Lintas Media Group retains Sony Corp. account in India

The account is pegged upwards of Rs 100 crore

Following a pitch at the Asia level for Sony Corp., Lintas Media Group (LMG) has managed to retain the business in India. Here, the size of the business is valued upwards of Rs 100 crore. Mediaedge:cia won the business in the rest of the region in January.

The pitch was called for in September 2007, and the Indian region saw Lodestar Universal, OMD, ZenithOptimedia and Mediaedge:cia also compete for the account.

Lintas Media Group retains Sony Corp. account in India

Sudha Natrajan

To put things into perspective, LMG had won the Sony Corp. account in India in mid-2006, snagging it away from Starcom following a pitch. “Our appointment back then was a big move for Sony, as it risked hiring an agency that wasn’t an AoR for it in the rest of the region,” says Sudha Natrajan, joint president, LMG. In a sense, LMG coming on board a second time (when the rest of the region has another media agency) is like history repeating itself, she says.

In fact, says Natrajan, in India, Sony didn’t want to be a part of the Asia pitch because it was satisfied with LMG. But pressure from its Japanese counterparts compelled a pitch process in India as well. She says LMG managed to retain the account on the basis of the work it has done for the brand in the last two years. “Sony has aggressive plans for India and China, and we plan to partner it in whatever way we can in the Indian region,” she says.

The key Sony Corp. brands include Sony Bravia, Sony Vaio, the handy-cam and digi-cam ranges, and Sony Xplod.

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