2023 is the year dentsu India would most like to forget. Besides losing big accounts like Maruti Suzuki and Reckitt to competition, the agency was caught up in a leadership turmoil. Harsha Razdan, CEO, South Asia, dentsu, is working overtime to stabilise the boat. He tells Akanksha Nagar how the agency plans to transition into a consultancy, building on the foundation laid in marketing and technology. Edited excerpts:
How do you see the advertising landscape evolving in 2024?
Two noteworthy aspects will emerge in the new year. First, there is a growing demand for customising media delivery to an individual or cohort level, with clients increasingly seeking highly tailored approaches for specific groups of people. This trend is expected to gain momentum. Second, the influence of AI is two-fold. While it introduces a plethora of innovations, it also poses challenges to existing workflows, necessitating a quicker pace of adaptation. Therefore, we must adjust our operational methods, embrace greater agility, and adeptly incorporate and leverage AI for clients. As we progress, our focus should be on delivering more personalised, client-specific, and consumer-centric media solutions.
Has the ‘East Meets East’ strategy started paying dividends?
The ‘East meets East’ strategy comprises two key components. As a Japanese company, about a year-and-a-half ago, India used to report to APAC, which, in turn, reported to the dentsu team in London, and ultimately to the Japanese headquarters. However, for the past seven months, India has been reporting to APAC, and APAC now reports directly to Japan. This closer nexus has fostered a unique approach, where instead of looking towards the West or emulating Western practices, there is a concerted effort to develop a robust strategy for collaboration between Japan and India across various fronts. Another facet of this strategy involves a shift from a service line-oriented formal structure to a more client-centric and regional model, which allows for optimal utilisation of talent, resources, and relationships across the region. This enables the agency to deliver enhanced value, quality, and innovation to the clients and stakeholders.
What are your plans for the agency?
We aspire to evolve into a company positioned at the intersection of marketing and technology. Moving forward, the goal is to transition into a consultancy, building on the foundation laid in marketing and technology. Looking ahead, there is a commitment to strengthen our position as a B2B2S firm (business-to-business-to-society), emphasising a dedication to contributing positively to society through our campaigns and work, and our position as a people-centered transformation company.
How do you intend to improve creative, media, and customer experiences?
Within the next three years, 50% of dentsu India’s business will be derived from customer experience (CX). Currently, in India, creative and media constitute around 80% of the combined business. We aim to grow the agency business in two ways—enhance the core strengths in creative and media services and prepare for the future challenges and opportunities of technology and AI. We will do this by investing in the talent, processes, and tools, and by delivering high-quality work for the clients. Second, we want to expand the capabilities in the domain of CX, which is a key area of demand and differentiation. We will do this by attracting more skilled professionals, forming strategic alliances, and acquiring relevant companies. Apart from building up scale and talent and making calculated acquisitions in CX in the media and creative business, we are also challenging ourselves to become much more efficient in this space and have set strict aspirational targets to use technology and become 25% more efficient or deliver 25% more impact to the clients.
The industry has been facing cost pressure for the last 20 years. However, we do not intend to replace our employees with AI but support them in focusing on larger and more complex aspects for clients.
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