Anushree Bhattacharyya
Advertising

Ministry of Tourism calls for pitch for Incredible India

After a gap of two years, the Ministry of Tourism has called for an advertising pitch for the Incredible India global campaign. The pitch has been called for five separate accounts.

The Ministry of Tourism has called for a multi-agency advertising pitch, as it plans to take the Incredible India campaign across Asia Pacific, America and Europe in 2011. The pitch has been called for five separate accounts, which include print and television campaigns.

A Ministry of Tourism official, on condition of anonymity, says, "The idea is to promote tourism in India under the Incredible India banner at an international scale in the Asia-Pacific region, American countries, as well as European nations in the next year. We had earlier empanelled agencies to work on global campaigns; nevertheless, we are now looking for fresh ideas."

Ministry of Tourism calls for pitch for Incredible India
In 2008, the Ministry of Tourism had empanelled 15 creative agencies for the global Incredible India campaign. These are: Mudra, Lowe, Contract, Wieden+Kennedy, Dentsu Marcom, TBWA India, Mercantile Advertising, Stark Communications, Crayons, Critique, Quantum, Basic Four, FS Advertising, IBD India and India Tourism Development Corporation's creative wing (also known as Ashok Creatives). The ad spends were then estimated to be more than Rs 120 crore for the global campaign.

Currently, two accounts -- an international television and an international print campaign for the Asia Pacific region -- are up for grabs. The third account, for which the pitch has been called, is a print campaign for regions in America; while the fourth account is a print campaign for European countries. The last pitch is for a print campaign for global markets.

The Ministry has asked agencies to draft creatives on the basis of a media plan, which has already been finalised. There are also certain guidelines that agencies have been asked to follow.

In the case of television commercials, agencies have been asked to submit letters of clearance from authorised representatives of channels, as well as ad rates. Similarly, in the case of print campaigns, agencies will have to submit a clearance letter from representatives of various publications, along with ad rates. The agencies have also been asked to submit details of all the costs related to the campaigns and other details related to the pitch on or before December 28, 2010.

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