Triton wins mobile phone business of National Panasonic

You win some, you lose some and you give up some. This is the ultimate truth for advertising agencies.

If Triton Communications had to give up the Samsung mobile phones business, it has been adequately compensated by National Panasonic, which has awarded its Rs 8-crore mobile phone business to the agency, which will be responsible for both the creative as well as the media duties for the brand.

Triton won the business on the back of a strategic and creative presentation. Elaborating on what swung the decision in the agency's favour, Vivek Srivastava, executive director, Triton Communications, says, "What helped us was the fact that we have a substantive category knowledge and understanding, built rigorously over the last five years, during our successful association with Samsung mobiles phones. Besides, there is a complete convergence of our values in seeking an enduring partnership to grow the brand's share."

The agency credits itself for its ‘sheer prudence' in looking for business elsewhere when Samsung began consolidating its businesses with group agency Cheil Communications. "The brand (Samsung) was gradually drifting to them (Cheil) anyways," says Srivastava. "It was sheer business prudence that made us look elsewhere to leverage our category knowledge. We have had a good run with Samsung for close to five years, with its GSM handsets doing some really clutter breaking work in the category. It is a brand we would always value in terms of our experience," he adds.

Triton's immediate task is to build on National Panasonic's premium image and enhance its visibility. Explains Srivastava, "The emphasis would be to highlight innovation and the technical edge, which enhances the brand's association with a consumer-centric promise - Ideas For Life - the global umbrella for the brand. All this would be accomplished through a series of initiatives, which we are in the process of formulating. One thing is for sure: the brand - despite being relatively low profile as compared to other players - has its loyalists among mobile consumers, who vouch for its quality, feature richness and performance. Often, when they upgrade, they opt for another Panasonic mobile phone. Essentially we would build on that."

Besides National Panasonic, Triton has pocketed a couple of more businesses. It has picked up the Rs 2-crore advertising business of Haldiram Snack Foods, in a competitive pitch, which had nine agencies in the fray. With regard to Haldiram Snack Foods, the agency's task is to launch a range of packaged snack foods taking on some more established names in the category.

Another new acquisition for Triton is Unistyle Image (USI), a brand of casual wear. Spelling out the agency's role, Srivastava, says, "Our role would be to establish the brand as one with a distinct personality in a rather cluttered category. USI is a 12-year brand with distinct associations with good quality, styling and an unassuming image. The idea is to emphasise these attributes, as they lend to the individuality of the younger lot rather than stifle it with overarching artificial values." The print campaign for USI is due for release in March.

Leonardo Olive Oil, a brand owned by Dalmia Continental, is the third business the agency has added to its kitty recently. Worth Rs 2-3 crore, Leonardo Olive Oil was won in a multi-agency pitch. The endeavour here is to promote the usage of olive oil in Indian cooking. "Apart from using mainstream media like magazines or TV as volumes grow, the emphasis will be on educating consumers about the health benefits of the product and also its compatibility with Indian cuisine by way of practical demos and housewife meets facilitated by nutritionists etc," elaborates Srivastava. Leonardo Olive Oil will leverage the strengths of Triton Promotions and Rural in its launch phase. © 2004 agencyfaqs!