Publicis Groupe South Asia recently named Paritosh Srivastava CEO of BBH India, in addition to his role as leader of Saatchi & Saatchi India and Saatchi Propagate. He talks to Christina Moniz about his plans for each of these agencies and explains how Publicis Groupe’s integrated business approach has helped them pick up nearly 80% of its new business mandate. Excerpts:
The creative industry finds itself in a difficult spot today, with consolidation across networks on the one hand and the rise of AI on the other. How do these developments affect it?
I am an eternal optimist. In this case, my positive outlook is validated by India’s per capita income of approximately $2,400 and GDP growth rate of 6.5%. Consumer aspiration and consumption will only increase. Brands will be forced to find new ways to be distinctive and meaningful, thus providing the advertising industry with opportunities to deliver creatively and effectively. The creative business is here to stay, and creativity will continue to be led by human capital. AI could become one of the enablers to the business, but I don’t see it replacing us.
Ad agencies have their power in the client relationship by being essential partners in business growth. Our leverage comes from being in touch with the evolving marketing landscape, immersing ourselves in the client’s business, and finding solutions that work seamlessly across touchpoints.
The Publicis Groupe pits a lot of faith in its ‘Power of One’ approach. How has that helped you pick up new businesses?
The reason Publicis Groupe’s ‘power of one’ model (integrated services business model) gives us an edge is because it is born of a deep marketer need. With consumer and media becoming fragmented, product segments becoming at par, and accountability being the first prerequisite for advertising sales promotion budgets, it is the solution for today’s times and it is our strategic differentiator.
Nearly 80% of our agencies’ mandates like P&G, Skoda (Volkswagen), Axis, Nivea, Diageo, Hero and more are through the power of one, spanning creative, media, data, tech, experiential, commerce, shopper or more.
Saatchi & Saatchi India has more than doubled in revenue over the past five years with 2024 being its best year in India ever with multiple high value mandates. Saatchi Propagate has grown tenfold in the last five years. BBH India has also had a great run in the last few years with mandates that include HDFC ERGO, Taj Hotels, Microtek, World Gold Council, upGrad, Reliance Digital and Caratlane.
How are you addressing the talent crunch that affects many advertising agencies today?
One of the biggest delusions the advertising industry has is that talent will be auto attracted to it. While that worked back in the day, today talent has many interesting opportunities and greater expectations. Therefore, in the absence of a readymade talent pipeline, we are investing in sophisticated hiring programmes to attract the right talent and grow them through our ranks. We are working with top B-schools like IIM, MICA, FMS Delhi, Ashoka and JBIMS Mumbai and actively recruiting top talent from diverse streams such as science, economics, statistics and anthropology.
Our rigorous induction programmes like Basecamp help immerse our recruits in the industry and our systems. Our investment in learning and development is reflected in over 1,600 hours of junior and mid-level training conducted in 2024 alone. Additionally, internal programmes like ‘Go One Better’ give young talent the freedom to contribute solutions to any brand in our agency portfolio. Our ‘Future Leaders Forum’ enables next-gen leaders to step up and play a more strategic and active role in shaping our collective growth.
Now that you’re leading three agencies in the Publicis Groupe, how are you creating differentiation for each of them?
Saatchi & Saatchi India is the biggest proponent of the ‘Power of One’ within the Publicis Groupe in India. We are scaling it further by doubling down on full-funnel mandates, both in terms of size and scale. BBH India, which recently won a Bronze at Cannes Lions for the ‘Garnier Vs Bassi’ campaign, marking L’Oréal India’s first-ever Cannes victory, has always been about creative effectiveness. That is what we will continue to sharpen in the context of the evolving marketing landscape. Saatchi Propagate, on the other hand, is a full-stack digital agency with deep expertise in social, influencer, online reputation management, precision marketing and more.
We are among the top digital agencies in the country that owns the complete consumer experience journey for brands looking to stay ahead in a fast-moving digital world.