AMO Communications bags Emart India’s retail chain, Next

AMO Communications, Mumbai, has been appointed by Emart India to handle its retail chain, Next. The account was won by AMO after a multi-agency pitch, which involved six agencies, the names of which could not be ascertained. The media duties will be split between AMO and the in-house media department at Emart India. This is the first time that Next has taken on an ad agency. The size of the business is estimated to be around Rs 5 crore.

NM Mathew, vice-president, marketing and sales, Emart India, confirms this, saying, “AMO’s biggest strength is its expertise in the retail sector. Another major advantage that it possesses is its access to other retail market requirements such as events, celebrity endorsements and its media buying power.”

Elvis Dias, managing director, AMO Communications, remarks, “This is a significant win for us. Our association with Emart will give us added knowledge on the consumer electronics category. Besides, we will be spending a substantial amount of time in the retail outlets and thus getting to keenly observe today’s dynamic consumer.”

AMO Communications will be responsible for developing the visual identity, brand imagery and regular advertising for the retail outlet. The media mix for the campaign will involve television, press, outdoor and below-the-line activities such as seasonal promotions of the outlet at the local city/town level.

For the record, Emart India handles multinational consumer durables, including air conditioners, television sets, home theatre systems, washing machines, refrigerators, microwaves, computers, laptops, mobile phones and air coolers.

Next was introduced on a nationwide scale in the latter half of 2005. At present, there are over 125 Next outlets in places such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and some towns of Maharashtra. Emart India hopes to increase this figure to 500 by the end of December 2006. It is projecting a turnover of Rs 75 crores by the end of 2006. Next deals mainly in consumer durables. It is also evaluating an entry into other categories to provide a complete brand and shopping experience.

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