Sumita Vaid
Advertising

TBWA India warms up for winter with tea company, Twinings India

The assignment assigned to the agency includes marketing strategy, through-the-line communications and media planning and buying responsibilities

Delhi-based Twinings India, owned by Associated British Foods, has appointed TBWA India, Delhi as its creative and media agency for the Indian market. Twinings is present in more than 100 countries. The company also offers products such as fruit and herbal infusions, aromatic teas, and iced teas. For the record, British brand Twinings was acquired by Associated British Foods in 1964.

The estimated Rs 4 crore account was won in a multi-agency pitch. The agencies in the fray included Everest Integrated Communications, Enterprise Nexus, Confluence and Percept. As it turned out, TBWA India clinched the business.

Since it was going to be Twinings' first-ever communication campaign in India, the company went through a rigorous process of selection for the agency. What finally swung the decision in TBWA India's favour was its internationally practised ‘Disruption' philosophy.

For those not familiar with the advertising application of the Disruption approach, it is a way at finding business solutions in newer ways; placing them in different perspectives. Disruption is the proprietary strategic planning and creative development process of the worldwide TBWA network, developed by its current worldwide CEO, Jean-Marie Dru.

"We were impressed with the ‘Disruption Day' technique. It brings core business issues into focus. Creatives and media strategy flowing from it, therefore, has far more relevance than the conventional way of doing things. Though the company's practice is to separate media from creative, we went through their media perspective in this particular case and were convinced of the benefits of integration," the spokesperson for Twinings India said.

The Delhi office of TBWA India is indeed quite excited about the development. A happy Benny Thomas, vice-president, TBWA India, said, "From the very beginning, Twinings was not an ordinary pitch for us. Instead of the usual presentation, we offered their team a one-day Disruption workshop. They responded by flying down key officers from other parts of the country and we spent a day - going deep into the brand and the consumer's mind. We came out with a sense of alignment and focus on the issues that really matter.''

The assignment assigned to the agency includes marketing strategy, through-the-line communications and media planning and buying responsibilities for the Twinings range of specialty teas. The task, thus at hand for the agency, is to bring a distinctive ‘Twinings experience' to the Indian consumer.

Creating a special reason to induce the Indian tea lovers to try Twinings is, of course going to be a challenge. With HLL, the market leader of the branded tea market, Tata Tea and Dilmah Tea, a new entrant in the branded tea segment, already vying for the consumer's attention, creating mindspace for another entrant - Twinings would require very sound marketing and creative strategy.

Aware of the intense brand loyalty that some brands enjoy, the Twinings executive, is however, quite optimistic about the company's business plan. "We have been developing the market for years. In fact, we have a sizable share of the premium institutional market as well as alliances with some of the leading hospitality and restaurant brands for out-of-home consumption. Now the parent company, Associated British Foods, has recognized India as a high-potential market and is investing significantly in order to grow our base here. Expect more news from us in the months ahead."

And one of them, the company executive mentions in the passing, is looking at acquisitions in the near future.

In a related development, the Mumbai office of TBWA India had bagged the Rs 15 crore creative business of Bajaj Allianz Insurance after a long drawn multi-agency pitch. The agencies in the fray included FCB Ulka, McCann-Erickson, Ambience Publicis and incumbent agency, Contract.

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