AD Agencies
“We’ve come a long way from being WPP’s little known agency”: Samrat Bedi
The year 2014 will go down in history as the year of Indian politics. The main contenders of the two-horse race, Bharatiya Janta Party and Congress, launched massive campaigns to woo voters and became the talking point of the year.
The BJP campaign ran in series with ‘janta maaf nahi karegi’ and ‘achche din aane wale hai’ becoming the most popular taglines of the year. While some pulled a meme on them, others continue to strongly believe in them and hoped to see a better and brighter India.
The agency behind the ‘political campaign that created history,’ Soho Square, won not only hearts and accolades from the ‘aam janta’ but the advertising fraternity as well. It won the Grand Effie at the Effies 2014, bringing it at par with the bigger agencies like O&M, Lowe Lintas and McCann Worldgroup India.
Indiantelevision.com’s Meghna Sharma caught up with Soho Sqaure head Samrat Bedi for a quick freewheeling chat after the award function.
Excerpts:
After winning the mandate, what was the reaction of the team? Was there a lot of pressure to deliver?
We knew that it was a challenging one as it was an uncharted territory for the entire team. We had never done anything like this before. When we started working on it, a day’s work felt like what one would usually do in a week’s time.
We held meetings at 1 pm everyday where we were given a new brief. After watching a lot of news and reading papers, to gauge the nation’s mood, we would again meet around 2:30 pm or so and come up with new content/idea by night.
We are very proud of the campaign and it was a huge learning lesson.
Whom would you attribute the win to?
It was a team effort. It might sound clichéd but the magnitude of the project was so huge that the whole team had to get involved. There was no senior or junior when we got down to working on the campaign as it was unknown territory and needed everyone’s support.
One can say a benchmark has been created. So, what will be the next big thing for Soho Square?
Tough question. (laughs) I would like to call it a springboard rather than a benchmark. One can always do better and create newer benchmarks. Nonetheless, it will work as a springboard for us and now help us grow pillar to pillar.
In a month’s time, we will be launching the coffee table book on the BJP campaign as well.
What advice will you like to give other “smaller” agencies?
Just because we won the BJP mandate doesn’t make Soho Sqaure an expert. We cannot give advise to anyone because we are sure every other agency has the best talent pool and the ambition to come up with fantastic work across categories.
However, one thing is for sure that the campaign helped us from being the “little known agency of WPP” to an agency which can now be counted amongst the big leagues.
Sometimes it takes just an idea to change people’s perceptions!
AD Agencies
Publicis posts €4.19bn Q1 revenue, 6.4 per cent growth; backs FY outlook
Ad giant signals Q2 acceleration as AI and new deals power momentum
PARIS: Publicis Groupe continues to outperform the industry, delivering a strong start to 2026 under Chairman and CEO Arthur Sadoun. Despite a volatile global macro environment, the company has now outpaced the industry for nearly 20 consecutive quarters.
For Q1 2026, total revenue reached €4,191 million, up from €4,161 million last year, with organic growth of 6.4 per cent. Net revenue, which excludes pass-through costs, stood at €3,460 million, reflecting organic growth of 4.5 per cent.
Exchange rates had a negative impact of €268 million, mainly due to a weaker US dollar and pound sterling. Acquisitions, including Adge.AI and 160over90, contributed an additional €46 million.
Performance across regions was largely positive, with some variation:
- North America, accounting for 59 per cent of net revenue, grew 4.7 per cent
- Europe recorded growth of 3.9 per cent, led by the UK at 6.2 per cent, while France grew 1.6 per cent
- Asia Pacific posted 5.9 per cent growth, driven by China at 11.7 per cent
- Latin America grew 13.3 per cent
- Middle East and Africa declined 5.1 per cent due to geopolitical challenges
AI-powered marketing services, which now make up 86 per cent of the business, grew 5.6 per cent. However, the technology segment, representing 14 per cent of revenue, declined slightly as clients reduced spending on large-scale transformation projects.
Sharing his outlook, Publicis Groupe chairman and CEO Arthur Sadoun said, “Publicis had a very strong start to the year, outperforming the industry for almost 20 quarters in a row despite the volatile macro environment. Organic revenue growth reached 6.4%, leading to 4.5% in net and further increasing the gap with our peers.” He added that the company remains confident of delivering industry-leading performance. “We are confirming our industry-leading organic growth guidance of 4 to 5%, with the 4% rock solid, and a sequential organic growth acceleration in Q2 despite a higher comparable.”
Publicis continued its expansion with the acquisition of Adge.AI in March, followed by 160over90 in April to strengthen its sports and culture marketing capabilities.
Net financial debt stood at €1,156 million at the end of March, reflecting a seasonal shift from the net cash position at the end of 2025. Average net debt over the past twelve months was €1,035 million.
The company has reaffirmed its full-year guidance, expecting net revenue organic growth of 4 to 5 per cent in 2026. It also anticipates an operating margin slightly above 18.2 per cent and free cash flow of approximately €2.1 billion.
With expectations of stronger performance in the second quarter, Publicis remains well positioned to sustain its growth momentum.
