Burnett picks up Blow Plast's modular furniture business

Leo Burnett's Mumbai office has won the advertising and ‘activation' accounts of Blow Plast Ergonomics, following a creative, media and activation strategy pitch held last month. The account moves from HTA. "We have been entrusted with the entire Ergonomics account, including all modular furniture," a Burnett spokesperson told agencyfaqs!. He adds that the media planning and buying for Blow Plast Ergonomics has been entrusted to Starcom.

Blow Plast Ergonomics, part of the Rs 800-crore-plus Dilip Piramal Group, is primarily into manufacturing of modular furniture systems, seating solutions and carpets. Apart from marketing modular furniture, Blow Plast Ltd - the marketing arm of the Piramal Group - also markets the VIP brand of moulded and soft luggage, manufactured by VIP Industries. Incidentally, the VIP luggage account is with HTA.

Details about the April pitch are not available, and it is not even clear if HTA was defending the account. However, the Burnett spokesperson maintains that the client chose Burnett "thanks to our good understanding of the business, of the various consumer groups that the client targets, the use of powerful constructs such as the Brand Belief System, and the outstanding creative solution that the agency suggested".

Burnett also attaches a lot of importance to the accent on activation in this win. "A large part of the top-end business relies on direct marketing and relationship programmes," explains the spokesperson. "In fact, traditionally, these were the only communication in this category. Burnett's understanding of activation strategy helped considerably to have a complete and comprehensive communication strategy with multimedia synergy." It might be recalled that Burnett set up its activation cell in India - Leo Activation - late last year.

The size of the account is hush-hush. "It is really confidential right now… but it is big," is all the spokesperson says. When asked about the challenges that face Burnett (and Blow Plast) in the modular furniture market, the spokesperson replied, "Blow Plast Ergonomics is a clear leader in the top-end of the market. It is a well-established brand, fighting for share with branded premium products. The lower end, that is small-medium business, is largely unexploited, and offers huge opportunity. Blow Plast Ergonomics' strength lies in its superior products and continuous innovation." He, however, refused to reveal Blow Plast's current market share, citing confidentiality. The other significant branded player in the domestic modular furniture market is Godrej.

Arvind Sharma, managing director, Leo Burnett India, adds that, "The client is ambitiously looking at expanding presence in the lower end of the office furniture business. Advertising will play a crucial role here. Our main objective is to build a major brand called Blow Plast Ergonomics in the market, using our proprietary Brand Belief System." Incidentally, ‘the lower end' (the small-medium segment) has an estimated value in excess of Rs 1,500 crore, and the category, as a whole, is believed to be "growing rapidly". © 2002 agencyfaqs!