Good creative work creates real impact: Amitesh Rao

On the sidelines of Goafest, where Leo clinched titles for Brand Activation & Promotions Specialist Agency of the Year, Health Specialist Agency of the Year, and Technology Specialist Agency of the Year, we caught up with Amitesh Rao, CEO, South Asia - Leo, Publicis Health and Publicis Business, to talk about the creative engine powering this growth. But according to Rao, the awards are not the end goal, they are a byproduct. 

Among the campaigns contributing to Leo India’s strong showing were Whisper’s “Period Science for Moms,” aimed at bridging menstrual education gaps; IKEA’s “IKEA Typing,” which brought the brand closer to everyday digital behavior; P&G Shiksha’s “Stand Up for the Learning Gap,” addressing education inequality; Oreo’s “History in the Baking,” which tapped into nostalgia and storytelling; and Sebamed’s “Skin Deep,” which tackled beauty stereotypes through a science-first narrative. These campaigns reflect the agency’s emphasis on purpose-driven, creatively-led solutions that intend to deliver cultural impact and business outcomes.

In this interview, Rao further spoke about the recent consolidation, culture that defines Leo, stand-out campaigns, and more. 

Excerpts:

Q: Leo Burnett has won consecutively and performed well at the ABBYs. What do you think sets your work apart in the eyes of the jury over the years? What kind of work defines Leo?

A: The short answer is that the work isn't done for juries. And I think juries are smart enough to recognise that.

By and large, if you look at the work Leo has been producing that’s done well over the years at all forums, it’s consistently on big, mainstream brands. It’s built on the back of partnerships with our biggest clients and is always solving something very real in the world.

Sometimes it’s a core business problem; it could be marketing, supply chain, or talent-related. Sometimes it’s about solving for a community, sometimes for an individual, and sometimes for the planet. But the idea behind a lot of the powerful work Leo has done is that strong, powerful creative thinking can transform and create solutions for all kinds of challenges.

When we approach our work by asking, “What is the problem? Let’s define it. How do we, as a creative company, solve it?” then the work naturally develops a grammar and a method. So when it ends up at an awards forum, it stands out to the jury for different reasons. That is at the heart of a lot of the agency's success over the years.

This year, we’re the world’s number one creative agency in terms of effectiveness on the global Work Rankings. That’s another measure of how good creative work creates real impact. Is it effective in business? Social impact? Environmental impact? That’s why the effectiveness ranking—being number one—is a very meaningful recognition for us.

Q: Do you treat awards like the ABBYs as validation of internal creative standards, or more as external milestones?

A: Awards are an outcome. You don’t design your talent, capabilities, workflow, culture, or client partnerships to win awards. That’s not how Leo does it. We are designed to produce strong creative work. When that work is recognised by neutral juries through awards, it’s fantastic—we’re very proud of it. It’s a kind of validation, yes, but it’s a welcome fallout, not the point of what we do.

Of course, a lot of work goes into entering award shows, but if you don’t have the substance, you can’t add the sizzle.

Q: Do you think the playing field is truly level today for smaller, independent agencies?

A: Absolutely. In fact, Goafest this year is a great example. Different agencies are winning and doing well. There’s no question that the size of the agency is not a barometer for your probability of winning. Of course, scale gives you advantages—you’re working with more client partners, dealing with a wider range of challenges, and have more opportunities to do great work simply because of the business size. But beyond that, the opportunity to do award-winning work is absolutely open to everyone.

Q: Amitesh, could you walk us through the recent transition from Leo Burnett to Leo beyond just the name? How is the consolidation shaping up internally and externally?

A: The industry is seeing a lot of consolidations, acquisitions, and mergers—some designed for cost optimisation, some for scale. What’s happening with Leo and Publicis is not a merger. It’s a consolidation of all the great creative, strategic, and business talent across creative agencies under one umbrella. We’re calling it Leo, or the Leo Constellation—a network of agencies. For us and our clients in this market, nothing has changed—same people, same leadership, same talent, same operational arms, same relationships, same kind of work. What has changed is that we now have the capability to harness the best minds from across the world to work on any client business, anywhere.

Q: What is your creative vision for Leo in 2025 and beyond?

A: We’re in the business of creativity but creativity with a purpose, creativity with an outcome. It’s applied creativity.

Our constant effort is to ensure that the best creative and strategic minds apply themselves to make an impact, to create change. Creativity is a transformational force. Today’s world offers more possibilities than ever before. With the ability to harness technology, data, and AI, creativity gets a boost it becomes a force multiplier. These tools allow for better starting points and help amplify creative ideas across multiple touchpoints.

So while nurturing strong creative thinking at the core, we’re also amplifying it with capabilities across a wide spectrum not just legacy formats but experiential, shopper, commerce, and tech.

