Arms Crestra bags the creative duties for People

The advertising and marketing budget for the brand for 2008 is around Rs 10 crore, out of which Rs 5 crore has been spent on the launch and the first phase of promotions

People, the weekly American magazine, hit the Indian newsstands on July 4 through a licensing agreement between Time Inc. and the Outlook Group. Arms Crestra, the new advertising entity run by former Hakuhodo Percept hands Debashis Bose and Sangeeta Sen, and Reet Singh Ahluwalia, chairman, Arms Group, has bagged the creative duties for the brand.

Arms Crestra bags the creative duties for People

Indranil Roy

Debashis Bose

Sangeeta Sen

Arms Crestra has been handling the creative duties for Outlook’s publications such as Outlook Business, Outlook Profit and Marie Claire for a year. Indranil Roy, president, Outlook Group, says, “An expenditure of Rs 5 crore has already been incurred for the launch in the first phase. For the rest of the fiscal, we are looking at an additional spend of Rs 5 crore.”

The advertising and marketing activities for the magazine have been undertaken in four cities, Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata. Print and outdoor media have been used for communication. Print ads will be seen in The Times of India and DNA (only in Mumbai). As many as 100 hoardings have been put up across the four cities.

Around 40 per cent of the ad budget has been allotted to print, and another 40 per cent to outdoor media. The remaining 20 per cent will be dedicated to direct communication such as in-theatre advertising, kiosks, standees, sampling activities and retail below-the-line activities. In Mumbai, the campaign will be seen on buses and local trains.

Sangeeta Sen, executive director and chief creative officer, Arms Crestra, says, “Our challenge was to communicate the brand positioning simply and effectively in a manner that was bright, bold and refreshing. The launch campaign does just that. The creative uses the logo in an interesting way to cue celebrities with a single, universal message: ‘You know them as stars. Now know them as people.’ Juxtaposed against a cheerful pastel background, it makes for eye-catching ads in print and out of home.”

Talking about the positioning for the magazine, Debashis Bose, managing director and chief executive officer, Arms Crestra, says, “People is unlike any other magazine in the personality journalism genre. As per it’s positioning, People is a cultural force. It defines celebrity, drives conversation and inspires action. People creates an immediate and intimate connection with the people you want to know and the moments that shape their lives.” The tagline for the brand in the US, ‘Extraordinary People, Extraordinary Lives’, has been carried forward in the creative in India as well.

The TV commercial for the magazine is in place and will be on air on select channels by next week.

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