The culture at Leo Burnett is hugely outcome-oriented: Dheeraj Sinha
Dheeraj Sinha, MD, India and Chief Strategy Officer, Leo Burnett, South Asia, talks about the agency’s strategy called ‘Wave 3’, new-age clients and more
When music-streaming giant Spotify asked Publicis Groupe-owned agency, Leo Burnett, to create an AV for the brand that recently entered the Indian market, the agency tapped the neuroscience route.
What could have been a conventional process of doing a digital ad for a brand then turned into a task where the top 100 songs in India were listed out and mapped through neuroscience, thereby discovering the thread of music that is a hit in India. It was then incorporated into its ad campaign #Beatofabillion.
Apart from Spotify, the agency claims to have won 29 new businesses of over Rs 32 crore in the first six months of 2019 itself. Moreover, it claims to have witnessed 20 per cent growth in revenue for the first six months of CY2019, when compared to CY2018. “The numbers can go up and down because when you win an account, you do so much work on it that the scope of work always increases and you make revenue. What’s important is to have that winning culture,” said Dheeraj Sinha, MD, India and Chief Strategy Officer, Leo Burnett, South Asia, during a conversation with exchange4media.
He also spoke about the strategy driving this growth, areas the agency is investing in and more.
According to Sinha, the agency’s strategy called ‘Wave 3’ has been one of the biggest accelerators of its growth. “If you look at mainline agencies, there are digital agencies but digital is just one part of the whole game. Wave 3 is about using newer materials to create work for clients to solve real business problems. It could be branded utility, a technology platform or marketing embedded with product. When clients need that kind of solution, they are naturally gravitating to us,” he said.
Sinha attributed the addition of new-age clients like consumer-tech companies and technology-led Twitter, CarDekho, Spotify and Amazon to the strategic driver that is ‘Wave 3’.
While the bulk of clients that the agency works with might be retainer-relationships, Sinha asserts Leo Burnett actively pursues project-based relationships as a part of their strategy. “There’s a sense in advertising that retainers are going away and clients are doing projects. In fact, projects are pretty profitable. They are an intensive 2-3 months engagement. You do your most productive work and go out,” he said.
A huge amount of investment has been made on training and hiring people with new-age abilities who have a sense of digital, technology or product innovation, Sinha added. “We run grad and under-grad programmes and the brightest minds from the top colleges across the country.”
The culture at Leo Burnett is hugely outcome-oriented, he says. “Whether you are a strategist or account management person from Leo Burnett, your whole orientation is that you have to get the ball to the goal. New-age thinking and forward-looking is a huge aspect. Our credit-system is not individual but collective,” Sinha stated.
On general client budgets, Sinha said, “In the context of the new slowdown story, new categories are suffering already. There has been some cutbacks in categories like FMCG, auto and real estate. Having said that, there are enough clients who are still spending. Consumer-tech is doing well as they are funded and are spending, even the finance category is spending.”
According to him, what gives the agency an edge over many others in the business is that it solves business problems for its clients. “What we tell clients is that don’t give us a comms brief, give us a business problem that we have to solve for you.”
Sinha’s goal is clear - to continue growing as the new-age agency that chases work and growth. “In agencies, it’s always been frowned about when you talk money. MDs have always been looked at deep-counters. The whole idea of running an agency from a strategic perspective is undermined. It’s important to chase growth and run an agency like you run a company,” he concluded.
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The Head of Media at Dabur India spoke exclusively to exchange4media on the World Cup, associating with Indian Idol, the company’s digital spending and much more
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The 140-year-old company is going big on key sporting events, World Television Premiere (WTP) movies and reality shows. It is now gearing up to become the title sponsor of popular talent show ‘Indian Idol’ on Sony TV for the first time, shared Rajiv Dubey, who leads the media strategy at Dabur.
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ShareSwapan Seth's new book 'COOL' is out
The book is a reflection of the author's 'eclectic taste across categories'
Advertising professional and art collector Swapan Seth has announced the launch of his new book COOL. The book is described as "a ready reckoner to the hip and the happening, of the known and the very unknown."
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COOL has been published by Simon & Schuster India and is available on Amazon.
