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OOH

Unitech Wireless appoints Navia Asia as OOH partner

The agency won the account following a multi-agency pitch, which also involved Primesite and OAP

Telecom is undoubtedly the largest revenue stream for India's outdoor industry. Reiterating this fact, Unitech Wireless -- a joint venture between India's real estate major, Unitech, and Norway based mobile services provider, Telenor Group -- has appointed Navia Asia, the OOH specialist arm of ZenithOptimedia, for its consumer brand, Uninor.

Last month, Navia Asia was selected from a shortlist of three OOH agencies; the other two being Primesite and OAP. Sources in the company reveal that the agency clearly demonstrated its ability to reach out and touch Uninor's target group where it counts -- on the streets at the grassroots level, where people work and live their day-to-day lives.

Unitech Wireless appoints Navia Asia as OOH partner
Navia Asia's experience in urban and rural markets was also a consideration, coupled with solid understanding of the brand's requirements for launch and sustainability in an intensely competitive environment.

David Meneghello, executive vice-president, marketing, Unitech Wireless says, "We look at Navia Asia as a strategic partner in our brand communication efforts. The battle for preference will be fought on the street and it is our intent to make the brand Uninor a winner at launch."

The brand will be driven by a set of four core values -- Make it Easy; Be inspiring; Keep promises and Be respectful.

Navia will have a dedicated team of experienced professionals headed by a national account director, who will take charge of strategy, planning, site selection, execution and monitoring of the broad and varied range of OOH alternatives for the brand.

The campaign is expected to optimize with a media burst, coinciding with service availability. It will be timed to align with the service launch toward the end of 2009. Media budgets and media mix will vary, based on the requirements during various phases of the campaign.

"We are delighted to work with a brand that, from the start, has built itself around the customer. Our ambition is to build customer appreciation for this brand and the values that it stands for," said Sanjay Shah, chief executive officer, Navia Asia.

Uninor declined to disclose the percentage of ad spends dedicated to OOH.

Soon, the company will begin BTL pitches, in which agencies will be selected locally at each of the 11 hubs -- Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Delhi (NCR), Patna, Mumbai, Guwahati, Chandigarh and Indore.

For the record, the Telenor Group has already invested Rs 2,620 crore through new shares in the joint venture company, with an agreement to raise this to Rs 6,120 crore to hold 67.25 per cent stake.

Unitech Wireless holds a pan-India UAS license to offer mobile telephony services in each of India's 22 circles. It has also received spectrum to roll out these services in 21 of the 22 circles.

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