Scarecrow Communications bags creative mandate for Religare's broking and health insurance businesses

After having won the creative mandate for Religare Arts Initiative earlier this year and also working on Religare Enterprises' wealth management business - Religare Macquarie Wealth Management (tie up between Religare and Australia's Macquarie Group) - Manish Bhatt and Raghu Bhat's Scarecrow Communications has added two more accounts from the Religare group to its roster.

Scarecrow has been awarded the creative mandate for Religare Securities and Religare Health Insurance.

The health insurance business will be launched shortly, leveraging the group strengths of distribution, healthcare delivery and diagnostics.

The mandate was awarded without a pitch and in a bid to bring in specialised focus with respect to communication of the group's various interests.

Talking to afaqs!, Subhrangshu Neogi, director, brand and corporate communications, Religare Enterprises, says, "We are happy with Ogilvy. We have taken a few businesses out of Ogilvy and have brought in Scarecrow because we were looking for increased focus and also because of Scarecrow's creative excellence and understanding."

Manish and Raghu, founder directors of Scarecrow Communications, are familiar with the group. The duo, during their Contract Advertising days, was also responsible for the launch and subsequent campaigns for Aegon Religare Life Insurance, besides handling the wealth management and arts interests at Scarecrow.

"They (Manish and Raghu) are not new to the group. We have been fairly impressed with their output, their ability to find creative solutions and their understanding of our business," says Neogi.

While work on Religare Securities has already begun - with the agency in the process of shooting a commercial in Jaisalmer - Manish says he is excited about the health insurance business, wherein Scarecrow will be involved from the very inception stage, much like Aegon Religare Life Insurance.

"It is an exciting opportunity for us. The group has been very aggressive when it comes to communication and we are looking forward to communicating its strengths in the best way. The health insurance category, too, is opening up and other players are also looking at it increasingly. We are excited as we start right from the nascent stage," says Manish.

"Religare, in the last few years, has been aggressive and ambitious. It is a chance for us to showcase our 360 degree ability. Coming in at the inception stage of Religare Health Insurance is a great opportunity for us. Broking houses, too, are realising the importance of becoming a brand and that is why this, too, has become a communication heavy category," adds Raghu.

The accounts, like Religare Arts Initiative, will be handled out of Scarecrow's Delhi branch, which Manish says is becoming increasingly important, with a lot of significant businesses being handled out of the city. Scarecrow Delhi manages other accounts such as Jindal Power.

The Mumbai branch of the agency handles Religare Macquarie Wealth Management.