Publicis Groupe Indonesia promotes Ravi Shanker to chief creative officer

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Publicis Groupe Indonesia has promoted Ravi Shanker (pictured) to chief creative officer, overseeing all creative units under a single leadership structure. Shanker will move into the new role this month where he will combine the group’s creative and digital teams and establish a more streamlined structure across all creative units.

Shanker joined Publicis Groupe Indonesia in 2020 as ECD after five years with creative agency FCB Jakarta, reuniting with Sony Nichani who joined Publicis Groupe Indonesia as CEO. His portfolio consists of brands such as Mondelez’s Oreo Southeast Asia, McDonald’s, Nescafe, P&G, Fonterra, Levi’s and Cadbury Dairy Milk, where he has worked as regional creative lead. He has also led regional FMCG projects in Southeast Asia.

Shanker brings over 18 years of experience working across the Indonesia, India and Southeast Asia markets. Shanker began his career in India in 2004 and relocated to Indonesia in 2015. Before moving to FCB Jakarta, he had worked at Creativeland Asia, BBDO Mumbai, and Ogilvy Mumbai.

Shanker's mission for Publicis Groupe is to grow, creatively as well as the business, and make it a place where data and technology collide with big meaningful ideas that result in work that actually impacts people and brands. He added that his mission is to make Publicis the best place to work; where everyone feels fearless, and can create the best and bravest ideas of their careers.

According to Shanker, the past two years have not been easy in dealing with the impact of the pandemic. “Yet, through it all, because of the power of creativity, we have managed to create growth for our clients and the whole group: Publicis, Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi, Digitas and Arcade. I am proud of my team, and the recognition we got in this past year, which created positive momentum for us when it was most needed. Now we must build on it," he added.

He plans to expand the scope of work for the Groupe's clients to drive impact. Shanker told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that it is not just about ATL, BTL, digital, or social, work. "We are an ideas agency, and ideas aren’t restricted to one medium or platform. Our unique multi-disciplinary capabilities and our ‘Power of One’ model will play a big role to make this happen," he added.

He is excited about creative data and treats data as a creative's friend. "It's always wise and exciting to know who exactly you are talking to. With its help, we can surprise viewers with hyper-personalised communication. Another trend that is exciting is how an advert can be gamified, or the game itself becomes the ad, so that we stay relevant and creative," he added.

Meanwhile, Nichani told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that the agency will continue to focus on investing in talent and upskilling its teams as that continues to be a priority for Publicis Groupe Indonesia. "Our focus is also capability-building and rebooting our digital and performance credentials with key hires and partnerships, and sustaining our growth momentum by driving organic growth," she added.

She is particularly excited about the focus on first-party data and commerce. "The business and agency transformation required to deliver this will require some fundamental shifts, with Publicis Groupe leading the way," she added.

On the regional front, Publicis Groupe appointed Ajay Thrivikrama to the role of chief creative officer for Southeast Asia, joining the Southeast Asia leadership team. He reports to Amrita Randhawa, CEO of Publicis Groupe Singapore and Southeast Asia, and Natalie Lam, chief creative officer of Publicis Groupe APAC and MEA. Thrivikraman was previously chief creative officer global clients leading the work for the Groupe's dedicated units across P&G and Tiger Beer.

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