"Pure passion" helps Equus win Aiwa account

Equus Advertising has won the entire brand communication business of consumer electronics brand Aiwa, valued at Rs 40-50 crore

N. Shatrujeet

agencyfaqs!

NEW DELHI

Equus Advertising's Mumbai office has won itself the entire brand communication business of one of India's most hankered-after consumer electronics accounts - Aiwa. The account, which was previously jointly serviced by Vyas Giannetti Creative and RK Swamy/BBDO, moved to Equus' kitty just yesterday.

Swapan Seth, deputy chief executive officer, Equus Advertising, confirmed the movement, saying that the agency will be handling both the audio systems and television advertising. Speaking to agencyfaqs!, a thrilled Seth said, "This is the first time we shall be working with Baron, which is a case study in consumer electronics. It is an aggressive marketer that has zigged and zagged the market, and created a value brand. We are elated over being associated with the brand."

Apparently, this time round, the decision to move the account was not preceded by a formal pitch. "For us, it was veni, vedi, vici," smiles Seth. He informs that the presentation that Equus made to the client was "largely creative", as the strategy path for the brand "has always been blueprinted".

Seth has good reason to smile. The Aiwa account has been immensely sought after - and jealously guarded - at various points in time. In fact, unconfirmed reports insist that, till very recently, at least a dozen agencies have been campaigning for the business. Which isn't one bit surprising, considering the visibility the brand affords. Not to mention billings.

Although, Seth refused to divulge the size of the account, unconfirmed reports peg it at anywhere between Rs 40-50 crore. And although the brand has the reputation of striking deals directly with channels and publications - and considering that Equus functions on the fee-based system - the monies that are likely to fill Equus' coffers should still be pretty significant.

What is surprising about this development is that the account had moved from Contract Advertising to Vyas Giannetti just over a year ago. And over the past six months, there had been a lot of high-decibel advertising for the brand. In fact, a segment of opinion in the industry maintains that Giannetti's ‘Pure Passion' campaign was a bold effort to build Aiwa's brand equity and break away from the ‘discount brand' perception.

However, one industry veteran points out that Giannetti's efforts at brand building might actually have backfired on Aiwa. "Like Akai, Aiwa had become known as a value-for-money brand," he says. "It was working on wafer-thin margins. In this scenario, if one has to spend money on building brand image, one has to ensure that one can extract a higher price for each unit sold - meaning one has to sell more, with a higher price premium."

It is felt that the shift in Aiwa's communication from ‘schematic' to ‘thematic' resulted in a drop in sales at the bottom-end. And the counter-balancing improvement in brand image proved elusive. "I think Aiwa might have sacked Giannetti as its thematic advertising was not working," says the veteran. Seth, for his part, attributes the win to Equus' "pure passion, neat creative and dogged perseverance".

Whether Equus would stick with thematic advertising or go back to the schematic route is anybody's guess. "Our challenge will be to breathe life into the stagnant consumer electronics market, and create positioning premia for the brand," is all Seth ventures.

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