Bates, Mumbai, wins Tata-AIG after "close fight"

A year after it appointed HTA, insurance major Tata-AIG has picked Bates India as its new agency, following a pitch that also involved O&M, Ambience, Publicis, FCB-Ulka and SSC&B

Close on the heels of its Kolkata office winning the Shalimar Paints and Amul undergarments accounts, Bates India's Mumbai office has picked up the advertising business of insurance major Tata-AIG. The win followed a 15-day-long, multi-agency pitch that saw the likes of O&M, Ambience D'Arcy, Publicis, FCB-Ulka, SSC&B, ex-incumbent HTA and Bates grappling for top honours. With this win, Bates is Tata-AIG's agency for ‘broad marketing' and brand communication. Lintas, however, continues to handle the direct marketing for Tata-AIG.

Speaking to agencyfaqs!, Raj Raman, vice-president - marketing, Tata-AIG, said, "It was a very keenly contested pitch. All the agencies that made presentations displayed good thinking, and the quality of the work was amazingly good. It was not easy deciding whom to award the business." Although it is rumoured that the final toss-up was between Bates and O&M, Raman refused to corroborate this. But when asked why the company eventually settled for Bates, he replied, "Bates came across as sound in thought and ideas. And they did some exceptional work, and we were quite impressed."

Incidentally, Bates is AIG's aligned agency in parts of East and South-East Asia, including Korea, Japan and Thailand. However, Raman is quick to point out that this is only "one of the factors" for choosing to go with Bates in India too. "Yes, AIG works with the agency in other Asian markets, but we chose the agency on the merit of its work here in India," he said.

Tata-AIG's desire to call for a pitch and move the account out of HTA - all within a year of the launch of the brand in the country - raises questions about the motive behind the decision. "There are two reasons behind this," explains Raman. "One was that although HTA had done a good job of launching the brand, we felt that we needed to take a fresh look at things. After all, lots of new players have entered the market, and much of the communication in this category has started looking alike. There are too many me-too kind of brands, and we want to look different. Two, with so many new players, one needs to be sensitive about competition."

Although Raman does not expand on point number two, the general feeling in the industry is that HTA might have fallen out of favour for having courted rival Allianz Bajaj. It might be recalled that last month (September 14), agencyfaqs! had reported how the Allianz-Bajaj pitch had been a photo-finish between HTA and eventual-winner Contract Advertising (Contract lands Allianz-Bajaj and Cadbury Temptations). Raman, of course, refused to comment on this. Interestingly, O&M - one of the contenders for the Tata-AIG account - too already has an insurance client in its portfolio - Cardiff. "O&M was upfront about Cardiff," Raman said. Leaving a lot unsaid.

No such issues with Bates, of course. Tata-AIG is the agency's first big insurance client. "And the only one we'll need in this category," says Madhukar Kamath, managing director & CEO, Bates India. What he means is that now Bates need look no further as it has both the life and non-life parts of Tata-AIG's business. What this means in ad spend terms neither Kamath nor Raman discloses. "We are conservative spenders," Raman says. "But yes, as the category grows, spends will move up. After all, as we need to build an emotional attachment with the consumer, brand salience is a must." While industry estimates put the account at Rs 12-15 crore, insiders also point out that Tata-AIG would not have spent more than Rs 3 crore last year.

For now, Bates isn't too bothered by spend levels. The agency is in party mood. "It's a wonderful feeling - winning an account such as this, in a multi-agency pitch scenario," Kamath beams. "Bates, Mumbai, did an incredible job during the presentation phase, and the win is a recognition of our work, our strategy and our understanding of the client's needs. Last week started with Shalimar and Amul, and ended with this one. What a week it's been." Indeed.

© 2001 agencyfaqs!