Since Dheeraj Sinha joined the FCB Group as the CEO for India and South Asia, the agency has gone on to bag big mandates from various brands. The agency has had 54 wins this year worth about $3 million. The wins included KFC, Shoppers Stop, SBI, etc.
Sinha said that television and digital were among the agency’s top media choices, especially if one was looking at large FMCG, auto, finance, etc, brands.
“Digital is a significant part of everything that we are doing and it’s all integrated. We’re not doing much print or outdoor as of now,” he added.
Edited excerpts:
What are brands / clients looking for? Are you noticing any changes in their requirements given the rise of tech interventions?
Clients are responsible for delivering on business. Client requirements are about helping them solve business problems or capture an opportunity. I don’t think that’s changed in the 25 years I’ve been around. It’s up to us to solve that in the most spectacular and in the most creative way. Because great creative work is simple yet effective.
The difference — from a creative agency’s perspective — is that today the palette is large. You can solve a problem using a TVC, by data, AI, or by building a platform. But the issue is very simple — using creativity to solve business problems.
Which campaigns are working, and which are not?
We are seeing activity across clients such as Amul, Tata Motors, Hero Motocorp, and FMCG brands. Most of our clients drive India’s economy. They are in automotives, FMCG, banking, etc. We are seeing a lot of activity across the board.
In terms of media, where are you seeing the most traction? Is it television, CTV, digital, outdoor, or print?
I think television still rules the roost, especially if you are looking at large brands, if you’re looking at FMCG, two-wheelers, cars, or finance as a category. But, digital has also become strong. And today, we lead many campaigns with digital. And where we’re not leading with digital, it comprises a significant part of what we are doing. We’re not doing too much print or outdoor now.
How are your creative solutions evolving to meet the requirements of OTT?
About two months ago, we launched an initiative called FCB Now. We have a deep partnership with Jio, with Amazon Mini TV, ShareChat, Moj, Google, etc.
The brand now has deeper links with the content, and with the influencers on these platforms. That’s one big advantage we have as a network, that we’ve got these partnerships and can use them.
For a slightly more premium audience, the CTV cohort is what you need to look at.
Celebrity endorsements versus influencer marketing. Between the two, which do clients prefer during the festive season, and where are they seeing better ROI?
We don’t use celebrities as brand ambassadors. We use celebrities because they act better, give us better visibility, help expand our media reach.
If you’re using a big Bollywood or cricket celebrity, it gives you mass appeal. Certain values of the celebrity rub off on your brand and your campaign.
Influencers are used if you want to target a certain cohort, say women or Gen Z. You can use influencers to deliver messages which you cannot in a 30-sec TVC.
We use influencers to target a certain cohort. They work ground-up and celebrities work top-down.
How frequently are brands calling for pitches during the festive season, and which sectors are you seeing the maximum demand in?
There may be many reasons why a brand calls for pitches. Sometimes, it’s because of procedural reasons — they call for a pitch every three to five years, which just might happen to be during the festive season. Then there may be pitch requirements because the brand is not happy with the current work.
What are the new wins of FCB Group India, and the key losses in the last two years? Are you targeting specific categories for new business?
There may be some categories that we are closed to for now because we have many brands in that category. But otherwise, we are fairly open for any exciting new business opportunities as long as they meet our revenue threshold.
We’ve had some 54 wins this year, worth about $3 million. I don’t remember any significant loss that we had this year in terms of clients. It’s been a great year for us. We won KFC early this year, we won Shoppers Stop, SBI, etc.
FCB has seen a total overhaul of its leadership since you came in. Is the transformation done or do you think there’s more work needed?
I wouldn’t say that there’s been an overhaul. There’s been a great mix of people that we’ve promoted from within. We’ve promoted Gaurav Dudeja as the CEO of FCB Interface, Ruchita Purohit as the President and Head of Office of FCB Interface’s Mumbai branch. We promoted Udayan Chakravorty and Anusheela Saha as the National Creative Directors of FCB India. We’ve brought in Kartikeya Tiwari as the Creative Digital Partner in FCB Group, from FCB Kinnect.
At the same time, we also managed to attract some of the greatest talent from outside — Hemant Shringy from BBDO India, Mayuresh Dubhashi from Leo Burnett, as chief creative officers etc.
We had to fill some of the positions because people retired. Then there were positions which were not filled for the last couple of years because we were not able to find suitable candidates. I would say we have the best combination of talent and leadership that you can have in this country.
What roles are you hiring for, and where does the opportunity lie for talent in a storied agency like FCB?
I think there is talent across the board. We are hiring people in digital, technology, production, copywriting, design, data, ORM (online reputation management), media, etc. We are hiring across the board. We are hiring people with new-age talent, with data skills, motion graphics skills, with a certain design and tech sensibility.
Legacy agencies are operating in a highly fragmented and competitive environment today. Where do you see the biggest threats coming from for ad agencies?
I feel FCB is 150 years old and 150 years young. I don’t see ourselves as a legacy agency. If you look at how agile we are with our clients, whether it is Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Mahindra and Mahindra, or KFC, I think we are faster than most startup agencies. At the same time, we bring the advantage of serious talent and strategic ability. We have helped build solid brands over decades.
Our biggest threat is not being able to attract talent. The second biggest threat is that we stop responding to clients’ business problems. The third biggest threat can be if we fail to upgrade ourselves for the future, if we fail to embrace the change around digital, data, technology, and agility. Those would be the things to watch out for.
As the leader of an iconic ad agency operating in these challenging times, what keeps you up at night?
The only thing that we all worry about is the client’s business problems. The whole organisation is designed to think about the client’s business problems and how to solve them in the most creative way that one can. I think there is no other focus for the organisation.
Read More: Clients want us to navigate the entire consumer journey for the brand: Dheeraj Sinha, CEO, FCB Group