Seth is an ad veteran with a long and illustrious career in the industry. He became the youngest-ever Creative Director at Clarion at age 24. He was VP at 26 at Trikaya Grey. Two years later, he started his agency Equus.
He writes for publications such as The Economic Times, Hindustan Times and India Today. This is his second book and he has previously published THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY.
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Disney Star signs 9 sponsors for Asia Cup PAK
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up come on board
e4m Staff Disney Star has signed nine broadcast and digital streaming sponsors for the upcoming Asia Cup.
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up have come on board for the upcoming tournament.
As reported earlier by exchange4media, Disney Star has sought Rs 26 crore for the co-presenting sponsorship on TV and Rs 30 crore for Disney+ Hotstar.
According to industry sources, the associate sponsorship on Star Sports has been priced at Rs 19.66 crore, whereas for the ‘powered by’ sponsorship on Disney+ Hotstar, the broadcaster is seeking Rs 18 crore.
As per the information available with exchange4media, Disney+ Hotstar has three sponsorship tiers-- co-presenting (Rs 30 crore), powered by (Rs 18 crore) and associate sponsorship (Rs 12 crore). The broadcaster is offering an estimated reach of 120-140 million for co-presenting sponsors, 90-100 million for powered by and 60-70 million for associate sponsorship.
A spot buy for 10 seconds has been priced at Rs 25 lakh for the India vs Pakistan matches, while for the non-India matches, the ad rate for 10 second is Rs 2.3 lakh. The India matches plus the final for ODIs has been priced at Rs 17 lakh per 10 seconds.
Asia Cup is scheduled to be held from 30 August, 2023, to September 17, 2023.
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Sorted 360 wins creative & social media mandate of Reliance Mall
The agency will manage offline and online campaigns for Reliance Mall
Sorted 360, an integrated creative and social media agency, has won the mandate to providing brand solutions for Reliance Malls across India.
“Sorted 360 is set to enhance Reliance Malls' market presence with their unparalleled creative prowess and strategic thinking,” read a press release.
“Sorted 360's commitment to pushing the boundaries of creative communication aligns perfectly with Reliance Malls' ethos. With a pan-India presence spanning across 19 cities and growing, Reliance Malls has consistently captivated customers by offering an array of Reliance brands and third-party fashion & lifestyle brands. The mall has established an unparalleled connection with its patrons through superior quality, a remarkable value proposition, and an unmatched shopping experience,” it read further.
"We are thrilled to welcome Sorted 360 as our trusted partner in advancing our brand presence across the nation," said the Head of Marketing at Relaice Malls. "Their proven expertise in retail, shopping center management, and innovative creative strategies make them the perfect fit for our vision."
"Partnering with Reliance Malls is a testament to our commitment to shaping extraordinary brand experiences," remarked Prerana Anatharam, Co-founder of Sorted 360. "We are excited to leverage our strategic and creative acumen to further elevate Reliance Malls as the epitome of convenience, choice, and excellence."
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KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias
Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments
KlugKlug has appointed Hemang Mehta as its Country Manager for India.
Mehta will play a pivotal role in driving KlugKlug's growth and expansion within the Indian market and be responsible for Sales & GTM Strategy
Prior to that, he has also represented organisations like Exponential (now VDX.tv), India Today Digital and Rediff.com. His expertise spans various domains including digital media sales, mobile marketing, media planning, and buying, social media marketing, and more.
Hemang Mehta expressed his enthusiasm about joining KlugKlug, saying, "I am thrilled to be a part of KlugKlug, a forward-thinking platform that is reshaping the influencer marketing landscape. As much as I look forward to collaborating with the exuberant team at KlugKlug, I am super excited to interact with the brands to deliver powerful data-backed Influencer solutions that will guarantee business outcomes."
Commenting on the appointment, Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of KlugKlug, stated, "We are excited to welcome Hemang Mehta to our team as the Country Manager for India. His extensive experience in digital media sales and marketing will be instrumental in driving our efforts to provide influencer marketing solutions to our clients. We believe Hemang's leadership will be key in scaling our operations and expanding our reach within the Indian market."
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