Hakuhodo India sheds its 'Japanese-only' image, aims for wider playbook

New Delhi: Hakuhodo India is on a mission to rewrite its market narrative. Having entered the Indian market in 2000, the agency has long been perceived as a specialist serving only Japanese and automotive clients. It is now actively working to break out of that mold and showcase its growing and diverse portfolio.

For Hakuhodo India to truly grow, it needs to challenge the assumption that it exists solely to serve Japanese and auto clients.

"We don’t need to market ourselves to the Japanese clients. We handle many Japanese clients in India, so the global leadership was never very keen on tooting our own horn about the agency. But in India, we need to break that perception if we have to grow beyond Japanese clients," said Jayanto Banerjee, Chief Operating Officer of Hakuhodo India, in an interaction with BestMediaInfo.com.

He further said, “Not many non-Japanese brands in India know that we can also work beyond Japanese clients. People say, 'Oh, you guys work with non-Japanese clients? Are you allowed to work with non-Japanese clients? I thought you were an in-house agency of Maruti'. These are typical questions that we get when we go out.”

Beyond automotive and Japan

Banerjee emphasised that Hakuhodo today manages a wide range of brands cutting across categories, countries and sectors. "Beyond auto, we manage brands in the camera and printer space like Canon and Fuji. We also work with global names such as Carrier Midea, a Chinese HVAC brand, MINI from the German BMW Group, and brands like Radico and Cavin Kare," he noted. The agency also worked with Capri Loans in the past, reflecting its flexibility across financial services and BFSI clients.

Full-funnel expertise

Banerjee, who has been with the agency since 2012, believes now is the right time to amplify Hakuhodo's evolution and commitment to growth in India’s complex advertising landscape.

Speaking to BestMediaInfo.com about what sets the agency apart, Banerjee said, “One of our key selling points is that we’re not just a TVC agency. Our strength lies in understanding and shaping the entire customer journey. Whether it’s digital, retail, or events, we map and manage the full funnel. We design retail environments, build hyperlocal and digital campaigns, and manage lead generation with precision. It's not just advertising; it's brand and business building end-to-end.”

A legacy of purpose

Founded in 1895, Hakuhodo is one of the world’s oldest advertising firms. "There’s a beautiful philosophy behind our name," Banerjee said. "Hakuhodo translates to a school or temple of knowledge-sharing. The founder started by placing ads in educational magazines, as he believed in advertising with purpose from the very beginning."

Strategic expansions

In India, Hakuhodo initially entered through a JV with Percept. The partnership ended in 2017. Post the split, the agency scaled up operations with offices in Delhi and Bangalore and, in 2022, entered Mumbai through the acquisition of entertainment marketing agency MA&TH.

"Earlier, we didn’t have an office in Mumbai because there wasn’t a strong Japanese client presence there," Banerjee said. "But that’s changed with MA&TH. They work across categories, including with fashion brands like Jack & Jones, and are now expanding in the South too."

In 2020, Hakuhodo acquired AdGlobal360 (AGL), a Gurgaon-based digital agency. AGL brought in proprietary platforms like e-Genie—an AI-powered e-commerce marketing tool that offers a full suite of capabilities, including automated media campaigns and digital shelf management.

AGL also has a strong focus on government and public sector work. “They work extensively with organisations like JICA and various state governments,” Banerjee shared. “AGL handles a wide range of state governments, including the entire communications portfolio for the Rajasthan government, initiatives under Startup India, and even led the complete UI/UX redesign of the Indian Railways website.”

Building a multi-agency network

Hakuhodo India today consists of four creative brand agencies: Hakuhodo.Sync, Hakuhodo.Lync, Hakuhodo.Wyng and MA+TH. These are supported by a broader network, including AdGlobal360 (MarTech), Hakuhodo Digital (digital services) and PMG (experiential marketing). With over 1,700 employees across six Indian offices, the group is one of the largest integrated agency networks in the country.

