Novar India hires Mudra for brand MK

Institutional buyers such as hotels, dealers and builders are familiar with the MK brand of switches, circuit breakers, trippers, emergency lighting and cable management system. The end user, however, is not quite well-versed with the brand. It is this gap that Chennai-based Novar India, which is part of the $2.2 billion British conglomerate Novar Plc, hopes to plug this year.

The company intends doing this by pitching its MK brand of switches to lay consumers with a high-decibel advertising campaign that is expected to roll out next month. “TV will be the lead medium,” says T. Kartikeyan, assistant general manager, marketing, Novar India Limited.

Mudra, which was recently appointed by the company, is working on the campaign, while media duties will be executed by OMS. The advertising budget, according to industry sources, is around Rs 3-5 crore.

Novar’s erstwhile agency for brand MK was Lowe, while media was handled by Initiative. The company had an eight year association with the agency.

Mudra, incidentally, emerged as the company’s preferred choice in a process that began last September. The company first spoke to its long-time partner Lowe on the need for a fresh perspective on the brand. “We told them that we were keen on looking at a few options,” says Kartikeyan.

Subsequently, agencies such as RK Swamy/BBDO, Rubecon, Interface, Mudra along with incumbent Lowe were invited for a pitch in October and were given a detailed brief for the same. A month later, the pitch started with a credentials presentation, followed by the main presentation and the decision to go with Mudra was arrived at by the end of the month. The agency, however, officially came on board only in 2005, says Kartikeyan.

Novar India has two business divisions – electrical devices & systems and building control systems. MK is the lead brand in the electrical devices section, while the company prefers using the Novar tag in the case of the latter. Its key competitor in the electrical devices segment is Anchor, which enjoys a higher recall amongst end users owing to its mass-media advertising and marketing activities. Anchor and MK are two national brands in a segment that is highly fragmented with the presence of local and allied brands.

According to Kartikeyan, buyers in the end-user segment are on the rise, and with a concerted mass-media activity, the company hopes to make greater inroads in this area.

“We have strong direct marketing expertise, owing to our equity with institutional buyers. Now, we will get into mass media advertising with a national campaign,” he adds.

© 2005 agencyfaqs!