Everest picks up SKF Bearings, K Girdharlal accounts

Everest Integrated Communications' Mumbai office has won the advertising accounts of roller bearing manufacturer SKF Bearings, and K Girdharlal, a diamond export-import house. Reporting the news to agencyfaqs!, Prabhakar Mundkur, president, Everest Integrated Communications, said that both accounts moved to the agency "recently".

The SKF account has come to the agency following a three-way pitch that involved Everest, Euro RSCG India and Percept Advertising. Speaking about the account, Mundkur says, "SKF is the undisputed market leader when it comes to automotive and industrial bearings, but it has a unique problem - a problem of rampant duplication. SKF being such a respected name, unscrupulous marketers are passing off spurious bearings to unsuspecting customers under the SKF name. We have been appointed to put a check on this, which is a bit like fighting piracy." Mundkur adds that Everest has been appointed to handle both above- and below-the-line work on the account. "The objective is two-pronged," he says. "While on the one hand we have to educate the trade and the garage owners on the benefits of selling original SKF bearings through contact programmes and workshops, on the other, we have to build consumer awareness through mainline media by creating a branding for SKF."

SKF has not been particularly active in the media these past few years, and little communication has happened as far as branding is concerned. While Mundkur acknowledges this, he feels that the problem the brand is currently facing requires focus as well as time. "This is a problem that cannot be solved with a single burst of advertising in the media," he observes. "It calls for a change in consumer and retailer mindset, so it will have to be a long-running programme."

Speaking about the K Girdharlal account, Mundkur reveals that Everest was recommended to the client by London-based international diamond brokerage firm, H Goldie & Company. For the record, K Girdharlal is among the 120 site holders of the Diamond Trading Corporation (DeBeers). "In an effort to increase the demand for diamonds, DeBeers has resorted to branding of diamonds," says Mundkur. "Nakshatra is one such branding effort. However, DeBeers now wants its site holders to also develop retail brands of diamond jewellery, which would help popularize the stones. Towards that end, H Goldie & Company referred K Girdharlal to us."

Mundkur adds that while Everest has been appointed as K Girdharlal's advertising agency, Everest would also be playing the roll of a brand consultant by suggesting brand names, branding concepts and branding ideas. "India is one of the largest diamond markets in the world and is seeing tremendous growth, despite being a traditional gold jewellery market," he says. "With the business likely to grow in a huge way, there is a lot to look forward to when it comes to branded diamonds." He does not, however, offer any timeframes vis-à-vis the launch of K Girdharlal's branded gemstones. Mundkur also chooses to remain silent when asked about billing from the two new accounts. © 2003 agencyfaqs!