Women play crucial role in driving transformational change in A&M industry: Anita Kotwani

These are transformative times. If 2023 was about embracing emerging tech like Generative AI, AR, and ML, 2024 is turning out to be about consolidating the gains as digital technology permeates all spheres of business operations in a fresh push.

Held on March 1, 2024 in Mumbai, the fifth edition of Adgully’s WOMEN DISRUPTORS 2024 sought to straddle this changing world and unleash the true potential that India’s women workforce drives.

WOMEN DISRUPTORS 2024 endeavoured to celebrate and turn the spotlight on women leaders at the forefront of steering India Inc. through transformative times as well as influencing and encouraging a future generation of leaders.

Delivering the opening keynote of the event this year, Anita Kotwani, CEO, Dentsu Media South Asia, highlighted the overarching theme in her address – ‘Driving Forward Positive Change in Transformative Times’.

Anita Kotwani started by noting, “We have technologies today like artificial intelligence, automation, blockchain technology, and renewable energy, which are all reshaping industries and societies worldwide. So, this was one fundamental aspect that stood out for me. Another question that has risen is what impact does globalisation have on these transformative times. I feel that today the world is far more interconnected than ever before. It facilitates with exchange of ideas, goods, and cultures across borders. This interconnectedness has both negative and positive ramifications. It leads to a shift in geopolitics, economics, and even cultural norms. The third one which is very integral for all of us are the environmental challenges that we face as an industry today, such as climate change, environmental deprivation, post-existential threats to our humanity, increasing frequency of extreme weather, events arising in sea levels, and loss of biodiversity. These are the highlights of the climate changes that we need to take action to mitigate and adapt to how they are going to face these challenging times. The fourth and last one which I felt was making a difference, were the socio-economic shifts that we have seen in the environment, economic globalisation, coupled with technological advancements, which are leading to significant changes in the labour market. At the same time, we see income inequality, social mobility and job displacement happening as well. This entire interesting piece of the gig economy is changing the traditional models of how you are going to get employed. These are the four shifts that I have seen happening.”

Continuing further, she said, “As far as I see us as women leaders, I think we play a crucial role in driving transformational change in the advertising and marketing industry. We do that by bringing diverse perspectives. Women leaders today have a deep understanding of the consumers, and this is majorly driven by the intuitive, emotional side of women and how they understand other human beings, which comes very naturally to them. Innovations and creativity are the second areas to focus on changes that we see. We bring very fresh perspectives and innovative ideas to the table, which genuinely challenge traditional approaches, whether we are driving creativity in advertising or our marketing campaigns, we take insights and experiences both in real life and bring that into the campaigns that sometimes help us to break stereotypes, challenge norms or resonate deeply very well with our consumers.”

Kotwani added, “We take great pride in prioritising diversity and inclusion in our organisations. We advocate for more women representation, even in the underrepresented groups whether it is race, caste, diverse skill sets, or trying to get equal opportunities for women in our workforce. Today, a lot of organisations have outlined what should leadership strength be in the organisations. At the one that I represent, which is Dentsu, we are looking and trying to get women leadership at 50% in the next five years on the board table across our global organisation. So, we feel very proud and privileged to be in an organisation that believes in women’s leadership and empowerment.”

“Today, the leaders in this industry play a role in ensuring that your team members, your colleagues are there shaping their professional growth. How is one going to do that? Are you being supportive? Do you have an inclusive work environment? Do we encourage creativity? Do we encourage collaboration with other women leaders and what kind of equations do we ensure that they come up with?,” asked Kotwani.

“Do not look down, look up and try and raise those hands whenever you see opportunities of leadership teams or positions in your organisation,” she urged.

According to her, another part of helping a lot of people is interestingly around these digital trends. Women leaders are at the forefront in trying to adopt these leadership trends. There are influencers today, majority of them are women who are making a mark in this industry. They found their niche and areas of work which they never thought they would be working on. Some of them never thought they could be entrepreneurs, but today the digital trend is allowing them to become one, as the sky is the limit. Many women leaders have committed themselves in this advertising and marketing industry, to be a force for good.

She said, “We advocate social causes and we ensure that we bring positive change. So whether it is programs we do for social impact, a malaria campaign that Dentsu did to eradicate malaria, or we have a program called ‘One Day for change’, we bring in our set of the leadership team, forwomen and men both to try and make a difference in society. So, we are taking responsibility of ensuring that the social causes which need great focus from our side are something that we do.”

“We as advertising professionals can build new cultural narratives, use platforms to promote the messages of equality, sustainability which is another critical part today, as consumers you would know that everyone is not looking for doing any lip service, they want the brand to be action-oriented, to live and breathe the commitments that they are talking to people. The leaders in this industry play an emotional role in shaping narratives, values, and practices in this industry, through our and their leadership, advocacy, and innovation, they are contributing in many ways, by being diverse, equitable, and having an impact on all the businesses that they run, and the aspirations of the Indian society. They are advocating for positive change, by challenging norms, embracing innovations, advocating for diversity and inclusion, and addressing important societal and environmental issues. Their leadership and contributions are essential for shaping a more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable future for this industry and society as of whole.”