Contract, Orchard retain Himalaya Drug business

Following a multi-agency pitch, Contract and Orchard have managed to retain the Himalaya Drug Company business in Bangalore. The other agencies that were a part of the pitch process were O&M, Mudra and TBWA India. The media duties too were under review, and have been retained by Maxus. Last year, the company had spent around Rs 5 crore, but these spends are expected to go up significantly this year.

It is learnt that O&M, Bangalore, had initially clinched the creative business towards the end of the pitch. But as O&M handles conflicting businesses such as Pond’s and Dove (soap and shampoo) from the HLL stable, it was left with no choice but to walk away from the Himalaya business.

A source within O&M, who does not wish to be named, confirms this to agencyfaqs!. So, did O&M anticipate that a problem like this could crop up? The source explains, “More often than not, an agency first pitches for an account, and then tries to look for ways in which these conflicting business issues can be sorted out. That is what O&M was hoping for, but unfortunately, we had to walk away.”

Subroto Datta, executive vice-president, Himalaya Drug Company, refused to comment on that. He, however, revealed the cause for calling the pitch. “With three of our businesses – personal care, consumer healthcare and retail – merging together, a significant reorganising has taken place in our company. Therefore we wanted to review our agencies,” he says.

When asked about retaining the creative as well as media agencies, Datta gives a terse reply. “We liked their strategy and presentation,” he says.

Dutta confirms that Orchard will now handle Himalaya hair loss cream and Himalaya Honey, whereas Contract is likely to get Himalaya skincare and Himalaya dental care. The media mix has still not been decided.

For the record, Himalaya Drug Company was founded in 1930 by Mohammad Manal, with the mission of providing quality phytopharmaceuticals to the public in standardised packages. At present, the company has a wide range of products in categories such as baby care, health care, skincare, therapeutic products and pure herbs.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!