afaqs! news bureau
Advertising

Starcom and BBH to partner STAR CJ Network for advertising duties

Though officials remained tightlipped on the development, it is learnt that both agencies have recently come on-board as the media and creative partners, respectively

STAR CJ Network India -- a 50:50 joint venture between STAR and CJ (Cheil Jedang) Home Shopping, a Korean regional home shopping group -- has recently appointed Starcom Worlwide as its media partner. The win comes for the Mumbai wing of the agency. BBH India was appointed as the creative partner for the account a couple of months back, following a multi-agency pitch that included five to six agencies.

No official comments were available from either agency, and STAR officials remained tightlipped too. However, reliable sources confirmed the development.

Starcom and BBH to partner STAR CJ Network for advertising duties
Neither could the ad spends be confirmed. However, it is only natural that the brand campaign stands to gain by advertising on the STAR network, as far as TV advertising is concerned.

Around August 2008, STAR India received FIPB (Foreign Investment Promotion Board) approval to get foreign investments for the launch of its home shopping channel.

Starcom and BBH to partner STAR CJ Network for advertising duties
The home shopping channel was launched in March 2009. The first stage of the deal will see the launch of a 24-hour home shopping channel later this year. This will be the second channel in the genre, the first being HomeShop18, which was launched more than a year ago.

According to the deal, while STAR will be the wholesaler and broadcaster, CJ's expertise will lie in providing products and tie-ups with brands. Some of the products of the CJ Group will also be sold on the channel.

The fact that the subcontinent boasts of a population of 1.1 billion has led to India offering a blue-ocean opportunity in home shopping, opines Harri Lee, CEO, CJ Home Shopping.

According to Ernst & Young, the size of the home shopping industry in India -- which includes e-commerce, catalogue shopping and teleshopping -- is nearly $2.5 billion (around Rs 12,000 crore), and is growing at 35 per cent annually. It is expected to become a $10-billion industry in the next four years. Market experts claim that the home shopping segment alone should be in the region of Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion).

For the record, CJ Home Shopping is a subsidiary of the CJ Group, which has stakes in food and food service, bio and pharma, entertainment and media, and home shopping and logistics.

Have news to share? Write to us atnewsteam@afaqs.com