the Year).

Sinha is the man of the moment. When asked about how the idea of creativity evolved over the years, Sinha noted,“Biggest shift that has happened in creativity is that there is a lot more experimentation and innovation. Creativity is not just about one TV commercial or print ad. Look at the way brands are being built through digital and social media, through packaging and even delivery personnel. Company founders are also doing a lot of work and driving campaigns on Twitter.”

“People often say great days of advertising are gone. I believe the palette of creativity has expanded. Data and technology are helping us to recreate missing events; such as the 1983 cricket world cup missing match and solve human problems through campaigns such as The Responsible Manhole and Whisper’s Missing Chapters campaigns. These things would not be possible 10 years back. Innovation is the most exciting part of creativity. That's the big change in the evolution of creativity,” said Sinha who has authored two bestsellers on the Indian consumer market - India Reloaded and Consumer India

Creativity amid budget cuts

Advertising in India largely depends on factors such as GDP, inflation and economic slowdown. How does the budget constraints affect creativity?

Sinha opines that creativity doesn’t necessarily need much budget. “Sometimes creativity needs more resources, like in the case of the Airtel 175 campaign (recreating Kapil Dev’s innings in 1983 world cup). Lots of other pieces don't require much budget. They are high on ideas. When a high budget is involved, I am worried as it creates a lot of pressure.”

He added, “While large organizations are silent, we are getting assignments from the startups which are in the 2nd and 3rd stage of funding. We cater to them as per their budget.”

Revenue growth

Dheeraj set the vision for Leo Burnett to transition from being a mid-tier agency to a top-tier agency in 2018. By 2022, Leo Burnett had grown 40% in revenue and almost 30% of its revenue came from new-age clients.

All companies under him have been doing really well, in terms of winning clients, revenue and bagging awards, Dheeraj insists. “There has been 70 per cent growth in revenue of Leo Burnett and others over the past five years. We are winning 40-60 clients/projects every year.”

What are his growth targets for the current fiscal? “I can’t tell you the exact number but we are growing in higher double digit growth,” Sinha tells with a twinkle in his eyes.

Does hierarchy matter?

Designations are crucial in any organization, mainly because professionals are often very touchy about it. How important designations are in the creative agencies where everyone from top to bottom is involved in the ideation and creation?

Touching upon this sensitive topic, Josy Paul, Chairman of BBDO India, created a sensation at the recently concluded Goafest by suggesting that designations that create hierarchies must be removed. He suggested that we should instead use designations on the names of rivers etc. Is this an implementable idea or merely a sensational statement?

Sinha quips, “We have implemented a hierarchy-less structure in Leo Burnett. We have no cabins. You can see energy and enthusiasm among our staff. Every morning, we do a conference call with seniors and youngsters in various departments to discuss what to do with the agency. This ensures that we are completely democratic as much as possible. We have built our office like a big coffee shop where people can work at their ease.”

“We have built a community, rather than a CEO-anchored organization,” Sinha insists.

Wearing five hats

To juggle among five agencies could be a daunting task. For Sinha, it's just a learning process. “We are rebuilding BBH with new leaders. The agency has won 5-6 big businesses recently and is on a growth path after a course correction. Publicis Health is also rubbing shoulders with Leo Burnette and BBH now. Leo Burnett Orchards is also doing great again. Our strategy over the last few years has been building the organizations, our culture and communities. I am learning new things.”