Jute corporation gets Lowe back for second stint

Lowe Kolkata has been appointed the creative agency of the Jute Manufacturers Development Corp. (JMDC), which is a Government of India body under the Ministry of Textiles.

Lowe won the business in a multi-agency pitch, which included agencies such as Rediffusion DYR and Aakar. The media duties are handled by Lintas Media, Lowe’s media arm. Lowe was handling both the creative and the media duties of the JMDC for a year until its contract expired. The account is pegged to be worth Rs 2-3 crore.

DK Guha, senior vice-president and branch head, Kolkata, Lowe, tells afaqs!, “Since it is a government body, it had to follow norms and call for a fresh pitch. But this time, we have got the contract for three years, so we will be looking after the account till 2011.”

So, was the previous work experience with Lowe a deciding factor? Atri Bhattacharya, secretary, JMDC, tells afaqs!, “We started with a clean slate and wanted to go with an agency that would provide us with all aspects of media such as public relations, printing, etc. Lowe also matched our expectations in terms of quality and cost.”

Lowe has planned a campaign that will cater to all media vehicles. It is going to focus more on B2B, exhibitions and mass media. It is also in talks with channels to produce a documentary. It wants to explore the digital market as well to promote the brand.

Lowe also has plans to start jute tourism, which will involve excursions to jute factories.

Guha talks about the versatility of jute and says, “Jute is a very versatile product. It is used to make wine bags which are sold in Harrods as well as gunny bags in India. We want to promote it as the most superior natural fibre.”

He adds, “Since 2009 is the International Year of Natural Fibres, we are hoping that it will be a powerful platform to promote Indian jute in the international market.”