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The agency won the creative duties in a three-way pitch with Mudra Delhi, O&M in the fray
McCann Erickson has won the creative duties for Monster.com in a three-way pitch. The agencies in the fray included Mudra Delhi, Ogilvy & Mather and, of course, McCann Erickson. And as it turned out, the agency pipped the other contenders to the post and walked home with a substantial piece of business. MPG India, which is part of the Havas Group, has won the media part of the business.
Dhruvakanth B. Shenoy, vice-president, marketing, MonsterAsia, could not be persuaded to reveal the size of the business, though he mentioned that Monster.com globally spent $70-90 million on brand communication.
Global spends are still not a good indicator of what the budget-at-home is likely to be, but because Monster.com is going blazing guns on promoting the brand, the spends may after all be 'substantial'.
Industry sources expressed surprise that the account moved, despite a good job by incumbent Mudra, Bangalore.
Shenoy offered his reasons. First, because Monster.com has shifted its marketing operations from Bangalore to Delhi, it was imperative to hire Delhi-based advertising agencies.
Second, since Delhi was to be the base, Monster.com considered reviewing agencies afresh, rather than simply migrate the business to the Delhi office of Mudra. “We were looking for a fresh perspective. Therefore, we thought, why not call for an agency pitch.” explains Shenoy.
After the first round of credential presentation, Monster.com short-listed three agencies, which included, as mentioned earlier, Mudra Delhi. Each agency was given a brand brief. “The three came back with a creative and a strategy presentation based on the brief, and we liked McCann's quality of work. So we decided to partner with them.”
But what's interesting is Mudra Bangalore's work on Monster.com TVC has been such a success that the client has decided to continue with the film. So, would that leave McCann with just print and outdoor work? “Not really, we have some very aggressive plans,” assures Shenoy.
With a new agency on board now, the brand communication will try to make Monster.com top-of-mind for the Internet user. “For that we are clear about the way we wish to pitch our brand. Monster.com is not a problem-solution website, where people come to seek a better job, or for a better paying job. In contrast, Monster.com can facilitate in getting the prospective job seeker a happy job. So that is the kind of attitude of the brand that we want to project through our communication,” Shenoy enumerates.
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