Creative agencies must kill the nostalgia: FCB’s Dheeraj Sinha
- Dheeraj Sinha, CEO-India and South Asia at FCB, talks about reinventing FCB across four brands with full-funnel, outcome-led thinking.
MUMBAI : The creative agency business has long been romanticized for its past—iconic campaigns, long-copy ads, and flamboyant figureheads. But for Dheeraj Sinha, chief executive-India and South Asia at FCB, who oversees FCB Ulka, FCB Interface, FCB India, and FCB Kinnect, that nostalgia needs to go.
“This business needs to kill the good old days. We’re not here to do a patch job. We’re re-engineering the entire model of a creative company," Sinha told Mint. In the 18 months since he took charge, FCB has overhauled its structure, added 72 new client relationships in 2024, and posted strong double-digit growth with a healthy margin, he said.
In the first two months of 2025 alone, the group has signed 22 new partnerships across offices, estimated to be worth $2-3 million.
A restructured model
Sinha believes the traditional creative agency structure—built on silos, slow cycles, and individual stardom—no longer works. “This is not about putting a band-aid on a leaky bucket. We’re systemically engineering the company for the future," he said.
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One of the biggest shifts under his leadership has been the move toward a fully integrated, full-funnel model. FCB now offers mainline, digital, influencer, production, CRM, data and platform partnerships under a unified structure. Today, 38% of its revenue comes from non-core advertising work.
“Why should advertising be the only industry that outsources execution? We’re bringing it all in-house," he said. FCB’s agencies now pitch under a single P&L, but retain their own creative and strategic identities. FCB Kinnect, for example, has gone from a digital-first setup to handling full-service creative mandates.
Faster, not just better
Sinha has also eliminated what he calls the “gufa" or cave model of creative workflow—where client servicing, planning, and creative work in isolation. “That process takes weeks and delivers a stitched-together idea. We now sit together from Day 1. By Day 3, we’ve locked the idea and spend the rest of the time executing with precision," he said.
He added that AI has enabled faster prototyping, music production, and even near-final video creation—improving the strike rate of ideas and shrinking timelines.
Outcome over output
FCB’s pitches are now framed around business goals, not creative ideas. “Clients don’t want a ‘great’ campaign. They want 10 million app downloads or a percentage point jump in market share. We guarantee outcomes," he said.
On Hero MotoCorp, the agency built a hyper-localized campaign targeting 1.6 million new customers. AI-enabled personalization, regional influencers, and platform-first thinking formed the backbone of the campaign.
The full-funnel approach is designed to work across formats. “We’re not thinking media-first. We’re thinking consumer-journey-first," he said. “You may be on WhatsApp in the morning, Instagram in the afternoon, and TV at night. The campaign needs to show up at every stage with relevance."
Fixing the talent gap
Sinha sees talent as the most urgent challenge for the ad industry. “The best minds stopped coming into advertising because we were paying peanuts. And instead of solving it, we kept cribbing on LinkedIn," he said.
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To correct that, FCB has started hiring aggressively from top institutions, including MICA, Ashoka, LSR, Symbiosis, and Krea University. It will bring in over 100 fresh graduates this year. “We’ve flattened the structure. We have leaders at the top and a high-potential base of fresh talent below. Minimal fat in between," he said.
Credit is now more democratized. “The days of one big name taking credit for everything must end. This is a team sport. Our best campaigns have 50 people behind them. Everyone’s name goes on the board," Sinha said.
Redefining creativity
Sinha said the industry must evolve its creative benchmarks. “The goal isn’t always a 60-second tearjerker anymore. It’s about solving real business or human problems," he said.
Among recent campaigns he highlighted were Whisper’s “Missing Chapter", which brought menstrual education back to textbooks, and the “Punishing Signal" project with the Mumbai Police, which extended red lights for noisy motorists. “We’re using creativity to solve real problems—not just to write lines," he said.
He also cited the recreation of Kapil Dev’s 175-run innings using AI, a project that won widespread acclaim.
Going forward, Sinha said FCB, which currently ranks among the top three creative agency networks in India, is aiming for the top spot in terms of market share. Globally, the goal is to be among the world’s top five creative agencies in the next three to five years.
On the impact of the global IPG Mediabrands-Publicis merger discussions, Sinha said it’s too early to speculate but that strong agencies will emerge stronger. “We’re continuing with investments, our strategy is intact. Yes, there will be consolidation. But it will allow us to build stronger centres of excellence, invest more in data, tech and new bets," he said.
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FCB India is part of IPG.
Sinha remains optimistic about the future of the business—but only for those willing to rebuild. “There’s abundance in the market. There’s opportunity. But we need new models, not nostalgia. That’s the only way forward."
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