Bharti AXA Life Insurance falls to Contract

The hunt for a creative agency is finally over for Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company. The company has decided on Contract Advertising to handle its creative duties. The final tussle was between Contract Advertising and Grey Worldwide. The total spend on advertising is estimated to be more than Rs 15 crore.

It may be recalled that when agencyfaqs! had reported the pitch in April 2006, it had said that seven agencies were in the fray – Contract Advertising, Grey Worldwide, Dentsu Communications, Euro RSCG, Saatchi & Saatchi, McCann-Erickson and Fortune Communications.

Bharti AXA had also called for a media pitch. It is learnt that Madison and Starcom are in the final race for this. A decision is likely to be taken in a couple of days.

A spokesperson for Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company, says, “Being the 14th entrant in this category, we are looking at giving a different shade to the brand and refraining from making it yet another insurance brand.”

He adds, “Contract had an edge over the others because of its appropriate mix of strategy and creativity.”

He informs us that in terms of its communication, the agency was looking at carving a compelling position for itself, for which the endeavour would be to find nuggets from consumer space. This would aid the brand in establishing itself in the competitive environment in this sector.

The media mix is still being finalised, but the spokesperson says it will be dynamic in nature. They plan to use television for corporate advertising and print for the products.

Umesh Shrikhande, executive vice-president, Contract Advertising, says, “The client’s precise brief and its valued feedback during interactions made all the difference. What also helped us in winning the account was the rigour and depth we displayed across strategy, creative and multiple media.”

“Our task will now be to help launch Bharti AXA in India and begin sowing the seeds for building a strong competitive brand,” adds Shrikhande.

Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd (AXA). For the record, under the JV agreement, AXA has 26 per cent equity interest, while Bharti holds the balance. AXA will help the company access its global life insurance and asset management expertise. Bharti will bring to the JV its strong local market knowledge, reputation and all-India retail presence.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!