Bates wins DS Foods' Catch mineral water account

Bates India's Delhi office has been the awarded the advertising account of mineral water brand Catch, marketed by DS Foods, the Rs 100-crore food division of the Rs 600-crore DS Group. The account is estimated at Rs 3-5 crore. Confirming this development, Shovon Chowdhury, executive vice-president and general manger, Bates, said, "We have started work on the campaign already." The communication objective, enunciates Choudhary, "…is to drive home the point that the Catch mineral water brand is the Evian for the Indian market. Thus emphasising on the purity of the water - the virgin water from Himalaya." In the light of this statement, one can safely infer that the group is looking to market Catch mineral water as a premium product.

Agrees Chowdhury. "Our promise is to provide very good quality product." Catch water, categorised as natural spring water, is bottled at source in the Himalayas, near Kullu (a popular hill station in Himachal Pradesh). Interestingly, Catch, along with Evian and Himalaya, were the three brands found free of pesticide residue, according to a recent study conducted by the Centre for Sciences and Environment.

Given its clean record, company officials are confident that there would be a huge customer demand for Catch. Echoing this view, Chowdhury says, "There are people who are conscious even about the bottled water they consume. While there are players such as Kinley (Coca-Cola), Bisleri, Aquafina (Pepsi) etc in the market, surely there are people who would be willing to shell out that extra buck for better quality." So one would soon spot Catch on shop shelves at a price slightly higher than the existing mineral water brands. Perhaps upwards of Rs 15.

The company plans to aggressively promote Catch across the country. Alongside, it has launched three flavours of Catch water - lemon lime, black currant and peach. These are priced at Rs 25 each for 750-ml bottles. However, at the moment the flavoured water is available in certain regions only. Last year, DS Foods launched Catch Club Soda, claimed to be processed from pure spring water. © 2003 agencyfaqs!