Ameer Ismail and his 3-decade-long purposeful PR journey

“I am passionate about PR as it has given me the best career I could have hoped for, and as an agency leader, one lifetime with many careers,” says Ameer Ismail, an illustrious leader, entrepreneur, and mentor with over two decades of experience.” He began his journey at Lintas in 1996, where he was tasked with establishing the PR business, GolinOpinion (formerly LinOpinion). Ameer has since been appointed President of Lintas Live, the rebranded creative-led, digital-first PR and communications agency.

Today, we will discuss how Ameer entered the PR field, what drew him to this profession, his journey from joining Lintas in 1996 to becoming the President of Lintas Live, some of his favourite campaigns and their impacts, his efforts in mentoring the next generation of professionals, intriguing aspects of his career, and much more.

How he came across PR Industry

Talking about what inspired him to pursue a career in PR, he shares that he understood the power of communication very early on in his career. “I always knew that I was a people’s person, interested in them and in understanding their perspectives. Connecting with people necessitated having good communications skills.” The world of brands beckoned when he was in college in the US and was fascinated with the dynamics of advertising, PR and the way brand communication worked. 

Sharing the experiences that left an imprint on my mind and nudged me to think about a career in the communications industry, Ameer asserts, “While studying I managed to get a job in a famous department store - Dayton’s - where I experienced first-hand the power of retail branding and marketing on sales. I finally returned to India in the early 90’s, full of enthusiasm, ambition, and passion ready to make my mark. At that time, advertising was experiencing its glory days (and there were iconic leaders in that business like Alyque Padamsee, Mohammed Khan and many others) so I did consider a career in that discipline for a while. However, I got some sage advice from a relative who had made a mark in the corporate world about the potential growth of PR. PR was nascent and less storied but there were only a handful of agency brands.”

That’s when, he got convinced about PR’s growth potential and decided to take the path less travelled to enter the industry. His first job was with Good Relations and also his first time falling in love with PR - realizing that he was made for this profession. Each move strengthened his experience and after a year, he moved with some colleagues to set up Enterprise PR and then was hired as General Manager to lead Trikaya Grey’s PR brand called Profile. 

His journey from joining Lintas to becoming the President of Lintas Live

Ismail talks about his journey from joining Lintas to becoming the President of Lintas Live and states, “It was in 1996 that I received a call from Prem Mehta, the then MD of Lintas and I decided to join the firm. The rest, as they say is history. He challenged me to build out the PR business for the group and gave me an office at the iconic Express Towers. That challenge became my purpose, I went on to win independent clients and grow the business and brand. LinOpinion became a successful and storied PR brand with great clients, culture, and teams. I was lucky to have joined an institution like Lintas, which is, in many ways, an institution of learning. It was a well-diversified group with the creative agency at the core so I realized I would learn more than just PR.”

What he loved about his role is that he has managed be an entrepreneur in a professional organization and build agency offerings and the PR brand like an entrepreneur would over the years. There were many challenges along his way, but ultimately the power of persistence and resilience helped him grow.

How does he you define his three-decade-long career?

Answering what his three-decade career means to him, he expresses, “I never had a dull moment and am still excited with the diversity and complexity of what we do daily. What is really gratifying is this journey has given me incredible experience and a vantage point where I have seen the evolution of the overall communications industry and the advertising industry (not just PR) and as silos between disciplines blur this continues to be a distinct advantage today.”

He also states, “The highlights of my career included to ultimately structure a JV with Golin, one of the world’s best global PR firms. The enormous benefit to our teams was global learnings and best practices. I have also donned many hats and had different roles within the agency. I have led dCell, our design agency, Lintertainment, our film marketing agency and was also appointed by the Global CEO of Mullen Lowe to lead PR for agency reputation across Asia. I was appointed Chief Growth Officer of PointNine Lintas our Omni-Channel agency brand.”

