Grey picks Rajasthan govt's ministry of industries and ministry of energy account

Grey's new year (which began on October 1, 2001, as Grey follows an October to September year) began on a happy note. Its Delhi office has bagged the ‘integrated communication' business of the ministry of industries and the ministry of energy, government of Rajasthan. The account has been given to Grey on a retainership basis. Grey estimates the cumulative business for the two ministries to be worth Rs 5 crore. The account will come up for review one year from now.

The selection process began in the month of June. Invitations were sent out to all of the Top 10 agencies when the state government realised that the ministries needed some ‘serious attention'. Among those who turned up for the brief were HTA, O&M, Grey Worldwide, R K Swamy/BBDO and Pressman. Post briefing, three came back for a pitch. In the first round, Grey, O&M and RK Swamy/BBDO made their creative-strategy-media presentations. The second and the deciding round had two contenders, Grey and O&M. Both made their presentations before the state minister of industries and energy, Chandrabhan Singh. As it turned out, the decision went in Grey's favour.

One interesting thing about this account, according to a Grey official, is that two separate ministries (though in the same state) have decided to club their communication business with one agency. "Normally one ministry hires one or more agencies. Here the reverse has happened. Since the ministries had no large sums to spend, they decided to join hands and give a meaty business to whichever agency is finally appointed," says Naresh Gupta, account planning director, Grey Worldwide.

For Grey the task is twofold. First, to promote the state of Rajasthan as an attractive investment destination, both nationally and internationally. And second, to convey the power sector reforms to the residents of the state of Rajasthan and the employees of the ministry. "The brief given to us was to think up holistic solutions to get people serious about Rajasthan since the state wants to play as hard as any other state," adds Gupta.

However, both these accounts have divergent media requirements. The ministry of industries requires a wider coverage in terms of prospective investors through print and business channels on TV. The ministry will also leverage the Rajasthan government's official website for dissemination of information. The site has a page dedicated on the ministry of industry, which will be revamped by the agency to reach out to the surfers more effectively. To tap the potential international investors, the agency is exploring the possibility of collaborative exercises with Confederation of Indian Industries.

For the ministry of energy, the need of the hour is dissemination of information on the developments in the power sector within the state. The audience is as diverse as the employees of the ministry, the farmers in rural Rajasthan et al. "The Rajasthan state electricity board has been split into five independent companies handling separate functions like power generation, transmission, distribution etc. Put together, it has employee strength of about 50,000. So the task entails coordination between these various companies and providing information to the employees and the residents of the state about the power sector reforms. Thus the emphasis is going to be on internal communication and local press releases," explains Gupta.

The news of the new account comes at a time when the Delhi branch of Grey closed its books (for the year October 2000 to September 2001) with a billing of Rs 85 crore. The last quarter (July to September 2001) was especially good for the agency. It added several new accounts - including Indian Airlines, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, Revlon and the department of income tax - to its kitty. Now the agency is firming up plans to reach a billing target of Rs 100 crore-plus for the next one year.

© agencyfaqs! 2001