Euro RSCG lands Dell Computer

Euro RSCG's Bangalore office has won the communication business of PC manufacturer Dell Computer. The account, which is estimated to be worth approximately Rs 10 crore, was awarded to Euro some two weeks ago, following a series of "intense strategy presentations" made by the agency.

While it is not clear whether Dell had called for a full-fledged, multi-agency pitch, Sanjoy Gupta, director, Euro RSCG, told agencyfaqs! that vis-à-vis Euro, the win materialized from "somewhere between a pitch and an alignment". It might be noted that Euro RSCG Worldwide handles the Dell business throughout the Asia-Pacific region, as well as in Canada. "Euro being an aligned agency, we were certainly preferred," says Gupta. "But we still had to present our credentials and our capabilities to the client."

Here, it is also pertinent to mention that just four days ago, the Texas-based Dell Computer Corp had consolidated its estimated $200-million US account with DDB Worldwide, Chicago. Prior to this development, the Dell account in the US was split between Lowe Lintas & Partners, New York (which was in charge of the retail-level advertising), and BBDO Worldwide, New York (which had the corporate brand account).

When asked whether the realignment in the US would have any bearing on India (DDB is aligned with Mudra Communications in this country), Gupta replied emphatically, "Impossible!" His reasoning is that as the realignment is US-centric, there is no question of Euro getting unsettled in India - or anywhere else in the Asia-Pacific.

Expanding on Dell, Gupta said that it was both a "challenging and exciting" time for the agency. "Dell is a very different kind of advertiser," he says. "Not one that fits your traditional mould. It has a very response-oriented structure, and its advertising demands quick responses. The key is to understand Dell's business model. And as the agency, our job will be to deliver not just on advertising, but also on direct marketing, online…"

Gupta acknowledges that Euro's capabilities will be put to severe test, but is excited to be working with "people who are way ahead in terms of real-time trading, consumer focus and pioneering distribution techniques". And he is happiest about the fact that the agency now has a really big hardware client in India. "We are a favourite among IT companies, but we've never had a hardware client in our portfolio. It's a lovely feeling."

Incidentally, Dell is the second brand that Euro has added to its exhaustive IT portfolio over the past one month. Last month, the agency won the Rs 2-crore Elind Computers account. By hiring Euro, Elind - which is into transactional software for equity trading - has opted for mainline advertising for the first time since its launch.

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