Under Hakuhodo.Sync, the agency manages Mitsubishi, Unicharm, Carrier, MINI, and even oversees Lion’s FMCG business in Bangladesh. It also services JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency). In the South, Hakuhodo.Lync leads the Lexus and Toyota mandates (shared with Dentsu), Cavin Kare and Yamaha. Hakuhodo.Wyng handles Honda two-wheelers and Honda Power Products.

One of the group’s proudest contributions to Indian advertising is Nexa, the Maruti Suzuki premium retail experience. "That’s one of our proudest case studies," Banerjee said. "Nexa was our concept. The name, the stores, the brand identity, we built the entire business proposition."

PMG manages event IPs and client projects for the likes of Google, HP and Mercedes-Benz. At the most recent Auto Expo, Hakuhodo Group handled six booths: Maruti Suzuki, Suzuki Two-Wheelers, Honda Two-Wheelers, Porsche, Mercedes and BMW.

From Hakuhodo India to Hakuhodo Global South

Banerjee also shared that Hakuhodo India is increasingly playing a global role in content and technology delivery, particularly for Suzuki. “What we’re doing now, out of India, is creating a lot of content and backend tech infrastructure for Suzuki,” he said. “In fact, Suzuki Global and Hakuhodo set up a joint venture in India, based on the success of our hyperlocal marketing and backend tech work, to support Suzuki’s global businesses.”

“With this shift, we’re no longer just Hakuhodo India, we’re now Hakuhodo Global South,” Banerjee said. “We’re looking at creating capability hubs out of India, not just as an arm of a global network, but as a geographic growth engine in itself.”

Operational rigour and ethical resolve

Asked about how the agency handles potential conflicts of interest with multiple clients in the same category, Banerjee said the firm operates with strict internal guardrails. 

Despite being one of the largest agencies in Delhi, Banerjee acknowledges the challenges. "A lot of brands are cutting costs, driving down commissions, and moving towards project-based work. Especially in Delhi, where many FMCG brands have cut spends, the environment is tough."

Banerjee also emphasised that Hakuhodo India rarely takes on one-off projects unless there's long-term potential. “We’re open to project work as a start of a relationship,” he commented.

More importantly, the agency prides itself on ethical conduct. “We don’t do scam work. We don’t take shortcuts. That might mean fewer awards, but it means we sleep well at night. We also don’t chase clients who expect kickbacks. We simply don’t have clients like that.”

Meeting modern client demands

Banerjee noted how client expectations have shifted. “Today, clients want a lot more than just ideas. They want proof of impact,” he said. “The old belief that creativity can’t be measured no longer holds. A large number of our clients now ask, if I’m spending this much money, what’s the return? What’s the result?”

That shift has pushed Hakuhodo to be more transparent and metrics-driven. “We’re working towards delivering greater efficiency and transparency in everything we do, be it strategy, execution, or measurement.”

Investing in insight

Banerjee also highlighted a long-standing initiative in the Hakuhodo ecosystem—deep, human-centric research. “One of the things Hakuhodo has been doing in Japan for decades is large-scale trend and sentiment research,” he said. “Every year, they conduct studies with over 30,000 respondents across questions ranging from attitudes towards money and spirituality to lifestyle aspirations and even personal happiness.”

Now in its fifth year, the research includes India, ASEAN countries, Japan and China. The India edition of the forum will be launched this June. “It’s not category-specific—it explores broader, human questions. We’re heavily investing in it, and we’ll be inviting clients and media to a forum to share these findings.”

Vision for the future

Looking ahead, Banerjee said the agency’s priority is to increase its visibility and positioning. “Right now, we’re almost a best-kept secret. We’re doing pioneering work; we’re pushing boundaries in technology and creativity, but we’re not out there in the market. We haven’t actively marketed ourselves.”

That’s changing with a global cultural shift. “Hakuhodo is consciously expanding beyond Japanese clients and traditional comfort zones. There’s a cultural reset happening within the group, and it’s allowing us to explore new markets, new categories, and scale in a way we haven’t before.”