After contests2win's success, Kejriwal lays bet on media2win

For Alok Kejriwal, the promoter of contests2win and mobile2win, the decision to set up media2win, an agency dealing with online and wireless media planning and buying, was borne out of a simple fact that he and his team understood the Internet advertising market very well. What also worked in his favour was the success of contests2win and mobile2win, and the presence of only a handful of serious players in the Rs 80 crore online advertisement market.

Kejriwal's latest venture media2win aims to provide end-to-end solutions for its clients and is spearheaded by Krishna Kumar, who was earlier business director, GroupM's Mindshare.

The media2win top brass sounds pleased with its catch. Kumar not only brings a commendable body of experience – he has been in the media buying and selling business for a decade – but also all the attention that the new company needs.

Says Alok Kejriwal, CEO, contests2win, "Given Kumar's extensive experience with the television and print media, his induction signals the fact that the Internet is no longer just a techie business. We are a regular media entity.”

Kejriwal is quite upbeat about the way virtual advertising has shaped up this past year. "The industry has gathered huge momentum and in the next couple of years, it will be worth Rs 200-300 crore from its current size of Rs 80-crore. And, we hope to own at least a quarter of the pie,” he says. "With the rise in business and commerce portals, specialised media planning and the fusion of the wireless and Internet technologies, Internet advertising has never held so much promise.”

media2win aims to capitalise on the "strong production skills of contests2win”. "Unlike traditional media, we are involved with the creative right from the brief to the production. Everything is executed in-house,” says Kejriwal.

media2win will also leverage the parent company's client base, which includes brands such as adidas, BBC, Airtel, Nescafe, Rayban, STAR, Hutch, Discovery, Colgate and Coca-Cola among others.

"We are present in Oman and China as well. We have in our kitty around 300 brands, which are among the top 500 Fortune brands,” Kejriwal claims. "The new company was a response to our clients' increasing demand for a platform that provides a wider perspective of the online and wireless media,” he says.

Agrees Kumar, who sees a lot of potential in the sector. "Both contests2win and mobile2win have been coming up with innovative ideas and have been executing them as well. It is unfortunate that nobody really talked about them,” he rues.

Kumar was enthused by the prospect of an end-to-end solution that media2win offers to its clients. "While at GroupM, we were more than just a media buying and selling house, we did not devise the creatives,” he points out. This, he feels, is the most challenging aspect of his new job and the company's USP.

Kejriwal believes, "being a stand-alone specialist in the sector” has its advantages. "Though we are not part of any agency or media house, we have the legacy of contests2win and mobile2win working in our favour,” he adds. Kejriwal expects a Rs 16-17 crore revenue from these two portals in 2004-05, compared to Rs 8 crore in 2003-04.

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