His favourite and impactful campaigns

Highlighting some of his favourite campaigns over the years, he explains, “the Starbucks 100 campaign, Main Bhi Mumbai Police campaign during lockdown, our campaigns for Visit Victoria over the years that focused on bringing to life shared passions between India & Melbourne such as recreating the iconic Longest Lunch, experiencing Café Culture with FreakShakes and ICC T20 finals match with Rishabh Pant.”

“One of our best campaigns in 2022 when we pivoted our model to power it with creative was the integrated Yezdi launch campaign. Conceived by Lintas Live, the much-awaited launch of the cult brand Yezdi by Classic Legends was done with a disruptive and non-conventional campaign that unveiled its daring positioning – #NotForSaintHearted. We have partnered Lifebuoy over a long journey, from Help a Child Reach FIVE: a full national PR campaign in India to amplify the handwashing message, the programmes in Thesgora, and the support of the national icon, Kajol. The campaign received significant traction among the traditional and new-age media platforms with media articles garnering a potential reach of over 150 million and reels garnering over 1.8 million views in less than a week.,” he adds sharing the impact of his most favourite campaigns.

His Mentorship Initiatives & Vision for PR Education

I have mentored so many people who have gone on to build wonderful careers and deliver great impact in India and all over the globe. In the earlier part of my journey this was done unwittingly, I didn’t realize that team members looked to me to learn, mentoring was less formal or structured then. There is a colleague who went on to study and do his PHD in the US and now is a deemed professor of PR and communications studies at a leading university. I had the privilege to do a guest lecture for his students on one of my visits to the US. There is another colleague who represents Hollywood stars and is a respected celebrity PR leader in California. Numerous others who have made a significant impact working in senior roles in Government Relations, Corporate communications, and agency careers, I couldn’t be prouder of this part of my legacy.

On a more formal basis, I regularly lecture at various institutions like XIC, train our team members at Northpoint Center of Learning (our trust owned and managed training center) and advise PR educational ventures like SCORE and participate and contribute in efforts like the PRCAI initiative called ‘For The Win’ to upskill Indian agency talent to win bigger and better at Cannes.

While we at Lintas have a consistent learning program for team members called Lowe Masia, I believe we need to engage with institutions more to engage with young talent and build a further connect with them. PR needs newer and better trained talent for the future. We also need to give global exposure to our teams, and we send some team members (when possible) for regional/global meetings and media visits. This November we welcome a few international students from the University of Melbourne to intern with us. I am currently reviewing a proposal to co create a joint certified course in PR in partnership with a respected institution. Such partnering initiatives will drive further the learning canvas for PR and it will be an exciting time for students and young professionals who are interested in PR as a career choice.

What drives his passion for the PR Industry?

Expressing what drives his passion for the PR industry, “My passion is driven by my purpose”, and acknowledges how his motivation to work has evolved over the years, as now more than financial rewards or recognition, he finds joy making an impact in a client’s business or a colleague’s professional journey in some way. “The sheer privilege of working with such amazing brands and leaders on business critical and strategic issues has been invaluable. I believe strongly in loyalty and resilience and therefore staying the course and being committed to the organization and its values has held me in good stead. PR is a difficult business, sometimes it can be very stressful. I believe that one must be happy to have a gratifying career. While the spotlight may be on performance, one must have a good work-life balance, and I ensure I have made this a priority in my life. This keeps me motivated to keep moving forward and enjoy every experience daily,” he further expresses. He adds that the tapestry of his experiences has enrichened his knowledge and sharpened his skills in PR.

His Plans for the Future

When asked about how he plans to contribute to the growth of industry in future, he mentions, “I will continue to contribute to PR in the future by helping the industry reinvent and reimage the business. As I navigate this phase of my career, I am planning a few big moves that will have impact on my journey ahead and even when I transition from my current role in the agency, I will continue to have advisory and board roles with like-minded corporates. Data analytics and AI will be game changers for the industry and will give agencies the chance to break new boundaries and achieve greater scale.” He also mentioned that the ‘PR will be larger than advertising’, and there will be a huge need for differentiated talent to fuel growth in a future ready agency who can embrace technology.