Leo’s CEO bets on culture to navigate the consolidation storm

An uneasy calm hangs over Indian advertising. As creatives and planners go about their routines, crafting sharp copy, striking visuals and analytical strategies to impress clients, they do so with one eye on the gathering storm.

The acquisition of Interpublic Group by Omnicom has stirred the industry, fuelling speculation about the consolidation of agency brands and the resulting layoffs. The rebranding of GroupM as WPP Media has only deepened the sense of flux. Publicis Groupe’s decision to merge Leo Burnett and Publicis Worldwide into a single entity, Leo, has revived the conversation around consolidation once more. 

Change, once a distant rumble, now edges closer.

Curiously, it is change itself that may prove most resilient when the storm breaks. “You need a culture which is open, collaborative and meritorious,” says Amitesh Rao, chief executive of Leo, South Asia. Some may dismiss this as typical agency jargon, but Rao speaks with conviction. 

Competing with 10,000 creators, content factories, film studios and video streamers.
Amitesh Rao

He argues that the traditional model of the creative agency no longer suits a world in which consumers are deluged with content and possess attention spans as fleeting as a puppy’s.

“Agencies must be able, willing and eager to collaborate with skill sets and capabilities beyond their immediate space of influence. It is the only way to deliver work that is both ambitious and transformational today,” he says.

The cultural shift isn’t theoretical but is beginning to show in the work.

Last year, Leo partnered with Google Maps to identify moments when congested streets emptied out, briefly turning them into makeshift playing fields. The resulting campaign, Gatorade Turf Finder, won a Gold in the Creative Data category at the 2024 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. 

The initiative reflects a broader truth Leo has embraced: in a collaborative economy, growth depends on working together. 

Convincing an entire agency to break free from the confines of traditional advertising is no easy task. Yet it is in such moments that leadership reveals itself. “It is incumbent on leaders to be secure in themselves and in what they are building, because their organisations absorb that confidence,” says Rao.

A troubling paradox lies beneath the surface. As agencies free themselves from rigid structures to produce more striking work, driven by cultures of openness and collaboration, the very fluidity they prize can strain even the most driven creatives. 

“There is no patented formula to preserve an organisation’s cultural DNA while also achieving scale and growth,” concedes Rao. His answer, however, is disarmingly simple: belief. Everyone in the agency must buy into a shared vision. Without it, he warns, “you fragment, you become many different companies and many different cultures within one company and you lose your identity.”

As leaders work to align their teams around a shared vision, Mr Rao cautions that no individual should eclipse the agency or its culture. The most enduring leaders, he argues, are those who build institutions that outlast them. 

Also Read: Personality-driven agency model is the past, democratised creativity is the future: Leo Burnett CEO

His view echoes what he told afaqs! when he assumed leadership of Leo in 2024. “There was a time when the creative advertising agency model was highly individualistic and personality-driven. The talent of one or two people could define an agency’s culture and success. That belongs to the past. I do not believe it is the future.”

Today, Leo competes not only with rival agencies but with “10,000 creators, content factories, film studios and video streamers.” The impact is visible. A growing share of the agency’s revenue now comes from global mandates, spanning the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.

As the year unfolds, the advertising industry faces a series of storms from consolidation to artificial intelligence. Whether culture, and the role it plays in shaping agencies, can withstand these forces remains to be seen. One could turn to astrologers for answers, or, more fittingly in this age, ask AI bots themselves.