THE Managing Director of Leo Burnett, Georges Barsoum, cannot keep the pride out of his voice as he talks about the company's roots. “LEO Burnett founded the company in 1935 in Chicago with three clients and eight employees,” he explained “He was a visionary copywriter who established the firm on a set of professional and ethic values that are still the backbone of the company to date. The company has more than 9,000 employees operating in 97 offices in 84 countries. It opened its doors thirty-six years ago in the Middle East and we have been operating in Saudi Arabia for the last thirty-two years.” Barsoum began his career in marketing which, although it paid well, it didn't satisfy the creative side of his nature. He is one of those ‘larger than life' characters who lives and breathes creativity. “I always loved the creative business and kept up to speed with it in order to make the move,” he said. “Today, we are no longer in the advertising business. We are a communications company. It is all about building relationships and impacting human behavior, because any business opportunity starts and ends with two things: people and their behavior. I truly believe that we can impact people's lives through communication, that we can touch them. It is about having a role to play in people's lives, which is beyond the functionality of the product.” He went on to explain how creativity transforms human behaviour: “We believe today that the power is with the people. If we are to build brands, we need to understand their lives as people, not as consumers, which is very different. For example, with the Tide detergent user, I don't think of her as a ‘Tide user', or ‘laundry maker' or whatever. I think of her as a woman who has a family, who has responsibilities. We understand what her fears and aspirations could be. It is only when you understand this and respect her intelligence that you can have the brand that has a purpose in her life.” Within the company, there is a monitoring system in place to rigorously scrutinize the creative work of Leo Burnett across the globe. “At Leo Burnett, the creative work is rigorously scrutinized internally. This is the Global Products Committee, which comprises the agency's global top management. This committee reviews all the brand communication that is produced globally on a quarterly basis. The work is then classified on complex criteria rated from one to ten – we call it the GPC Scale – and feedback is provided for each office separately. The objective is to keep on pushing the creativity bar higher and to make sure that the Leo Burnett creative standards are globally aligned. It is very difficult to achieve a rating of ten, but one that did was ‘Earth Hour' which went around the world to get people to switch off their lights for an hour.” It is little wonder, therefore, that the company, whose motto is “Creativity has the Power to Transform Human Behaviour”, did so well at the Okaz Awards. “It was a thrilling evening for us,” said Barsoum, his face alive with enthusiasm. “We won nine awards, including the Titanium Agency of the Year Award. This could not have happened without the support of each and every one of our clients, without their trust and belief in our philosophy, and going along with ideas even when they sounded very daring and unfamiliar. So I would like to thank them all for their support, all the fun, the fights and the cerebral squeezing that we went through together to build great brands. The Okaz awards are the recognition for all the effort that has been put into that work.” Barsoum is delighted that the Okaz Awards have been established. “We used to have the Sword Awards, and then there was a void. This communication industry has been here for almost forty years and suddenly there were no awards or creative gatherings. We are very glad that Okaz came up with this iniative in Saudi Arabia. We firmly believe that such an event will contribute to pushing the collective creative standards here to a higher level. The awards for young Saudi talents will also encourage them to learn more about the industry and eventually create a bigger drive for them to come into the field. It is also an opportunity for agencies to meet up with the young talent and see what they are doing.” He went on to talk about the importance of acknowledging the impact of the digital age: “The Okaz Awards are still young – this is only their second year. So there is a lot of room to enhance them. For example, there is noting for the digital side, and in my opinion the best thing they can do is to talk to the agencies and get an idea of what is happening because the world is changing – big time! Digital is an increasingly important medium, it is a way of life today. The collective efforts of Okaz, the media and the advertising industry will make those awards better. There is no other Saudi award, so it is welcomed and well recognized among the Saudi business and communication community. Nobody wants to lose, so it is encouraging us to do better work by the day. It motivates people and it enhances true competition in creativity.” When it comes to recruitment, Barsoum is adamant that the criteria for joining the company is not based on gender or nationality: it is on ability and meritocracy. “What we want are the best creative brains to build clients' brands. We are committed to Saudization and to nurturing Saudi talent within the agency. The best example is that the Creative Director and the Account Director in the Jeddah office are both Saudis. They are contributing to attracting Saudi talent into the agency as well.”
