Parle consolidates media planning and buying with The Media Edge

In a significant development, Parle Products Ltd has consolidated the media planning and buying duties for its major brands with The Media Edge. The win for The Media Edge includes Parle's range of biscuits and confectionery brands, and the total business is estimated to be in the vicinity of Rs 70 crore, annually. Confirming the development, Divya Gupta, president, The Media Edge, said, "We have consistently delivered efficiencies to Parle. The decision to award the media planning assignment to us is a recognition of our good work. It also reinforces the faith we always had on our planning product." For the record, The Media Edge has been handling the buying for Parle for the last two-and-a-half years.

The agency has been awarded the planning duties for flagship brand Parle-G, Hide & Seek, Krackjack, Fun Centre and all confectionery brands - with the exception of Monaco and Poppins, which stay with Zenith Media. Prior to the new realignment in the planning duties, the planning for Hide & Seek, Krackjack and Fun Centre was being handled by MindShare (O&M is the creative agency on the three brands), while planning for the confectionery brands was with Grey Worldwide. For the record, the creative business of Monaco, Parle-G and Poppins are with Everest Integrated Communications, and that of the confectionery brands is with Grey Worldwide.

Explaining the reason for consolidating the media business with The Media Edge, Praveen Kulkarni, marketing manager, Parle Products Ltd, says, "Consolidating media planning with The Media Edge, which was in any case handling the buying for us, was done to optimize the gains. Moreover, they have been doing a good job." A key expectation from the agency is to be judicious with media spends. "While we expect fresh and innovative inputs and strategic thinking, an important task for the agency is to save money in the planning process itself," Kulkarni adds. © 2004 agencyfaqs!