Viveat Susan Pinto
Media

Tata Chemicals calls for a media pitch this week

Four agencies will make presentations to the company brass

Tata Chemicals has invited four media agencies for pitch presentations this week. The development follows the company’s decision to have a new media partner. Currently, The Media Edge (TME) does both planning & buying for Tata Chemicals.

The agencies called include Maxus, Starcom, Madison and incumbent TME, informs Rajeeb Kumar Dash, brand manager (Tata Salt & Samundar Cooking Soda), Tata Chemicals.

Media spends by the company in the new financial year will be over Rs 10 crore, Dash says. This will be on the back of some aggressive initiatives including the proposed launch of a flavoured salt variant as well as a low-priced second brand of salt for the rural market.

The company is also getting active on the branding front to remain in the consideration set of consumers. The photograph of a victorious Sachin Tendulkar with bat in hand after scoring 10,000 Test runs during the second Test against Pakistan last week, which appeared in the March 17 edition of the Indian Express and Loksatta (Marathi paper from the group) had a Tata Salt mug shot and the tag line – Maine Desh Ka Namak Khaya Hai – going with it.

A few days before Tendulkar’s historic 10,000-run haul, the company had branded all articles concerning the Dandi March (held on March 12) with Tata Salt in both English and Hindi dailies.

The flagship salt brand of Tata Chemicals will also be the basis of evaluation for media agencies during the pitch this week “The brief and pitch will revolve around Tata Salt, though the winning agency will get the mandate for all the company brands,” says Dash.

A similar policy was followed during the recent creative agency pitch called by the company in end-January-early-February. Seven agencies including Rediffusion DY&R, Contract, Lowe, Leo Burnett, Quadrant, FCB-Ulka and incumbent Bates were called for the first round of presentations.

Subsequently, three agencies – Lowe, Leo Burnett and Bates – were shortlisted for the final round, held in the fourth week of February, with the eventual winner being Leo Burnett.

Tata Chemicals, incidentally, is the latest entrant in the long list of Tata group concerns, who have sought (and found) new media partners. Before this, Voltas, Tata Steel, Tata AIG, Titan, Tata Indicom, Trent, TCS, Tata Mutual Funds and Tata Motors opted to break off from TME, the custodian of the Rs 200-crore Tata group buying account since 2002. As is known, the portfolio has been disintegrating since June last year.

A snapshot of the media agencies servicing the above-mentioned companies: Tata Steel (MindShare), Tata AIG (Madison), Titan (Maxus), Tata Indicom (Lodestar), Trent (Lodestar), TCS (Lodestar), Tata Mutual Funds (Lodestar). On Tata Motors, the scorecard is as follows: Maxus services Tata Sumo and Safari; Lodestar is in charge of Indigo, Indica and Marina; TME handles the buses and trucks business.

© 2005 agencyfaqs!

Have news to share? Write to us atnewsteam@afaqs.com