Contract adds two Cadbury brands to portfolio

Contract Advertising's Mumbai office has ended the year 2001 on a sweet note by winning the advertising accounts of two new chocolate brands from Cadbury India. The agency has acquired Cadbury's new ‘chocolate paste' brand Chocki, and a development brand that is slated for launch sometime in 2002.

Speaking about the pitch-free wins, Rajiv Sabnis, senior vice-president, Contract Advertising, told agencyfaqs!, "These businesses came close on the heels of the successful launch of Temptations. The client reposed more faith in Contract by placing these brands under our responsibility." With these wins, Contract now handles six Cadbury brands, including Milk Treat, Temptations, Celebrations and ChocoBix. O&M is in charge of Cadbury's Dairy Milk (CDM), 5-Star, Cadbury's Eclairs and Perk, while it may be recalled that Lemon recently won three developmental brands from Cadbury India, as reported by agencyfaqs! a fortnight ago (Lemon gets its juices flowing; wins three Cadbury brands, December 20).

Chocki, which is being test-marketed in the state of Andhra Pradesh, is a semi-solid chocolate ‘paste' packaged in a flexible, transparent plastic tube. The brand, which shares the taste of flagship brand CDM, is Cadbury India's vehicle to widen the penetration of chocolates in India (current penetration stands in the vicinity of 25 per cent, in urban areas) by tapping the mass market. Priced at Rs 2 for an 8-gm pack (to trigger more impulse purchases across SECs), Chocki is targeted at children in the four-to-14 age group. Incidentally, Nestle's Chocostik, which is also priced at Rs 2, is a straight competitor to Chocki in this emerging category.

Contract has made a television commercial for the brand, which has been on air in Andhra Pradesh since the third week of this month. "We have created a lovable, mischievous character who personifies the brand," reveals Sabnis. "The story is about a child trying to pin down Chocki (an animated character) to stop it from creating some fun mischief. The sign-off is in the zone of ‘Don't leave it alone.'"

Sabnis is unwilling to reveal the size of the account. "The budgets will only get decided after the response from Andhra Pradesh is fully gauged," he says. "It will depend on whether there is a national launch for the brand, or a market-by-market roll-out." Sabnis does not say anything about the developmental brand either. "It is a chocolate brand. I can't say more."

He does, however, cite a few reasons why he thinks Cadbury India has awarded Contract these accounts. "Consistent quality of creative work; good turnaround times on projects; the ability to partner the client across integrated communication requirements; and a very charged up and positive attitude from the team."

© 2001 agencyfaqs!