Kent RO Systems, the makers of Kent RO Water Purifiers have appointed Law & Kenneth as its creative agency. There was no pitching process involved. Earlier the account was handled by Glaze Ads. The account is estimated to be worth Rs.35 crore.

On the win, Mahesh Gupta, chairman, Kent RO Systems commented on the development, “We were looking for a fresh strategy. Law & Kenneth came up with a concept that was impressive.”

The campaign designed by Law & Kenneth would feature five television commercial in a series. The earlier ads would emphasize on the product and it’s USP, the unique three-stage purification process. The next series of ads will revolve around consumer stories aimed at building awareness about impure water being a major source for diseases.
Anil S Nair, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner, Law & Kenneth confirmed the news and added, “The product mechanism is complex and the communication needs to simplify it for the consumer. From shaping the brand, the objective now changes a bit to driving the superiority of the brand. We are moving from awareness to the advantage space in communication. The product continues to be the hero. The value addition we have done is to connect the consumer to the brand.”

The campaign will be supported by print media, along with educational programs during monsoons and digital promotions.

“Our job is to ensure that we reach maximum people. There will be a lot of on-ground activation that will educate people on the need for pure water.” concluded Nair.

Shriram Transport Finance Company Limited (STFC), India’s largest player in commercial vehicle finance has appointed Madison Media as its Agency on Record (AOR). The account is estimated to be worth Rs. 50 crore.

Confirming the news, R Sridhar, Managing Director, Shriram Transport Finance Company, said, “We have been dealing with Anugrah Madison for a very long time and have been impressed with its commitment and professionalism. Most advertisers consolidate the spends with one media agency and following the same route, Shriram has hired Madison Media, which has a sterling reputation.”

Sam Balsara, chairperson and managing director, Madison World spoke about the company and the account, “Given the size of the company and its vast influence on the fortunes of the transport sector, which in turn is critical to the Indian economy, the company has maintained a low profile and needs to increase its presence amongst all stake holders. We are confident that our substantial experience and expertise across various categories will enable us to do that in a cost effective manner.”

AOR refers to hiring a firm on an annual basis for areas particularly advertising, media and public relations.

Digital Direction, RK Swamy BBDO’s digital arm has been on a winning spree since the last three months. The agency has bagged more than 15 accounts in its kitty.

The digital agency has partnered with brands like Basecamp, GPI, Hamdard Safi, Hindustan Times, HT Mint, Karvy Private Wealth, LIC Endowment campaign, Mercedes C Class launch, Mercedes E class launch, Mercedes Auto Expo, Raffels, Ranbaxy Revital, Raymond Corporate Wear, SBI Car Loans, SBI savings, Shriram Finance, and Siemens Awareness Campaign.

Saurav Chakraborty, GM, Digital Direction, spoke about the growth of the agency, “Growth in terms of billings is directly proportional to the scope of work discussed with the client. If clients continue to see digital media as a ‘banner pasting platform’, business will remain pretty static and linear.”

He further added, “The need of the hour is to use the ‘BPI approach’ (branding/ performance/ innovation) across all digital campaigns. This ensures ‘Awareness’, ‘Engagement’ and ‘Participation’ among the target audience, and makes the campaign a runaway success. In the last two years, Digital Direction has done many contextual campaigns creating platforms/ content plugs/ interaction touch points for Siemens, SBI Bank, LIC, L&T Mutual Funds, Pedigree, Karvy Private Wealth, and that is what is fueling our growth. Talking in terms of pure numbers, Digital Direction has seen an 80 per cent growth in terms of billing between FY09 and FY10 and we are not in a mood to slow down the drive.”

“Digital media in India today is clearly an amalgamation of ‘Internet’, ‘Mobile’ and ‘Social Media’. While banners (especially Rich Media) can act as good enticers to a campaign, it is the micro site where the audience spends most of his/ her time interacting, submitting, uploading and tagging. With mobile penetration and social media growing a breakneck speed, the immediate future will see every digital plan containing applications, SMS 2.0, Bluetooth marketing and video advertising in a big way. What we are trying is to surf through this new big wave and reap the benefits.” concluded Chakraborty.

Digital Direction offers services such as the development of digital media strategies, integration of offline and online media, audience tracking on online media, initiatives for online customer dialogues, planning and buying and also the creation of online media properties.

Posterscope India, the leading OOH communication agency recently won Marks & Spencer OOH account. The decision was made after a multi-pitching process.

Posterscope India is a part of Aegis Media. Ashish Bhasin, chairman India and CEO South East Asia, Aegis Media spoke about the development, “The spectacular success that Posterscope India is experiencing highlights the latent need for a quality OOH agency, which has world class tools and systems as well as brings in transparency and professionalism. We are thrilled to welcome Marks & Spencer, YouTube, Nestle, Colgate and a host of other clients and are confident that like in the UK, Posterscope will soon be acknowledged as the best and the most professional OOH agency in India.”

Posterscope India has won a lot of account in 2010. You Tube, Nestle, Colgate, Bharati Axa, BMW, Tata Housing, Essar, Shapoorji Pallonji, CNBC and Go Cheese are among the few. The company boasts of having more than 50 brands in its list of clientele.

Haresh Nayak, country head, Posterscope India, concluded, “The tremendous response from our existing clients like Philips, Adidas, Future Group and others enthused us to offer our services to a larger client base and we are amazed to see such a fantastic response.”

Pasta Bar Veneto, the Italian chain of restaurants (owned by Fifth Avenue Hotels & Resorts) has appointed 1PointSize, the Chennai based agency as it creative partner. The agency would be responsible for the advertising and design work of the restaurant.

Sharad Haksar, CEO, 1pointside confirmed the news, “We are very excited about The Pasta Bar Veneto as there’s clearly a market for it. What impresses us most is the amount of detailing that has gone into the restaurant from day one. We hope to do full justice to the brand in the days to come.”

Vinod Sharma, MD, Fifth Avenue Hotels & Resorts added, “There are way too many pizzerias in India and way too few pasta bars. Worldwide, the popularity of pastas is zooming and we thought there couldn’t be a better time to roll out a national chain of pasta bars. At the core, The Pasta Bar Veneto is targeted at the young foodie, especially the type craving for something new. Our offering is simple: Yummy pastas and more, at an even yummier price. Our first Pasta Bar will be at Alsa Mall, Chennai and then we plan to scale it up to over 60 restaurants in the next two years. We’ve chosen 1pointsize as our creative partner and brand guardian, as they bring class and creativity to the table.”