Leo Burnett celebrates exceptional year in 2011

Leo Burnett Solutions Inc (LBSI), the Sri Lankan office of the internationally acclaimed advertising agency said yesterday it enjoyed an exceptional year in 2011.

The agency maintained its leadership position as Sri Lanka’s premier marketing communications company and cemented its position as the Country’s leading creative agency.

The agency grew exponentially in 2011 with significant organic growth and with the addition of several new clients to its roster. The team too has been groomed and grown with new energy being added to strengthen the agency.  

2011 saw LBSI win several awards – at the Spikes Asia Festival, the Effies and the Sumathi Awards. The company made its mark in the region by striking metal at the Spikes Asia Festival, bringing home the first-ever Spikes win for Sri Lanka. The winning filmlet ‘Pass it on when you are done with it’ created by the Agency for the Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society (SLEDS) continued its winning streak when it was rewarded at the Effie Awards 2011.

LBSI also won the Gold Award for Commercial of the Year at the prestigious Sumathi Awards for the TV commercial produced for the Ceylon Steel Corporation’s brand LANWA. This award reaffirmed Leo Burnett’s keen understanding of the Sri Lankan ethos and the practice of the company’s global philosophy, Human Kind.

This approach places a brand’s purpose at the centre of every communication enabling a brand to truly connect with people. It is this learning and philosophy which has led the company to win such significant awards and to continue to champion the advertising industry in Sri Lanka.  

2011 was also a monumental year for the company as it scored its first ‘8 Ball’ which was awarded by the Leo Burnett Global Product Committee (GPC). Leo Burnett offices from around the world submit their creative work to the GPC every quarter for evaluation by a global team of agency leaders who come together to discuss, debate and rate the work produced in the agency’s network of offices from around the world.

The work is scored on a 1-10 scale. LBSI was able to achieve its first ever 8 ball for the agency’s award winning filmlet ‘Pass it on when you are done with it.’ A ranking which acknowledges that the ‘Pass it on when you are done with it’ created by the Sri Lankan office could change the way people think and feel.

LBSI has always been the University for the Industry. 2011 was no different as 35 opportunities were offered to the team in Sri Lanka to travel overseas to a wide cross section of programs to learn and grow. The company also hosted a two day workshop under the tutelage of Saurabh Varma, the Regional Head of Brand Planning to provide a hands-on experience for the agency’s team to practice the company’s HumanKind philosophy.

This residential programme was exceptionally well received by the team. The National Creative Director of Leo Burnett India, the legendary K.V. Sridhar returned to Sri Lanka to conduct yet another residential workshop for the agency’s creative team. He engaged the team with his approach to generating ideas and on crafting them to perfection.  The agency also conducted its annual programme titled the ‘Play Shop’ a 48 hour offsite programme for the entire agency team to unwind, chill, bond and re-energise themselves.

This year the entire agency team took flight on a Sri Lankan Air Taxi to Kandy for the 2011 play shop.

Last year also saw Arc Worldwide Sri Lanka’s talented Engagement Planning Director, Firzan Mulafer appointed as the Engagement Planning Director for Arc Worldwide’s South East Asian region in Bangkok. This prestigious position requires Mulafer to fulfill a host of responsibilities extending across the South Asian region.

In addition two young Burnetters - Wasim Akram and Rinesh Jayaratne won the local Young Spikes media competition and were selected to represent Sri Lanka at the Spikes Asia Festival in Singapore.  The team was also strengthened with the addition of Sachin Ambekar, an award winning creative resource that placed Indonesia on the global stage by winning Gold at the Cannes Lion Festival.

The company also celebrated the global anniversary of Leo Burnett under the theme ‘76 years younger’ based on the late Leo Burnett’s belief: “You can grow up in advertising but you don’t have to grow old in it.”

