Leo has added greater than 40 purchasers over the previous 15 months, together with Reckitt, Pfizer, Shriram Finance, ITC and Sebamed, Rao mentioned. It has secured mandates throughout the Center East and North Africa, Southeast Asia and Europe, strengthening its international presence.
Whereas development has been sturdy, the company faces a key problem: preserving its artistic legacy whereas adapting to data-driven and technology-led promoting.
Altering management mannequin
Promoting is present process a basic transformation, Rao mentioned, as manufacturers rely extra on digital instruments to have interaction with shoppers. Whereas businesses initially embraced expertise for effectivity, he mentioned its influence is extra profound.
“Expertise is democratising creativity, shifting reliance from particular person craftsmanship to a extra accessible artistic course of,” he mentioned. “Whereas human creativity stays irreplaceable, execution can now be enhanced by way of tech-driven platforms.”
This shift can be reshaping management in promoting. Whereas promoting was as soon as synonymous with artistic visionaries equivalent to David Ogilvy and Leo Burnett, Rao sees a shift towards collaboration.
“Success as we speak isn’t about one individual’s genius however about groups working collectively to execute huge concepts in a myriad methods, making organisational tradition, an openness to collaboration, and adoption of recent applied sciences the pillars of tomorrow’s profitable artistic firms,” Rao added.
As digital, knowledge, and expertise redefine model engagement, businesses should transcend storytelling to ship influence throughout a number of client touchpoints. At Leo, this has meant fostering a team-driven artistic tradition slightly than relying on just a few high-profile leaders.
Balancing creativity, efficiency
As promoting turns into more and more data-driven, businesses should strike a stability between short-term efficiency advertising and marketing and long-term brand-building. Rao acknowledged the rising reliance on metrics however cautioned towards over-prioritising effectivity at the price of model integrity.
“Shoppers join with manufacturers which have authenticity and goal, not simply these mathematically optimised for efficiency,” he mentioned. “The important thing query isn’t, ‘How do I stand out?’ however slightly, ‘Am I saying one thing worthy of consideration?’”
This stability is important as Leo seeks to protect its artistic strengths whereas assembly consumer calls for for measurable return on funding.
Efficiency recognition
Leo’s efficiency over the previous 12 months has been recognised throughout main platforms. In 2024, the company was ranked No. 1 in India at Cannes Lions, WARC, and One Present, gained Company of the Yr on the Abby One-Present and Adfest, and completed No. 2 on the Effies. It holds the No. 1 spot in Marketing campaign Temporary Asia’s India rankings.
Rao emphasised that awards should not the company’s main goal.
“Our imaginative and prescient is to be on the vanguard of creativity globally, and that dedication is mirrored in our work. Profitable accolades is all the time welcome, however all the time an consequence of delivering impactful artistic options for our purchasers,” he mentioned.
Leo’s enterprise momentum stays robust. The company retained all its main purchasers in 2024 whereas securing a number of new accounts.
“We had a stellar 2024, rising quicker than some other artistic company in India. Our robust natural development was an consequence of present consumer relationships being stronger than ever, whereas we welcome partnerships with a number of recent manufacturers. 2024 additionally noticed us bringing in distinctive expertise throughout the board,” Rao instructed Mint.
World enlargement
Leo India has emerged as a key development driver throughout the international community. The company works with purchasers throughout areas abroad, reinforcing its popularity as a centre of excellence for international mandates.
“The artistic and strategic expertise in India is amongst the very best on the planet, and at Leo we’re seeing this manifest in vital international mandates over the previous 12 months. Simply as India turned an IT hub, it’s now time for Indian artistic and strategic expertise to make a worldwide influence,” he added.
This international enlargement aligns with the Publicis Groupe’s broader technique of integrating creativity with expertise, knowledge, and commerce.
India’s promoting panorama presents each alternatives and challenges, with manufacturers needing to tailor methods for a extremely various client base—spanning completely different languages, cultures, and generations.
“The best manufacturers have one factor in widespread – perception techniques that unify. Whereas the complexity of execution is bigger than it has ever been because of media and viewers fragmentation, the core model story should stay constant,” Rao mentioned.
Whereas the market turns into extra fragmented, Rao mentioned manufacturers that keep true to their id whereas adapting to new media codecs will succeed.
For Leo, the main focus stays on balancing creativity with data-driven execution. As promoting evolves, the company’s means to mix storytelling, expertise, and measurable influence will outline its future success.
