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Chicco is part of Italian health and wellness products major, Artsana SPA, and began its Indian operations in January this year
Following a multi-agency pitch, McCann Erickson Delhi has been assigned the creative duties for baby care brand, Chicco, from the stable of Italian health and wellness products major, Artsana SPA.
Chicco is a Euro 800 million brand, which, together with its sister companies, Prénatal, a chain of stores specialising in the sale of products for mothers and children, and Boppy Co, a manufacturer of infant support pillows, constitutes 80 percent of Artsana's business of Euro 1.5 billion. Chicco began its Indian operations in January 2010, setting up its first outlet in Delhi in Select City Walk mall.
McCann Delhi, whose counterpart in Milan handles the global operation for Chicco, managed to clinch the deal due to "its better understanding of the account". While talking to afaqs!, Vineeth Nair, CEO, Artsana India, says, "McCann Erickson Milan, which handles our global mandate, is doing great work. Also, during the pitch, McCann Delhi exhibited better understanding of the brand, which may have come from their reference to the work done by their Italian counterpart. This is the reason why we assigned the job to McCann Delhi."
The creative agency is all set to work on the new account. "This is going to be a very exciting account to work with, as we believe that it is going to redefine the quality standards and innovation in the area of baby care products," says Debashis Paul, senior vice-president and general manager, McCann Delhi.
Chicco plans to expand its retail operations to 10 exclusive stores across the country by 2011, and tap top-of-the-line departmental and pharmacy chains. From the communication point of view, the brand's initial strategy is to create equity using all forms of media.
For the first year, the focus will be on retail and digital. Instead of pan-India campaigns, the brand plans to use local media. The India website of Chicco will be live soon; and there will be extensive use of direct mailers.
Although the exact marketing spends for Chicco have not been disclosed; it is understood that after establishing the retail network by the end of this year, spending on advertising and brand building initiatives will be intensified at a national level, and may go up to Rs 25-28 crore.
The market for baby care products in India is monopolised by brands such as Mothercare India and Johnson & Johnson India. On Chicco's strategies to face the competition, Nair explains, "Most brands in this segment are product led. They mostly cater to any one need of a baby; whereas we are a 360-degree baby care brand and cater to all possible needs of a baby in the age group of 0-3 years, except for supplying baby food. Our wide range of products includes apparel, baby cosmetics, footwear, toys, baby travel products; and the value add-ons that we offer to our customers set us apart from the rest."
Apart from assigning the creative duties to McCann Delhi, Artsana India has taken on-board Genesis for public relations and Zenith Optimedia for handling the media duties.