McCann-Erickson, Starcom bag Essar Group's telecom retail venture

The size of the win is more than Rs 25 crore, according to industry sources. Lowe and Maxus were also in the fray for the business

Following a high-profile multi-agency pitch, McCann-Erickson has walked away with Essar Group's telecom retail chain business. Starcom has been awarded the media duties. Although Essar Group executives were tightlipped about the development, multiple sources have confirmed that the ad spend will be more than Rs 25 crore.

Agencies such as Maxus and Lowe were also in the fray for the media and creative businesses, respectively. In fact, certain media reports had prematurely hailed Lowe as the winner of the pitch while it was still in progress.

McCann-Erickson, Starcom bag Essar Group's telecom retail venture

The Rs 10,000-crore Essar Group will launch a chain of multi-branded telecom retail outlets over the next five years. For this project, it has initially earmarked a sum of Rs 1,500 crore. These stores, likely to be christened 'Mobile Store', will offer mobile phones, accessories, connections, recharge vouchers, after sales service, bill payment options, as well as other services such as mobile-based gaming and entertainment, and mobile repairs and refurbishment. The group plans on having a pan-India presence, with a projected 2000 outlets by 2012.

'Mobile Store' will service GSM as well as CDMA users.

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