Maa Bozell loses Dhampure sugar to Triton

Maa Bozell, the agency that launched Dhampure packaged sugar just three months ago - after working on the account for two years - lost the business to Triton Communications on April 25 this year. The account is estimated to be worth around Rs 2.5-3 crore. agencyfaqs! has learnt that three agencies - Triton, Capital Advertising and the ex-incumbent - were asked to make presentations, following which Triton walked away with the account on the strength of a creative, strategy and media presentation.

Apparently, both Maa Bozell and Dhampur Sugar Mills (DSM) "were not satisfied with way things were between us", says Nupur Singh, brand manager, DSM. Yet, by inviting Maa to defend the account, the client was, in fact, giving the agency one more shot. While these may not be the best of times for Maa, for Triton, April has proved to be a good month, what with the La Salle account, and now Dhampure. And the agency is already at work, churning out creatives for a "different" print campaign for Dhampure.

Elaborating on the communication strategy, Vivek Srivastava, vice-president, Triton Communications, says, "The strategy for Dhampure revolves around it being the healthier sugar for the family, based on the fact that is the only sulphurless sugar in the country. It is healthier because a sustained overdose of sulphur leads to bodily disorders like flatulence, indigestion, ulcers and renal disorders. In India, usually, sulphur is used as a bleaching agent, and the sulphur residual stays on the sugar. Whereas Dhampure is bleached with other reagents that are completely non-toxic, and it is doubly refined to eliminate residuals. And incidentally, in EU and the US, the stipulated standards demand the sugar to be sulphurless."

The task now is to drive home the point ‘Get Tough With Your Sugar' - which is the baseline of the print campaign that broke out on May 5, 2001. Here, what is interesting is the execution of the campaign. These ads that have broken are in the form of ‘introductory' ads or preludes that link up to form the ‘final big' campaign, slated to break early June. The final campaign will unfold the whole story.

According to Srivastava, this series of ads will appeal to the safe instincts of consumers by drawing parallels with packaged and better-quality products. "The ultimate objective is to exhort people not to take their sugar for granted. The target consumers (SEC A and SEC B+), who are obviously health and hygiene conscious, prefer mineral water or iodised or skimmed milk instead of loose or unbranded stuff," reasons Srivastava.

The media mix will be upgraded to include TV sometime in June. But, for the moment, the focus is on print (national dailies, subsequently followed by women magazines), FM radio and outdoor, coupled with intensive below-the-line activities. Considering the fact that there are not too many branded players in this market - there are only a handful such as Mawana, Trust and Modi, who have actually not made much of a splash so far - Dhampure will become a generic name among households. Or so Srivastava hopes.

© 2001 agencyfaqs!