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Three agencies in the race for Rs 30 crore MakeMyTrip business
After reaching the $100 million mark in sales, the company plans to increase its advertising spend to Rs 30 crore, double its spend last year
Three agencies, O&M, Publicis India and FCB-Ulka, are in the final race for the MakeMyTrip.com business. There were around eight agencies in the fray for the Rs 30 crore business, out of which these three have been short-listed.
“We also interacted with the creative and servicing teams of the agencies to evaluate which team could produce the best results for us,” adds Bhatia.
Prior to this, the MakeMyTrip.com business was handled by Leo Burnett, which bagged it in 2005. The media duties for the business are handled by Starcom. Last year, the company had an advertising budget of Rs 15 crore, but it plans to double it this year to Rs 30 crore. Out of this, half the spend will be on traditional media such as print, television and outdoor. A hefty Rs 10 crore will be spent on the online medium, the rest on below-the-line activities.
MakeMyTrip.com has recently touched the $100 million mark in sales and the increase in its advertising spends is in sync with that.
Clarifying the need for a new agency, Bhatia says Leo Burnett has done an incredible job in establishing the brand, but over the years, the company has grown in size, and its needs have grown along with size. That is why it had to look for a fresh agency to handle its advertising duties. MakeMyTrip.com is on the lookout for a fresh perspective and some new ideas for the brand.
While the use of ambient media to date has been restricted to the two metros, Mumbai and Delhi, other cities will also be looked at in the new scheme of things.
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