It’s The Best Time To Be In Creative Business: Dheeraj Sinha

Leo Burnett accomplished a remarkable feat at Cannes Lions this year, winning the most metals and empowering great pride in the country.

In a recent interview with Dheeraj Sinha, Chief Executive Officer of Leo Burnett India, South Asia & Chairman, BBH India sheds light on the key factors contributing to the agency's success in the advertising industry, the culture of collaboration, the evolution of creativity, commitment to addressing SDGs, technological advancements and the future of advertising.

While talking about the key factors that have contributed to Leo Burnett success in the advertising industry, Sinha emphasised that their achievements are the result of a structured shift in positioning and approach over the past five to six years. He stated, “If you look at all the body of work, they have an element of activation in them or they have an element of data and then they have an element of technology in them. They are not speaking in the traditional advertising language. That's one big change we made.” Sinha further focused on the agency's focus on being a new-age creative force, combining creativity with data and technology, being the defining factor in their accomplishments.

Moreover, Sinha also mentioned Leo Burnett’s culture of collaboration and meritocracy, encouraging a collective effort where credit is shared among team members. They actively sought young talent from various educational campuses, fostering a diverse workforce that includes coders, product designers, and technologists alongside traditional creatives. Also, he shed light upon the agency's commitment to solving business problems rather than merely responding to campaign briefs. Sinha stated, “We told our clients to not brief us on a campaign but on your problem. Further, let us solve it in the most creative way using data technology and everything else that we may have at our hands, allowing us to provide effective solutions.”

When asked about the evolution of creativity over the years, Sinha said, “I always say that it is the best time to be in the creative business and there was never a better time to be in the creative business”, emphasising the power of creativity in today's advertising landscape. He highlighted how creativity can now solve not only business problems but also larger societal and humanitarian issues. 

Sinha also talks about the expansion in the palette of tools available to advertisers, enabling them to create impactful work that makes a real difference in people's lives. He shares stating, “When I meet people or friends who are not from advertising, all they talk about are the jingles that they have known in the past. But in today's times, we are using creativity and technology, and data to solve problems. We use creativity to recreate Kapil Dev’s unbeaten 175 for the launch of Airtel 5G; we are using creativity to help farmers to receive data around farms for Lays; we use creativity to relaunch Oreo and increase market penetration. They are using the different palette available in today's times and solving problems, which are much more upstream. They're scalable ideas, we’re working across a large scale. They're real interventions, not just for awards.”

Leo Burnett's dedication to purposeful advertising is evident in their commitment to addressing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sinha mentioned, “The whole philosophy of Leo Burnett is that we want to create ideas that impact humankind”. He highlighted that the agency has ongoing projects with clients like P&G and Pepsi that focus on sustainability and social impact. The agency's philosophy of ‘solving for a billion’ drives its efforts to use creativity to positively impact humankind.

Regarding budget constraints, Sinha commented, “We face no budget constraints as we are in the business of commercial creative. The job of commercial creative is to optimise given the constraints. The more constraints put on us, the more creative we get. For instance, the Airtel idea did take a lot of money to execute but the Oreo idea did not take much money to execute it. So depending on what the client’s budgets are, depending on what the objectives are at that point in time, the need for creativity is to solve the problem and shape it accordingly. If there are no constraints then you have a problem.” He emphasised that Leo Burnett's focus is on producing impactful work that directly addresses client needs and challenges.

In reference to the integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the industry, Sinha said, “I think like any technological shift at any point in time, it will only help us create work much more easily in time and in a better way. I feel that technology is and will continue to be a servant and in the service of better work.” He believes AI will enhance internal processes, enable more contextual consumer messaging, and empower the industry to solve more significant problems.

Discussing the challenges and opportunities faced by the advertising industry, Sinha stressed the technological advancement day by day. He stated, “I think every time we get caught in a conversation with digital being the new thing. Now we are getting started with Chat GPT and generative AI. I think the right thing to focus on is how do we unleash and use the power of creativity to solve for business problems and solve human problems. To my mind, it is an opportunity to use newer materials available, data, technology, influencers, content, and generative AI to solve larger human problems, make the world a better place, and make businesses grow.” 

Sinha also stated, “There is no future of advertising without the future talent”, emphasising the importance of attracting and nurturing future talent. He also believes that the industry needs to focus on building a positive environment and celebrating its achievements to grow and become a shining example for the future.

Talking about the change in the marketing segment from output to purpose-driven campaigns, Sinha states, “I think it depends on what your need is at that point in time. I don't think everything needs to be purposeful. If you're talking about selling sanitary pads and girls falling out of the education system because of periods, and they don't understand what's happening to the body, then it's your job to help solve that problem and that's where the purpose comes in. But if you're selling a cookie, we don't have to work around for purpose on it. I don't think it's one size fits all.”

In terms of the future of the advertising industry, Sinha believes that the future of India's advertising industry is at a high. The recent global recognition at Cannes Lions and Leo Burnett's commitment to creative excellence positions India as a key player in the international advertising landscape.

As Leo Burnett continues to solve real-world challenges through creativity, its positive impact on both businesses and society is expected for greater highs.