AURORA: What led you into advertising?

SARA KORAISHY: My fascination with advertising began at the age of six when, with my family, I participated in a photo shoot IAL was doing for their client, PIA. It turned out to be such fun and this fascination stayed with me, which is perhaps why I chose to do my degree in communication and anthropology. After I graduated, I came back to Pakistan and joined J. Walter Thompson.

A: Those must have been the early days of J. Walter Thompson?

SK: The agency had just been established. I was interviewed by Karim Rammal and Farhan Shahzad, who was head of strategy. I went in very sure of myself, thinking here I was, back from the US with a degree in communications and everybody would want to hire me. How could they not?! I remember Farhan Shahzad asking me why they should hire me. When I told him about my four years in the US, he pointed out that I probably had no idea what advertising in Pakistan was about – and I was stumped. Nevertheless, they gave me a shot in strategy planning, which is what I wanted. I loved the anthropological view of advertising – my thesis was on how communication within communities and markets is a reflection of the way people think.

A: In those days, strategy planning was a new discipline in Pakistani advertising.

SK: J. Walter Thompson was the only agency with a strategy department. Most clients thought strategy meant media strategy, not brand strategy. We had clients, such as ABN AMRO, Shell, Unilever… but strategy was a function of their brand management team; they did not see the agency as a partner in the process, so we not only had to struggle internally to be taken seriously as a department, but we also had to convince clients. Working in strategy led me to realise that I wanted to know more about the businesses behind the briefs. Strategy gave me one dimension but it wasn’t giving me a hands-on experience of the entire process. So about 18 months later, I joined IAL Saatchi & Saatchi in account management where I worked on P&G and Habib Oil Mills. Two years later, I got married and my husband and I moved to Thailand. He was with Unilever and I was very lucky to get a position at J. Walter Thompson in Bangkok.

A: What did you join as?

SK: Global account manager for Sunsilk. It was a wonderful experience; I was managing 11 markets in South East Asia and South Asia. This was probably one of my best learning experiences. The jump was challenging because it went beyond just getting the brief and getting the project out. There was a lot of regional coordination, and getting a buy in from 11 markets is quite difficult. The experience taught me to handle different markets diplomatically and with humility, and make them feel part of the process. I spent two years working on some big campaigns for Sunsilk before we moved to London, where I joined J. Walter Thompson on the global team for Sunsilk. It was a seamless transition because from a brand point of view I knew the evolution. Big global changes were taking place at Sunsilk, as the brand went from being a ‘the girl next door’ brand to one that was partnering with hair experts and working on co-creations in the formulation. This was another test for me because in London we were working with two creative teams, one based in Argentina and the other in Turkey, and this meant developing and managing the creative for two very different markets. Then in 2009, we moved to Lahore and I joined Red Communications.

A: That must have been a big change.

SK: Lahore, in 2009, didn’t have a lot of options. My husband was working at PepsiCo, so J. Walter Thompson was not an option because it was the agency for Pepsi and that would have been a conflict of interest. Someone put me in touch with Sabene Saigol and when I met her, I really liked her. She was young and she had a lot of spirit. She had a lot of ideas and a lot of vision for the agency and I felt the agency spoke to me. Taking the position as business director was a big leap into understanding the economics and business of running an agency in Pakistan. Red taught me how to be prepared for anything. Sabene allowed me a lot of room to do things my way. She was happy to hand over the reins and whenever we needed her help, we would drag her. I credit a lot of my being able to get back into understanding the ways of agency life in Pakistan to that experience. Then my husband and I moved to Dubai.

A: You have done a lot of moving in your career!

SK: Yes and I am done moving! In Dubai, I joined Lowe as regional group director for the Unilever business. It was interesting to discover a new market in the MENA region. It meant getting into a different consumer mindset and understanding the role technology played in the lives of consumers. The way brands used digital and below-the-line was a new experience, because we had typically worked on above-the-line communication. Those markets were streets ahead in their use of technology.

A: From Dubai you moved back to Pakistan?

SK: We did after two years, for family reasons, and that was when I decided to take a year off to settle in and re-evaluate whether I still wanted to do what I had been doing. Also, at that point, I didn’t know which agency I wanted to be a part of. During that time, I had my second child and then I decided to train to become a counsellor and did a course in humanistic integrated psychotherapy. I enjoyed it so much I thought I had found my calling, until one day I received a call from Imran Afzal (then CEO, J. Walter Thompson Pakistan). He said they had a position on offer and if I was interested. I thought about it and when I met them something clicked; something felt right and I accepted the offer.

A: What was the position?

SK: General manager. At that point there were a lot of changes taking place in the agency at the management level and Imran, Yawar (Iqbal) and myself just dived in. That first year was a whirlwind and it turned out to be a great year in terms of revenue and growth. There was an influx of new blood and a complete change in the vibe of the agency, which was reflected in the work that came out. Then, about four-and-a-half years ago, Imran left for health reasons.

