Having stabilised, we are now entering the growth phase: Harsha Razdan

Amidst a string of senior-level exits over two years, Dentsu appointed Harsha Razdan as CEO - South Asia this May. Taking over at a time of crisis, he faced the challenge of getting the company back on track.

In an interview with e4m, Razdan shared that the company has achieved its first priority of stabilisation in six months and is now ready to embark on the next path of growth. He also spoke about the company's new and future strategies.

Excerpts:

You joined Dentsu in May 2023 when the agency was going through a rough time. What were the initial challenges?

The first challenge was achieving stability. Since the agency was going through a challenging time, we had several leaders from APAC who were managing the India business but they needed a local person. I wanted to assure people that I was here and that they would be heard, and that took up the majority of my time for the first four months.

I was surprised by the kind of talent we have. I was always intrigued by the ‘One Dentsu’ vision. Dentsu is known for creativity, tremendous talent, many acquisitions, and a lot of action in India.

It's been six months since you joined Dentsu. What has changed?

The first aim was stability. The second is providing direction to our internal employees, and especially to our clientele. We are clearly developing the future for our clients. We are a marketing, technology, and consulting firm. At the core of this is our creative set-up. We, therefore, aim to democratise creativity and innovation via everything we do in marketing and technology. The first task was to ensure that, for FY24, we strengthen the core, focusing on the creative side, leveraging our capabilities in media and creativity. Powering the core today, which we are proud of, is as important as building the new.

What was your priority when you joined Dentsu in May and how has it changed now?

Keeping employees stable and reassuring clients that we will be around for the long run with a renewed avatar were the top priorities. We, starting in 2014, used an acquisition strategy to develop talent, and in 2019-2020 we underwent consolidation, splitting up our 23 companies into three business groups. It is a natural approach. We are here to develop a new core in marketing and tech. That is the story that lies ahead for us and our clients. We will make significant progress in the data and commerce domains as these sectors have a significant impact on marketing. Now we are transitioning into the phase of growth.

What made you interested in a job that was so challenging at the time of taking over?

I have always been a people person. The more I empower people, the more they can do better. Dentsu is a totally people-oriented company. Dentsu believes in having long-term careers. I have the philosophy that if I do the right thing for my 3,500 people in India, they will have better careers and that gives me the most happiness.

How has the business been this year? The agency lost two big clients this year. How are you making up for the loss and filling the gaps?

The first half was difficult for Dentsu because we lost a few clients but that was only media. We have also retained some clients. In the case of Maruti Suzuki, we have lost only the media account, the creative mandate is still with us. We have won clients like Berger Paints, Carlsberg, Xpresso by Dailyhunt, Torque Pharmaceuticals, Aditya Birla Capital and more are coming in.

We are not facing the challenge of retaining clients. The challenge we are dealing with is something every other agency is facing - big clients reducing spend and tightening purses for the second half of the year.

Why do you think retaining talent is becoming a challenge in the agency ecosystem?

One reason could be that everyone is typecast into a particular role because of which the ability to grow gets limited. We have to find ways of cross-skilling people.

At Dentsu, we will cross-skill rapidly. We have 3,500 people in India and 8,000 in the Dentsu global service setup. So, if someone wants to work for a different business within the company they are allowed to do that. Secondly, we have the Next Generation Council, consisting of around 30 leaders in the 30-33 age group within the company. They hav been divided into 10 teams and they work with our leadership team on culture, sustainability and startup-related projects. We have also built Dentsu Lab, an amalgamation of creative thinking, design thinking and new-age media.

The industry is going through a difficult phase with ad spending being cut. How do you think will the industry tackle this?

We need to balance our revenue and profits because we are eventually running a business. It's not easy and I am sure the market will open up sometime next year and it will be better. Globally, we aim to achieve a 50 per cent presence in the customer experience domain by 2030, but I believe we can accomplish this in the next two to three years, especially with the addition of new talent and acquisitions.

How do you see AI playing an important role in the industry? How will it help clients?

AI changing a lot of things. I keep telling people to not fear it but adopt it. If you don't opt for it, the client is anyway going to go ahead and use it. So, adopt and learn how to use it in the best way. Globally, we're taking a very aggressive stance on it, and are open to partnering with AI tools. We will be leveraging AI for clients as well as internal efficiency.

What is going to be the focus area for the next year?

We have three focus areas. The first one is 'client'. We will pivot around the client. For the top clients, we will have a single point of contact each. We will have one person interacting with the clients and understanding their needs.

The second area of focus will be 'collaboration'. We have one consolidated P&L structure globally and in India.

The third area of focus would be creating a lively culture. This is the most important thing for us. I always tell people that catapulting is the key. We are in a good situation, so don't be afraid to fail; it's alright to fail. If you don't learn from your mistakes, someone else will catch up to you and run faster than you.