ZEE News goes to Leo Burnett

Leo Burnett's Delhi office has bagged the creative duties of ZEE News in a multi-agency pitch.

agencyfaqs! readers would recall the news piece ZEE News calls for a pitch (agencyfaqs!, May 7), where we had mentioned that nine agencies had been invited to pitch for the creative duties of ZEE News, among which were Mudra Communications, Contract Advertising, Bates India, Quantum Communications and The Hive. As it turns out, Leo Burnett bested the other eight to walk away with the multi-crore business.

Says Laxmi Goel, director, ZEE Network, "We are happy to have Leo Burnett on board and look forward to a synergistic relationship". To that Ali Imran, vice-president, Leo Burnett, adds, "Leo Burnett is thrilled to have won this assignment from ZEE News. ZEE News is the pioneer of news in India and we look forward to working with the team and making it an even more powerful brand."

As we had reported earlier, the agencies were called for two rounds of presentations. While the total size of the business could not be confirmed, what is known is that the business has been given out on a retainership basis.

"All agencies were assessed on the parameters of positioning, strategy, creativity and comprehension of the task at hand, and preference was given to the most practical and ready-to-use solution required for the situation. At the end of the day, it was Leo Burnett who proved themselves first among equals," reads a prepared note from the company

The note also mentions what ZEE News is set to achieve. With its new communication strategy ZEE News hopes to reinforce the goodwill it already has in the market. "There will be a concerted attempt to leverage its existing strengths and communicate that effectively across media to the viewers," according to an official close to the development. "The objective therefore is to ensure that the underlying feelings about ZEE News are far more spontaneous, top of mind and tangible," he adds. © 2003 agencyfaqs!