Leo Burnett Solutions Inc. Sri Lanka, proudly celebrated its 12th anniversary whilst Arc Worldwide, Leo Burnett’s integrated arm, celebrated its 6th anniversary and the dynamic Publicis Solutions team celebrated their 5th anniversary.  

To commemorate Vesak and to celebrate the 2600th Sri Sambuddhathwa Jayanthi, LBSI hosted a novel dansala which provided apples to its visitors. This massive stand of 6,000 apples created a significant impact amidst the vibrant street lights and Vesak displays. The apple is a significant icon to Leo Burnett agencies worldwide. To this day, Leo Burnett offices worldwide continue the tradition of offering apples as a token of welcome to all its visitors. This tradition was embraced on this sacred occasion, to capture the company’s giving spirit.

The company also hosted the 6th season of Leo Art – an ongoing initiative of LBSI to encourage and advance creativity in Sri Lanka. The initiative bought together talented artists from around the country and provided them with a unique platform to display their talent and to reach wider audiences. Leo Art’s primary goal is to keep art alive in Sri Lanka and to foster creativity in all its varied forms.

In this industry organic growth is an agency’s greatest compliment. 2011 saw exceptional organic growth for the agency as the company extended their already diverse client portfolio with Cargills awarding the Kist Biscuits account to the agency. Arc Worldwide Sri Lanka, Leo Burnett’s integrated arm, secured a partnership with Sri Lanka Telecom PLC, for PR, events and activations.  With over five and a half million customers, SLT is one of Sri Lanka’s most valuable blue chip companies.  

More recently, LBSI was appointed the creative agency partner for Samsung in Sri Lanka. Nestle too expanded its partnership by awarding the agency Milkmaid and Nescafe. Additionally Akzo Nobel and Commercial Bank enhanced their activities with the agency. Leo Burnett also established partnerships with People’s Leasing Company, Tokyo Cement and Lankem while renewing its partnerships with Colombo Jewellery Stores and Odel. Publicis Solutions also gained CIC as a new partner, thus, further strengthening the Agency’s client portfolio.

These partnerships display and augment the company’s expertise in providing new, innovative and groundbreaking integrated communications solutions.

Ranil De Silva, Managing Director, Leo Burnett Solutions Inc. said, ‘‘this year has been a particularly eventful and successful year for us. We are very proud of everything we have achieved this year. I am fortunate to have a dedicated team of exceptionally talented professionals. More importantly our clients have been a source of great strength to us and so have our business partners. I am happy that we have been able to help our clients to build their brands and to meet with success in an increasingly competitive market. What we have achieved in 2011, augurs very well for a rewarding 2012.”

The company represents diverse operations with several specialised units comprising Leo Burnett, Starcom Worldwide – Sri Lanka’s first ever international media independent, Arc Worldwide Sri Lanka – an integrated communications company offering competencies in Digital Media, Relationship Marketing, Public Relations, Events and Activations and Publicis Solutions Sri Lanka – Europe’s number one marketing communications agency that offers a complete range of communications services to its roster of multinational clients.

Leo Burnett Company, Inc., comprising the Leo Burnett brand agency and marketing partner Arc Worldwide, is one of the world’s largest agency networks and a subsidiary of Publicis Groupe (www.publicisgroupe.com), the world’s fourth-largest communications company. Leo Burnett holds people at the centre of its strategic thinking, technological innovation and creative ideas, focusing first and foremost on human behaviour before attempting to tell a brand’s story.

With this approach, Leo Burnett ensures that people who buy into client brands believe in them all the more. With expertise in mass advertising and digital, promotional and retail marketing, Leo Burnett partners with blue-chip clients such as The Coca-Cola Company, Diageo, Kellogg, McDonald’s, Procter and Gamble and Samsung.  

The company has won more advertising awards for campaign effectiveness than any other agency in the last six years in the U.S., has been heralded as a “pioneer on the frontier of marketing” and continues to be ranked as one of the world’s top five creatively awarded networks worldwide.