We view legacy as a positive attribute & focus on doing what's right for our clients and consumers: Prem Narayan

Ogilvy India’s Chief Strategy Officer, Prem Narayan's journey in the advertising world is rooted in his early experiences growing up in Tamil Nadu, where he was influenced by his father's career in sales for Levers. After completing an engineering degree in Kerala and an MBA from Symbiosis, Prem was certain that engineering wasn't his path. Drawn to the world of advertising and creativity, he set his sights on the agency world.

While at Symbiosis, Leo Burnett visited the campus as the only agency to recruit that year. Although Prem was shortlisted, the offer was withdrawn due to cultural fit concerns. Undeterred, he returned to Chennai and knocked on doors at several agencies, eventually landing a position at Mudra as an account executive—without a salary at first. Despite his family's concerns, Prem was resolute in his decision. In three months, he received his first salary of Rs 5,500. 

After three years at Mudra, Prem transitioned into consulting at Momentum, where he contributed to major projects like the launch of Big Bazaar and Kotak's transition to a bank.

Seeking a closer connection to the creative product, Prem eventually joined Ogilvy India as they were setting up their planning department, marking the beginning of a significant chapter in his career. Here, he found a sense of belonging and derived joy in joining the dots between creativity and business.

The rest is history. Prem walks us through his present at Ogilvy India, offers a glimpse into what the future holds, and shares insights on a few key industry developments along the way.



Edited Excerpts:

Prem, can we start with your journey with Ogilvy. You joined in 2004. What would you identify as the key learnings from these roles, and how have they influenced your strategic thinking in the current landscape of the advertising and marketing industry?

I was one of the first planners at Ogilvy India, starting when we had just three to four planners. My journey began with auto brands, working on the "Reclaim Your Life" campaign for Tata Safari. Over time, the role of planning has grown in importance. Strategically, clients have come to value planners who can bridge the gap between business and creative needs while staying attuned to consumer insights and trends. Planners have fit this role quite effectively and seamlessly over the years. The increasing number of planners at Ogilvy also reflects the evolution of this role, a trend seen across agencies over the past 20 years.

You have been with Ogilvy for 20 years, and many other leaders who have joined the company have also remained for a significant duration, which is noteworthy in this industry. Loyalty is a key value here. How are you instilling this attribute of loyalty in your team?

We have a strong work culture at Ogilvy, driven by clarity in our roles and a focus on creativity. Leaders like Piyush, Madhukar, and now Hepz, Harshad, Kainaz, Sukesh, Hufrish, and others have emphasised that creativity is at the centre of everything we do, whether in planning or account management. In the early days, Madhukar used to tell me that if we were a football field, the creative person was like the forward, and we were like the midfielders whose job was to make a good pass. That analogy made it clear that no role was more important than the other; it was about being clear on our roles. This clarity has remained consistent over the years.

The biggest gift we’ve had is the remarkable number of people who have stayed together for such a long time. A core group of 20-30 people have been together for many years, fostering a culture where things often go unsaid because we know each other so well. This work-first mentality, focused on producing breakthrough creative work, dates back to Piyush's iconic work on Fevicol and Cadbury.

It’s not just the long-timers; the Ogilvy boomerang effect is real, with many people leaving and then returning to Ogilvy because, ultimately, culture matters and people feel a strong connection to it.

Can you walk us through the changes that have happened across offices, functions and the profile of talent that has been hired in the last three years? What are the key pillars of this transformation – the big focus areas?

It's been significant in the last four to five years. What we mustn't forget is that creativity remains at our core, and ideas are still crucial. This ethos was, is, and will always be central to our work. However, what has changed is how consumers are consuming media and where they are engaging with it.

Consumers have moved to social platforms and digital spaces, and Ogilvy has adapted as we’ve done during previous media shifts. From Piyush Pandey’s revolution in television to our current digital focus, we've embraced new platforms while staying true to our legacy of doing what’s right for clients and consumers. When the digital wave began, there was a lot of chatter about legacy agencies and being old school. However, we’ve never seen ourselves that way. We view legacy as a positive attribute and focus on doing what's right for our clients and consumers. That means being present on new platforms and leveraging them effectively.

Rajesh brought in new talent—content creators, creative tech experts, activation specialists—while planners and creatives explored new ways to engage. Social media has become a key cultural touchpoint, offering insights that inform our brand propositions and campaigns. Technology has further expanded the possibilities, enabling personalized, multi-platform campaigns that have positively impacted our work and client relationships.

In the last two to three years, client spending has shifted, with 25% to 70% of budgets now directed toward new forms of marketing, reflecting the changing landscape. Brand building has evolved, focusing on content, technology, and influencer strategies. We’ve had to pivot and adapt, and while progress has been made, there’s still more to learn.

This does not mean we view television as a dead medium; it remains relevant. For us, content is still crucial, and video continues to be a predominant form of storytelling. Our challenge is transitioning our skills and expertise to different platforms and meeting new needs. Core creativity remains important, and even with the latest technology, the fundamental idea is what truly matters. We’re excited about the possibilities, but we recognise that there’s still a distance to go.

You mentioned that you do not see Ogilvy as a legacy agency. So, what do you see it as? 

