What inspired your transition from consulting and digital business incubation at McKinsey to leading Publicis Media South Asia? How has this shift influenced your leadership style?
As a Partner at McKinsey & Company, I had the privilege to observe, analyse and advise businesses. However, due to the nature of consulting engagements (typically 4-6 months of highly intensive engagements), I did not get a chance to build, incubate, run, and grow a business over the long term. Therefore, taking the operating responsibility as CEO of Performics India (digital-native business of Publicis Media India) was a logical move for me. My stint at Performics India (2022 onwards) enabled me to apply all my consulting learnings into practice.
Late last year, I took over the responsibility of leading Publicis Media, South Asia, including top agencies such as Zenith India, Starcom India, Performics India, and Spark Foundry. My journey of incubating, running and scaling businesses continues, and the scale and opportunity for impact have just grown
With Performics India being awarded “eCommerce Agency of the Year 2024,” how do you see the future of e-commerce and digital media evolving in South Asia?
With relatively inexpensive mobile data and affordable handsets, the average Indian consumer is spending significant time on digital medium, not just to stay socially connected but also to consume content and engage in eCommerce As a result, advertisers are increasingly tapping into both digital media and retail media to promote their brands.
Looking forward, I anticipate people will consume content in a hybrid mode, across both broadcast TV and digital. Therefore, both digital and retail media will continue to grow in prominence. Among all available media, retail media provides some of the best insights into the consumer purchase journey. Retail media networks collect not just demographics, but also shopping behavior, location, and payment methods (credit card, UPI, COD, etc.) This helps brands to design sharper targeting of consumers – resulting in improved returns on ad spend.
With advancements in tech like AR/VR and blockchain, what new areas do you see Publicis Media exploring to push boundaries in media innovation?
We are extremely excited about the potential applications of tech, AI, and AR/VR in tech-led content and creative ideas. Our campaigns, such as ‘Say it with Oreo’ and ‘Gatorade Turf Finder’, exemplify the possibilities in this space.
Furthermore, we are leveraging tech, data, and AI—not just to serve clients better but also to transform our internal ways of working. iGrowthOs is our proprietary AI-based platform for managing end-to-end media planning and execution.
The jury is still out on the application of blockchain in media. We have experimented with NFTs and distributed ledgers; however, in the advertising context, we have yet to see a measurable business impact from these use cases.
How does the South Asia region contribute to Publicis Media’s overall global growth and innovation roadmap?
South Asia is one of Publicis Media’s key markets.
In addition, some of our locally developed solutions have been adopted globally. For example, Performing Funnels—our locally developed conversion rate optimization solution—is now part of the Global Publicis Growth Index. Buzz.AI—our in-house solution to track trends and consumer insights—is now being used across Southeast Asia
What are the three trends in media and advertising that will thrive in 2025 in India?
Hybrid mode of content consumption: While digital and CTV/OTT will continue to grow, broadcast TV will also remain relevant. Consumers will consume content in a hybrid mode, switching across media.
Retail media will gain further momentum: With quick commerce players adding more and more categories into the mix, retail media spends will grow and become more complex due to platform fragmentation.
Use of AI and Tech in Media: With generative AI becoming mainstream, brands will experiment with tech and AI-led campaigns to cut through the clutter. Additionally, we will see more sophisticated applications of data and analytics for improved measurement and attribution.
If you had to describe what a successful advertising agency will look, what are the non-negotiable attributes it must possess?
The definition of success may vary by agencies. We measure success by our ability to drive business growth and transformation for our clients. We consistently demonstrate the following attributes to help our clients grow and transform:
– Power of One – We bring all core capabilities of advertising (be it media, creative, content, tech, and data, etc.) into one bespoke model for our clients. For example, our ‘Make It’ framework provides an integrated approach across all facets of advertising to deliver business growth for our clients.
– Bring Cutting-Edge Capabilities to Our Clients – We have made strategic acquisitions to inject new capabilities. For example, Epsilon and Lotame for data and tech; Influential and Fluency for influencer marketing and advocacy; CitrusAds for retail media. Further, through Publicis Digital Experience, we build bespoke, cutting-edge digital solutions for our clients.
– Agility and Outcome Focus – Agility in responding to changes in the business environment has become a key differentiator for our clients. We have invested heavily in platforms such as Core.ai, Marcel, and GrowthOS to enable seamless collaboration and automated workflows. These platforms and an agile mindset allow us to respond effectively to our clients’ needs.
– Brilliant Basics – While we focus on innovation, we also emphasize rigor in the basics of media strategy, planning, buying, content, etc. This disciplined execution has helped us earn our clients’ trust.
So far, these attributes have paid us rich dividends, and we will continue to build on them.
What are your strategic priorities for scaling Publicis Media’s operations in South Asia over the next few years?
We take pride in being the preeminent, business outcome-centric media agency in India. To enable this, we have identified the following strategic priorities:
– Build on Our Preeminent Position in Performance and eCommerce – Today, in Performics, we have the largest performance marketing agency in India. Performics also got recognized as the eCommerce Agency of the Year by Campaign Asia. We aim to build on this strong position and become the bellwether for the industry.
– Lead the Transformation Agenda for Our Clients – Through Zenith, Spark, and Starcom, we provide media services for some of the largest brands in India. Over the past few months, we have invested heavily in building our transformation capabilities by adding talent in AI, data, technology, and content. In 2025, we aim to deliver these capabilities seamlessly to our clients, driving holistic marketing transformation with a focus on accelerating business outcomes.
– Scale Our Proprietary Assets – We have invested in building our suite of proprietary assets, such as iGrowthOS, Buzz.AI, MMMs, Performing Funnels, etc. Currently, these solutions, with their automated workflows, help us stay agile while responding to our clients’ needs. In the coming days, we aim to harness the power of AI to further elevate these platforms, making them not only efficient but also highly effective in solving for business outcomes.
This section explores the values, motivations, and key lessons that have shaped Mr. Lalatendu’s journey, offering inspiration and advice for future professionals.
If you had to describe your professional journey in one word or one line, what would it be?
If I had to choose one word, it would be ‘exciting.’ It’s always full of new adventures along the way.
What is the one thing that gets you excited to go to work every day, no matter any challenges?
For me, it’s all about purpose. I truly connect with what Arthur Sadoun, our global CEO, often says—our goal is to help our clients succeed. That’s the bigger purpose we’re all working towards. It’s not just about routine tasks like attending meetings or reviewing media plans. What excites me is the constant challenge of asking, ‘What more can we do for the client?’ And in India, which is always evolving, there’s never a dull moment. With so much constantly changing, it keeps us motivated to keep pushing forward. Ultimately, it’s this sense of purpose that makes the work incredibly exciting.
What is the best advice you’ve received that has shaped your journey, and what guidance would you offer to upcoming professionals in the industry?
Over my 25-year career, I’ve received three key pieces of advice that have shaped my journey. The first came from a McKinsey partner, who told me that success lies in surrounding yourself with people smarter than you. This has pushed me to step out of my comfort zone and work with intellectually stimulating people.
Second, a manager at TCS taught me the importance of giving people space. As a leader, it’s not about micromanaging but sharing a vision and allowing your team to take ownership and bring in fresh ideas.
Lastly, an advice that I’ve taken to heart is the value of embracing discomfort. In the professional world, uncomfortable situations are inevitable, whether it’s a difficult conversation or a disagreement. Instead of avoiding these, I’ve learned to face them head-on, calmly and thoughtfully. Though it may be challenging at the moment, I’ve found that these situations provide the best opportunities for learning and personal growth.
These three lessons have guided my career, and I would encourage the next generation of professionals to embrace them as well.
