Campaign India Agency Report Card 2011: Dentsu India Group

Ownership: 100% Indian subsidiary of Dentsu Inc., Tokyo

Key Personnel: Sandeep Goyal, non-executive founder chairman, Dentsu India Group Executive Roles: Yuzuru Kato, chairman, Rohit Ohri, executive chairman, Seiichiro Hayata, executive vice chairman, Dentsu India Group, Nobuki Sakai, CFO, Divya Gupta, CEO, Dentsu Media, Akifumi Miyahara, COO, Dentsu Media, Hiroshi Omata, COO, Dentsu Marcom, Titus Upputuru, NCD, Dentsu Marcom, Narayan Devanathan, national planning head, Dentsu Marcom, Rajesh Bhargava, GM – studio and production, Dentsu Marcom, Harjot Singh Narang, branch head, Dentsu Marcom, Taira Kimura, COO, Dentsu Communications, Ashwin Parthiban, ECD, Dentsu Communications, Junichi Minohara, COO, Dentsu Creative Impact,  Sabuj Sengupta, ECD, Dentsu Creative Impact, Amit Wadhwa, SVP, Dentsu Creative Impact, Glen Ireland, CEO, Dentsu Digital

Account won: Dentsu Marcom: Yakult, DS Group, Manchester United Café Bar  Dentsu Communications: Nissin, Ingersoll Rand, Dentsu Creative Impact: Vini Cosmetics

Account lost: Dentsu Marcom: Jaypee Greens, Biltech, FedEx, Raymonds,  Dentsu Communications: Aircel

The first big development for the agency this year was Sandeep Goyal giving up his 26 percent stake to Dentsu, leading to the formation of the Dentsu India Group under which all of its agencies would come. Another significant move was bringing in JWT Delhi veteran Rohit Ohri as the Group’s executive chairman (Goyal stays on as non-executive founder chairman). A slew of appointments followed, including bringing in Divya Gupta as CEO of Dentsu Media, a post vacated by Sai Nagesh. In terms of creativity, the agency was visible through a Toyota campaign and picked up awards for Aircel Save The Tiger. But Dentsu Communications lost the telecom account to McCann in July. So, yes, Ohri has joined Dentsu India. But the agency is in a transition phase and it would be rivetting to  see how this unfolds. The jury liked to call this period a version 2.0 for Dentsu. At the moment it seems like the agency doesn’t give a pessimistic outlook but it isn’t setting the world on fire either.
How Campaign India rates the agency: 5

How Dentsu India Group rates itself: 7
We would give ourselves a 7 based on what we’d call the Obama Principle, a.k.a. The Audacity of Hope. People and organisations seldom get a chance to completely  reinvent themselves. And even when they do, a rare few are able to grab that chance with both hands and take full advantage of it. Perhaps, among contemporary performing artists, Madonna is the only one that has managed to do it, time and again. Among organisations, Apple springs to mind—with the two Jobs’ eras bookmarking the Jobs-less period in between when Apple stumbled their way around Silicon Valley. Right now, we’re reinventing Dentsu from the ground up. The Place. The Processes. The Output. The Standards. The Reputation. But most of all, inspiring people to not just walk the talk, but also hunker down and get the job done. Confidently, creatively and really effectively. That’s what the ‘Audacity of Hope’ is all about.