Leo Burnett has had a good couple of months. It won the Meta India account in April 2022 and was named ‘Creative Agency Of The Year’ at the One Show ABBYs a month later.
Dheeraj Sinha, CEO of Leo Burnett South Asia and Chairman of BBH India, told us (afaqs!) during the event that the biggest peak for him throughout the last two years of lockdown(s) was his agency people.
“We’ve never had such a well-coordinated agency before.” According to the CEO, the firm won “40 new business clients during 2020 through zoom and online proposals” as a result of such a cohesive force.
Sinha explains how a tool and a workshop module were combined. Clients and Leo Burnett employees checked in from home to discuss business and brand strategy for the next three to six months.
One of the first things they did following the lockdown was to develop a programme called 0-3-6, a thinking process.
We held at least 50-70 client workshops,” he says, adding that the workshops are where the ideas for Mobileshaala for Whisper and Weddings At Home for Shaadi.com originated from.
Despite all of these measures, the epidemic and the resulting lockdowns worked against the agency’s good intentions.
“Roughly 20-30% of our clients cut down on spending,” Sinha says, but adds that the agency didn’t cut back on services to any clients, didn’t fire anyone, and “hired about 150 people in the last two years.”
When questioned if clients were approaching Leo Burnett with just project work because of the pandemic’s demands and scars, Sinha quickly said, “We love projects because they are good.”
He emphasises that projects are time-consuming; after the goods are delivered, you must leave. “We finish one, then go back and finish another, then finish another.”
Projects, he argues, are partnerships, but the nature of the relationship is different. “I’d say that 30% of our revenue comes from projects,” he says.
When confronting a competitor, revenue is critical, and it is always impacted. Consultancies were once considered the largest competitor to agencies four to five years ago.
The selection of Andy Main of Deloitte as Ogilvy’s worldwide CEO in 2020 bolstered this belief.
However, Sinha does not believe that consultants pose a threat to Indian authorities. “We don’t lose any pitches or clients to them.”
Follow and connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn & Twitter
