'We have our business targets in APAC, and they always tend to be aggressive'

OMG's APAC CEO Tony Harradine discusses team expectations, APAC's significant role in recent business wins, and additional topic

by Neeta Nair
Published - April 17, 2023
7 minutes To Read
'We have our business targets in APAC, and they always tend to be aggressive'

Over a month ago, the IMF declared that India and China are together expected to contribute more than half of global growth this year, and the rest of Asia will contribute an additional quarter. This puts the spotlight on the Asia Pacific region, and also raises the question: will it be the moonbeam for advertising giants who are capable of rising to the occasion here?

We find out from Tony Harradine, CEO, Asia Pacific, Omnicom Media Group, who, in an in-depth conversation with Neeta Nair, Associate Editor of IMPACT Magazine, talks about the expectations from his team, how APAC has featured high on the list of new business wins of the group namely ACKO and Electrolux in India to Unilab in Philippines, Vodafone in China etc., and how every single country in the region has managed to take the bull by the horns and well exceeded the pre-pandemic levels as far as performance is concerned.

To what extent is APAC considered a growth engine for holding companies and how soon do you see it overtake the revenue contribution of North America and Europe for Omnicom Media Group

I'd say inevitably, there's always going to be high expectations from Asia Pacific from a growth perspective. Regardless of global economic circumstances, you always want your organization and the region you are leading to be setting the pace. It’s human nature.   There has been a slowdown in parts of the globe with consistent themes of inflationary pressures, market correction for tech stocks, house pricing, stabilization decline, and bank closures, depending on which part of the world you're in. Several weeks have passed in the US which may be a little too reminiscent for those of us who remember the beginning of the 2008 global financial crisis. But even as everybody continues to keep a close eye on whether the interest will continue to rise or will it top out, only time will tell what happens. We  have our business targets in APAC, and they always tend to be aggressive. We always want to overdeliver when necessary. We're an ambitious and highly-driven team. 

Globally, it's recognized that APAC has a significant opportunity to drive growth. It's a great region to be part of. And, within APAC, India is one of the standout markets. The Indian market, as we can see, is on a great trajectory. Now, it's the fifth largest from a GDP perspective, overtaking the UK. So, we are very confident about it. We also know that in India, digital adoption remains high and fast-paced. The market adapts to change quickly. It is leading innovation. Moreover, the sheer size means that any evolutionary change or development happens at an extreme scale. So, it is certainly safe to say that expectations from APAC are very high, but it would be difficult for me to comment if and when it will be seen overtaking the US.

From the Omnicom Media Group perspective, what is the overall APAC contribution, and where does India stand? 

It would be fair to say that the expectations and ambitions for APAC as an important part of our global delivery remain extremely strong.

Its size and contribution not only give us a big seat at the global table, but today, we also have a lot of iconic Asia-based brands that are spearheading  the relationship from the region. These would include brands like LG, Singapore Airlines and many others. Some of the largest global brands that we represent over index here in APAC. North Asia is huge in luxury and auto brands. So, in short, I’d say that we are well placed, we're delivering, we have a very ambitious management team, both regionally as well as in India.

OMD recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, and it's even more special for Asia because Hong Kong is where it started its first full-service operation. How has the agency evolved and what is the measure of its success in your opinion? 

It has evolved tremendously. Historically, OMD has been the bigger entity in terms of number of clients and scouts. It has consistently topped the order of the world's largest media agencies in billings. It's a market leader. And, with that comes a lot of responsibility. It has constantly been under the watch of the market. 

Arguably sometimes the bigger you are, the harder it is to adapt or change. But I'd say OMD has countered that and testament to it is our new global leader’s rise to his position while running the OMD business. This adaptability also puts us in a position to pivot such a large organization to one that is extremely focused on outcomes and approach for clients by keeping data-driven capabilities and technology at the heart of all that we do.

OMD has evolved tremendously over the last 25 years, and continues to be a pivotal part of Omnicom at large. 

OMD is clearly the superstar of Omnicom Media Group. But PHD, though an older agency, is still smaller. Do you think it needs to be more aggressive?  

I'd say, PHD does have a fairly unique positioning. It has very much of a challenger mindset even today. They've done very well to land globalized complex businesses in recent years, even though you’d put it under the banner of an Omnicom win. A lot of the capabilities that powered those wins were derived from the PHD team. And I would certainly put Chanel in that bracket as it relates to APAC. Diageo would be another. So, they do well. But they've got some ground to cover because OMD is a very large agency for us globally and in APAC. But in terms of the split between the two, PHD has certainly caught up. We have very strong and ambitious management. We've got great teams around the regions and markets. So their success is an ongoing story. 

In 2021, Omnicom increased its global headcount from 7,600 to 71,700 after losing around 6,000 roles in 2022. Does the increase in the staff numbers underline the swift recovery of advertising and reinforce the faith in agencies? 

It does, without a doubt. Obviously, the swing in headcount was driven by the unprecedented moment in time for us, rather, for all businesses because of the Covid pandemic. Businesses have to act in real-time to adjust to that environment. And we were very open to the teams about what we needed to do in order to meet our client's needs at that time. One important thing to remember when you're in a servicing-based business is that you have to be responsive to the clients that you ultimately work for. 

That being said, you also want to preserve as many jobs as you can. But there are obvious challenges when you're resetting a few things. From a business perspective, the pandemic gave rise to the need to adapt to our surroundings. It also made us consider some of the costs, such as travel, that we perhaps took for granted. We obviously took a view on those things as well. Having been in the role only for a few years prior to the pandemic, it was a steep learning curve for me and for everybody involved.

What have we achieved from that? I'd say we probably jumped 10 years from the toughest standpoint. We've learned to build more flexible operational models and working practices that provide agility for clients. We've learned to lean into new technologies to better connect our markets. This has arguably brought us all closer as a leadership unit and as a holistic region. However, balance is important, otherwise it's quick for people to lose connectivity to the business. 

Overall, I think, Covid added more complexity to an ecosystem that was already quite complex, and is now further lending itself to a very diverse and interesting work life for people that are in the agency game today. We're more relevant than ever as a result of the challenges that ensued around the pandemic. 

We are in the run-up to Cannes, which is probably the busiest period for all agencies. Which are the big campaigns that you are betting on this year?  

There can be a surprise here. There's a lot actually. It’s difficult for me to pick one. I think it's going to be a great year at Cannes this time.  

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