MPG wins Hindustan Pencils, makes appointments

The size of the business is in the region of Rs 5 crore

In a multi-agency pitch against Initiative Media, TME, Zenith Optimedia and Media Directions, MPG has bagged the media duties for Hindustan Pencils. The size of the business is in the region of Rs 5 crore.

Dhruman Sanghvi, marketing director, Hindustan Pencils, says, “MPG was a choice as we found that in terms of functioning, we had a lot in common. The agency was extremely meticulous in terms of resource allocation, and in terms of offering innovative media solutions for the brand.”

MPG wins Hindustan Pencils, makes appointments

The pitch process began in August. Two rounds were conducted, the first being the credentials process and the second involving a case study wherein the agencies were required to submit strategies for the company’s art materials brand, Colorama.

Jyoti Kumar

Jyoti Kumar, vice-president, MPG Mumbai, says, “We utilised a proprietary technique of MPG, Springboard, which helped us take a radically different approach and come up with exciting ways to reach out to the target group. Springboard allows one to go beyond the conventional way of looking at arriving at a communication solution. It requires one to distill all one’s knowledge about the consumer, the brand in the market and what one wishes to achieve with the communication, into two or three key points each. Further, it helps one arrive at a key idea, which becomes the anchor point for all the communication that one uses for the product.”

Anita Nayyar

MediaCom and Carat Media have both handled the brand earlier, and in the early days, when full-fledged media agencies did not exist, the media departments of O&M and Everest looked after the brand’s media allocation.

Talking about competition, Sanghvi says, “Camel is definitely a player in this category, but in terms of the target groups that we cater to, there is no comparison. Camel caters to people who are seriously involved in the profession of art, whereas we are targeting kids. Moreover, there are a lot of players in this category, but each one caters to a niche and different audience.”

The creative agency for Hindustan Pencils is O&M. The agency has a longstanding association with the brand – it was Hindustan Pencils’ first agency. One of the memorable commercials for the brand on Doordarshan, in the days when that was the only TV medium to advertise on, was the black-and-white commercial for Nataraj Pencils, ‘Pencil ki Daud’, created by O&M. The business shifted to Everest for 15 years, and commercials such as ‘Nataraj Phir Champion’ were created. Five years ago, O&M was brought on board again to handle the communication. ‘Nataraj Pakki Pencil’ was created by O&M.

Apart from this, MPG has made two appointments, that of Hema Ravikumar and Ronak Motta. Ravikumar joins MPG South as vice-president from Mindshare. Having spent over a decade at Mindshare, she has taken the driving seat at MPG South. Motta joins Havas Entertainment as general manager. He has years of entertainment expertise.

Talking about the appointments, Anita Nayyar, CEO, Havas Media India, says, “The South lacked leadership and Ravikumar will do complete justice to that role in taking MPG South on the growth path. Motta will lead the entertainment discipline for the group. With his experience, expertise, contacts and the knack of making entertainment relevant to the client’s businesses, he’s sure to grow Havas Entertainment at an interesting pace.”

Have news to share? Write to us atnewsteam@afaqs.com