GOD to handle advertising duties for Disha Direct

Disha Direct, a Mumbai-based company that is into real estate marketing of second homes, has awarded the advertising duties for its brand, Heartland, to Gang of Designers (GOD). The company has planned a sizeable ad spend of Rs 14-15 crore for this fiscal, as compared to last years’ approximately Rs 5.5 crore (the ad spend has nearly tripled).

Disha Direct came into being in 1999 and is currently marketing projects around Mumbai, Pune, Jodhpur and Goa. Disha Direct has an infrastructure in place for conceptualising and building real estate projects, as well as for promoting and marketing them. Until now, the advertising for the company was being handled in-house.

Santosh Naik, MD, Disha Direct, reveals, “We wish to focus on Disha Direct’s core strengths of conceptualising and marketing. Going in for a first home is usually a very practical decision, but purchasing a second home is more of an emotional one, and we wish to make it extremely memorable for the buyer. “

GOD has been charged with designing a complete strategy of communication with the target audience. Till date, the company’s advertising has mostly been print-led. But this time, the company wishes to leave no stone unturned in reaching out to its target audience, starting from building the corporate identity and going on to promoting individual projects. It plans to advertise through newspapers, magazines, television and outdoor. Online will play the crucial role of a reminder medium. Exhibitions and road shows will also be a part of the communication.

The cost of Disha Direct’s projects range from Rs10 lakhs to Rs 1.5 crore. Keeping in mind the needs of those looking for second homes, the company takes up projects not more than 100 km away (or a two-hour drive) from cities.

The company also plans to go national within one and a half years, for which it plans to address its immediate need – building a brand. The company undertook research on the second home purchasing habits of people in Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore, and found that the requirements of the people are very similar to the habits of Mumbai and Pune residents, as people are earning, and also willing to spend.

In Mumbai, 40,000 units of real estate are available for sale, out of which not more than 3,000 have been sold. As far as Disha Direct’s turnover is concerned, in the last fiscal (2006-07) the company earned Rs 100 crore from the sale of its units. In the current fiscal, the company plans to achieve a turnover of Rs 500 crore; the company has projects worth Rs 300 crore in hand already.