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Spectranet account moves to Equus
Spectranet account shifts to Equus, even as industry sources say that Equus’ lower cost was the clinching factor
Sabil Francis
agencyfaqs!
NEW DELHI, November 17
In the high stakes world of advertising, the game can change at any time. And battles already won lost.
The colossal advertising account of Spectranet, which was unofficially estimated at Rs 22 crore, has shifted from Bates India to Equus. Leo Brunett and Ogilvy & Mather also slugged it out in the battle for the contract, say industry sources.
So why the shift? Though the response to the Bates blitz was encouraging, agencyfaqs! understands that economic considerations played an important role in the decision of Spectranet to shift its advertising to Equus. Unofficial sources estimate that Spectranet has cut its advertising budget by half.
Equus says it differently. Says Suhel Seth, CEO, Equus, "We were excited by the company and also the portal wahindia.com run by Madhu Trehan." Bates India refused to comment.
Equus made a pitch in early October, approaching Spectranet for the contract.
The new campaign, which Equus has been slogging over for the past three weeks, will be launched next week. It will cover all media, and will hit across the nation.
And the strategy will change. "What the earlier campaign did was create brand awareness. The next stage will be to focus on consumer desire. Think broad, was a consumer command. We have to shift to consumer desire now." The new campaign will try to demystify broadband and Spectranet, and will sell the advantages of opting for broadband.
But the advertising bills that mount up at Spectranet will certainly be smaller. "Our motto is spend less, focus more. Front page advertisements are not the only way to grab attention" says Seth. And the thrust will be on the product - broadband.
The strategy, though it reflects Bates media planning for the second stage of the Spectranet advertising campaign, could also have influenced the decision of Spectranet to shift. "From the very first, we went in for a pure marketing-driven pitch," says Seth.
The idea is good. But selling the idea, and selling it in such a way to convince the consumer to choose Spectranet over the other ISPs, is where the crunch lies. Different ISPs are looking at different ways to woo the consumer - Spectranet is looking for exclusive tie-ups with cable operators. Convincing the consumer to think the Spectranet way, is the new challenge. Will Equus live up to it?
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