Mudra gets Rs 30-40-crore Electrolux account

In a significant development, Electrolux Kelvinator Ltd (EKL) has awarded its Rs 30-40-crore advertising account to Mudra Communications. The account includes the creative duties for EKL washing machines, refrigerators, microwaves and air-conditioners. For the record, the media duties of EKL continue to reside with Maximize India.

In this regard, agencyfaqs! diehards would recall our story in October, in which we had mentioned that EKL has embarked on the process of shifting its account out of O&M as the latter had taken on competitive business in the form of LG Electronics. (O&M won the home appliances business of LG, comprising washing machines, microwave ovens, air-conditioners and refrigerators, recently.) With this decision, the process has been brought to its logical conclusion.

agencyfaqs! learns that nine agencies were in the running for the Electrolux business, though the names of all nine could not be ascertained. Among the five (Lowe, Rediffusion DY&R, Contract, Bates and Mudra) that could be identified, four made it to the first shortlist. These were Mudra, Rediffusion, Bates and Lowe.

Elaborating on the criteria for shortlisting agencies, Sanjeev Wadhwa, general manager, marketing, EKL, said, "The first shortlist of agencies was drawn up based on the strategic direction and the category insight of the agencies, together with their ability to translate these into creatives that could present a long-term proposition for the brand Electrolux."

The two agencies that made it to the final shortlist were Rediffusion and Mudra. Wadhwa admits the final decision was a tough one. "All these agencies had put their hearts and brains to the job and we got to see some really good work and great insights," he says. "At the end of the day, Mudra really stood out in all these parameters plus the amount of resources it was willing to devote to the brand. And that is important because we have some big plans for the company and we are looking to unify all the products under the Electrolux umbrella brand soon."

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