Creative Head – Influencer Marketing Practice, India

Creative Head – Influencer Marketing Practice, India Function: Influencer Marketing / Creative Reporting to: Managing Partner

Location:
Mumbai, India Role Summary We are looking for a Creative Head – Influencer Marketing Practice to lead the creative vision and output of our influencer and creator business in India. This role will define how brands show up in creator culture, transforming business and brand briefs into creator-first ideas, cultural narratives, social formats and influencer-led campaigns that are distinctive, relevant and built for the way people consume content today. The Creative Head will work at the intersection of creativity, creators, culture, social platforms, data and technology, partnering closely with strategy, talent, media and account teams to develop work that drives both cultural impact and measurable business outcomes. This is a senior, client-facing creative leadership role with responsibility for raising the creative bar of the practice, shaping pitches, developing creative talent and building the practice’s creative reputation in India.

Key Responsibilities
Creative Leadership
• Own the creative vision and standards for the Influencer Marketing Practice in India.
• Lead the development of breakthrough, creator-first ideas across brand launches, campaigns and always-on programs.
• Translate client briefs and cultural insights into strong creative territories, campaign platforms, content ideas and storytelling frameworks.
• Push influencer briefs beyond conventional creator endorsements and one-off content executions.
• Build ideas that are native to creators and platforms while remaining true to the brand.
• Ensure consistency and quality of creative thinking across multiple clients, categories and campaigns. Creator-First & Cultural Thinking
• Have a strong understanding of creator culture, internet behaviour, social trends, communities and emerging content formats.
• Identify cultural moments and conversations where brands can participate credibly.
• Understand how creators can play different roles including storytellers, collaborators, cultural voices, experts and community builders.
• Develop ideas with creators rather than simply using creators as a distribution channel.
• Stay ahead of emerging creator formats, platforms, technology and evolving audience behaviours. Creative & Influencer Strategy
• Partner closely with strategy teams to translate consumer, cultural and platform insights into compelling creative ideas.
• Help define the role of creators across the consumer journey, from awareness and consideration through to action.
• Develop scalable creative ecosystems and long-term creator narratives rather than isolated campaign executions.
• Balance creative ambition with brand objectives, budgets, platform behaviour and commercial realities. Client & Pitch Leadership
• Be the senior creative voice of the Influencer Practice with clients.
• Lead creative presentations, workshops and ideation sessions with senior client stakeholders.
• Play a key role in new-business pitches and organic growth opportunities.
• Articulate and defend creative ideas with clarity, conviction and strong strategic rationale.
• Build trusted client relationships that generate repeat briefs and expand the role of influencer marketing within existing accounts. Campaign & Content Excellence
• Oversee creative development from brief through execution.
• Guide the development of creator briefs, campaign narratives, content formats, scripts and amplification ideas.
• Partner closely with Talent Managers to ensure creator selection supports the creative idea and brand ambition.
• Review key campaign output and provide clear creative direction to teams and creators.
• Ensure creator content remains authentic to the creator while distinctive for the brand. Innovation, AI & New-Age Creativity
• Explore how AI, data and emerging technology can strengthen creator discovery, ideation, content development and creative effectiveness.
• Encourage experimentation with new formats, platforms and creator-led experiences.
• Develop repeatable creative frameworks, tools and methodologies that make the practice faster, smarter and more differentiated.
• Champion new-age creative thinking that brings together human creativity, cultural intelligence and technology. Team & Practice Building
• Build and mentor a strong creative team for the Influencer Marketing Practice.
• Create a culture of high creative standards, curiosity, experimentation and constructive critique.
• Partner across Publicis Groupe agencies and capabilities to bring together the right talent for integrated opportunities.
• Develop creative playbooks, frameworks, benchmarks and best practices for influencer marketing in India.
• Help build the external creative reputation and identity of the practice. Experience
• 12+ years of experience across creative, social, digital, branded content, influencer marketing or integrated advertising.
• Strong experience developing social-first, digital-first and culturally relevant creative work for leading brands.
• Demonstrated experience leading creative teams and managing multiple brand mandates.
• Experience presenting creative ideas and solutions to senior client stakeholders.
• Strong exposure to creators, influencers, social platforms and contemporary content culture.
• Experience in pitches, new-business opportunities and building integrated creative solutions.
• Agency experience strongly preferred. Skills & Capabilities
• Exceptional conceptual and creative thinking.
• Strong understanding of social and creator culture.
• Ability to turn cultural and consumer insights into simple, powerful creative ideas.
• Strong storytelling and presentation skills.
• Deep understanding of platform-native content and formats.
• Excellent creative judgment and craft orientation.
• Ability to inspire creators and creative teams without compromising authenticity.
• Commercial understanding and ability to balance creative ambition with business realities.
• Strong senior stakeholder and client management capability.
• Comfortable operating across creativity, culture, data, media, commerce and technology.
• Curious and progressive approach to AI and emerging creative technologies. Preferred Qualifications
• Bachelor’s degree in Advertising, Communications, Design, Marketing or a related discipline.
• Formal creative qualifications are advantageous but the strength of the individual’s creative body of work, thinking and leadership experience will matter more.