GOD bags two new businesses

Gang of Designers (GOD ), previously known as Palasa, has acquired the creative duties for Iqara Broadband and the Jasubhai Media promoted AEC Retail Exposition.

It is learnt that Iqara had called for a multi-agency pitch, but the names of the participating agencies could not be ascertained. Prior to GOD, Lowe, Ambience and Law & Kenneth have all worked on this business. The size of the account is estimated to be Rs 4-5 crore. The communication will consist essentially of B2B and B2C.

Talking about bagging the Iqara business, Vedobroto Roy, creative director, GOD, says, “A number of broadband brands are available today, but the audience hardly understands what their advertisements talk about. We plan to change the consumer’s perspective of looking at a broadband brand.”

For Iqara, GOD plans to give a new look to voice-mail, video-on-demand and gaming, and even the Internet. Roy adds, “Today, broadband is not simply about the Internet. The people should know that if they wish to speak to someone abroad at a low cost, they do not necessarily require a computer and an Internet connection. All they need is a telephone and a broadband connection.”

AEC now plans to foray into the retail segment. The agency’s aim here will be to inform consumers about AEC as a platform which will enable one-to-one interaction. Sandeep Bomble, executive creative director, GOD, feels that there is huge scope for advertising in the area of expositions for architecture, engineering and construction, but, unfortunately, these are not being taken seriously.

Sarita Vijayan, editorial director, AEC World Expo & Conferences, tells agencyfaqs!, “GOD has been working on the AEC account since last year and its work is fabulous. This time, we did call for a formal pitch, but, ultimately, decided to award it the business.”

AEC plans to get into hardcore B2B communication. At the moment, it does not wish to foray into advertising. Vijayan says, “As of now, we wish to focus only on below-the-line activities. However, some time later in the year, we will give a thought to advertising in print.” Though Vijayan did not reveal the size of the business, she says that their media spends will be close to what they spent last year, around Rs 1.25 crore.

Bomble believes that they were able to acquire the accounts because of their belief that, today, it is more about what the consumer wishes to hear than what the company wants to say.

For the record, Iqara is a broadband company which has its presence in 13 cities in India and AEC is an architecture, engineering and construction company.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!