40 Under 40 2022: Rish Gopal, Beacon Communications

Rish Gopal

Head of content (global/local)
Beacon Communications, Publicis Groupe
Japan

Rish Gopal wrote two Bollywood film scripts (and even sold one) before moving to the UK to pursue advertising after seeing how social media wholly changed communications.

After his stint at Ogilvy Singapore as a global digital strategist for Unilever at 26, Gopal moved to Japan in 2017 to build Publicis Groupe’s social media department from the ground up and was soon promoted to head of content because of his tenacity. 

Having zero teammates and clients as well as minimal knowledge of the language or market in Japan, Gopal invested in data. To win clients, he started small by adapting global campaigns for the local market. His client portfolio grew by delivering 360 social-first strategies that led to direct business results without sacrificing customer experience or brand standards.

Gopal’s work has seen Publicis Japan’s social and influencer revenue grow to seven figures after winning brands like Infiniti, Mini, McDonald’s, ABI, Barbour and many more. He has maintained a client retention rate of 100% in 2022 with stellar results, such as helping McDonald’s retain its position as one of Japan’s top Twitter pages with 5.3 million followers or achieving 50% organic reach for Tourism Australia. 

Gopal was tested during the Covid pandemic when a massive volume of work suddenly shifted to social. Almost overnight, his social and influencer team helped more than 20 clients to pivot their strategies and keep their communities intact. This meant working late while grappling with all the personal challenges the pandemic brought with it.

Having helped his team expand from one person to a group of 22, Gopal boasted a staff retention rate of 90% in 2022. He inspires his team to go above and beyond by building a culture of trust and transparency. If someone has a problem, he feels it's a collective responsibility to help solve it, whether it’s work-related or a personal challenge.

In a country where digital and creative departments remain male-centric, Gopal has strived to hire the best, with two-thirds of his team being women. He also helps colleagues stay on top of trends and tech advances by working with Sosuke Koyama, Publicis Japan’s chief transformation officer, to host training courses covering content, media, data, technology and Web3.