So, it goes back to the fundamental idea that we are an agency centred around creativity and ideas to solve client problems. We must remember that, ultimately, our job is to address our clients' business challenges. There are various ways to do this, involving different skills and perspectives. Some people excel with analytical skills, while others bring different strengths. Our core strength lies in creativity and understanding human insights.

Unlike McKinsey, which excels in data analysis and market strategies, our unique capability is understanding people’s emotions and behaviours. Empathy and human connection are essential across all roles, from creatives to planners and account managers.

A Harvard book, The Second Machine Age, discussed how machines would take over most repetitive tasks, leaving only cognitive, non-repetitive work for humans. Skills like empathy and creativity, which evolved after the 1850s, are harder to replicate and crucial for the future. These are the areas where we excel as a creative agency, even as technology advances. We're learning to use new tools, like analysing Instagram data, to understand human behaviour as deeply as traditional methods.

The industry has shifted from disaggregation—where specialists handled different tasks—to recognizing the importance of cohesive brand building across new mediums. Brands, like people, have personalities and emotions that require comprehensive engagement. As complexity has increased, senior clients now see the value in consolidating their marketing needs with us.

This shift is beneficial for large brand-building agencies, but only if we adapt and provide the right resources to solve client problems holistically. If we don’t, clients will look elsewhere.

Going back to Ogilvy India’s transformation, how has it fared in its business?

In terms of business impact for Ogilvy, we’ve seen growth over the past three to four years. Our ability to address diverse client needs has helped us deepen relationships with our top 20 clients. This transformation has allowed us to offer a wider range of services and creative solutions. For example, our work now includes interactive consumer experiences and engaging content beyond traditional ads.

As we continue to grow, we need to recognise that India’s consumer landscape is diverse, encompassing a wide range of demographics and behaviours. The concept of 'people' rather than just 'consumers' reflects this diversity. Our strategies must accommodate different consumer needs and continue to evolve with them.

Ultimately, creativity and human insight remain at the core of our work, even as we adapt to new tools and technologies. Balancing these elements is key to our success and to meeting the evolving needs of our clients.

We have almost 100 plus people in the content team, which is spread across Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi. We have a team of about seven creative tech people, and that team is growing. In fact, that hub is now beginning to do work for our clients outside of India. Planning is about 80 people, of which at least 20 are digital-first people.

As you said, with changing client expectations and consumers behaviour, agencies are changing with it. Are there any missteps that they can avoid in this transition?

We’ve been fortunate to have 30-50 senior people with extensive experience on our brands. In contrast, turnover among our clients—CEOs, CMOs, and brand managers—is much higher. As a result, our agency serves as a repository of valuable brand knowledge and insights.

Consistency in talent is crucial, especially in today’s dynamic environment. While new-age mediums are important, deep brand knowledge is essential for making informed decisions and building brands effectively. Performance marketing is more flexible, but long-term brand building relies on consistent talent who understand the brand’s history and direction.

High turnover rates in many agencies are concerning as they risk losing accumulated brand knowledge. Technology alone isn’t enough; human insight and creativity must remain central. It’s vital to offer a wide range of services without losing sight of the core value.

Attracting and nurturing talent in the 25 to 30 age group is crucial for quality work. However, we often struggle to translate the value we provide into appropriate compensation. Clients sometimes expect control over every aspect of our work without fair compensation. This issue stems from the subjective nature of our field, where the impact of communication is hard to quantify.

Other industries, like filmmaking, manage to secure fair rates by standing firm on costs. We need to collectively address this issue as an industry, not just within individual agencies, to ensure we receive fair value for our work.

Prem, the campaigns you mentioned today have had a longer shelf life than you can remember off the top of your head. Today, we are not seeing a higher recall. What do you think is going wrong, and how can we fix this? 

It's a fair question—whether a new approach like augmented reality is the answer, especially considering that attention and retention are scarce commodities today. We tend to remember videos more than traditional ads. Nowadays, engaging Instagram reels created by influencers often capture our attention better than conventional advertisements.

Creators have the freedom to leverage their creativity and understanding of the medium, leading to more engaging content. However, the rise of D2C companies and venture capital-backed startups has shifted focus toward short-term results, making performance marketing essential for survival. But this focus on short-term gains has led to what I call a lot of ‘landfill’—tactical, click-driven content that no one remembers. 

Investing in brand building, however, secures long-term success. As the saying goes, "I didn’t buy the Audi when I was 34; I bought it when I was six." Effective marketing broadens the funnel and creates desire, attracting people who aren’t yet in the category. Classic ads like Cadbury, Bajaj, Tata Safari, and HUL have endured because they created lasting desire rather than just promoting a product.

Returning to the transformation we've been discussing, do you have any specific short-term and long-term goals in mind?

In the short term, we should focus on deepening our engagement with 20 to 25 key clients, offering them a full range of services. Expanding this approach, which we already practice with some clients, is a valuable goal.

For the long term, while the core of our work will remain creativity, the way we express it will evolve. Today’s focus is on content and videos, but this could shift to intellectual properties (IPs) or innovative products like the Nike Fuel Band in the future.

A top priority, both now and in the future, is nurturing talent. Developing the next 30, 40, or 50 leaders is crucial for Ogilvy and is a significant business need.