Sign up for afaqs! Newsletters
Lowe Kolkata bags SREI account
One of India's leading infrastructure companies in the private sector, SREI plans to spend Rs 10-12 crore for its branding and advertising activities
Lowe Kolkata has bagged the creative duties for SREI, a private sector infrastructure financing company. Established in 1989, it is one of India's leading non-banking financial institutions.
Lowe Kolkata has been brought on board following a multi-agency pitch. The pitch process involved two rounds of presentations, and the agencies were asked to submit their creatives. Rediffusion Y&R and Lowe were among the shortlisted agencies, but Lowe walked away with the account.
Talking to afaqs!, Braj Kishore, vice-president and head, brand management, SREI, says, “With the mandate of advertising getting bigger and more significant in the creative sense, it made sense for us to appoint an agency which would be able to look after our needs as we are a growing brand.”
Confirming the news to afaqs!, DK Guha, senior vice-president, Lowe Kolkata, says, “Despite the economic slowdown, the company is strong and vigorous about its marketing plans.”
The company is looking at an ad spend of Rs 10-12 crore, states Kishore. It has a dual communication plan: first, to reach out to the general consumers of infrastructure (B2C), and second, to reach out to target groups such as investors (B2B). Product specific campaigns will also be considered.
The media mix being considered for SREI is heavy on print, mainly magazines and trade journals. Kishore believes that outdoor is a cost effective medium, so that might find a place in the plan as well. Television is still being considered.
For the record, while SREI started out as an infrastructure finance company, today it has branched out into areas such as equipment finance (medical, IT and agriculture), too. The company has also entered into a strategic alliance with the BNP Paribas Lease Group.