A: Were you already CEO when the J. Walter Thompson – GREY merger took place?

SK: I was the general manager.

A: When and why did the merger take place?

SK: It officially took effect on January 1, 2019. In the last few years, a great deal has happened in the industry and with WPP. Globally, WPP have been looking at the companies that fall under their umbrella in order to identify the most efficient ways to leverage their offerings. As a result, there have been several mergers. For example, Wunderman Thompson is a merger between Wunderman and J. Walter Thompson, with the objective of integrating data with creative more efficiently. This has been happening in pockets everywhere. In Pakistan, J. Walter Thompson is the only WPP company that is a 100% multinational agency; all the others have some sort of JV or affiliate agreement. GREY was here as an affiliate with another agency and WPP felt that it would be more efficient to merge GREY and J. Walter Thompson into one entity rather than have too many separate models.

A: Did the GREY – J. Walter Thompson merger happen only in Pakistan?

SK: Yes. The decision was taken at a global and regional level and we were made aware of it at the end of last year. At that time, we did not have a CEO due to Imran’s departure, and they probably felt that I was the right candidate for the position as I knew the market and the clients, and I had already interacted with both networks.

A: What is it like to be reporting to GREY?

SK: They put a huge focus on creativity. They believe creativity drives business; that it is not about creative for the sake of being creative, but about how creativity answers the client’s business challenge. They have a very exciting way of working and they are extremely big on being borderless

A: Borderless?

SK: All markets talk to each other, regardless of where they are based. If there is a digital listening capability in one market, the entire network should be able to access it. If there is a design project in Singapore and they are too busy or they are looking for a cheaper currency option, the project can go to another agency in the network. They send a lot of work our way as well and a lot of cross homogenisation is happening. One of the reasons why people want to join us is because of the opportunity that they have to network and learn. This constant interaction opens up people’s minds and there has been a tremendous injection of energy in the agency that I can tangibly feel. When we speak about what agencies need to do to survive I feel it is this kind of energy injection that is needed, as well as the ability to be agile and borderless.

A: Survival is really an important concept for agencies these days. Budgets are being cut and ‘threats’ are coming every way – from freelancers through to PR and market research agencies and big tech companies, they all think they can take on the role of an advertising agency.

SK: These are not the best of times to get new business, but it is not impossible – and yes there are many threats. Luckily, this agency has never had an issue about not being invited to a pitch brief and we have always had a good run rate against pitches. The problem is that the way the client world is operating has changed. Fewer and fewer agencies are viewed as partners. Pitches are increasingly procurement driven and it comes down to the lowest number on the table against the highest amount of scope of work. Although we have been able to retain a lot of our clients, a lot of the conversation is in terms of tariffs and different remuneration models.

A: Is this specific to this market?

SK: It is global. We are hearing this throughout the network. Despite this, this year we have done phenomenally well; we have won Blue Band, Fair & Lovely Career Foundation and four Continental Biscuits brands. There is still business to be won and we are getting our share. Yes, fees are squeezed, but this doesn’t worry me as much as the way clients are viewing agencies. We will ride out the tough economic times; we are being flexible with a lot of clients because we understand that their business is impacted by factors beyond their control and if we do not ride out these times with them, we would not be partners in the real sense. We hope this spirit of partnership will be extended. As an agency, we want to know what the pain points of our clients are; we want to have the full picture because only then can we craft an idea or a communication that impacts that particular pain point – and this does not usually happen with a project-based approach.

A: From your standpoint, it has been quite a journey.

SK: It has. I think that if you approach your job with sincerity and integrity and with the aim to do what is right by the company, eventually you will be recognised for it. This is something I try to instil in everyone here. We are all given opportunities and we all have our own way of tackling them. I have always found a way to make an opportunity work and take it to the next level. Every month we meet hundreds of people but do we make those meetings matter? How do we make sure we are remembered? It’s very important in our job – in any job frankly. If you have five minutes to say something, make it something that will make an impact on someone; ultimately, this is what will take you to the next level.

A: You are effectively the first woman CEO of a multinational agency in Pakistan. How would you describe the journey thus far?

SK: Advertising in Pakistan has always attracted great female talent and a lot of our great creatives have been women. I feel honoured to be the first female CEO of a multinational agency in Pakistan, but it is not something I feel I had to fight to get to. I am clear about the fact that I never had to prove that I could do my job because I was a woman. I was offered the general manager position despite having taken a sabbatical, an occurrence which is acceptable in the West, but doesn’t really happen in Pakistan. At no point have I ever felt it was my gender versus my ability and this makes me feel I have so much more to do. If I have made it to this point, I feel there are no obstacles I cannot overcome.

Sara Koraishy was in conversation with Mariam Ali Baig. For feedback: aurora@dawn.com