Some capabilities we build in-house; we see ourselves as a technology-native creative company. We’re also deeply collaborative, working with specialists like architects, designers, technologists, and engineers who help bring ideas to life. It’s all these things together that define the direction we’re taking our data from.

Q: Is that a positioning strategy? Do you want Leo to be seen as a tech-specialist agency?

A: We’re not playing a positioning game. This is what we are, and what we want to be. We’re on a journey of constant growth and learning. We’re not saying this for optics, it’s real. If we do this well, the world will recognise it.

Q: Many agency groups focus on scale, tools, and specialist capabilities. Do you think Leo is uniquely positioned to prioritise creative firepower over structural efficiency?

A: I think those are artificial divides. For a creative idea to have impact, you need structural capability and efficiency. As part of Publicis, we’re already ahead in tech, AI, and capabilities. We collaborate with extended teams across the group. So, they’re not either-or. The idea is to make them work together.

Q: What are some of the standout campaigns from Leo recently? Any personal favourites?

A: There are quite a few. Gatorade Finder is a great example; it sits at the intersection of creativity, tech, activation, and experience. It breaks traditional boundaries. It uses data, real-life experiences, and creativity to solve a real problem in crowded cities.

Whisper is another standout, an ongoing program aimed at reducing dropout rates among schoolgirls due to inadequate period education. It’s a brilliant example of marketing intersecting with social purpose. It’s not just “purpose for purpose’s sake”; it’s integrated with the business.

Then there’s Lay’s. People know it as a potato chips brand, but few realise how invested PepsiCo is in the supply chain behind it. Some of our work with marginalised and women farmers is improving productivity and it all feeds back into the business. Again, it is about multiple forces coming together.

Q: All these examples reflect long-term brand building. But in today’s age of instant gratification, how can brands continue to build for the long haul?

A: These are not two separate things. All the brands I mentioned have quarterly targets. We run sales promotions. We execute tactical activations. These are not brands that exist in some long-term, esoteric brand-building bubble. They are successful, healthy brands that operate in the real world with real consumers, real markets, and real internal pressures around sales, volumes, and performance... just like any good business does.

What makes them stand out is their ability to straddle both worlds effortlessly. And I think that’s the only way to be.

I don’t believe you have to choose between short-term gratification and long-term brand building. It’s not either/or. It’s an and. It has to be an and. That’s the only sustainable way forward.

Q. What kind of culture are you building at the agency? What are some non-negotiables?

I believe culture is the single most important pillar in a creative company. It always has been, but today it's even more critical. With the availability of powerful technologies, creativity has in many ways been democratised. What holds value now is creative thinking, not just creative craft. The burden of craft is increasingly being taken up by tech, which makes the power of pure creative thought even more essential.

In this context, a successful creative company must have a strong creative culture, one that outlives individuals, personalities, and even leadership. It needs to be endemic to the company itself. We work hard to build that culture. It’s one of the most important things we do -- creating an environment that not only attracts great talent but also allows that talent to thrive.

There are many facets to the culture we’re fostering, but one of the foremost is that we’re a we culture, not a me culture. We win together, we lose together, we play together, and we work together. The best work we produce is collaborative work. Many times, you won’t be able to say whether a particular idea came from one person or another, because it came from the team. And that culture reflects in the way we reward and recognise contributions. We celebrate the we, not the me.

We’re also a very transparent, open culture. Physically, our offices are open spaces; we don’t believe in hierarchy for the sake of it. We do have strong leaders, but that’s very different from having “bosses.” And yes, it might sound like a cliché, but we truly believe that great ideas can come from anywhere. That’s why our teams are made up not only of traditional advertising talent but also of aerospace engineers, dentists, lawyers—people from diverse backgrounds who bring fresh perspectives. Our culture encourages that mix, because creativity thrives on variety.

Q. And has that culture extended to compensation models, especially as you’re bringing in such diverse talent?

I think our compensation structures are quite healthy, certainly in line with industry benchmarks. So I wouldn’t say this is specific to one agency or another.

But if we zoom out, for the industry at large, I believe compensation models are going to evolve significantly in the coming years. Why? Because the way talent engages with companies is changing. Especially with Gen Z, not everyone is looking for traditional full-time roles. The gig economy is very real. People want to work on projects, explore different avenues. So models will evolve and they must.

This evolution is also linked to how compensation flows between clients and agencies. As that relationship changes, so too will the structures within agencies. It’s all developing. Let’s see how it shapes up over the next few years.

Q. Lastly, what are your short-term and long-term goals? 

Our short-term and long-term goals are, essentially, the same. It is to continually elevate the calibre of creative solutions we offer our clients. Everything else is a subset of this mission. Whether it's building capabilities, nurturing talent, fostering a strong internal culture, or hitting growth targets, it all feeds into our overarching aim: to consistently deliver work that uses the power of strong creative thinking to solve real client problems.