By Neha Kalra
Advertising

JWT to creatively handle the Red Ribbon Express

With the express in its second year, the agency has bagged the creative and design duties for the second time in a row. The ad and marketing budget is pegged at Rs 15 crore

JWT Delhi has won the mandate for the UNICEF Red Ribbon Express, which is a joint initiative between UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund) and NACO (National AIDS Control Organisation). The agency will responsible for the creative duties for the mass media campaign to communicate about the train, as well as putting the design in place for the express train this year.

Confirming the news to afaqs!, Supriya Mukherjee, communication for development- specialist, UNICEF, says that the first ever Ribbon Express, which was launched in 2007, was a huge success and paved the way for a second round of the initiative.

JWT to creatively handle the Red Ribbon Express
The express, which seeks to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS, will run for about a year, beginning this year and continuing till 2010. Last time, it halted at about 180 stations across the country. This time, too, it is expected to halt at 200 stations. The express is run especially in rural areas – programmes and activities are conducted to create awareness about the disease, its spread and prevention.
JWT to creatively handle the Red Ribbon Express
The agency has won the business following a multi-agency pitch, wherein the agencies were asked to submit technical specifications as well as financial bids. There was a round of creative and strategy presentations for all the participating agencies.

Co-incidentally, JWT had handled the creative duties for the first round of the express in 2007. On being questioned about the advertising and marketing budget for promoting the express this year, Mukherjee reveals that the information on the same is not known yet as NACO funds the project.

However, sources reveal that UNICEF, as per its usual budget allotment, could have set aside an amount of Rs 15 crore to communicate about the express. The campaign is usually spread across all media – utilising television, print, OOH and radio. Below-the-line activities are also a part of the mix.

The media spends are taken care of by NACO, while the media allotment is taken care of by the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP).

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