It’s been just three years since global boutique agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) set up shop in India and it is already working with star clients such as Hindustan Unilever, Marico, World Gold Council, Lakme Salon, Rediff.com, Diageo, TVS and others. The agency has reportedly reached break-even this year, and it?s now looking for strategic alliances in areas such as digital and design. FE’s Pritha Mitra Dasgupta caught up with Sir John Hegarty, chairman and worldwide creative director of BBH, who is popularly referred to as the ?master of the creative rebellion?. He talks about BBH India’s second phase of growth, its obsession with quality, and the dangers of social media. Edited excerpts.

BBH has been in India for three years now. What were your targets when you launched the agency, and have you been able to meet them?

I think we have a very simple objective. It is to be the best agency in India. What I want to be is the most interesting agency in India. That for me is the most important thing, with the best people producing great work, having fun, doing things that genuinely advance brands, increase their market share .

We are genuinely happy with where the agency is and we have a fantastic team. I think the ground work is done.

So the first task of setting up the agency is done. What?s next?

The next phase of growth will come by producing really good visible work that gets more and more people talking about BBH. Because at BBH it?s all about the work. That?s all that matters to me, the way we create things. The quality of the work we create is what drives us. We are crazy about our work and we are not obsessed with size, we are obsessed with quality.

Priti Nair, who was the managing partner ? creative and one of the founding members of BBH India, exited abruptly. What do you have to say about her exit?

I am enormously fond of Priti. I am a great fan of hers. She wanted to move on and do something on her own. I am not sure if she was absolutely comfortable being within BBH. Those things happen.

And now that void is filled by Raj Kamble, the new managing partner ? creative?

We are excited about getting a talent like Raj. I think one of the things that’s really fantastic for us is that not only is he highly regarded as an art director or a creative person, but that he has worked in other markets. If you are a creative person you bring your outside world into your work. Great creative people cross borders and, to me, Raj is like that.

Are there any loose ends at BBH India which you think need to be tied up?

Always. We have loose ends everywhere. In London, New York ? everywhere. We have always got things that we are trying to get better at. It’s a bit like our ‘Keep Walking’ campaign with Johnnie Walker. It’s all about progress. And the biggest loose end was about having a creative leader. But we have now done that. One area that needs beefing up is quality of craft. We have got some very good people. We make our people and our clients understand that just because you have done something fast doesn’t make it good. That craft still has a part to play. Advertising is 80% idea, but it?s also 80% execution. The quality of what you do, the quality of what you create is also important.

What are the challenges for BBH India now?

We need to create some famous work. Create some work that more people are talking about. It?s not about size, but about quality. There are a lot of opportunities out there. I think India is in a wonderful moment in its life in a way. But it will all be good only if the work is good.

When it comes to social media, do you think clients should give more freedom to agencies?

Clients are all excited about social media because it’s free. But it comes with a bite. Clients need to let go which they are finding so difficult to do. Clients should be creating work that inspire people to talk about. That?s how you can control the debate. You can?t control the debate once it?s out there. I think there are cases where I can tell a client that you shouldn?t be on social media. Or you shouldn?t be trying to control it. It?s not your place. It?s a conversation between people and so stay away. Talk about your company in an interesting way and let that conversation happen over there. You can definitely track it and stop people if they are saying something untrue. But you can’t be there to control it.