Madras Ad Club has a 'Deadline' to meet

In an ongoing effort to make agency-client interaction a more productive experience for the fraternity, Madras Ad Club has flagged off an interesting ‘real' contest. This contest is in the form of a ‘pitch' for the haircare brand Kanya (which had been active more than five years ago in Tamil Nadu) from the CavinKare stable. The event dubbed CavinKare Reality show will revolve around a mock exercise called ‘Deadline' where participating agencies would be given a problem or a brief and they have to present a solution within 24 hours.

"We feel the Madras Ad Club must be made a more interactive forum that encourages participation, creates a better bond in the community and nurtures professionalism. This ‘real' contest is one more attempt on our part in this direction. There had been similar contests in the past; but they all had a fictitious brand. As far as I know, this is the first time such an attempt has been made with a real brand," says M Venkataraman, director, Euro RSCG, Chennai, who is also a committee member of the Club.

An equally unique method was employed to brief agencies. The Club sent across a "Singing Telegram" where singing and dancing duo Manoj and Aparna went to nearly 20 agencies in the city. They left behind a poster containing all the information. Participating agencies are expected to come up with strategic solutions to revive the Kanya brand and put forth their views on its potential, which segment it should operate in, its opportunities and finally put together a complete creative package. The proposals will be considered over the weekend where eight presentations will be taken up for the final round to be held on February 22.

"This is an excellent attempt for all agencies to showcase their talent not just to the client but also all the high-profile attendants to the show as it will draw most big companies to the event. Apart from the big players, even small agencies stand a good chance to show their talents and learn realtime how to handle FMCG products. There will be a five-member jury for the event; though we have not finalised the names yet, it will consist of very significant people," he said. And added, "Depending on how it goes this time, we are trying to see if this can be made into an annual feature."© 2003 agencyfaqs!