Orchard Advertising wins Dishnet Wireless biz

Chennai-based Internet service provider Dishnet Wireless has awarded its creative as well as media duties to Orchard Advertising. The businesses that Orchard would be working on include Dishnet’s Wireless fidelity (wi-fi), WiMAX and Enterprise Solutions. The spends allocated for promoting these ventures is to the tune of Rs 14 crore.

According to company executives, the agencies in the fray included Lowe, Brand Portraits, Euro RSCG, Fountainhead, Fifth Estate, and, of course, Orchard.

The review process proved to be a protracted affair; it lasted for nearly two months. There were two rounds of presentations after which the decision was taken in Orchard’s favour.

Enumerating on the reasons for Orchard appointment, V. G. Suri, vice-president, sales & marketing, Dishnet, says, “What we really liked about Orchard’s presentation was its commonsensical approach. The creatives were simple and had a mass appeal, unlike the presentations given by other agencies, which relied on technical jargon.”

While the task is enormous for Orchard, it, indeed, is exciting. “Our task is to build the brand from the scratch as Dishnet is a pioneer in this segment. In strategic terms, our job is to work on the brand architecture and communicate it in a manner that is exciting and clutter-breaking,” says Nitish Mukherjee, managing director, Orchard.

Dishnet, that had pioneered Internet delivery via digital subscriber line (DSL) (it has since handed this business to Videsh Sanchar Nigam), is introducing wireless Internet across the country by launching 240 wireless fidelity (wi-fi) hotspots in eight cities.

Over the next 18 months, the company plans to multiply the wi-fi hotspots to 6,000 locations. These hotspots will offer wi-fi access for laptop users in cafes, malls and other public places, and separately sell wireless broadband to corporate and home users.

Some 38 Indian cities will be linked by next March, with service starting in the technology capital of Bangalore in June. The charges for using the hotspots will range from Rs 25 to Rs 250 an hour. Suri mentioned that Barista outlets would be key selling points for Dishnet's wi-fi services.

Dishnet is owned by well-known entrepreneur C. Sivasankaran, who shook up India's personal computer market more than a decade ago with cut-rate machines. Last December, he bought a stake in up-market coffee chain, Barista. © 2005 agencyfaqs!