Omnicom Asia President: The Man Behind Apple, Tiktok & Pepsi’s Ad Campaigns ($14Bn Company)

Omnicom’s Asia President Exposes the Lies About Creativity, Brand Building, and What Really Wins in Advertising Today

Sean Donovan is the disruptive force behind Asia’s largest creative collective as President of Omnicom Advertising Group, where he leads 4,000 innovators across TBWA, BBDO and DDB. The former architect-turned-consultant (40+ African banks) reinvented advertising leadership - from building South Africa’s Agency of the Decade (TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris) to co-founding OPENCO (acquired by TBWA in 2013). A Smurfit School triple-graduate (B.Sc/M.Sc/MBA) and cancer advocacy chair. Now he’s exposing advertising’s dangerous myths—from why “safe creativity” always fails to how the best brands systematically break rules.

In this episode, Sean reveals:
◽️ Why the marketing funnel is obsolete—and what replaces it
◽️ How Apple/BMW craft "defiant" campaigns that dominate culture
◽️ The dark side of social media: How algorithms flatten creativity
◽️ Client trust = Risk management: Why consistency trumps flashy ideas
◽️ Why "Your culture is defined by the worst behavior you tolerate"

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⏱ Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:06 Growing up in Ireland and moving to Asia
03:25 How Sean went from architecture to advertising
04:55 Falling in love with marketing
07:11 What advertising really means today
10:00 Why the marketing funnel is dead
12:45 Mixing brand-building and sales together
14:55 How social media changed everything
18:20 TikTok Shop and the new music industry
22:30 How algorithms are changing culture
24:45 Leading a global team during COVID
27:10 What makes a great leader
30:15 How to earn trust and take creative risks
32:35 Why teams need safety to be creative
36:10 How to find and develop talent
38:40 Balancing purpose with performance
40:55 What the future of branding looks like
43:30 How ad campaigns are actually built
48:05 What makes Omnicom unique
51:00 What success and legacy mean to Sean
54:15 Lessons from his mum about helping others
56:30 What he’s most proud of today
57:40 People misunderstand creativity
58:55 One thing all leaders should know
1:00:25 How he wants to be remembered
1:01:50 Final thoughts and outro

📌 Resources
Sean Donovan:
◽️ Omnicom Group: https://www.omnicomgroup.com/
◽️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-donovan-57b65938

Harvey Bracken-Smith:
◽️ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/harveybracken-smith
◽️ Instagram: instagram.com/harveybsmith
◽️ X (Twitter): x.com/harveybsmith_

Personable Podcast:
◽️ Instagram: instagram.com/personable.podcast
◽️ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/personablepodcast
◽️ TikTok: tiktok.com/@personableclips
◽️ Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/7JOTYDER6m2FDrlhop4api
◽️ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/personable/id1671640111

Additional:
◽️ The Draft (Sign up): thedraft.io
◽️ Fundraising: justgiving.com/crowdfunding/LouLouRacefoiundation?utm_term=PvByaxmdn

Personable is a podcast dedicated to helping listeners become the best they can be by learning from the world’s best in their respective fields. This mission is inspired by my mother, Louise, who encouraged me to become the best version of myself before she passed away from cancer in 2023.